Poverty and Welfare in America

Examining the Facts

David Wagner

• Publisher: ABC-CLIO
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781440856440
• eBook ISBN: 9798216130925
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Policy
• Index: Social Sciences

This book closely examines controversial claims and beliefs surrounding poverty and anti-poverty programs in the United States. It authoritatively dismantles falsehoods, half-truths, and misconceptions, leaving readers with an unbiased, accurate understanding of these issues. Poverty and Welfare in America: Examining the Facts, like every book in the Contemporary Debates series, is intended to puncture rather than perpetuate myths that diminish our understanding of important policies and positions; to provide needed context for misleading statements and claims; and to confirm the factual accuracy of other assertions. This book clarifies some of the most contentious and misunderstood aspects of American poverty and the social welfare programs that have been crafted to combat it over the years. In addition to providing up-to-date data about the extent of American poverty among various demographic groups in the United States, it examines the chief causes of poverty in the 21st century, including divorce, disability, and educational shortfalls. Moreover, the book provides an evenhanded examination of the nation's social welfare agencies and the effectiveness of various social service programs managed by those agencies in addressing and reducing poverty.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Recent Titles
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• How to Use this Book
• Introduction
• 1. General Questions about Poverty
• 2. The Causes of Poverty
• 3. Who Are the Poor?
• 4. What Are “Welfare” and “Social Welfare”?
• 5. Controversies over “Welfare”
• 6. Homelessness (and Hunger) in the United States
• 7. Coda
• Index
• About the Author