With the passage of the 1996 welfare reform, not only welfare, but poverty and inequality have disappeared from the political discourse. The decline in the welfare rolls has been hailed as a success. This book challenges that assumption. It argues that while many single mothers left welfare, they have joined the working poor, and fail to make a decent living. The book examines the persistent demonization of poor single-mother families; the impact of the low-wage market on perpetuating poverty and inequality; and the role of the welfare bureaucracy in defining deserving and undeserving poor. It argues that the emphasis on family values - marriage promotion, sex education and abstinence - is misguided and diverts attention from the economic hardships low-income families face. The book proposes an alternative approach to reducing poverty and inequality that centers on a children's allowance as basic income support coupled with jobs and universal child care.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"This book challenges the conventional wisdom that welfare reform "worked." Handler and Hasenfeld, well-known experts in this field, contest that view, bringing to bear a wealth of data on poverty, inequality, and welfare policy. They conclude that welfare reform was built around "myths" regarding the individual deviance of the poor. Instead, they argue that structural conditions in society and the economy are the underlying sources of poverty and inequality and must be addressed with new policy solutions. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned with these crucial issues."
--Evelyn Z. Brodkin, Associate Professor, School of Social Service Administration, The University of Chicago
"This is an enormously valuable work, bringing together historical perspective, extensive knowledge and a wide range of research findings in support of a forceful argument that our nation needs to move beyond debates about welfare reform and make a major commitment to addressing poverty and inequality."
--Mark Greenberg, Executive Director, Task Force on Poverty, Center for American Progress
"There is a broad consensus across most of the political spectrum that the 1996 welfare reform successfully ended welfare as we knew it...the welfare rolls were cut in half, more single mothers entered the labor force, and child poverty fell modestly. Handler and Hasenfeld challenge this conventional wisdom and emphasize instead that welfare reform is no substitute for antipoverty policies. They propose that government provide a basic income for families with children, reform the low-wage labor market, improve child care and expand community-based services so that we can end poverty as we still know it. Anyone interested in the future of social welfare policy should read this book."
--Sheldon Danziger, H. J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan
"There is much to be recommended in this book. It brings together an extensive body of research findings to make the case that the U.S. needs to move beyond current contentions over welfare reform and make a strong commitment to reducing poverty and inequality. The authors are especially good at exposing the myths about welfare programs and welfare recipients. They also provide an excellent exposition of the internal workings of welfare bureaucracies as well as the many reasons why welfare programs generate widespread public opposition but rarely achieve their intended goals. Assertions relevant to the issues under discussion are amply supported with references to studies and articles that represent the state of contemporary scholarship. And, anyone interested in the innerconnectedness of poverty issues and the major alternatives to our current social welfare policy should read this book."
--American Review of Politics
"highly valuable book....The table of acronyms thoughtfully provided at the beginning of this book is a definite help....the authors do an effective job of interweaving changes in policy with the changing demographics of poverty in the United States....provide a clear and useful explanation of the difference between entitlement programs....this material would be of value to students either of US welfare policy or of changes in social stratification....this volume presents a valuable supply."
--Kathleen C. Martin, Boston University, Journal of Social History
--Evelyn Z. Brodkin, Associate Professor, School of Social Service Administration, The University of Chicago
"This is an enormously valuable work, bringing together historical perspective, extensive knowledge and a wide range of research findings in support of a forceful argument that our nation needs to move beyond debates about welfare reform and make a major commitment to addressing poverty and inequality."
--Mark Greenberg, Executive Director, Task Force on Poverty, Center for American Progress
"There is a broad consensus across most of the political spectrum that the 1996 welfare reform successfully ended welfare as we knew it...the welfare rolls were cut in half, more single mothers entered the labor force, and child poverty fell modestly. Handler and Hasenfeld challenge this conventional wisdom and emphasize instead that welfare reform is no substitute for antipoverty policies. They propose that government provide a basic income for families with children, reform the low-wage labor market, improve child care and expand community-based services so that we can end poverty as we still know it. Anyone interested in the future of social welfare policy should read this book."
