And the Poor Get Welfare:  The Ethics of Poverty in the United States.  Warren R. Copeland.  1993.  Abingdon Press, ISBN: 0687013860.

Review by Billy Clingman:  And the Poor get Welfare, by Warren R. Copeland provides some very intriguing views on poverty.  The book begins with a brief overview of the history of poverty in the United States.  This provided some interesting information.   The book then goes into several views of how poverty should be handled.  These were very well constructed views that obviously differed from each other.  After reading these views the reader should have formed their own opinion on poverty or at least know which way they are leaning.   It then moves into theological views of poverty, it is very apparent that the author is a Christian and he uses himself and his life as an example.  The book ends with some discussions of where poverty and welfare is now and where it may be moving. 

Review by Bro. Matt Kappadakunnel:  Caring and Curing: Health and Medicine in the Western Religious Traditions is a conglomeration of the various views from Judeo-Christianity on illness and health care.  The purpose of this work is to give the reader a religious understanding and approach on the subject by using Western traditions as its foundation.  The book consists of essays from Judaism and seventeen different Christian denominations, from the more traditional views of Roman Catholicism to the perspectives of more recently emerging groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  A traditional and historical approach to medicine allows one to understand the views toward health in the past and how they can be applied today.  The benefit of perceiving health care with a religious focus is that it transforms the relationship between medical practitioner and patient to realizing the power that takes place in healing and wholeness.  It also causes the patient to ponder the meaning of sickness in one’s life. 

The Judaic understanding of illness is that it is a punishment from God due to sin.  One has wronged God and because of this God has given this person an illness so that he or she may suffer for one’s sin.  Christianity has a whole contrary meaning toward illness and views it as sanctifying and redemptive.  Jesus bore the infirmities and sin of humanity and put this to death with His death on the cross.  Human suffering due to illness can be united to Christ’s suffering to be used as a means to conquer sin, not as a result of being conquered by sin.  Infirmity brings one to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ suffering and can be used to enter more into His divine nature.  While Judaism views illness as a scourge from God because of sin, Christianity sees it as a means that God permits to defeat sin in humanity and continue the redemptive mission of Jesus.

Judeo-Christianity recognizes the identity of God as the Healer.  In the Pentateuch God revealed to the Jewish people that He is the Lord who heals them (Exodus 15:26).  The Jews held a special honor for physicians because they are instruments of God’s healing power.  In the Christian tradition, it is universally held that Jesus performed miraculous healings to demonstrate His divinity and to substantiate His message.  The medical practitioner must realize one’s role as an agent administering the healing power that has been entrusted to them to be done for the service of God and to be His channel for His healing love to pass through.  There is an emphasis on authentic love and care towards the patient when one actually understands one’s relationship in this continuum.  The patient must also recognize that the care given to them by one’s physician is truly God caring for him or her through this instrument. 

Review by Mobin Khan, Trent Cooksley, Michael Shafar, Christopher Wittman:  In her book Disability, Society, and the Individual, Julie Smart grapples with the definition of disability, its complications, implications, and the role it plays in society. The author touches on a broad range of disabilities, both physical and psychological. In defining disability, Smart clearly differentiates disadvantages from disability. Insight from several disabled people is included to give readers a first person perspective. The author goes into detail about legislation relating to the disabled, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed into effect by George Bush in 1990. The ADA has facilitated the access of people with disabilities into many aspects of public life. She mentions that it has also inspired several advances in current technology, assisting even those without disability.

Review by Peter Romanovsky:  Economic Apartheid in America gives an interesting view of the economic success in the United Stated during the 90’s. In this book the authors and founders of the social awareness group United for a fair Economy call Americans to action in creating a more equitable economy. Economic Apartheid gives a very different view of the economic boom our country encountered and the possible problems this economic system has created. Shedding light on the gap in wealth found in the United States the authors advocate change to a system that is fair for all. 

A main point of the books argument against the growing gap in wealth between the rich and poor is the fact that corporate executives are extremely over paid in relation to the average worker. The authors also attack the rise of corporate power as another cause of the inequality and injustice found in the economy. I found it extremely interesting to read this book considering what has happened to big business in the past year. The Enron scandal has opened the floodgate of uncovering corporate scandal. The corporate power that is called out as the problem to a fair economy is now being seen in that same light.

