Marcello asked:
Too often you hear those in congressional races and so forth proudly professing the success of increases in spending towards social programs including welfare, as though the increase itself was a major victory. Yet logically thinking, if a welfare program is indeed succeeding, then wouldn’t this mean you are getting more and more people off of welfare thus a decrease in spending? But obviously, this is a catch 22, because a decrease in welfare spending does not necessarily equate with people moving up in class, it could also mean people just not getting the same help they once were.
So, what is the determining factor when considering if welfare is working or not?