--Sheldon Danziger, H. J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan
"There is much to be recommended in this book. It brings together an extensive body of research findings to make the case that the U.S. needs to move beyond current contentions over welfare reform and make a strong commitment to reducing poverty and inequality. The authors are especially good at exposing the myths about welfare programs and welfare recipients. They also provide an excellent exposition of the internal workings of welfare bureaucracies as well as the many reasons why welfare programs generate widespread public opposition but rarely achieve their intended goals. Assertions relevant to the issues under discussion are amply supported with references to studies and articles that represent the state of contemporary scholarship. And, anyone interested in the innerconnectedness of poverty issues and the major alternatives to our current social welfare policy should read this book."
--American Review of Politics
"highly valuable book....The table of acronyms thoughtfully provided at the beginning of this book is a definite help....the authors do an effective job of interweaving changes in policy with the changing demographics of poverty in the United States....provide a clear and useful explanation of the difference between entitlement programs....this material would be of value to students either of US welfare policy or of changes in social stratification....this volume presents a valuable supply."
--Kathleen C. Martin, Boston University, Journal of Social History
Book Description
This book examines the persistent demonization of poor single-mother families, the impact of the low-wage market on perpetuating poverty and inequality, and the role of the welfare bureaucracy in defining deserving and undeserving poor.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Repeated Failures,
By Leah (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blame Welfare, Ignore Poverty and Inequality (Hardcover)
The authors have important things to say about poverty in the United States. One is that we citizens need to stop obsessing over the incredibly few individuals who will take advantage of any welfare program we can devise, and instead we need to start looking at the increasing numbers of genuinely struggling individuals who need a bit of assistance.
The United States' policies for dealing with poverty have not worked to reduce poverty. Based on flawed premises, they never have worked to reduce poverty and never will. When something isn't working, it's time to try something new. These authors point the way.
3 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
States the obvious - withthe usual liberal repeticousness,
By UCLA Law student (in his class...) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blame Welfare, Ignore Poverty and Inequality (Paperback)
The quality of prose rather poor, and the text suffers from an abject poverty of originality.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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policy documentation project, basic income guarantee, family investment program, eligible nonparticipants, welfare leavers, private welfare state, antipoverty effects, more consecutive years, nonstandard hours, national caseload, nonstandard work, used food stamps, virginity pledges, paid labor market, fragile families, public welfare state, local welfare departments, universal preschool, family cap, paternity establishment, child care subsidies, blame welfare, income support policy, caseload decline, official poverty threshold Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
African American, New York, United States, Social Security, Head Start, Urban Institute, Russell Sage Foundation, Los Angeles, Social Service Review, Children's Defense Fund, Census Bureau, Annual Report, Harvard University Press, Child Wellbeing, Brookings Institution Press, House of Representatives, New Hope, Working Paper, Economic Policy Institute, The Green Book, California Budget Project, University of Wisconsin-Madison, West Virginia, World War, Abt Associates New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
policy documentation project, basic income guarantee, family investment program, eligible nonparticipants, welfare leavers, private welfare state, antipoverty effects, more consecutive years, nonstandard hours, national caseload, nonstandard work, used food stamps, virginity pledges, paid labor market, fragile families, public welfare state, local welfare departments, universal preschool, family cap, paternity establishment, child care subsidies, blame welfare, income support policy, caseload decline, official poverty threshold Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
African American, New York, United States, Social Security, Head Start, Urban Institute, Russell Sage Foundation, Los Angeles, Social Service Review, Children's Defense Fund, Census Bureau, Annual Report, Harvard University Press, Child Wellbeing, Brookings Institution Press, House of Representatives, New Hope, Working Paper, Economic Policy Institute, The Green Book, California Budget Project, University of Wisconsin-Madison, West Virginia, World War, Abt Associates New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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