`r&d' Works To Stretch The Audience

Andrew Urisko 
January 20, 1997 
Andrew S. Urisko Of River Street, Forty Fort, Died Monday At The Kingston 
Health Care Center, Kingston.

Thursday, January 23, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





The age-old answer to questions about children &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As the Times Leader story stated, Tuesday's public hearing in Nanticoke on
welfare reform could have been summed up with one question: Who will care for
the children? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Along that line, this editorial response can be summed up with one
statement: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 How sadHow sad that modern America and its welfare system must ask that
question at all. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Who will care for the children," indeed. Was it so long ago that the
question would have been absurd, because the answer was so blindingly clear? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Parents will care for the children -- or at least they did, once upon a
time. Parents, not the nanny state, will feed and nurture and guide the
youngsters they bring into the world. And parents will bend over backwards to
fulfill these duties. They'll work two jobs, go to school at night, even --
dare we say it? -- get married, if that's what it takes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's the way life used to work, anyway. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's the honest hope of welfare reformers that life starts working that way
again. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Congress and the president didn't pass welfare reform last year in order to
save money. They didn't do it to create jobs, stimulate exports or push
interest rates down. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Congress and the president passed welfare reform in order to promote
personal responsibility. That's what the government had eroded over the past
half century by handing out free money. That's what the public demanded upon
seeing dads flee, moms fail, and baby after baby having babies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And that's what the reform is meant to deliver. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Who'll care for the children? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Parents -- who'll see life as a single parent get harder as welfare gets
less generous, and so may find new reasons to get married. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Parents -- who'll respond to the new climate in part by delaying parenthood
until they're more financially secure. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Parents -- who'll turn for help to age-old sources besides government, such
as grandparents, siblings, churches and synagogues, and friends. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Parents -- who'll learn from the stories of our immigrant ancestors that
poverty in America need last only one generation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And parents -- who'll draw upon the deep wellspring of freedom and
opportunity that is their birthright as citizens of the United States. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 These outcomes may seem hopelessly optimistic. Poverty isn't that simple,
critics scoff. And insisting on "responsibility" won't turn it around. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Or will it? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Four years ago, critics laughed at America's prospects for reducing crime.
It can't be done, they said. The forces are too intractable. And until you
tackle the "root causes" such as poverty, racism and unemployment, America's
destined to be an armed and murderous camp. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Today the news is a bit different. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "For five years, reported crime, especially murder, has been dropping
sharply even though the economic plight of the inner cities and the disarray
in poor families remain the same," the New York Times reported Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This decline is the longest in 25 years, and when the final figures for
1996 are in, it is likely that the national homicide rate will fall to its
lowest levels since the 1960s, when an explosion of violence triggered
America's modern crime problem." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The point is not that reforming welfare is related to fighting crime. The
point is, changing social policy can indeed inspire changes in human behavior
at some of its deepest and most fundamental levels. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's happening now. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It can be done. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Age-old Answer To Questions About Children 
As The Times Leader Story Stated, Tuesday's Public Hearing In Nanticoke On 
Welfare Reform Could Have Been Summed Up With One Question: Who Will Care For 
The Children? 
Along That Line, This Editorial Response Can Be Summed Up With One Statement: 
How Sad.