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We Must Strengthen the Family
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# : |
20723 |
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Section : |
SPECIAL SECTION
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1992 |
5,501 Words |
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An Interview With Michigan Gov. John Engler and His Aides
John Engler is the Republican governor of Michigan. Gerald H.
Miller is the director of the Department of Social Services of
the State of Michigan, and Stephanie Comai-Page is the
governor's social welfare policy advisor. This interview with
Governor Engler and his aides was conducted in the governor's
office in Lansing for THE WORLD & I by Lloyd Eby assistant
senior editor, on May 29, 1992. To Strengthen Michigan
Families: A Special Message to the People of Michigan by
Governor John Engler was published June 2, 1992. |
THE WORLD & I: What is your overall assessment of the social-welfare policy of this country?
Gov. John Engler: I think the social-welfare policy in this country has been an abject failure. As President Reagan said, "we fought a war on poverty and poverty won."
W&I: When and why did things go wrong?
Engler: In the sixties we had an expansion of welfare policy, but we lost sight of the goal. We dropped the need to focus on the family, to keep the families together. We constructed a program that said, you are eligible if two things happen: If you didn't work and didn't have any income, and you weren't married to an employed male. And so we shattered families.
We also got arrogant about what government could do, thinking that the government could solve these problems for people, rather than recognize that people an obligation to be responsible and try to solve the problems for themselves with government assistance. It got easy to say, let government do it. And we've now proven that government can't do it by itself.
We started to miss the mark in education too. Public school education in America is the one remaining great monopoly, so there's no particular reward for excellence and no punishment for disaster. As long as that situation is relatively unchanged, it will be very hard to achieve the change and success that we need. We're spending $8.5 billion statewide on education, and for that kind of an investment we've got to have results.
We simply cannot be content to pay among the highest of all teacher salaries in the country and spend the most per student and not get the kind of results we need from our schools. Now we're going back to basics and saying that schools have to be accountable. You talk to teachers, they know what they need to do, but they find themselves hemmed in by the rigidity of their structure.
W&I: What is it that you're trying to accomplish here in Michigan with your new welfare program? Is this primarily about saving money in the state's budget, or is it about some thing else?
Engler: We're preparing this week--to be delivered next week--a major address on public policy relative to welfare and public assistance
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