The NYT reported this morning that national welfare rolls have changed little as a result of the downturn. While the number of recipients is up in many states, in some states, including some of the hardest hit ones like Michigan, the number of beneficiaries ha declined. For the country as a whole, the increase is less than 0.3 percent. This contradicts a recent article in the Washington Post that implied that welfare rolls were rising sharply. (Thanks to Shawn Fremstad.)
--Dean Baker
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