Blame Welfre Ignre Povty and Ineqty

Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-521-87035-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 416 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 787 g

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Handler, Joel F.

Hasenfeld, Yeheskel

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Gesundheitsökonomie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Arbeit/Sozialpädagogik Soziale Dienste, Soziale Organisationen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction; 2. The state of poverty: TANF recipients; 3. The response to poverty and inequality: the welfare state; 4. Demonizing the single-mother family: the path to welfare reform; 5. The welfare bureaucracy; 6. Work and the low-wage labor market: mothers and children; 7. Welfare reform and moral entrepreneurship: promoting marriage and responsible parenthood, and preventing teenage pregnancy; 8. Addressing poverty and inequality.

Über Autor(innen)

Hasenfeld, Yeheskel
Yeheskel Hasenfeld is a Professor of Social Welfare. His research focuses on the dynamic relations between social welfare policies, the organizations that implement these policies and the people who use their services. He has written extensively on human service organizations, the implementation of welfare reform, and the non-profit sector. His book on Mobilizing for Peace won the 2003 Virginia Hodgkinson Research Prize. He is a visiting scholar at several universities in Israel, Japan and Singapore.

Handler, Joel F.
Joel F. Handler has been a Professor of Law, specializing in social welfare law and policy, poverty, welfare bureaucracies, and comparative welfare states. He has published several books and articles, has won the American Political Science Association prize for the best book in US National Policy (1997) and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has lectured in Europe, Israel, South America, and Asia.