Rachel Sheffield
Articles by Rachel Sheffield
Commentary
Teen Births Are Falling—but America’s Birth Crisis Runs Much Deeper
Birth rates in the U.S. continue to fall, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. birth rates have been… Read More
Reversing Biden’s Child Care Fraud Loopholes
Many news reports are swirling around asking whether Congress may consider another reconciliation package and what may be in it. Regardless of whether Congress chooses… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Mamdani’s Homelessness Crisis: Urgent Course Correction Needed
Allowing the homeless to languish on the streets is bad policy. Allowing the homeless to languish on the streets in severe winter weather can be… Read More
Health CareCommentary
Minnesota Fraud Exposes the Baked-In Flaws of Welfare
The U.S. welfare system is broken, and the Minnesota scandal is a blaring warning to that reality. The failure of political leaders on many fronts bears some… Read More
EconomyCommentary
New Survey Shows Increased Concerns About the Cost of Raising Children
A large majority of Americans no longer think it’s affordable to raise children. According to data from the 2025 American Family Survey, 71% of participants… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Food Stamp Reforms in One Big Beautiful Bill Act Promote Upward Mobility
Means-tested welfare is the third-largest segment of federal spending, only outranked by Social Security and Medicare. The U.S. welfare system has been growing for decades,… Read More
SocietyAnalysis
Fertility Rates Inch Up, but Marriage and Family Formation Trends Worry Experts
The U.S. birth rate has been on a downward slide since the Great Recession. In 2024, the total fertility rate went up slightly though, but… Read More
SocietyCommentary
How the Trump Administration Can Support Healthy Marriage
In his remarks at the March for Life in January, Vice President JD Vance declared his support for children and families. “I want more babies… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Biden-Harris Admin Uses Loopholes to Expand Welfare Benefits, Again
It seems reasonable that a program designed to assist those with low incomes should go only to low-income households. But the Biden-Harris administration is using… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Better Homelessness Policies Needed to Restore Order on Streets—and in Individuals’ Lives
Are cities required to allow the homeless to sleep on public property? This month, the Supreme Court is expected to rule in a case that… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Shift in Marital Trends Is Reflected in Valentine’s Day Celebrations
Fewer Americans are planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2024 than in years past. America isn’t totally losing its love for the saccharine holiday, though…. Read More
EconomyCommentary
With Bipartisan Measure, Congress Could Expand Successful ‘One Door’ Policy on Welfare, Workforce
The federal government has more than 90 welfare and workforce programs spread across dozens of federal agencies, with funding flowing to thousands of state and local… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The Growing Ignorance of the Benefits of Marriage—and Why It’s Dangerous
A large percentage of Americans don’t know or outright disagree that marriage builds stronger families and is linked to better well-being for children, according to… Read More
SocietyCommentary
25 Years of Healthy Marriage in Utah: State Commission Strengthens Institution
Utah just celebrated the 25th anniversary of its healthy marriages initiative, a statewide effort to help people build and maintain strong marriages. There’s a great… Read More
EconomyCommentary
With Food Stamps Work Requirement, GOP Budget Takes Important Step
House Republicans released their budget resolution last week, and the proposal takes some important steps to advance reforms in welfare programs. One of the ways… Read More
SocietyCommentary
It May Not Be a SNAP, but Congress Should Promote Work for Food Stamps
The farm bill is up for reauthorization this year. But despite its name, the vast majority of spending in the farm bill goes to the… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The Benefits of Marriage
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2014, and is being republished in light of the announcement that American actress Meghan Markle is engaged… Read More
EducationCommentary
Dispelling Myths About This Inexcusable School Meal Policy
A Washington Post article argues that a recently implemented federal school meals policy, the Community Eligibility Provision, is largely responsible for increased participation of low-income… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Study Finds Cohabiting Parents Twice as Likely to Split as Married Parents
Children born to unmarried, cohabiting parents—both in the United States and across Europe—are nearly twice as likely to see their parents split up, compared to… Read More
EducationCommentary
3 Steps Lawmakers Could Take to Roll Back Government Control of School Lunches
Last year, both the House and Senate introduced bills to reauthorize child nutrition programs, but reauthorization ultimately stalled by the end of 2016. This is… Read More
SocietyCommentary
15 Facts About US Poverty the Government Hides
On Tuesday, the Census Bureau released its annual poverty report declaring that 43.1 million Americans lived in poverty in 2015. We should be concerned about… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Marriage Reduces Child Poverty, but Our Welfare System Penalizes Marriage
According to a recently released study from the American Enterprise Institute, 82 percent of lower-middle-class families with young children face “marriage penalties” in the welfare… Read More
SocietyCommentary
These States Added Work Requirements for Food Stamp Recipients: Here’s How It’s Working Out
Several states have grappled with welfare reform. A few states that have incorporated work requirements have seen encouraging outcomes that should provide a blueprint for… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The Right Way to Fight Poverty (and Why Paul Ryan’s Plan Misses the Mark)
Twenty years after the welfare reform of 1996, House leadership is once again turning attention to policy for fighting poverty. Reforming the massive welfare system,… Read More
EconomyCommentary
School Lunch Program: No Wealthy Child Left Behind
This week, the House is expected to markup its child nutrition bill, which covers programs such as school meals. The last child nutrition bill–the Healthy,… Read More
Economy Commentary
Kansas Required Work for Food Stamps. Here’s What Happened.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “No country can sustain, in idleness, more than a small percentage of its numbers. The great majority must labor at something… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Why More States Are Requiring Work Requirements for Food Stamps
Newspaper headlines have been bemoaning that more states will now have to require adults on food stamps—who are able-bodied and without dependents—to work. Since 2009,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
8 Conservative Policies That Will Reduce Poverty
According to a new Associated Press/NORC poll, 72 percent of Americans rate “reducing poverty” as “extremely” or “very important.” This includes 62 percent of Republicans,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The Economic Value of Marriage
In honor of National Marriage Week, consider this question: Does marriage impact the economic well-being of societies? One of the most important answers to the… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Maine Required Childless Adults to Work to Get Food Stamps. Here’s What Happened.
One trillion dollars—that’s how much the government spent last year on means-tested welfare aid, providing cash, food, housing, medical care, and social services to poor… Read More
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