Joe Biden wants to Europeanise the American welfare state
His plans are ambitious, thoughtful and risky
WHAT A DIFFERENCE 25 years can make. In 1996, then-Senator Joe Biden was gushing about the vote he would soon cast in support of sharp reductions in cash payments for single mothers. “The culture of welfare must be replaced with the culture of work,” he said on the floor of the Senate. “The culture of dependence must be replaced with the culture of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility.”
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Joe se transforme”
United States May 22nd 2021
- Having taken criticism for being overcautious, the CDC tries the opposite
- Joe Biden wants to Europeanise the American welfare state
- Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics—and failing
- Philadelphia reckons with the day its police force bombed a house
- How many American children have cut contact with their parents?
- Joe’s modest Middle East medicine
From the May 22nd 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from United States
Donald Trump has again rewritten the history of January 6th
By pardoning violent offenders, he ignored his own team’s advice
America really could enter a golden age
Donald Trump would need to build on its strengths, and subdue his own weaknesses
To end birthright citizenship, Trump misreads the constitution
It would also create huge practical problems
Donald Trump cries “invasion” to justify an immigration crackdown
His first immigration executive orders range from benign to belligerent
The new American imperialism
Donald Trump is the first president in more than 100 years to call for new American territory—including Mars
The beginning of the end of the Trump era
The new president is more confident, and radical, than ever—and also more accepted