The problem with social engineering is that it so often falls prey to the law of unintended consequences. Take welfare reform in New Jersey. Five years ago, the state became a conservative favorite thanks to a tough new law ensuring that any woman who became pregnant while on welfare would not be given additional cash assistance for her new child. Advocates of the law, known as the family cap, called it a strike for personal responsibility, one that would force welfare parents to make the same family-planning decisions that working-class families do. Twenty-three other states followed suit.
But last week New...
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