While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states－at least in getting people off welfare. It's estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994.
尽管福利改革仍处于早期阶段，但在许多州已经被认为是巨大的成功——至少在让人们摆脱福利方面是如此。据估计，自1994年以来，已有200多万人退出了福利改革。

In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens Country have been cut in half. But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The result: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent－twice the national average.
在过去的四年里，雅典县的福利人数减少了一半。但在过去两年里离职的人中，70%的人从事的工作时薪低于6美元。结果是：雅典县的贫困率仍然保持在30%以上，是全国平均水平的两倍，

For advocates for the poor, that's an indication much more needs to be done．
对于穷人的代言人来说，这表明还需要做更多的工作。

"More people are getting jobs, but it's not making their lives any better," says Kathy Lairn, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington．
华盛顿预算与政策优先中心的政策分析师Kathy Lairn说：“越来越多的人找到了工作，但这并没有让他们的生活变得更好。”。

A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down．
一项针对美国人口普查数据的中心分析发现，在1995年至1996年间，有更大比例的单身女性户主家庭靠自己赚钱，但这些家庭的平均收入实际上有所下降。

But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory．
但对许多人来说，在没有政府援助的情况下，穷人能够像有政府援助一样养活自己，这本身就是一场巨大的胜利。

"Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin that was poisoning the family," says Robert Rector, a welfare-reform policy analyst." The reform is changing the moral climate in low-income communities. It's beginning to rebuild the work ethic, which is much more important."
福利改革政策分析师Robert Rector表示：“福利是毒药，这是在毒害家庭。改革正在改变低收入社区的道德氛围。它开始重建职业道德，这一点要重要得多。”

Mr. Rector and others argued that once "the habit of dependency is cracked," then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards．
Rector先生和其他人认为，一旦“依赖的习惯被打破”，国家就可以做出其他旨在提高生活水平的政策改变。