Title: Why Americans hate welfare
First published: 1999
Description: Drawing on surveys of public attitudes and analyses of more than forty years of television and newsmagazine stories on poverty, Gilens demonstrates how public opposition to welfare is fed by a potent combination of racial stereotypes and misinformation about the true nature of America's poor.

But white Americans don't oppose welfare simply because they think it benefits blacks; rather, they think it benefits "undeserving" blacks who would rather live off the government than work, a perception powerfully fueled by the media's negative coverage of the black poor.

The public's views on welfare, Gilens shows, are a complex mixture of cynicism and compassion; misinformed and racially charged, they nevertheless reflect both a distrust of welfare recipients and a desire to do more to help the "deserving" poor.
Subjects: Public welfare in mass media, Public opinion, Public welfare, Racism in mass media, Mass media and public opinion, Racism, Racisme dans les médias, Racisme, Aide sociale, Rassendiscriminatie, Massamedia, Publieke opinie, Armoede, Opinion publique, Médias et opinion publique, Aide sociale dans les médias, Sociale politiek, Industrial policy, Full employment policies, Capitalism, United states, commercial policy, Free enterprise, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES, Journalism
Places: United States
LC classification: P96.P842 U654 1999