I’ve been doing some research on the presidential candidates because I wanted to find out what each of them plans to do about the homelessness crisis. I found www.ontheissue.org which is a great way to find out candidate’s policies for a variety of different issues, so I selected four candidates (Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on the democratic side, and Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on the Republican side) clicked the Welfare and Poverty link and learned some pretty interesting stuff.

The first thing I noticed, which didn’t really surprise me, was that under welfare and poverty for Ted Cruz there was one line, “government checks create dependency.” So we know Ted Cruz isn’t going to do much to help those in need.

Next let’s move on to Trump, who does a little bit better than Cruz. He wants to apply Welfare-to-work to 76 other welfare programs, not just AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). However, he thinks “benefits should have strings attached. After all, if it’s our money the recipients are getting, we the people should have a say in how it’s spent.” That quote pretty much shows that his real concerns are where the tax-payer dollars are going. Furthermore he believes teenage mothers shouldn’t get public assistance unless they jump through some small hoops, and that they can receive assistance from “saints” who help them out of the goodness of their hearts.

We now come to Hillary Clinton who has some good ideas, but still seems a bit shaky. First off she opposes criminalizing the homeless and doesn’t see how it helps the problem at all. Secondly she advocates equal access to jobs and capital for all citizens, and thirdly believes banks and mortgage companies need to allow people to renegotiate their loans in order to stem the flow of foreclosures resulting in people ending up on the streets.

And finally, Bernie Sanders, who advocates for public assistance programs such as: social security, pension benefits, childcare and education, affordable housing, and nutrition programs. Not only is he opposed to cutting the food stamps program, but he co-sponsored the Head Start Program which provides early childhood services, as well as Job Corps – which he looks to expand – and a supplemental food program for women, infants and children.

I tried to stay within the word count while still giving you guys a good idea of the policies so I apologize for such a lengthy post. I’ll paste the links for you guys to check out because I didn’t get to all the policies, and I did have trouble interpreting the information on Hillary’s page so feel free to go more in depth on her policies in the comments! Also this is all from one website so some fact-checking may be necessary.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Bernie_Sanders_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Hillary_Clinton_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ted_Cruz.htm#Welfare_+_Poverty

http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Donald_Trump_Welfare_+_Poverty.htm