The Nation - News from March 25, 1985

The value of combined welfare and food-stamp benefits for a family of four with no other income dropped 22% nationwide from 1972 to 1984, according to a study by the House Ways and Means Committee. The main reason was that states’ cash welfare payments failed to keep up with inflation, the report said. In 1972, the average welfare family of four with no other income received $8,894 in welfare and food-stamp benefits, measured in constant 1984 dollars. The combined Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and food-stamp benefit level for a family of four without other income averaged $6,955 nationwide in 1984, or 21.8% below the 1972 level.