Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty PolicyTackling one of the most volatile issues in contemporary politics, Martin Gilens's work punctures myths and misconceptions about welfare policy, public opinion, and the role of the media in both. Why Americans Hate Welfare shows that the public's views on welfare 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. "With one out of five children currently living in poverty and more than 100,000 families with children now homeless, Gilens's book is must reading if you want to understand how the mainstream media have helped justify, and even produce, this state of affairs." —Susan Douglas, The Progressive "Gilens's well-written and logically developed argument deserves to be taken seriously." —Choice "A provocative analysis of American attitudes towards 'welfare.'. . . [Gilens] shows how racial stereotypes, not white self-interest or anti-statism, lie at the root of opposition to welfare programs." -Library Journal |
Contents
| 1 | |
Public Opinion and Public Policy | 11 |
2 Individualism SelfInterest and Opposition to Welfare | 31 |
3 Racial Attitudes the Undeserving Poor and Opposition to Welfare | 60 |
Statistical Models of Welfare Attitudes | 80 |
5 The News Media and the Racialization of Poverty | 102 |
Causes and Consequences | 133 |
7 Racial Stereotypes and Public Responses to Poverty | 154 |
Public Opinion and Antipoverty Policy | 174 |
9 The Politics of the American Welfare State | 204 |
Appendix | 217 |
Notes | 235 |
| 265 | |
| 281 | |
Other editions - View all
Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy Martin Gilens No preview available - 2000 |
Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy Martin Gilens No preview available - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
AFDC affirmative action African Americans Ameri American Welfare analysis antipoverty policy asked assistance attitudes toward welfare beliefs benefits blacks as lazy Census chapter Coefficient coverage of poverty economic effort ethic example Family income fare figure food stamps help the poor images impact important increase individual job training less levels Marital status Medicaid National Election Study negative newsmagazine Newsweek nonblack nonpoor opposition to welfare percentage perceptions of blacks perceptions of welfare photo editors Political Science poll poor blacks poverty and welfare poverty coverage poverty stories predictors Prejudice proportion of blacks questions racial attitudes Racism reflect regression model R² scored self-interest shows Sniderman Social Psychology Statistical Abstract stereotype of blacks stories on poverty strongly taxes television tion U.S. Bureau Underclass undeserving unemployment University Press urban War on Poverty Washington welfare attitudes welfare recipients welfare reform welfare spending preferences welfare views white Americans