Product Description: “Cherry and Lerman have written a compelling book that challenges the orthodoxies of both the political ‘left’ and ‘right’, and that promotes a set of policies to improve the economic status of lower-to-middle income working families...read more

Product Description: Work first. That is the core idea behind the 1996 welfare reform legislation. It sounds appealing, but according to Making the Work-Based Safety Net Work Better, it collides with an exceptionally difficult reality. The degree to which work provides a way out of poverty depends greatly on the ability of low-skilled people to maintain stable employment and make progress toward an income that provides an adequate standard of living...read more

Product Description: As the distribution of wealth between rich and poor in the United States grew more and more unequal over the past twenty years, this economic gap assumed a life of its own in the popular culture. The news and entertainment media increasingly portrayed the lives of the poor with such stereotypes as the lazy welfare mother and the thuggish teen, offering Americans few ways to learn how the "other half" really lives...read more

'Examines a broad range of state and federal programs providing cash or in-kind benefits to low-wage workers, low-income families, and families making the transition from welfare to work to assess the ability of the work support system to lead to self-sufficiency'--Provided by publisher.

Product Description: Since the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, it has become clear that the issues associated with welfare are now inextricably woven into the problems of low-wage work. In this volume leading commentators on the labor scene analyze poverty and welfare reform within a context of low-wage work and the contours of the labor market that welfare recipients are entering...read more

Jody Heymann takes on the American belief that creating a better life for your children is simply a matter of working hard. She argues that poor parents don't have a fair chance. Because our nation fails to provide essential supports, it is virtually impossible for these individuals to succeed at work while caring well for their children. Because of the twin demands of work and family that poor parents face, the health and education of their children suffer. These kids often lack adequate preschool childcare or school-age care, which reduces their own potential to succeed.Heymann shows how intergenerational poverty is perpetuated by outdated labor policies and suggests what must be done to help families. A wide range of thinkers respond.The New Democracy Forum is a series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns."A civic treasure. . . . A truly good idea, carried out with intelligence and panache." --Robert Pinsky

Product Description: Since 1994, welfare roles have dropped by more than 50 percent nationwide. More than half of these people—about 800,000—have moved into unsubsidized paid employment, yet the very success of welfare reform has brought another problem into stark relief: for many people, getting into work doesn't mean getting out of poverty...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)