"So You Think I Drive a Cadillac?" Welfare Recipients' Perspectives on the System and Its Reform, CourseSmart eTextbook, 3rd Edition

<>Appropriate for Intro to Sociology, Social Problems, Marriage and Family, Social Stratification, Social Welfare Policy–any course that looks at social inequality and its effects on families.  Welfare recipients who were interviewed by the author in Florida and Oregon share their perspectives on welfare and its aftermath. They explain what it is like to live on welfare, the circumstances that brought them to welfare, and what they need to leave the welfare system.  Emphasized are the importance of a livable wage and health insurance in providing the needed security to leave welfare for good. These qualitative interviews are theoretically grounded, and supplemented with up-to-date statewide and national data on welfare, reform, and its consequences.

 

The author says, “Underneath the political rhetoric and welfare statistics are real live human beings who are trying to make sense out of their lives.” Their voices provide a crucial counterpoint to the politicians and policy “experts” who have shaped the policy reform initiative. They show us that the so-called welfare problem is related to the insecurity of low-tier work in the United States.

 

Well-written and engaging.  Students love this book, and many students say that it has been life-altering.