Federal Aid To The Disadvantaged

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson declared an "unconditional war on poverty," launching a variety of new antipoverty programs and enhancing existing ones. This war is still being fought. But with what success? And at what cost? Incorporating new data from the 2000 census, the eighth edition of Programs in Aid of the Poor provides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of current federal programs aimed at alleviating poverty in the United States. The authors focus on programs that offer cash support, provide goods and services to poor people, address the well-being of children and youth, prepare young people to earn above-poverty incomes, and offer adults a second chance to earn their way out of poverty. They also discuss the definition of poverty, identify who the poor are, and generalize the causes of poverty. "To an extent," the authors find, "we have prosecuted our war against poverty the way Senator George Aiken of Vermont advised that we do in Vietnam: 'Declare victory and go home.' Yet the war against poverty has not been abandoned. Skirmishes continue, with widely fluctuating commitment." Co-authors Garth and Stephen Mangum and Andrew Sum have also prepared a companion volume, The Persistence of Poverty in the United States, analyzing the underlying causes of poverty and its persistence in America.

The revised and updated seventh edition of this standard work for students, scholars, and policymakers takes into account the broad changes in federal assistance programs since 1991. It reviews the steady erosion of entitlement programs to families with dependent children, single-parent households, youth, veterans, and the elderly. Most particularly, it looks at the impact of the 1996 welfare reform that dramatically reconfigured the aid landscape. Following an examination of the characteristics of the American poor, the book analyzes four strategies of assistance programs: income maintenance programs directed mainly at the poor who are outside the work force; programs supplying goods and services; programs designed to prevent the spread of poverty to new generations; and programs to aid the working poor. The concluding chapter explores feasible approaches to the alleviation of poverty. "A compact though detailed appraisal of U.S. government programs undertaken on behalf of the poor... a comfortable and fact-filled reference, generous in opinion and descriptive detail." -- American Political Science Review, reviewing a previous edition

Investments in the education and health of children are critical to the nation's future. The fed. gov¿t. has traditionally provided aid to disadvantaged children and families. However, fed. spending on current health care and retirement program -- Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security -- will absorb an increasing share of the fed. budget and economic output. There will be little room left in the fed. budget to address other priorities, including programs designed to assist and ensure opportunities for disadvantaged children and families. This forum, convened on June 25, 2008, identifies key areas of concern related to disadvantaged children and their families and discusses ideas to address these concerns within this fiscal environment. Illus.