Description
Book SynopsisProvides an antidote to scapegoating, guesswork, and outright misinformation of welfare debates. Demonstrating that government aid has been far more effective, this book explains that even private support for the poor depends extensively on public funds. It states that it takes a nation to fight a problem as pervasive and subtle as modern poverty.
Trade ReviewWinner of the 1997 Richard A. Lester Prize for the Outstanding Book in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations, Princeton University's Industrial Relations Section One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1998 "[Blank] examines the condition of America's poor and the policies used to help them. She argues plausibly that trade is only one of the factors pressing down on the wages of the unskilled."--The Economist "Even those who disagree strongly with Blank's analysis should agree that It Takes a Nation takes a prize for honest, meticulous, and morally alert scholarship."--John J. Dilulio, Jr., The Weekly Standard "An important book on poverty bound to displease some liberals while challenging both libertarian and cultural conservatives to rethink, if not abandon, their respective anti-poverty positions... Even those who disagree strongly with Blank's analysis should agree that It Takes a Nation takes a prize for honest, meticulous, and morally alert scholarship."--John J. DiIulio, Jr., The Weekly Standard
Table of ContentsList of FiguresList of TablesPreface and AcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction3Ch. 1The Changing Face of Poverty13Ch. 2A Changing Economy52Ch. 3Changing Policy: America's Efforts to Provide a Social Safety Net83Ch. 4What Do Antipoverty Programs Do?133Ch. 5Who Should Help the Poor?191Ch. 6The Movement toward Targeted Programs220Ch. 7Where Should We Go from Here?252Ch. 8Conclusions290Notes295References311Index329
