ACS (American Community Survey), 105
Adult Charter School, 153
AFDC. See Aid to Families with Dependent Children
African American population
confrontation of class issues by, 104–5
disconnected young people in, 142
disproportionate poverty in, 30, 41
duration of poverty in, 31
effect of welfare on, 19
graduation rates in, 143
median incomes of, 32
overincarceration of, 141, 142
in political drama of poverty, 102
rates of female-headed families in, 38–40
and school discipline policies, 144
in Southern United States, 83
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), 82, 84–85, 87–88, 96
Alexander, Michelle, 142
alternative poverty line, 27–28, 82
American Bar Association, 17
American Community Survey (ACS), 105
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Child Tax Credit provision in, 73
Annie E. Casey Foundation, 130
antipoverty advocacy, 19–20
Appalachian poverty, 105
Atwater, Lee, 43
Autor, David, 56
Baltimore, Maryland, 111, 125–27
banks, 160
Barnett, Ross, 7
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 107–12
Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, 110
benefits
analysis of, 81–82
and poverty measures, 29
Blau, Francine, 52
Bloomberg, Michael, 155–56
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), 61
Bobo, Kim, 67
Borjas, George J., 55
Bost, Eric, 13
brain development research, 99
Brown v. Board of Education, 14
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 61
Bush, George H.W., 21–23, 43, 74
Bush, George W., 2–3, 12, 13, 118, 142
Campbell, Bill, 118
Canada, Geoffrey, 124
Card, David, 53–55
Career Academies, 147–49
Career and Technical Education (CTE), 146, 149
career-oriented education, 145–49
Carey, Hugh, xii
CCTA (College, Career and Technology Academy), 152
CDBGs (Community Development Block Grants), 116
CDCs (community development corporations), 110, 111
CDF (Children’s Defense Fund), 26, 137
CDGM (Child Development Group of Mississippi), 7
Census Bureau, 27
Center for American Progress, 67
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 72
charter schools, 125
child abuse, 31
child care funding, xiii, 74–75
Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM), 7
children, 21
changes in poverty levels of, 29–30
“disconnected youth,” 142–43
effects of deep poverty on, 83–84, 99–100
resilience of, 137–38
and Supplemental Poverty Measure, 28
underinvestment in, 157
children’s allowances, 98
Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), 26, 137
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), xv–xvi, 21
Child Tax Credit (CTC), xiii, xvi, 3, 72–73
China, 56–57
CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), xv–xvi, 21
choice, 131
Christie, Chris, 53
churches, 104
cities, poverty in. See urban poverty
Citizens Commission on Hunger, 11
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 35
City Heights Initiative (San Diego), 128–29
Civilian Conservation Corps, 59–60, 155
civil rights
and antipoverty advocacy, 19–20
and history of food stamps, 11
and income inequality, 14
and segregation, 108
Civil Rights Act, 19
Civil Works Administration, 60
Clinton, Bill, xii
changes in welfare embraced by, 44, 84–86
expansion of antipoverty programs, 21
expansion of Earned Income Tax Credit, 71
poverty during administration, 25
signing of TANF into law, 2, 97
tax incentives enacted under, 118
and urban poverty, 114–15
College, Career and Technology Academy (CCTA), 152
college education, 58, 144, 147, 150–52
community action
as part of war on poverty, 15–17
and welfare rights movement, 19–20
Community Building in Partnership, 126
community colleges, 147, 150–52
Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs), 116
community development corporations (CDCs), 110, 111
Community Health Centers, 17
computerization, 57
concentrated poverty, 105–6. See also urban poverty
conservative criticism, 32, 40
corporations
cash reserves of, 160
political vigor of, 52
rights of, 35
Corps Network, 155
cost of living, 27
“cradle-to-prison pipeline,” 141–42. See also criminal justice system
credit cards, 91
correlation to poverty, 31
overincarceration in, 141–42
unjust racial elements in, 39–40, 45
and welfare, 44
Crowley, Sheila, 122
