Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. In a1962 NBC documentary about the city of Newburgh, New York, City Manager Joseph Mitchell attributes the spread of sexually transmitted diseases to a public assistance program that’s too generous.
“We challenge the right of a welfare program to contribute to the rise of social diseases among children and adults. We’ve had social diseases in the slum section of our city among 12-year-olds and 76-year-olds,” Mitchell said. He went on to crack a joke to the seated crowd. “As our funniest councilman Bill Dulan said about the 76-year-old, he said, ‘You’re never safe.’”
Mitchell was a leader in what became known as the Battle of Newburgh. His ultimate goal was to shrink welfare to avoid increasing taxes, and his strategies included stoking debate around worthiness, race and fraud…