“Economic Class and Redistribution of Income through Spousal Benefits under
Social Security”
Martha N. Ozawa
Washington University
and
Baeg-Eui Hong
Washington University
Abstract: As the public debates social security reform, the provision of spousal
benefits will become an important issue. Under the social security program, the
spouse with lower lifetime earnings is guaranteed at least 50 percent of the benefit
of the spouse with higher lifetime earnings. Given the increasing financial problems
of the social security program, spousal benefits will be scrutinized as a cost-cutting
measure. Who benefits from the provision of spousal benefits, and how much? Is there
a difference between the spousal benefits that lower-income and higher-income married
couples receive? This article presents findings from an empirical study that investigated
these questions and discusses their policy implications.
“‘Governor Engler Wants Ladies to Work:’ ”Single Mothers, Work-First
Welfare Policy and Post-secondary Education in Michigan
Peggy Kahn
University of Michigan-Flint
Abstract: This paper explores how work-first policy – as embodied in the 1996
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, Michigan’s
state TANF plan, and the routines and processes of Michigan’s implementing
agencies – affects the ability of low-income single mothers to pursue post-secondary
education. Drawing upon a small-scale, qualitative, client-centered research project
and an ongoing advocacy project, it argues that restrictive formal welfare education
policy in Michigan is narrowed further by front-line agency workers in both the
Family Independence Agency and the Work First program, as agency staff reproduce
rigid work-first messages, reproduce provisions to simplify their workloads, respond
to contracting imperatives, and improvise requirements, education, and child care
responsibilities in the face of policy and implementation obstacles, some student
mothers tenaciously but tenuously persist, while others withdraw, and many do not
initiate the post-secondary education to which they aspire.
“Economic Mobility in a Youth Cohort, 1979-1997”
Richard K. Caputo
Yeshiva University
Abstract: Economic mobility in a youth cohort (n+1956) was examined between 1979
and 1997. Increasing percentages of youth were found to reside in families with
no change in economic status stratified by class. The rate of economic stasis of
youth living in affluent families was more than twice that of those in middle-income
families and more than four times that of those in poor families. Little variation
in economic mobility was found among affluent families stratified by sex and ethnicity/race,
although white males had less downward mobility than black females. Greater variation
in economic mobility was found among poor families, with white males having greater
upward mobility than other males and white females having greater upward mobility
than black females and males. Finally, education was positively related to economic
mobility for most subgroups, as was receipt of SSI, while receipt of AFDC/TANF decreased
economic mobility only among white males.
“Justice, Work, Poverty and Welfare: The Psychological Connections”
Matthew Hirshberg
University of Canterbury
and
Geoffrey Ford
University of Canterbury
Abstract: This paper examines the structure of beliefs that yield attitudes toward
government aid to the poor. Findings from a study conducted in New Zealand show
that beliefs in a just world and the Protestant work ethic create tendencies to
attribute poverty to the deficiencies of the poor and not society, which yield negative
attitudes toward government assistance. It is argued that the prevalence and promotion
of such beliefs and attribution tendencies in society increase the degree to which
cuts to social welfare programs receive public support.
“The Path to Employment for Individuals with Disabilities in the Welfare System”
Jaimie Ciulla Timmons
Institute for Community Inclusion
Susan Foley
Institute for Community Inclusion
Jean Whitney-Thomas
Institute for Community Inclusion
and
Joseph Green
Institute for Community Inclusion
Abstract: Welfare reform has changed the landscape of social protection for individuals
on the margins of economic independence. Reforms require individuals to develop
marketable skills and acceptable work behaviors and to move along a path to employment.
For individuals with disabilities in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) system, substantial barriers and insufficient transitional supports can impede
this path. The current study examined the impact of welfare reform on individuals
with disabilities in the TANF system. This report summarizes the experiences of
eleven individuals with disabilities receiving welfare benefits in Massachusetts
and Wisconsin. Study findings trace a path from welfare to work, describe variations
along this path for individuals with disabilities, and consider a range of supports
necessary to address barriers. Implications for policy and practice are offered.