CTC. See Child Tax Credit
CTE (Career and Technical Education), 146, 149
Daley, Richard, 118
debt, 91
demographics of, 83
effect of benefits on, 82
expansion of, 100
research on, 91–92
strategies for dealing with, 98–100
Deficit Control Act, 156
Democratic Party
accountability of, 77
and Nixon administration, 48
Robert Kennedy’s role in, 113
Dimond, Paul, 114–15
“disconnected youth,” 142–43
Disintegration (Robinson), 101
Dole, Bob, 12
domestic violence, 31
Dorn, David, 56
Dukakis, Michael, 43
Duncan, Arne, 147
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), xiii
and economic growth, 119
expansion of, 21
impact of, xvi
overview, 71–73
and poverty line, 27
economic mobility, 30–31
Economic Opportunity Act, 7, 15–16, 110
Economic Policy Institute, 26, 28
economy
changes in, 32–34
effects of, xvii
and low wages, 34–36
ECs (enterprise communities), 114–18
Edin, Kathryn, 91
career-oriented and technical-oriented, 145–49
correlation to poverty, 31
elements of, 136
high school graduation rates, 143
as organizing principle, 123–30
promotion of nonviolence in, 104
school discipline policies, 143–44
school reform debate, 138–41
standards for neighborhood schools, 134
strategies for reaching dropouts, 152–57
and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, 94
education reform, 41, 58, 75–76
EITC. See Earned Income Tax Credit
Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act, 60
Employee Free Choice Act, 69
employment, 47–80
creating better opportunities for, 59–64
effects of 1973 oil crisis on, 48–50
equitable distribution of wealth with, 76–79
federal investment in youth, 156
history of low wage compensation for, 50–59
increasing incomes, 70–76
opportunities for, 41
and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, 96–97
and urban poverty, 119, 130, 133
empowerment zones (EZs), 114–18
energy policy, 136
enterprise communities (ECs), 114–18
Enterprise Women’s Network, 127–28
environmental protection, 136
environmental regulation, 63
extreme poverty. See deep poverty
EZs (empowerment zones), 114–18
Fair Housing Act, 42
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 65
family allowances, 98
Family Support Act, 85
Federal Emergency Relief Administration, 60
changes in poverty levels of, 30
coping strategies of, 90–91
employment in, 44–45, 55, 93–94
growth in number of, 36–41
FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act), 65
expansion of program, 42
history of, 7–13
reduction in allotments, 89–90
supplementary function of, 100
See also Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
foster care, 31
Foster Grandparents, 17
Freeman, Orville, 9
Gateway to College, 151–52
GEDs, 154
gender, xvii, 30, 41–45. See also women
gentrification, 117, 120–21, 135
GI Bill, 18
Goldin, Claudia, 57
Government Accountability Office, 68
graduation rates, 143
Great Depression, 76
criticism of, 22
history of, 18–23
“green jobs,” 61–64
Greenspan, Alan, 54
Hackett, David, 14
Hanson, Gordon H., 56
Hardin, Clifford, 11
Harlem, New York City, 117, 124
Harlem Children’s Zone, 119, 124–25, 134
Harrington, Michael, 14
health care reform, 86
health care sector, 61
Helms, Jesse, 12
HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), 17, 116
High Schools That Work model, 149
HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), 104, 127
Hispanic population. See Latino population
Hollings, Ernest “Fritz,” 10, 11
home health care, 54
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), 104, 127
homelessness, 25
homeownership, 135
home visiting programs, 104, 127
HOPE VI (Homeownership and Opportunities for People Everywhere Act), 121–23
Horton, Willie, 43
housing vouchers, xiii
effectiveness of, 82
expansion of program, 42
funding for, 132
overview, 75
See also public housing
HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), 116, 121–22
Humphrey, Hubert, 113
IBM, 111
Iceland, 37–38
incomes, increasing, 70–76. See also wages
individualism, xv
industrial jobs, 48
inequality
action for attacking, 160
examination of, xix
income, 14
publicizing of, 79
in-kind income, 81
Interstate Commerce Act, 76
Japan, 38
Javits, Jacob, 110
jobs. See employment
Jobs for the Future, 152
Johnson, Lyndon B.
