This piece discusses the impact of the requirements of welfare reforms signed by Bill Clinton in 1996, especially as they are tightened across the nation. The federal law mandated that states set time limits (up to 5 years) on cash assistance to needy families. While most states allow 5 years, some have lowered that time considerably. In response to being cut off from welfare, the very poor use ‘survival strategies’ to get by, as examined in Luke Shaefer and Kathryn Edin’s book *$2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America.*

More about Shaefer and Edin’s book ($2 a Day) cited in piece on political debate over plight of impoverished Americans >