Abstracts Volume 7 - Issues 1 & 2 (original) (raw)
Volume 7 - Issues 1 and 2 – 2003
Special Double Issue:Rediscovering the Other America: The Continuing Crisis of Poverty and Inequality in the United States
Elizabeth A. Segal and Keith M. Kilty
David Sommerfeld and Michael Reisch
Martha N. Ozawa and Hong-Sik Yoon
Elizabeth Bartle and Gabriela Segura
Lisa M. Brabo, Peter H. Kilde, Patrick Pesek-Herriges, Thomas Quinn, and Inger Sanderud-Nordquist
“Fixing That Great Hodgepodge: Health Care for the Poor in the U. S.”
Llewellyn J. Cornelius
University of Maryland at Baltimore
Abstract: Like many of the poverty-based initiatives that emanated from the 1960s, America’s commitment to providing health care for the poor is inconsistent at best. This paper highlights the evolution of health care coverage for the poor during the last half of the 20th century. Documentation on health care coverage preceding 1965 indicates that our initial commitment to the poor focused on a segment of the poor – the aged, the blind, the disabled and needy families – while neglecting working-age adults. This set the stage for the development of the Medicaid program in 1965 and remains the core of the groups who are covered by Medicaid today. It is suggested that the only way to meet the health care needs of all of the disadvantaged is by scrapping the current private and public health insurance mechanisms in favor of a more global, non-employment based health insurance coverage for all Americans.
“Staying Poor in the Clinton Boom: Welfare Reform and the Nearby Labor Force”
Frank Stricker
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Abstract: Much poverty for employable Americans is caused not by welfare dependence or lack of schooling and skills, but a labor glut that keeps many Americans unemployed or underemployed, and suppresses wage levels. In the 80s and 90s employers slashed their work forces and the Federal Reserve Board often restrained economic growth to keep prices and wages from climbing too rapidly. Meanwhile, welfare reform cured little poverty and it added millions to an already flooded labor pool. While it is well known that highly publicized monthly unemployment rates underestimate real joblessness, this article highlights previously ignored populations. It suggests that there is an iron law that American leaders resist growth that would eliminate unemployment and push official poverty rates below the 11% levels reached in the 70s and the year 2000. It follows that to solve poverty there must be institutional changes – high minimum wages, union organization, more income supports, and, perhaps, real government jobs. And that means a new politics.
“Political Promises for Welfare Reform”
Elizabeth A. Segal
Arizona State University
and
Keith M. Kilty
Ohio State University
Public debate by policy-makers prior to the passage of the PRWORA reflected a common set of attitudes and beliefs of those in power about public assistance and the poor. The power of their language to shape and inform policy is significant in our society. Those who hold power use language to mold and rationalize public policies. From a critical theory perspective, examination of the use of language by those in power to set norms, disempower, and marginalize those people who are non-dominant is vital to effect social change. This research critically examines the speeches given on the floor of the House of Representatives prior to the final vote of PRWORA on July 31, 1996 to identify the power of language. Findings reveal that the content of the speeches reflects maintenance of the status quo and continued marginalization of the poor, particularly women.
Abstract:
“The ‘Other America’ after Welfare Reform: A View from the Nonprofit Sector”
David Sommerfeld
University of Michigan
and
Michael Reisch
University of Michigan
Abstract: This article examines the experiences of private, nonprofit social service agencies and their role in the “social safety net” following the 1996 welfare reform. Among other concerns, the research suggests that declining welfare rolls are not indicative of widespread poverty reduction and increased self-sufficiency, as many nonprofits, especially those providing emergency food and shelter services have experienced increasing demands during this time period. On a positive note, the growing role of nonprofit advocacy work emerged as one mechanism for improving the popular and political response to those living in poverty or near poverty conditions.
“Gender Differences in the Economic Well-Being of Nonaged Adults in the United States”
Martha N. Ozawa
Washington University
and
Hong-Sik Yoon
Washington University
Abstract: The attainment of economic parity between men and women has been a focal point of the women’s movement in many countries. How much worse off are women economically? What are the net, gender differences in economic well-being when other factors are taken account? What factors explain the level of economic well-being of women compared to men’s? This article reports the results of a study of the gender differences in the economic well-being of women and men in the United States from 1969 to 1999. The major findings are that the gender differential in economic well-being widened during these decades; women’s economic well-being was more adversely affected by the nonmarried status than men’s; the increasing educational attainment of women offset the adverse effect of marital dissolution on them; and women continued to pay a higher price for caring for children than did men. Implications for policy are discussed.
“Central Appalachia – Still the Other America”
Susan Sarnoff
Ohio University
Abstract: This paper celebrates the 40th anniversary of the publication of Michael Harrington’s The Other America, which is recognized as a critical catalyst to the development of the War on Poverty. It focuses on Harrington’s observations about Central Appalachia, noting the degree to which the characteristics Harrington observed in 1962 persist there these forty years later.
“Welfare Policy, Welfare Participants, and CalWORKS Caseworkers: How Participants Are Informed of Supportive Services”
Elizabeth Bartle
California State University
and
Gabriela Segura
California State University
Abstract: One aspect of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 was explored through focus group interviews with public welfare (CalWORKS/TANF) participants in Los Angeles County. Women were asked how they learned about domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health services from their caseworker in an effort to begin to evaluate implementation of the PRWORA in regards to these supportive services. The results describe how participants are receiving insufficient information, discouraged from seeking services, obtaining assistance from advocates other than caseworkers, and feeling general fear and distrust. Discussion centers on improvements in the system and training for caseworkers.
“Making Experience Count in Policy Creation: Lessons from Appalachian Kentucky”
Christiana Miewald
Ohio State University
Abstract: An emphasis on work as the solution to poverty – “work first” – has become the model for public assistance policy since 1996. For poor communities, however, work along will not solve issues of poverty. In Appalachian Kentucky low-income parents need access to education in order to find living wage employment. Through the strategic use of media and the creation of legislation, activists are able to challenge work first policies and help to craft programs that meet local needs. This paper examines the process by which myths about welfare, work and responsibility are inscribed into policy and discusses efforts by low-income parents and welfare rights advocates to transform those policies. It concludes by arguing that to address the issues of poverty, public assistance policy must take into account the lived experience of low-income parents.
Thoughts on Poverty and Inequality:
“Driving out of Poverty in Private Automobiles”
Lisa M. Brabo
Peter H. Kilde
Patrick Pesek-Herriges
Thomas Quinn
and
Inger Sanderud-Nordquist
West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency, Inc.
Abstract: Transportation is a critical problem for Welfare-to-Work households, thus the West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency, Inc. developed resources to launch a facilitated-automobile purchase program named JumpStart. The program data and client survey results presented in this paper show that ownership of a private automobile is a key element of success in Welfare-to-Work households in rural areas. Private automobiles make it possible for families to obtain the “assets” of independence: job training or education, a good job, health care, child care, social supports, and even self-esteem and family/community relationships.