I question the myth of welfare reform. Reform may have been a reality at the beginning but I think the reality is much different even before the economic free fall. I think welfare reform critics only count reductions in selected programs. I know that refundable tax credits are not counted as welfare. There are many other ways that government provides welfare. The stimulus is an explosion in welfare so any pretense of welfare reform now is surely shattered.
I think about it a lot, every time I'm doing my taxes, which is right now. I think of all the money my wife and I are paying in and then I think of all the people who pay no taxes and are yet getting huge "refunds" via the E.I.C. and it makes me want to puke. Some welfare queen out there spreads her legs and pops out a couple of gold mines for herself in the form of the earned income credit.
I can't lay the blame on democrats either, it was originated by Richard Nixon, signed into law by Gerald Ford and increased under every administration since, without exception.