Controversial Welfare-to-Work program tested experimental "work-inducing" radiation on jobless
Madison, WI - State officials and the University of Wisconsin - Madison Board of Regents admitted Wednesday to an experimental program conducted by a research group at the university which irradiated welfare recipients with several doses of so-called W-rays (work rays). The experiments, which took place in 1999, were funded by a collaborative effort including the State Department of Workforce Development and Monster.com.
"Project W, as it was known, was a failed attempt to decrease unemployment in the state by inducing a strong work ethic in the unemployed," Roberta Gassman, Secretary of the DWD, stated in a press conference. "The W-rays have shown proven results in animal laboratory experiments: rats and rabbits exposed to the radiation displayed marked improvements in problem solving and cooperation exercises. Human trials were authorized in the State's Balanced Budget Act of 1997, along with the creation of the Welfare-to-Work program."
The officials at the press conference revealed that the W-rays were administered through what appeared to be a metal detector at the entrance to the unemployment offices in Dane, Jefferson and Rock counties.
"Did Project W work? The results are unclear," said Jim McNeehan, an associate professor in the biophysics program at the university. "Those who received multiple full doses of the W-rays did not rejoin the workforce any more quickly than their control group counterparts, but those who received between one and three moderate doses did show a slight decrease in unemployed time. Clearly, further study is needed, with a larger sample group that was assigned for Phase 2."
Because of the state's impending $3.2 billion deficit, there is no money available to conduct Phase 2 of Project W, so it has been postponed. Phase 2 would have expanded the Project to all counties in the southern half of the state, and would have included aptitude and problem-solving tests for the experimental subjects, both before and after the radiation was administered.
Supporters of Project W say that the project will help the budget situation within a year, as welfare recipients return to work and generate more revenue for the state. They have started a petition to resume funding the project in the State's next biennial budget.
