FF: The System is the Problem: Clarence Carter on Why America's Safety Net Keeps People Poor

FF: The System is the Problem: Clarence Carter on Why America's Safety Net Keeps People Poor

From Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network by Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network

July 13, 2026 · 53 min

About this episode

Clarence Carter discusses the flaws in America's safety net and proposes a better system to help people escape poverty.

For 30 years, Clarence Carter worked inside America's public assistance system under two presidents, four governors, and a mayor. In this episode, he joins John Odermatt to explain why the safety net designed to lift people out of poverty often keeps them trapped instead, and what a better system could look like. Carter draws on his three decades of experience — including transforming Washington DC's homeless services program and leading welfare reform in Virginia — to argue that the problem isn't a lack of funding, but a lack of clear purpose. He walks through the 114 federal programs that make up the safety net, why they measure compliance instead of outcomes, and what it would take to build a system focused on growing people beyond dependency rather than managing it. Along the way, he shares personal stories, from handing out apartment keys to former shelter residents to a welfare recipient's tearful first paycheck, that illustrate what real freedom from the system looks like, and makes the case for a whole-of-society approach involving government, business, faith communities, and everyday citizens. Show Sponsor: Jason Gagne’s Good2GoBody 90-day beginner fitness program…

People in this episode

Host: John Odermatt

Guest: Clarence Carter

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Jason Gagne’s Good2GoBody

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