We the Poor People
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Work, Poverty, and Welfare
Joel F. Handler and Yeheskel Hasenfeld
The authors discuss current policies, efforts, and programs designed to deal with the poor and analyze what works, what does not work, and why. Instead of income maintenance strategies, they promote policies that would facilitate leaving welfare for work—particularly in the case of single mothers. Their proposals range from creating jobs and supplementing income through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to raising the minimum wage to providing health insurance and child care support. These are not inexpensive solutions, but they must occur if we truly wish to live in a society that strives to provide opportunities for all.
"A substantial contribution to the critical debate occurring in the states about structuring 'welfare reform.'"—Lucy A. Williams
"This book contributes in innovative and significant ways to the ongoing discussion of poverty and welfare reform."—Gary D. Sandefur
"This study is a timely entry into the current debate over welfare reform. . . . A forceful indictment of the political machinations surrounding welfare, which also offers some sensible . . . solutions."—Booklist
"More social theory than policy recommendation, this book will be critical for sociologists and legal scholars concerned with labor, poverty, and the history of the welfare state."—Virginia Quarterly Review
"We the Poor People should be read carefully by politicians who curry favor with voters by bashing the poor."—Donald R. Stabile, Business Library Review
"A timely entry into the current debate over welfare reform. A forceful indictment of the political machinations surrounding welfare."—Brian McCombie, Booklist
"A compassionate and workable . . . prescription for true reform."—National Law Journal
Publication Date: October 20, 1997