Crying poverty

Lawrence M. Mead

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    There are increasing concerns about the inequality happening in the US in terms of economy. However, the roots of the income and wealth disparities are not well understood nor does anyone have a clear solution. The efforts to reduce poverty in the 1960s, although had significant progresses in increasing wages, have only left behind a smaller and largely nonworking poor population. Despite this, liberal advocates suggest that most of the poor rely on employment. Another is the social barriers, in which the poor were often isolated in ghetto areas, where their children received inferior schooling and health care. Welfare itself was disincentive to work, since grants were reduced when a mother had earnings. As such, by the late 1990s, many politicians and policymakers had begun to question the idea that poverty was caused by impediments that government could remove. Poverty remains a problem in the US even with the stunning success of welfare reform.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)45-49
    Number of pages5
    JournalCommentary
    Volume124
    Issue number2
    StatePublished - Sep 2007

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Sociology and Political Science
    • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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