The book begins arguing that America is not as economically stable and affluent as one may think. There are gaps in the distribution of wealth in the U.S. and this has consequences for the country. In Chapter 1 the authors highlight pressure facing households in America and a movement away from democracy as some of the main consequences. Chapter Two gives evidence of this growing economic insecurity. Inequity in income and wages, and distribution of wealth are the focus of the economic inequality facing America. The causes of inequity are given in Chapter 3 as a shift in power, as money replaces democracy, and economic rules have allowed these trends to continue. In the end that last two chapters are a call to action against these problems, first by beginning a movement towards this fair economy and finally the actions that must be taken to reach this goal. 

Review by Ashley Trankle:  Economic Apartheid in America approaches the issue of economic inequality in an alternative fashion. Unlike other books, the authors explain the status quo and then continue to propose ideas and their thoughts of possible activist movements. The first three chapters discuss the current situation not only in wages but also income, savings and wealth. They explain the different indicators of increasing gaps between quartiles of income levels. The authors provide reasons for the unequal distribution that has spiraled out of control over the past few decades, such as CEO compensation reaching a record high of 419 times greater than the average factory worker. Chapter 4 outlines strategies for the so-called "building a fair economy movement." They use historical examples to illustrate possible solvency of the current dilemma. The book concludes with personal action-oriented options for readers to undertake, such as campaigning for a coalition for living wage.

Review by Joe Waters:  The Economics of Aging creates a foundation for a more complete understanding of current public policy programs.  This book offers a definitive breakdown of the economic status of America’s elderly.  It also provides an insight to the various challenges that accompany aging.  The author also outlines an analysis of the existing statistical information that is available on the status of the elderly.  He communicates to the reader the real concerns that elderly face.  How will the living necessities be paid for with such income constraints?  There must be a system in place that helps protect the aged population from the costs of expensive medical needs.  The author critiques the system that is now in place, as a whole, including Social Security, disability, pensions, and Medicare.  He points out several flaws and offers suggestions on how this data can be improved in order to better respond to their growing needs.

Review by Jennifer Hunt: 

While many people may view this as a very risky venture, all parties involved benefited from the project.  The corporation gained a willing and able workforce and saved thousands of dollars with tax credits.  The welfare recipients gained self-esteem and the fulfillment and rewards of employment.  The taxpayers profited when individuals moved from need monetary assistance to paying income taxes.  This process worked because each player needed the other to be successful.  The government needed to reduce welfare costs and the company needed skilled workers, however, money for the programs and training facilities were also key issues that needed to be considered. 

The book clearly demonstrated Corporate America will be more than willing to help society if we can continue to provide them with motivated and skilled employees while reducing corporate expenditures.  The Pennsylvania Blue Shield program was made possible with the collaboration of private and public sectors.  Pennsylvania Blue Shield received public funds for training purposes that enabled them to train 242 welfare recipients for skilled technical jobs

The main idea of the book explained that meeting employee needs is overwhelming under normal circumstances but meeting the needs of employees with different attitudes, life experiences, and social skills was extremely challenging.  A major problem was taking into consideration the obstacles that new employees must cope with.  Childcare, transportation, and appropriate work attire were difficult challenges that complicated training and employment. 

Review by Pat Ortman:  From Welfare to Work: Corporate Initiatives and Welfare Reform, by Felice Davidson Perlmutter, was an informative book about how private corporations can collaborate with public welfare systems to train and hire employees.  The book explores the need and benefits of corporate initiative to aid both the corporation and welfare recipients.  The majority of Perlmutter’s book details in extremity an example of a private insurance corporation, Pennsylvania Blue Shield, and their program to train and hire welfare recipients.  The purpose of the case study is to explain how a large corporation can employ welfare recipients successfully and to address the issues that are critical to encourage corporations to execute a program of this nature.  The program designed by Pennsylvania Blue Shield is fascinating because it shows how companies can become more dynamic by making profits and showing corporate responsibility. 

