So You Think I Drive a Cadillac? Welfare

This down to earth look at the welfare system provides readers with stories from welfare recipients themselves and from those who recently left welfare for work:

how they got onto welfare, what the reality of welfare (and welfare reform) is for them, issues in raising their families, their plans, hopes, and dreams are for the future, and some of the struggles they face as they try to leave the welfare system.

Welfare recipients who were interviewed by the author in Florida and Oregon share their perspectives on work requirements, family caps, time limits, and other features of the new welfare reform (TANF) program.

They discuss the importance of a livable wage and health insurance in providing the needed security to leave welfare for good. These qualitative interviews are theoretically grounded, and supplemented with up to date statewide and national data on welfare reform and its consequences.

The author says, “Underneath the political rhetoric and welfare statistics are real live human beings who are trying to make sense out of their lives.” Their voices provide a crucial counterpoint to the politicians and policy “experts” who have shaped the policy reform initiative. They show us that the so called welfare problem is related to the insecurity of low-tier work in the United States.

Karen Seccombe, M.S.W, Ph.D . is a Professor of Community Health at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. She received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Washington focusing on health and social welfare policy. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington State University, where she continued to develop her public policy interests in inequality, families, and health. She is the author of Families and their Social Worlds (Pearson Allyn & Bacon), Families in Poverty (Pearson Allyn & Bacon), Just Don’t Get Sick: Access to Health Care in the Aftermath of Welfare Reform , with Kim Hoffman (Rutgers University Press), and Marriage and Families: Relationships in Social Context , with Rebecca Warner (Wadsworth). She is a Fellow in the National Council on Family Relations, and a member of the American Sociological Association and the Pacific Sociological Association. Her current research explores the health care needs of families after they leave welfare. She resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband Richard and her young daughters, Natalie Rose and Olivia Lin, where they enjoy hiking, kayaking, and sampling all the kid-friendly local attractions.

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction: Putting a Face on Welfare	p. 1
Critical and Feminist Frameworks	p. 6
Specific Contributions of This Study of Lived Experience	p. 8
Welfare and Public Policy	p. 10
Where Are the Voices of Welfare Recipients in the Discussion?	p. 14
A National Profile of Welfare Recipients	p. 15
Who Are the Participants in This Study?	p. 20
Conclusion and Organization	p. 23
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 26
Historical and Persisting Dilemmas: How Do We Explain Poverty, What Should We Do about It?	p. 27
History of Cash Assistance	p. 28
Welfare Reform: "Ending Welfare As We Know It"	p. 36
Explanations of Poverty and Welfare Use	p. 39
Individualism	p. 40
Social Structuralism	p. 42
Culture of Poverty	p. 44
Fatalism	p. 45
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 46
Stigma and Discrimination	p. 47
Awareness of Societal Attitudes Toward Welfare Recipients	p. 49
Racism and Welfare	p. 51
Contexts Where Stigma and Discrimination Occur	p. 55
Managing Stigma	p. 58
Denial	p. 58
Distancing Themselves from Other Welfare Recipients	p. 59
Blaming External Forces: "It's Not My Fault."	p. 65
Extolling the Importance of Motherhood	p. 66
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 69
Why Welfare?	p. 71
The Influence of Social Structure	p. 74
Employment	p. 74
The Risk of Losing Health Insurance	p. 76
Childcare	p. 78
Fathers' Involvement	p. 81
Transportation	p. 82
Racism and Sexism	p. 84
The Welfare System Breeds "Dependence" on the System	p. 85
Fatalism	p. 86
Bad Luck	p. 86
Poor Health	p. 88
The Ending of Relationships	p. 90
Violence	p. 91
Why the Inconsistency Between Explanations of Their Own and Others' Use of Welfare?	p. 93
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 96
Day-to-Day Living and Decision Making	p. 97
Daily Activities: Wild Living or Depressing Routine?	p. 101
Making Ends Meet with "The Check"	p. 102
Living and Surviving on Food Stamps	p. 106
Juggling Bills	p. 108
Coping with the Stress	p. 110
Affording Life's "Luxuries"	p. 112
Supplementing Welfare	p. 115
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 117
Living and Surviving Welfare: The Importance of Family, Friends, and Formal Support	p. 118
Informal Support: Help from Families, Friends and Neighbors, and Children's Fathers	p. 123
Assistance from Families	p. 123
Assistance from Friends and Neighbors	p. 127
Assistance from Children's Fathers	p. 130
Formal Support: Help from Charities and Social Services	p. 134
Working Side Jobs: Is This Fraud?	p. 136
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 139
Insider's Perspectives on the Welfare System	p. 140
Florida WAGES: A Case Example	p. 143
The Role of Government	p. 145
Opinions of the Welfare System	p. 147
Strengths of the Welfare System	p. 148
Weaknesses of the Welfare System	p. 150
Welfare Reforms	p. 152
Time Limits	p. 152
Work Requirements	p. 155
Family Caps	p. 158
Ideas for Reform	p. 159
Improving the Welfare System	p. 159
Improving the Structure of Low-Tier Work	p. 161
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 163
Getting Off Welfare	p. 164
The Women in the Middle: Increasing Human Capital Is Only One Answer	p. 169
Education and Employment Training	p. 170
Work Experience	p. 172
The Importance of Our Social Structure	p. 174
Not Enough Jobs	p. 175
Types of Jobs Available for Women on Welfare	p. 176
The Value of Health Insurance	p. 179
Why Some Women on Welfare Are Hesitant to Take Jobs	p. 181
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 185
Conclusion: Lessons Learned and Visions of Change	p. 186
The Gendered Nature of Welfare and Welfare Reform	p. 187
Has Welfare Reform Been a Success or a Failure?	p. 192
The Reasons for Its Failure	p. 193
Insights from Other Countries	p. 195
Critical Thinking Questions	p. 200
Appendix: Websites of Interest	p. 201
References	p. 206
Index	p. 217
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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"So You Think I Drive a Cadillac?" Welfare Recipients' Perspectives on the System and Its Reform

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