This edition reveals the results of a survey of attitudes of both the public and members of the U.S. House of Representatives about Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, Medicaid, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamps, and Unemployment Compensation.

Publisher Description

Through a practical introduction to the policies of the American welfare state—a wide-ranging subject much discussed but seldom described—this concise volume details the four main areas of social welfare policy: housing assistance, nutrition assistance, income assistance, and medical assistance. In plain, approachable language, author Brian J. Glenn explains, for example, how Section 8 housing vouchers function, what the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is, how Medicare has developed, and what Temporary Aid for Needy Families does. Especially in the era of Covid-19 and a recession, there is a need for citizens and students to understand the American social safety net. The American Welfare State is written in a manner that allows a complete novice to understand these programs in a brisk and comprehensive fashion that is both short enough to read over a couple of nights in a course and yet detailed enough for the programs to be understood at quite a nuanced level. In this thoroughly updated second edition, author Brian J. Glenn outlines the ways in which social welfare programs differ, sometimes dramatically, from locality to locality. To help students understand how these policies function, Glenn looks at the support households receive in five cities: Boston, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. This approach provides not only a geographic spread but also an examination of the variability of support, giving the reader a feel for the range of funding levels and also the variety of ways programs can be implemented. In short, this book is a fully updated and handy teaching and learning tool that fills a huge gap in the literature on a subject that many want to teach but often lack the resources to do.

'. . . the book makes clear that there is a consensus on the need for and desire for change'-PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW

An analysis of the welfare state from a political economy perspective that examines the effects of aging populations, migration, and globalization on industrialized economies. In The Decline of the Welfare State, Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka use a political economy framework to analyze the effects of aging populations, migration, and globalization on the deteriorating system of financing welfare state benefits as we know them. Their timely analysis, supported by a unified theoretical framework and empirical findings, demonstrates how the combined forces of demographic change and globalization will make it impossible for the welfare state to maintain itself on its present scale. In much of the developed world, the proportion of the population aged 60 and over is expected to rise dramatically over the coming years—from 35 percent in 2000 to a projected 66 percent in 2050 in the European Union and from 27 percent to 47 percent in the United States—which may necessitate higher tax burdens and greater public debt to maintain national pension systems at current levels. Low-skill migration produces additional strains on welfare-state financing because such migrants typically receive benefits that exceed what they pay in taxes. Higher capital taxation, which could potentially be used to finance welfare benefits, is made unlikely by international tax competition brought about by globalization of the capital market. Applying a political economy model and drawing on empirical data from the EU and the United States, the authors draw an unconventional and provocative conclusion from these developments. They argue that the political pressure from both aging and migrant populations indirectly generates political processes that favor trimming rather than expanding the welfare state. The combined pressures of aging, migration, and globalization will shift the balance of political power and generate public support from the majority of the voting population for cutting back traditional welfare state benefits.

Changes in welfare programmes since 1996 have transformed the way America cares for its poor. For every dollar spent on cash welfare payments, 20 dollars are spent on service programmes targeted at the working poor. This text examines the system and the role that geography plays in the system's ability to offer help.

American social welfare policy -- Social policy and the American welfare state -- A brief history of the American social welfare state -- Social welfare policy research : a framework for policy analysis -- Discrimination in american society -- Poverty in America -- The voluntary and for-profit social sectors -- The voluntary sector today -- Privatization and human service corporations -- The government sector -- The making of governmental policy -- Tax policy and income distribution -- Social insurance programs -- Public assistance programs -- The American health ccare system -- Mental health and substance abuse policy -- Criminal justice -- Child welfare policy -- Housing policies -- The politics of food policy and rural life -- The American welfare state in perspective -- The American welfare state in international perspective -- Glossary -- Index

"Useful for scholars and students both for its insights into the policy-making process and for its account of how American social policy arrived at the sorry state we find it in today." -- Contemporary Sociology

Over twenty-five years and through five editions, Walter I. Trattner's From Poor Law to Welfare State has served as the standard text on the history of welfare policy in the United States. The only comprehensive account of American social welfare history from the colonial era to the present, the new sixth edition has been updated to include the latest developments in our society as well as trends in social welfare. Trattner provides in-depth examination of developments in child welfare, public health, and the evolution of social work as a profession, showing how all these changes affected the treatment of the poor and needy in America. He explores the impact of public policies on social workers and other helping professions -- all against the backdrop of social and intellectual trends in American history. From Poor Law to Welfare State directly addresses racism and sexism and pays special attention to the worsening problems of child abuse, neglect, and homelessness. Topics new to this sixth edition include: A review of President Clinton's health-care reform and its failure, and his efforts to "end welfare as we know it" Recent developments in child welfare including an expanded section on the voluntary use of children's institutions by parents in the nineteenth century, and the continued discrimination against black youth in the juvenile justice system An in-depth discussion of Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein's controversial book, The Bell Curve, which provided social conservatives new weapons in their war on the black poor and social welfare in general The latest information on AIDS and the reappearance of tuberculosis -- and their impact on public health policy A new Preface and Conclusion, and substantially updated Bibliographies Written for students in social work and other human service professions, From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America is also an essential resource for historians, political scientists, sociologists, and policymakers.

Including education has profound consequences, undergirding the case for the productivity of welfare state programs and the explanation for why all rich nations have large welfare states, and identifying US welfare state leadership. From 1968 through 2006, the United States swung right politically and lost its lead in education and opportunity, failed to adopt universal health insurance and experienced the most rapid explosion of health care costs and economic inequality in the rich world. The American welfare state faces large challenges. Restoring its historical lead in education is the most important but requires investing large sums in education, beginning with universal pre-school and in complementary programs that aid children's development.