Charity Compacts: A Privatization Model for Welfare Programs

Abstract

In public policy discourse, the role of government is not universally accepted, but tends to have widespread support. Most of those who want smaller government with fewer programs accede to the notion that government is here to stay in, e.g., care for the poor. This paper challenges the role of government in core welfare programs. A model is presented for reducing government presence in programs that provide income relief and other support for the poorest citizens. An example from America’s worst-performing state is used to show that this model - called the charity compact - is economically realistic even under significant poverty.