Welfare, Poverty, and the Liberal Dilemma
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to explain how our liberal created
welfare policies have been mis-directed, and why such policies
are having the paradoxical effect of perpetuating the very
poverty which they were designed to overcome. Such an explanation
first requires that an alternative theory of the nature of poverty
in America be developed. The development of such a theory is the
subject of Chapter One. Actually, this alternative theory is more
an explanation of the process of upward economic mobility, and
Chapters Two and Three are devoted to examining how welfare inhibits
this mobility process. Because the maintenance of a stable family
structure is crucial to economic advancement, Chapter Two examines
the family and its relationship to poverty. Chapter Three is concerned with the impact which welfare
has on the work incentives of the poor, since work, like the
maintenance of a stable family, is a critical factor in the overcoming
of poverty. Chapter Four is an
attempt to examine the degree to which racial discrimination is still
economically debilitating to minority groups. The alternative
theory of the nature of poverty developed in Chapter One holds
that poverty is largely a transitory phenomenon when viewed in
an historical perspective. Chapter Five, however, suggests that
our welfare policies may be having the effect of making such poverty
a permanent condition. By describing how welfare shapes the poor's
environment, I attempt to explain why I believe that a welfare
culture is developing which is reflective of that welfare environment.
In Chapter Six I will conclude my paper with an examination
of the dilemma which the liberals now face in regard to the problem
of poverty in America. If you are not a current K College student, faculty, or staff member, email dspace@kzoo.edu to request access to this SIP.