New questions are being raised over how the welfare system is helping people affected by the economic crisis. A report by the New York Times has found that the number of people receiving cash assistance through welfare programs is at or near the lowest in more than forty years despite soaring unemployment. Eighteen states cut their welfare rolls last year. Many of the states hardest hit by the economic crisis have made drastic cuts. Michigan cut its rolls by 13 percent. Rhode Island had the nation’s largest welfare decline of 17 percent.