NEW REPORT: The States Doling Out The Most Welfare Are Lily-Assed White
June 1, 2016Dylan Hock Politics
If you have trouble understanding systemic racism, take note—this is one of many forms it can take. According to research in Disciplining the Poor, by Joe Soss, Richard C. Fording and Sanford F. Schram, states where a majority of citizens on welfare are white offer better assistance, longer, than in states where a majority of citizens on welfare are black or people of color.
Featured in The Atlantic, researchers in the book also claim “the political party in charge of the state legislature has a big influence on how generous that state is with welfare benefits.” States with higher average incomes lean toward offering those in need a better handle on the next rung up on the ladder to success: “states that have the highest percentage of white people on welfare are the most reluctant to cut people off.” If you’re black in a poor staterun by Republicans, however, for example—good luck to you.
Fun Fact
Take Oregon, for example, where whites make up 87 percent of the state’s population. There, they also make up 64 percent of folks on Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF). If you’re hard-up in Oregon, you can expect to receive benefits for as many as 60 months. After that, if you’re still struggling, your kids can continue to receive benefits at the very least. “[Forty-six] out of every 100 families with children in poverty are on TANF, one of the highest ratios in the country. Compare that to Louisiana, as The Atlantic did, where strapped families receive only 24 months of assistance, and when you’re cut off in Louisiana, you’re cut off. Benefits do not continue for your children just because you are poor. In fact, Louisiana comes in entirely last. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) claims only 4.2 families out of every 100 receive assistance in Louisiana. Over in Vermont, however, “where 95 percent of the people and 95 percent of TANF recipients are white, 78.4 percent of families with children in poverty are getting benefits.”
Starting to see the picture?
In the wake of Bill Clinton signing the welfare reform bill back in 1996, states were given stronger control over welfare management. Many states chose to gut their programs, which comes as no surprise, but states such as Oregon decided to “fill in the holes.” Where the lines have been drawn since, and how, is quite revealing of the systemic racism so prevalent in the U.S., and let’s face it, the results of the research in Disciplining the Poor are, sadly, anything but surprising.
June 1, 2016Dylan Hock Politics
If you have trouble understanding systemic racism, take note—this is one of many forms it can take. According to research in Disciplining the Poor, by Joe Soss, Richard C. Fording and Sanford F. Schram, states where a majority of citizens on welfare are white offer better assistance, longer, than in states where a majority of citizens on welfare are black or people of color.
Featured in The Atlantic, researchers in the book also claim “the political party in charge of the state legislature has a big influence on how generous that state is with welfare benefits.” States with higher average incomes lean toward offering those in need a better handle on the next rung up on the ladder to success: “states that have the highest percentage of white people on welfare are the most reluctant to cut people off.” If you’re black in a poor staterun by Republicans, however, for example—good luck to you.
Fun Fact
Take Oregon, for example, where whites make up 87 percent of the state’s population. There, they also make up 64 percent of folks on Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF). If you’re hard-up in Oregon, you can expect to receive benefits for as many as 60 months. After that, if you’re still struggling, your kids can continue to receive benefits at the very least. “[Forty-six] out of every 100 families with children in poverty are on TANF, one of the highest ratios in the country. Compare that to Louisiana, as The Atlantic did, where strapped families receive only 24 months of assistance, and when you’re cut off in Louisiana, you’re cut off. Benefits do not continue for your children just because you are poor. In fact, Louisiana comes in entirely last. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) claims only 4.2 families out of every 100 receive assistance in Louisiana. Over in Vermont, however, “where 95 percent of the people and 95 percent of TANF recipients are white, 78.4 percent of families with children in poverty are getting benefits.”
Starting to see the picture?
In the wake of Bill Clinton signing the welfare reform bill back in 1996, states were given stronger control over welfare management. Many states chose to gut their programs, which comes as no surprise, but states such as Oregon decided to “fill in the holes.” Where the lines have been drawn since, and how, is quite revealing of the systemic racism so prevalent in the U.S., and let’s face it, the results of the research in Disciplining the Poor are, sadly, anything but surprising.
