Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980, 10th Anniversary Edition

This classic book serves as a starting point for any serious discussion of welfare reform. __Losing Ground__ argues that the ambitious social programs of the1960s and 1970s actually made matters worse for its supposed beneficiaries, the poor and minorities. Charles Murray startled readers by recommending that we abolish welfare reform, but his position launched a debate culminating in President Clinton’s proposal “to end welfare as we know it.” This Outspoken And Explosive Book Argues That The Ambitious Social Programs Of The Great Society To Help The Poor And Disadvantaged Not Only Did Not Accomplish What They Set Out To Do But Often Made Things Worse. A Generous Revolution. The Kennedy Transition ; The System Is To Blame ; Implementing The Elite Wisdom -- Being Poor, Being Black : 1950-1980. Poverty ; Employment ; Wages And Occupations ; Education ; Crime ; The Family ; The View From 1966 -- Interpreting The Data. The Social Scientists And The Great Experiment ; Incentives To Fail I : Maximizing Short-term Gains ; Incentives To Fail Ii : Crime And Education ; The Destruction Of Status Rewards -- Rethinking Social Policy. What Do We Want To Accomplish? ; The Constraints On Helping ; Choosing A Future. Charles Murray. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 301-316. This classic book serves as a starting point for any serious discussion of welfare reform. Losing Ground argues that the ambitious social programs of the1960s and 1970s actually made matters worse for its supposed beneficiaries, the poor and minorities. Charles Murray startled readers by recommending that we abolish welfare reform, but his position launched a debate culminating in President Clinton’s proposal “to end welfare as we know it.”

This outspoken, explosive book argues that the ambitious social programs of the Great Society made things worse.

Study of the relationship between social policy and economic policy in the USA from 1950 to 1980 - examines policy towards the socially disadvantaged and blacks, including public expenditure on social welfare; discusses the social status of the poor and blacks in terms of employment opportunity, wage differential, occupational structure, access to education, crime participation and family social problems; presents an evaluation of social research on poverty and racial discrimination; suggests policy reforms. Bibliography, diagrams, graphs Argues that the ambitious social programmes of the Great Society designed to help the poor and disadvantaged not only did not accomplish what they set out to do, but often made things worse.