American Dream

When the so-called welfare reform legislation was being debated a decade ago, there were plenty of arguments about what its consequences would be. I read American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare to find out what actually happened. Jason DeParle, the author, is a journalist who covers social policy for the New York Times. He interweaves the lives of three Black welfare mothers in Milwaukee with an analysis of welfare changes and consequences.

Focusing on specific people provides a concrete factual basis for discussion, in contrast to the pontificators on both sides of the debate who don't know what they're talking about. DeParle traces the lives of the women and their families from a Southern plantation to Chicago and from there to Wisconsin. You learn about their early years, work lives, attitudes, boyfriends, and children. DeParle reveals their experiences and their views of the world. Bad decisions, their subculture, and society as a whole all contribute to the difficulties they face in life.

When welfare changes force them to work, two of the women manage to find and hold onto jobs. For example, one becomes a nurse's aide, a low-paying tiring position that consists of wiping people's butts and other tasks that are necessary to take care of the infirm. Their incomes didn't improve significantly over what they previously received as a welfare check. The third woman, a crack addict, has a lot more difficulty.

Your judgment of welfare changes largely depends on your priorities and what aspects of the prior system you find objectionable. DeParle considers welfare reform to be a success, since poverty levels didn't rise and because many former welfare recipients found jobs. However, since my main concern is the quality of life of poorer Americans, I don't view forcing a mother of small children to work long hours to be progress.

The remainder of the book consists of policy wonk stuff: programs, proposals, politics, perceptions, and results. The politicians all come across as unimpressive to incompetent and the private organizations that dealt with welfare projects are far worse. Most of the programs that were supposed to provide job training were basically worthless. However, when people were required to work, or at least show up for particular activities, in order to receive a welfare check, many of them chose to drop off the welfare rolls instead.

As a liberal, I had a few complaints about the book. DeParle never addresses certain arguments against welfare restrictions, such as the possibility that, without a public safety net, companies can pay lower wages and demand more from the working poor. The families he presented often don't have enough to eat, a situation that concerns me a lot more than whether an able-bodies adult is on the public dole. Still, American Dream presents enough facts for you to form your own opinions while challenging your prior beliefs.