Was the War on Poverty a failure? Or are anti-poverty efforts simply swimming against a stronger tide?

Posted on January 6, 2014 in Brief Reports

This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of an “unconditional war on poverty.” Yet this month also marks over a quarter century since President Ronald Reagan’s 1988 announcement that the war on poverty was over, and that poverty had won. In this report, University of Maryland sociologist Philip Cohen examines the many early victories, as well as the setbacks in the War on Poverty.

Promoting marriage among single mothers: An ineffective weapon in the war on poverty?

Posted on January 6, 2014 in Brief Reports

Experts: Kristi Williams

This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of an “unconditional war on poverty.” Yet this month also marks over a quarter century since President Ronald Reagan’s 1988 announcement that the war on poverty was over, and that poverty had won. Many politicians blame the resurgence of poverty on the spread of unwed motherhood and conclude that promoting marriage among low-income individuals would do more to reduce poverty than government investments. In this report, Ohio State University sociologist Kristi Williams examines how efforts to get impoverished single mothers to marry are unlikely to make much of a dent in poverty rates and may even have some harmful outcomes for mothers and children alike.

Topics of Expertise: Child Welfare / Economic Inequality / TANF & Public Assistance

50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty: Have we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory?

Posted on January 6, 2014 in Online Symposia, Press Releases

This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of an “unconditional war on poverty.” Yet this month also marks over a quarter century since President Ronald Reagan’s 1988 announcement that the war on poverty was over, and that poverty had won. To mark the anniversaries of these very different points in the government’s role in poverty reduction, two researchers from the Council on Contemporary Families assess where we have come from and where we stand today.

Topics of Expertise: Child Welfare / Economic Inequality / Marriage & Divorce / TANF & Public Assistance

Poverty, Hardship and Families: How Many People Are Poor, and What Does Being Poor in America Really Mean?

Posted on December 5, 2011 in Brief Reports

Contrary to claims that the official poverty rate overstates the problem of poverty, the new poverty measure reveals a slightly higher overall poverty rate – 16 percent in 2010, compared to 15.1 percent by the other method of calculation. However, it also leads to a significant adjustment in poverty rates by age. The new measure yields a poverty rate about 4 points lower for children than the official measure (18.2% versus 22.5%). But it shows a poverty rate for seniors almost 7 points higher than the official formula yields (15.9% versus 9%). That is mostly because many families of poor children have the benefit of the EITC and food stamps (each of which pulled about 2% of children above the poverty line), while an additional 7% of people age 65+ are below poverty because of out-of-pocket medical costs.

Topics of Expertise: TANF & Public Assistance

‘One Stroke of the Pen’: The 47-year struggle to end racial discrimination in housing

Posted on November 17, 2009 in Brief Reports

Forty-seven years ago, on November 20, 1962, President Kennedy signed Executive Order 11063, prohibiting federally-funded housing agencies from denying mortgages to any person based on their race, color, creed or national origin. Many strokes of many other presidents’ pens followed, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. Yet for more than 30 years after Kennedy’s order, whites were much more likely to receive home mortgage loans than blacks with the same qualifications.

Topics of Expertise: Economic Inequality / TANF & Public Assistance

How Should We Think About the Taxpayer Consequences of Divorce?

Posted on April 15, 2008 in Brief Reports

Experts: Betsey Stevenson / Justin Wolfers

A new report, “The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and all 50 States”, raises the question of how much divorce costs taxpayers. This is an intriguing question, but unfortunately this report falls short on providing the answer. In the worst traditions of “advocacy science” the authors pick […]

Topics of Expertise: Couples Conflict, Separation & Divorce / Economic Inequality / Fertility,Reproduction & Sexual Health / Gender & Sexuality / Marriage & Divorce / TANF & Public Assistance

It’s April 15: Do You Know Where Your Income Tax Dollars Are Going?

Posted on April 15, 2008 in Brief Reports

Experts: Andrew Cherlin

Americans tend to think we are better off than families in most other industrial countries because we pay lower income taxes. But when we factor in the higher amount Americans pay for health care, child care, and education, the comparison is not always in our favor. Where do American families’ tax dollars go and what […]

Topics of Expertise: Economic Inequality / Health & Illness / Health Care / Labor & Workforce / TANF & Public Assistance / Work & Family

Teen Pregnancy and Poverty: 30-Year-Study Confirms That Living in Economically-Depressed Neighborhoods, Not Teen Motherhood, Perpetuates Poverty

Posted on January 23, 2008 in Brief Reports

Experts: Frank Furstenberg

For the past 15 years, political pundits have been telling us a dark fairy tale about American teens, blaming who have babies out of wedlock. This assumption guided the welfare reform act of 1996, which promised to write America a happy ending by getting teens to stop having babies, get married, and thus end poverty. But a new longitudinal study by Frank Furstenberg shows that fairy tales have no place in the realm of policy-making. His data reveal that teen childbearing is NOT the reason that many Americans have been trapped in poverty over the past three decades.

Topics of Expertise: Child Welfare / TANF & Public Assistance

Marriage, Poverty & Public Policy

Posted on April 28, 2002 in Press Releases

According to recent census figures, 6 percent of married couple families with children live in poverty, compared to 33 percent of families headed by single moms. To many, the conclusion seems obvious. Marry off those single moms and they reduce their risk of poverty by a factor of more than 5, right? Plus, their children […]

Topics of Expertise: TANF & Public Assistance

Marriage, Poverty, and Public Policy

Posted on April 28, 2002 in Brief Reports

Experts: Stephanie Coontz

In this briefing paper, we question both this explanation of poverty and the policy prescriptions that derive from it.Marriage offers important social and economic benefits. Children who grow up with married parents generally enjoy a higher standard of living than those living in single-parent households. Two parents are usually better than one not only because they can bring home two paychecks, but also because they can share responsibilities for child care. Marriage often leads to higher levels of paternal involvement than divorce, non-marriage, or cohabitation. Long-term commitments to provide love and support to one another are beneficial for adults, as well as children.

Topics of Expertise: Economic Inequality / TANF & Public Assistance

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