achievements of, 18
and CDGM funding, 7
Economic Opportunity Act, 15–16
goals of, 22–23
Voting Rights Act, 107
See also Great Society
Johnson, Paul B., Jr., 7
Jordan, Jim, 4–5
Kahn, Lawrence, 52
Kasich, John, 53
Katz, Bruce, 122
Katz, Lawrence, 57
Kemp, Jack, 114
Kennedy, Robert, xi
appointment of David Hackett, 14
development of food stamps program, 7–10
and education, 123–24
role in Democratic Party, 113
and tax incentives, 114
on welfare, 84
work in Bedford-Stuyvesant, 107–11
Kentucky, 10
Kerry, John, 153–54
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 19
Kingsley, Thomas, 105
Krugman, Paul, xiv
labor law reform, 69
disconnected young people in, 142
disproportionate poverty in, 30, 41
graduation rates in, 143
median wealth of, 25
overincarceration of, 141
rates of female-headed families in, 38–40
legal immigrants, 55–56
legal services, 20
Legal Services Corporation, 17
living wages, 67
low-wage work
history of, 50–59
prevalence of, 81
Magnuson, Katherine, 99
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, 148
March on Washington, 19
“marriageable male” hypothesis, 39
Massachusetts, 149
Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, 149
Mathematica Policy Research, 92
Medicaid, xv
coverage under, 73–74
expansion of, 21
importance of, 92
mental health, 95
middle class
myths about, 34
in Supplemental Poverty Measure, 29
Mississippi, 7–9
Model Cities program, 115–16
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick, 42
NAFTA, 56
National Academy Foundation, 148
National Academy of Sciences, 27, 82
National Employment Law Project (NELP), 68–69
National Fund for Workforce Solutions, 130
National Labor Relations Act, 65
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), 50–51, 53
Native American population
disconnected young people in, 142
disproportionate poverty in, 30
graduation rates in, 143
persistence of poverty in, 105
NELP (National Employment Law Project), 68–69
The Netherlands, 37
Neumark, David, 54
New Community Corporation, 114
New Deal, xv
creation of minimum wage with, 53
creation of public housing under, 75
programs created with, 14, 59–60, 76
The New Jim Crow (Alexander), 142
New Orleans, Louisiana, 101–2
Nixon, Richard
economic effects of administration, 48
expansion of food stamp and housing programs, 42–43
hunger advocacy, 11
1962 gubernatorial defeat, 36
veto of child care legislation by, 74
NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), 50–51, 53
nonviolence, 104
Obama, Barack
American Graduation Initiative, 147
Employee Free Choice Act legislation, 69
Medicaid initiatives, xvi
perceptions of, 77
and political action, 161–62
Promise Neighborhoods initiative, 134
reelection campaign of, 78
stimulus legislation, xiii
use of term “poverty,” xiv
oil crisis of 1973, 48–50
“1 percent”
accountability of, 161
changes in, 33–34
The Other America (Harrington), 14
Parent-Child Home Program, 104
parenthood
postponing, 40–41
promotion of responsible, 103–4
Paulson, Henry M., 58
Pell, Claiborne, 75
Perkins, Carl, 10
Perkins Act, 147
Peters, Sylvia, 126–27
Pew Research Center, 25–26
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 117–18
philanthropy, 156
Polikoff, Alexander, 122
Poor People’s Campaign, 19
poverty
changes in picture of, 29–32
deep. See deep poverty
defining, 26–29
history of, 14
See also specific headings
Progressive Era, 76
Progressive Workers Alliance, 69
Promise Neighborhoods initiative, 134
public awareness, 99
public housing, 75, 108, 121–23. See also housing vouchers
public policy
current state of, xiii
importance of, xviii
need for change in, 81
skepticism about, xv
support for, 99
See also specific headings
public service jobs, 61
Reagan, Ronald
anecdote about “welfare queens,” 41, 43
anti-welfare campaign under, 44, 86
appointments to National Labor Relations Board by, 51
child care legislation under, 74
on poverty, 14
proposal of food stamps cuts, 12
tax reform bill signed by, 21
effects of, 25
role of welfare in, 93
Recovery Act. See American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
refundable tax credits, 71
Rendell, Ed, 117–18
residential patterns, 120, 131–32
responsibility, personal, 102–3
restaurant jobs, 61
Robinson, Eugene, 101
role models, 104
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 59, 60, 76, 84
