Washington's New Poor Law: Welfare Reform and the Roads Not Taken, 1935 to the Present

by Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg and Sheila D. Collins

The authors argue that the personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, popularly known as welfare "reform", offers neither work opportunity nor real reform. In repealing the entitlement to welfare and failing to create an entitlement to work - at the same time as it imposes strict, time-limited work requirements - Washington has, in effect, written a new Poor Law.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 094525783X
• ISBN13: 9780945257837
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 518 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Age Range: 18 to 22 years
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

A powerful and fascinating work

Washington's New Poor Law: Welfare "Reform" And The Roads Not Taken, 1935 To The Present is a comprehensive study of the consequences of the "welfare reform" legislation of 1996, which repealed entitlement to welfare, yet was not especially successful in creating an entitlement to work. The new poor law still has major problems with perpetuating poverty. The history of this pivotal 1996 legislation is meticulously traced, as are its modern-day consequences, and a final chapter regards the nature of what real welfare reform should be. A powerful and fascinating work, Washington's New Poor Law is strongly highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in or responsibility for combating poverty in America.