Winning the war on poverty
Subtitle: applying the lessons of history to the present
By: Brian L. Fife
Publisher: Praeger
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 236
ISBN-13: 9781440832819
Subjects: Poverty; Public welfare; Income distribution; Economic policy; Social policy; History
Description: Applying lessons from history to the reality of poverty today in the United States-the most affluent country in the world-this book analyzes contributing factors to poverty and proposes steps to relieve people affected by it.  American history is replete with efforts to alleviate poverty. While some efforts have resulted in at least partial success, others have not, because poverty is a multifaceted, complicated phenomenon with no simple solution. Winning the War on Poverty studies the history of poverty relief efforts in the United States dating to the nineteenth century, debunking misperceptions about the poor and tackling the problem of the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. It highlights the ideological differences between liberal and conservative beliefs and includes insights drawn from a well-rounded group of disciplines including political science, history, sociology, economics, and public health.   Premised on the idea that only the lessons of history can help policymakers to recognize that the United States has a persistent poverty problem that is much worse than it is in many other democracies, the book suggests an 18-point plan to substantively address this dilemma. Its vision for reform does not pander to any particular ideology or political party; rather, the objective of this book is to explain how the United States can win the war on poverty in the short term.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: What is poverty, and how is it measured?; title: Historical overview of poverty-relief efforts in the United States; title: The widening gap between rich and poor in the United States; title: Liberal versus conservative beliefs about poverty in an individualist capitalist system; title: The path to welfare reform: an 18-point plan.