From the New Deal to TANF, the government has enacted policy after policy to combat poverty. Work has always played a prominent role in the United States’ welfare policy and studies have shown the inverse correlation between work and poverty. The question that has arisen from this is: should work be enforced or just encouraged? Historically, conservatives have favored the former, while liberals have sided with less paternalistic methods. In contrast, some of our European peers have chosen different routes with social benefits like a universal basic income or other forms of entitlement.
Nonetheless, what the US and other western countries have in common is that they realize that people often need additional resources in order to work and stay …show more content…
In a survey conducted by the US Census in 2014, non-workers below the poverty the line cited taking care of children or family as the second largest reason for deciding not to work. Additionally, nearly half of mothers with children under five pay for childcare. For single-mothers with little to no additional income, this is an incredible burden. This problem is only worsened when child care for nonstandard hours (hours outside the 9 am to 4pm schedule) is unavailable. About one-third of working mothers in poverty work nonstandard hours. Due to the lack of child care during these hours, single mothers are less likely to accept or maintain these jobs. This, in turn, greatly reduces their job opportunities. Single parents make up a significant sector of the United States poor population, and one of many ways to improve their opportunities of finding and maintaining work is by providing child care for standard and nonstandard working …show more content…
The urban poor has been the focus of much policy from the 50s to today. Nonetheless, these policies have fallen short of expectation and need. The challenges faced by these communities are often the result of the mismatch theory, where suburban job growth is inaccessible to many inner city job seekers. Due to this spatial mismatch, many urban dwellers must rely on public transportation to go to the suburban work. In Cleveland, 52.4% of public assistant recipients are reliant on public transportation. This means that they are often forced to endure long commuting hours and the costs associated with the transportation. In order to solve problems such as these for the urban poor, the government must focus on improving their opportunities inside and outside the labor
Nonetheless, what the US and other western countries have in common is that they realize that people often need additional resources in order to work and stay …show more content…
In a survey conducted by the US Census in 2014, non-workers below the poverty the line cited taking care of children or family as the second largest reason for deciding not to work. Additionally, nearly half of mothers with children under five pay for childcare. For single-mothers with little to no additional income, this is an incredible burden. This problem is only worsened when child care for nonstandard hours (hours outside the 9 am to 4pm schedule) is unavailable. About one-third of working mothers in poverty work nonstandard hours. Due to the lack of child care during these hours, single mothers are less likely to accept or maintain these jobs. This, in turn, greatly reduces their job opportunities. Single parents make up a significant sector of the United States poor population, and one of many ways to improve their opportunities of finding and maintaining work is by providing child care for standard and nonstandard working …show more content…
The urban poor has been the focus of much policy from the 50s to today. Nonetheless, these policies have fallen short of expectation and need. The challenges faced by these communities are often the result of the mismatch theory, where suburban job growth is inaccessible to many inner city job seekers. Due to this spatial mismatch, many urban dwellers must rely on public transportation to go to the suburban work. In Cleveland, 52.4% of public assistant recipients are reliant on public transportation. This means that they are often forced to endure long commuting hours and the costs associated with the transportation. In order to solve problems such as these for the urban poor, the government must focus on improving their opportunities inside and outside the labor