The welfare reform of the 1990s was an unusual success for American social policy. By requiring more welfare mothers to work, reformers aimed to move them into jobs and reduce welfare rolls. Unexpectedly, reform was accompanied by a greater decline of caseloads--over 60 percent--that had previously been anticipated by research....

The president should pursue reformthat encourages health insurance and preserves progressive tax treatment.

On August 26, the Census Bureau is likely to report a small--and probably statistically insignificant--increase in the 2007 poverty rate. Because this number will represent an average of the 2007 calendar year figures, and will not include data for the first six months of 2008, it projects a far rosier...