Incentives

Running the welfare program of New York City for six years taught Robert Doar something important. He says "it taught me that employment is central to the well-being of families and the economy."

That lesson, he thinks, now explains why the U.K. has done a little better for their low-income families during the economic turndown that started in 2008. The key is that their welfare system has more incentives to work, and our American welfare system has fewer incentives to work.

"[T]he British experience shows that proper reforms of the safety net can help individuals return to work—which is crucial for lifting them and their families out of poverty." Examples of those reforms are here.