The Next Welfare Reform: Paul Ryan on Work, Technology, and RISE Pilots

Thirty years after the landmark welfare reform law, what should the next generation of social safety-net reform look like?

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan joins Defending Ideas to discuss the future of welfare reform and how policymakers can build a system today that helps more families move toward work and economic independence.

Speaker Ryan and host Nic Dunn examine RISE pilots, a state-led approach that tests whether combining multiple welfare benefits into a single, trackable monthly payment can simplify the social safety net, improve work incentives, and help families move out of poverty.

The conversation explores how technology could help reduce benefit cliffs, better coordinate programs, and improve accountability. Ryan explains why states should have the freedom to test different welfare reform approaches and why good data is essential if we want to know what works before expanding reforms more broadly.

Ryan, who is also the founder of the American Idea Foundation, a professor of the practice at the University of Notre Dame, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Practice of Public Policy at AEI, discusses with Dunn universal basic income and why RISE offers a more promising path forward for welfare reform and, ultimately, people's economic independence.

Show Notes:

Reforming the Safety Net through RISE Pilot Programs - American Idea Foundation
Americans Are Getting Caught in the Safety Net - Paul Ryan and Les Ford Wall Street Journal op-ed
The Safety Net We’d Build Today: Empowerment Accounts as a State-Led Pilot Concept - Nic Dunn report for Sutherland Institute

Defending Ideas is a weekly podcast produced by Sutherland Institute. On this show, we are committed to renewing the principles of common sense conservatism, making you a better champion of sound ideas. Visit defendingideas.org.

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