rural poverty, 29
San Diego, California, 128–29
Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood (Baltimore), 111, 125–27
SBTC (skill-biased technological change theory), 57–58
Schakowsky, Jan, 60
school systems. See education
Schorr, Daniel, 8–9
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), 66, 68, 69
service jobs, 49
Sherman Antitrust Act, 76
Shriver, R. Sargent, 15
single-parent families
deep poverty of, 83
and Earned Income Tax Credit, 71–72
increase in, xvii
See also female-headed families
60 Minutes (TV show), 99
skill-biased technological change theory (SBTC), 57–58
skilled crafts, 61
SNAP. See Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
social mobility, 160
Social Security payments, 29, 82
Soros, George, 156
Southern United States, 83
Southwestern United States, 106
SPM (Supplemental Poverty Measure)
development of, 28
middle class in, 29
SSI (Supplementary Security Income)
creation of, 43
effects of, xvi
stagflation, 49
state minimum-wage laws, 66
Steans Foundation, 114
Stennis, John, 9
Stimulus Act. See American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Stoneman, Dorothy, 153–54
street crime, 43–44
subsidies, 63
substance abuse, 31
suburban poverty, 29
Sum, Andrew, 142
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
as baseline, 98–99
overview, 2
See also food stamps
Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM)
development of, 28
middle class in, 29
Supplementary Security Income (SSI)
creation of, 43
effects of, xvi
surplus commodities, 8
Talmadge, Herman, 11
TANF. See Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
taxes
on homeowners, 135
opposition to rises in, 78
teacher layoffs, 138
Teach for America, 139
technical-oriented education, 147–49
technicians, 61
technological changes, 49
teenage mothers, 38
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), 2
criticism of, 87
development of, 84
effectiveness of, 82–83
pejorative view of recipients of, 100
shortcomings of, 87–98
See also welfare
Thomas, Franklin, 110
Tobin, James, 47
trade, 55–57
The Truly Disadvantaged (Wilson), 42
two-parent families, 30
undocumented workers, 55–56, 67
unemployment compensation, 99
union membership, 18
Upward Bound, 17
approaches to changing, 103–4
in Bedford-Stuyvesant, 107–12
causes of, 42
changes in, 111–13
conditions of, 101–2
and education, 123–30, 134, 136
enterprise communities and empowerment zones, 114–18
factors in, 118–21
future strategies for coping with, 131–36
and HOPE VI, 121–23
statistics on, 106
and street crime, 43–44
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 146
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 116
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 17, 116
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 116, 121–22
U.S. Department of Labor, 68
Ventura, Stephanie, 38
Vietnam War, 77
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), 17
vocational education, 145–49
vocational-technical education (VTE), 149
Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), 17
volunteer work, xiii
Voting Rights Act, 107
VTE (vocational-technical education), 149
changes in, 34–36
history of low, 50–59
statistics on, 32–33
Wage Theft in America (Bobo), 67
Walker, Scott, 53
war on poverty, 13–17
Warren, Earl, 20
Washington, D.C.
conditions in, 101–2
foster care rolls in, 103
statistics on poverty in, 106
Watergate scandal, 77
Watson, Tom, 111
Watts Labor Community Action Committee, 114
wealth distribution, xvii–xviii
creating equitable, 76–79
widening of gap, 32–34
availability of, 8
changes in 1990s, 84–87
and criminal justice system, 44
development of, 19–20
ending of, 2
near-demise of, 82
1996 law, 74
racialization of, 45
usefulness of, 4
See also Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
Wellstone, Paul, 97
Western United States, 106–7
white population
median wealth of, 25
predominance of poverty in, 30
Whitten, Jamie, 9
Wider Opportunities for Women, 28
Wilson, William Julius, 39, 42
entrance into workforce, 50, 54–55
and welfare, 20
See also female-headed families
Woodlawn Organization, 114
workforce housing, 126
Works Progress Administration (WPA), 59, 60
Wright, Deborah, 117
Year Up, 155
YouthBuild, 153–55
Zedlewski, Sheila, 91