Perlmutter does an excellent job of showing the extent that a company can be socially responsible and benefit financially at the same time.  She uses a number of statistics to show that the costs associated with the programs are helping to reduce public spending and invest in the future success of both the individuals that are trained and the corporations implementing the programs.  One noticeable aspect left out of the book is the lack of examples that illustrate poor implementation of corporate responsibility initiatives in contrast to the success stories mentioned.

Overall, this book was somewhat interesting to read.  From Welfare to Work would be extremely valuable for a corporate executive to gain ideas beneficial to his or her company, but as a college student, there is not much use for this book other than opening my eyes to the fact that more than just public tax dollars can be used to help welfare recipients.  It is good to know that many people on welfare want to do something with their lives other than sit around and receive government checks.  If more companies would use programs such as the one described in the book, a great deal of tax dollars spent on welfare would be saved and the quality of life in our country would increase with more people having pride in their jobs.

Review by Brian Kissel, Brandon Ebert, and Peter Kolar:  With the recent downfall of the ethics and social responsibility of corporate America, the case study observed in From Welfare to Work by Felice Davidson Perlmutter shows us a brighter side to the possibilities of the corporate world.  The book outlines how one major medical insurance company, Pennsylvania Blue Shield, decided to become more socially responsible while still adding to the bottom line of the company.  In order to do this, Blue Shield filled more than 200 job openings with welfare recipients.  Perlmutter outlines many of the steps that Blue Shield had to take in order for the project to be successful.  There has recently been a great call for welfare reform, and this book represents an example for the way in which that reform can be achieved through a symbiotic relationship between the government and corporations.  Pennsylvania Blue Shield realized that there was a three-way relationship that had to be utilized in order for these types of programs to work.  Because Blue Shield helped to aid those on welfare through the welfare to work program, the government in turn collaborated with discussion and financial incentives through tax credits.  The government benefited from this project in the sense that the welfare to work recipients would soon become income tax paying citizens.  More importantly, however, Perlmutter points out that the government has been able to play a role in helping the participants of this program through a partnership with the public and private sectors. 

Review by John Hancock and Doug Veskerna:  Hardest Times

One of the common themes with all the situations was the effect unemployment had on the family.  In almost every instance, the father was forced to take on new roles.  In doing this, he felt as if his manhood was taken away.  Having a job meant more than getting paid; it was respect and a sense of pride that you received for supporting your family.  When this was taken from them, they felt as if there was nothing else left for them.  It turned into a disease for most of them and they were unable to rid it from there lives.  In every instance, these people did not want to be on unemployment which leads to them treating it as a disease.

One story was able to sum up what unemployment does to a family.  It is about a Jewish family who recently moved to the United States to seek economic freedom.  It moves on to discuss what happens to the two brothers after there parents had passed away and one of the brothers had been unemployed for over fifteen years.  It talks about how the successful brother was ashamed to have his brother unemployed for so long and asked if he would move away or change his name.  This situation caused two brothers to end a life-long relationship over something as simple as a job.

The writing style of this book was based on personal interviews of the unemployed and their family members.  The author used a lot of direct quotations and speeches from the people.  This was very helpful to gain insight of the person; it would have been more useful if the paragraphs would have been broken up into smaller paragraphs, though still with the information intact.  This would have added more flow to the book and made it a much easier read as well. 

Review by Matt Moothart:  The book Homeless Mothers by Deborah Connelly paints a picture of poverty that is neither glamorous nor optimistic.  A social worker for many West Coast homeless mothers, Deborah Connelly shows us a dreary world full of hungry children, abusive parents, and homeless mothers whose best efforts can’t break their families out of the cycle of poverty.  Two pages into the book, you begin to realize that poverty isn’t just a collection of numbers.  Poverty is Joan’s battle with alcoholism, Stacy’s abusive boyfriend, and Dawn’s struggle to provide child-care for her three children while she works a minimum wage job.

Deborah Connelly doesn’t write this book as a call to action.  She instead sees that problem homeless mothers face is the product of society.  Programs and social work can cure the symptoms, and Connelly thinks that using social work to ease the pain of these problems is a laudable goal.  However, the purpose of Connelly’s book is to paint a picture of a problem, and draw attention to the real affects of poverty.  The fact that many homeless mothers made bad decisions really doesn’t register as you read the stirring stories of mothers stricken by poverty.

