Panelists lambast recent welfare cuts at Castle forum

While the welfare reforms to be enacted in Pennsylvania next Monday may not directly affect many University students, not a seat was empty last night when the Castle hosted a panel discussion to educate the public about welfare. "You rarely get to see people directly involved in public policy and advocacy," said College junior Toni Roth, -- who coordinated the program with the Poverty Awareness Committee and the Program for Student Community Involvement. College sophomore Hilary Aisenstein, who attended last night's event, said the welfare issue is relevant to the University because of its diverse surroundings. "One of the things the safety concerns here have taught us is that Penn is not in a bubble," she added. Panelist Amy Hirsch -- a public benefits lawyer at West Philadelphia's Community Legal Services -- said the "clock begins ticking" starting Monday, when federal law will limit the amount of time in which citizens are allowed to collect welfare, allowing a lifetime maximum of five years. Aisenstein labeled the legislation "pretty frightening" because it will require about 75,000 current welfare recipients in Pennsylvania to find jobs within two years. History Professor Michael Katz traced the massive cuts in welfare to changes in individual principles and perceptions of the welfare state. "The cutbacks that we're seeing have a much deeper, more profound significance," Katz said. "[We] equate welfare with public assistance for people who can't take care of themselves." And panelist Ed Schwartz, director of the Institute for the Study of Civic Value, explained that class segregation and migration to suburbs has created exaggerated perceptions of welfare recipients. And he warned that the consequences of welfare cuts could affect many people in Philadelphia. "If nothing changes, the welfare crisis five years from now will make our homeless problem now look mild by comparison," Schwartz said. "The homeless shelters will be packed, the SEPTA terminals will be packed with people urinating -- there will be nowhere for former welfare recipients to go." But panelist Don Stovall, who directs the Philadelphia County Assistance Office, defended his organization. "Welfare will never be the same again," he said. The panelists, however, all agreed that the welfare reforms are flawed. "Pennsylvania has a budget surplus," said Hirsch, explaining that while state legislators' salaries have risen 23 percent in the past seven years, welfare grants have not increased at all. Following the panelists' individual speeches, the audience engaged in a heated question-and-answer session. One audience member said she was partaking in a protest Monday morning outside offices of the Department of Pennsylvania Welfare. Roth expressed her satisfaction with the turnout and her concern that people get involved.