The article argues that the 1996 US welfare reforms, signed by President Clinton, successfully helped move many families from welfare into work, and warns that their lessons are being forgotten. It presents President Trump’s more recent welfare legislation as a major reform, but says its impact could be weakened if state governments and public officials fail to enforce it.

The author says the US has spent more than $18 trillion on welfare since the 1996 changes and contends that the welfare system has since become more expensive and harmful. Published on the 30th anniversary of the earlier reforms, the piece frames enforcement against resistant states and bureaucrats as essential to the success of Trump’s policy.