Homeless mothers are struck hard by the effects of poverty.  While men are only expected to provide for themselves, women are expected to raise enough money to feed their entire family.  This burden is doubly increased by the cost of child-care, making it more financially feasible for mothers to quit their jobs and live off of welfare.  The decisions that make mothers homeless also cause problems with drug abuse and child abuse.  Some of the most haunting cases in this book deal with the violence and drug use that put children in danger.

The psyche of a social worker is also presented by Connelly, as she describes her own burn-out and how her co-workers dealt with the stress of solving such difficult problems.  Connelly describes her own need to get personally involved with the lives of her clients, even though the literature tells her not to.  Warned by her more experienced co-workers and her education against getting too close, Connelly still occasionally crosses the line, creating her own personal style of social work.

This book, while no picnic in the park, is emotionally powerful.  It brilliantly describes the real effects of poverty; putting faces to the numbers we hear every day.  An interesting if not fun read, if nothing it else will make you glad that you have the money to buy books, and the education to read them.  Connelly masterfully achieves her purpose and reels us into a world of welfare checks, hungry children and mothers trying to survive.

Review by Cara Wilson and David Headlee:  Homeless Mothers: Face to Face with Women and Poverty is an insightful book written by Deborah Connolly, a social worker, who wrote about her own field experience, using several different homeless mothers as her case studies.  This book gives readers the ability to see the issues from two points of view, the homeless mothers and the social workers.   Using her own case studies, Connolly reveals how the women came to be homeless and the economic and cultural issues that they faced.  The reader also sees how social workers and shelters aid these women in overcoming their hardships. 

While this book does a good job in explaining how the mothers become homeless and the effects it has on them, it also shows us that the system needs some major work. By approaching topics such as drugs, violence, childhood, and mothering in her section of the book titled “Precarious Lives”, Connolly only touches the tip of the sword. There are no answers for the reader as to what can be done to change the system for homeless mothers, only suggestions, as Connolly emphasizes the fact that everyone sees homeless people differently.

After finishing this book, readers are left with a small sense of what it feels like to be homeless. This is mainly due to the fact that Connolly is a social worker and has many experiences and contacts in the field. By getting to know her subjects, Connolly was able to make this book come alive.

Review by Ashley Hastings, Lane Peercy, Michelle Noler, Scott Allen, Wendy Sasaki, Becky Berggren:  Homeless Mothers, by author and social worker, Deborah Connolly, is an overview of what both homeless mothers and social workers go through when trying to deal with poverty. Through first hand accounts by homeless mothers and their children, the reader gets a sense of the obstacles and difficulties a mother must get through in order to raise a family and make ends meet. This book also looks at accounts by social workers and the difficulties they must face while trying to help people. There is a lot of emphasis on how people solve problems in different ways and that everyone views the causes and effects of poverty differently.

Since this book is written by a social worker, one might think that it contains answers and ways to fix poverty. However, this book tries to point out that there is no one right way to deal with poverty and there is no way to fix all of the issues associated with poverty, such as drugs, violence, and childhood. There is an in depth analysis of each of these issues and how they affect mothers and their children, but there is no answer given as to how to solve these issues. Rather, they are just discussed and the reader learns the damage that they can do.

Review by John J. Reuter:  For my Economic Insecurity book, I chose Illusions of Prosperity by Joel Blau. I chose this book because I thought that the book was going to be discussing the stock market and its effects on the economy. I wanted to read about the stock market because I find it very interesting. I believe that Illusions of Prosperity is a very well written book. There are many facts and statistics throughout the book that kept the reading interesting and made me really stop and think. Joel Blau shifted from topic to topic very well and what I thought was the best part about the book was that he gets right to the point and does not drag out any topics. There are a large number of topics that are discussed in this book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. The insights and the ideas that Joel Blau shares throughout the book are well written and presented very well. I really like the way that Joel writes because he covers so much information and the information he gives is mind-boggling. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interesting in learning amazing facts about a wide range of topics. Joel Blau covers almost every topic that deals with economic security, from the stock market, wages, and age discrimination.

