When Work Is Not Enough: State and Federal Policies to Support Needy Workers

by Robert P. Stoker, Laura A. Wilson

Overview

"Efforts to promote work have been the centerpiece of welfare reform over the past ten years. In signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, President Bill Clinton pledged that the sweeping overhaul would "end welfare as we know it" by promoting work, responsibility, and family. To accomplish these goals, policymakers relied on two sets of tools: strict limits on eligibility for traditional benefits and a set of programs designed to make work pay. When Work Is Not Enough presents the first comprehensive analysis of the work support system. Drawing on both state and national data, Robert Stoker and Laura Wilson evaluate a broad range of policies that provide cash or in-kind benefits to low-wage workers, low-income working families, and families moving from welfare to work. These programs include minimum wage rates, Earned Income Tax Credit programs, medical assistance programs, food programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families earned income disregards, childcare grants, and rental assistance. Stoker and Wilson break new ground by examining the adequacy and coverage of the work support system in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. They address the prospects for reforming the system, as well as its impact on the politics of redistribution in the United States. Rich in analysis, Wh en Work Is Not Enough will be essential reading for anyone interested in the impact and future of welfare reform.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815781912
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/19/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert P. Stoker is associate professor of political science and public policy at George Washington University. Laura A. Wilson is the executive director and division chair in the School of Public Affairs and a research associate at the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
1	Redistribution through Work	1
Part 1	Describing the Work Support System
2	Work Support Programs	27
3	Program Design	64
Part 2	The Generosity of Work Support Programs
4	State-Level Benefits	87
5	The Cost of Living	102
6	From Welfare to Work Supports	112
Part 3	Evaluating Work Support Performance
7	Who Gets What?	129
8	Racing Up to the Bottom	145
Part 4	Conclusion
9	A Work in Progress	161
	Appendixes
A	Estimating State Benefit Generosity	181
B	Adjusting Basic Family Budgets	189
C	Who Are Needy Workers?	192
	References	195
	Index	205

Editorial Reviews

" When Work Is Not Enough provides useful descriptive information on the design of work support programs and the extent of their benefits. The book emphasizes the point that these programs have the potential to help pull many needy workers and their families above the poverty line." — Industrial and Labor Relations Review

"Robert Stoker and Laura Wilson's important book assesses the extent to which federal and state policies are effective in filling the gaps workers experience when "work is not enough."... this book will serve as a useful resource for labor educators, students, and professionals, especially those who engage with low-income workers. Through their research and analysis, Stoker and Wilson have made an important contribution to understanding the possibilities and limits of programs designed to "make work pay."" — Labor Studies Journal

From the Publisher