"The expectation by some posters in this thread that people whose benefits are cut off will "go out and get jobs" when nothing else about their situation has changed strikes me as completely unrealistic."

It also clear that some people believe that the best way to address the problem is to "punish" those on welfare by taking away those benefits. The primary losers in this effort is the children of the families being kicked out of the program. According to the state, the cash assistance program covers:

"...low-income families with minor children and pregnant women. FIP helps them pay for living expenses such as rent, heat, utilities, clothing, food and personal care items."

That means when about 30,000 kids are going with less today than they had a month ago at a time when the state is experiencing historically very high unemployment. You can blame the parents of these kids for getting them into this situation but that doesn't change the reality for those kids of living with even less than they have today. Maybe some people will tell us how forcing those kids to go without will build character.