Issues in Privatizing Social Security.  Peter A. Diamond, editor.  1999.  MIT Press, ISBN:  0262041774

Review by Nate Eilers and Scott Haiar:  Recently there has been considerable discussion surrounding the future of Social Security in the United States, and what options should be explored to help rectify the plight of the current situation.  Described in Issues in Privatizing Social Security are two of the most promising proposals assembled for reformation of the Social Security system.  A panel of scholars and economic experts was assembled to analyze, evaluate, and offer opinions regarding these proposals to determine the risks and benefits associated with each.

The first proposal reviewed by the board maintains the current defined-benefit structure while building and maintaining a larger trust fund, and investing a portion of this into stocks and various corporate bonds.  The second proposal requires creating funded individual Social Security accounts, which would be partially invested in private markets.

The book does an excellent job of outlining the described proposals, and evaluates numerous related issues.  The text is conveniently divided into chapter-like segments, which pose questions regarding the feasibility and efficiency of investment and fund policies.  Examples include some of the perceived advantages and disadvantages of establishing individual accounts versus the use of a single collective fund. 

One of the more interesting points evaluated in Diamond’s text is the concern over the influence exerted by political powers regarding investment policies, and the resultant power the government could potentially exert over corporations.  Also examined is the possibility that many workers would be more willing to increase their contributions to retirement systems that they are permitted at least partial ownership of.  This “freedom to decide” where and how their money will be invested provides workers the option to decide for themselves the amount of risk they are willing to take on their retirement investments. 

Review by Scott Waldron:  Issues In Privatizing Social Security proposed some interesting, but radical issues regarding Social Security.  Written by an expert panel of the National Academy of Social Insurance and edited by Peter A. Diamond, this book addressed different means by which Social Security reserve funds could be increased.  It was a fairly easy read that focused on two proposals that would drastically change the manner by which social security funds are currently handled.  The first proposal involved investing the social security reserve funds in stocks and bonds and the second focused on establishing individual accounts for all people participating in the social security program.

The information presented by the authors was thought provoking and many questions were presented to me as a reader.  The conservative viewpoints common to Americans are dismissed and aggressive stances were taken as the authors attempted to change the historical ideas of the government.  Numerous comparisons were presented and the expert panel investigated various hypothetical situations.  Editor Peter Diamond made very smooth transitions as each different scenario was inspected.  The authors envisioned well into the future and devised a system in which they thought would benefit the entire population.

The facts and statistics presented throughout the book often times made me stop and think not only how things are, but also how they could be.  The recommendations made by the National Academy of Social Insurance were both appealing and risky.  The controversy that developed throughout the book kept me interested as a reader.  It became apparent that the author s were not writing this book to please the general population, but rather to voice their opinions.

Reforming the social security program is definitely not an easy hurdle to jump.  The authors addressed both the direct and indirect issues that influence their social security proposal.  Some topics that interested me include: lump-sum distributions, the Thrift Savings Plan, contingency reserves, index funds, and the Social Security Income program.  I would recommend investigating not only these issues, but also the other mind-boggling matters that the expert panel touched on.     

I was a little disappointed that the authors did not present the opposite side of their argument.  Their arguments tended to lose a little validity as only one option was given to the reader.  It was kind of like ordering everything on a one-item menu.  The authors presented a “my way or the highway” attitude and little credit was given to the current social security system.

Review by Nick Schuster and Kristi Kuhl:  This book was informative and helped to gain a better understanding of how things were thirty years ago and why the Kerner Commission was needed. The commission was seeing a separation of the United States into a black society and a white society. As these two societies were becoming unequal, the commission was hoping to fix the separation and bring together the United States as one.

The author feels as though the level and the separation amongst black and white Americans is worse today than when the Kerner Commission was convened. This book gives several statistics showing the fact that poverty in the U.S. is worse than in many other developed countries. However, the author appears to focus mostly on the separation of the two societies and the fact that the U. S. is not taking responsibility for the African Americans and Hispanics in poverty. The book covers how the author feels the U. S. should act in this situation, and the things that could be done in order to improve this poverty stricken area. There seems to be no mention of actions the people in the areas could take in order to help themselves out, which is an area that needs to be addressed. The book places the blame on the rest of society, when in fact the people living in poverty also need to take steps in order to ensure their security will improve in the future.

The author uses many statistics in order to get this point across, when in actuality, the statistics get so in depth, they just become confusing and therefore are almost meaningless. The book would be much more effective if stories were given, maybe some true life accounts. These stories would help to eliminate the second problem with the book, the extreme bias. The author appeared to be completely biased to the people in these poverty areas and toward African Americans. In one part of the book, the author designated himself to be the example of black children in poor schools; this bias causes a dramatic tone and could cause readers to tune out the message that is given.

The Marketization of Social Security.  John Dixon and Mark Hyde.  2001, Quorum Books, ISBN: 1567203256.            

Review by Matt Marolt:  The Marketization of Social Security edited by John Dixon and Mark Hyde provides the reader with a comparative look at social security programs in different countries.  Allowing readers to have an international perspective of social security programs.  It highlights Chile, Brazil, Britain, New Zealand, Canada (specifically Ontario), Zimbabwe, and the United States.  Quite a mix of countries for one to swallow in the mere 219 pages, but don’t sweat it.  The reading is very interesting and captures the reader’s interest in a short time.  An international comparison of social security systems is a great way to learn about in where specific social security programs thrive. 

 The title of this book can be intimidating to the reader, if they do not have a working knowledge of business jargon.  After cracking the seam of the book, the first two chapters give the reader enough background information to allow them to understand the book.  The following chapters provide examples of marketization in the various countries, each shedding light on a different aspect of the issue.  These chapters clear up any shadows that the reader may have surrounding the marketization of social security.  There is some overlapping in the issues discussed in the chapters, but each one also has a unique aspect from the country that contributes to the readers growing knowledge on various social security programs.  The overlapping allows the readers to compare and contrast how the government has adapted the various programs to fit the specific needs of the recipients.

Review by Tracy Slump:  The New Disability History: American Perspectives by Paul K. Longmore and Lauri Umansky is an excellent work explaining the views of Disability by Americans throughout the last century.  It contains fourteen essays, arranged by similar themes and in sequence, that run from the early nineteenth century to present date.  It allows readers to understand the role of disability not only in medical history, but also in the history of politics, gender, war, immigration, education and many other social issues. It also uses examples of not only famous or prominent people, but average “ordinary” people. The authors make it very clear that disability is quite evident everywhere in history and society.  One particular essay that I found to be very interesting discussed the historical disabled figure Helen Keller.  In this essay the author focused on the politics of civic fitness and her struggles of not only a disabled person, but also a woman in the early 1900’s.  I think that this book makes an obvious distinction between the changing view of disabled Americans.  In the essays written earlier in the 1900’s, disabled were viewed as not being capable of being educated or living a “normal” lifestyle, compared to the present view of disability, where it is no longer hidden from society and rights of those with disabilities are pushed into the spotlight.

Medicare in the Twenty-First Century:  Seeking Fair and Efficient Reform.  Robert B. Helms, editor.  1999.  AEI Press, ISBN:  0844741183

Review by Josh Ripp:  Sometimes the worst problems are the ones that are just plain ignored. That is apparently the case with Medicare, possibly the least discussed, but largest crisis facing government today. In Medicare in the Twenty-first Century: Seeking Fair and Efficient Reform, a collection of authors ranging in profession from economic analysis to health insurance professors elaborate on differing solution to this troubled government program.

The compilation of essays begins with an introduction describing just how inefficient the government’s second largest entitlement program has become. According to government actuaries, Medicare’s ability to cover hospital funds will expire in 2015. This expiration has major implications considering that the program covers and estimated 39 million elderly and disabled persons, according to the book. Furthermore, as the baby boom generation ages into its retirement years the number receiving care will grow substantially and that is not taking into account the rising costs of health care. Judging by this information alone, it becomes apparent to the reader that something must be done. Yet what?

In the first essay, Joseph Antos and Linda Bilheimer outline the differing policy changes that could be possible solutions or at least the very least corrections to the program as it works presently. To correct the problem, they explain, either requires reducing the costs or improving efficiency. Efficiency is achieved when the marginal cost of producing an additional unit of care is equal to the additional unit of care that the patient receives. They then group the solution into three categories; ones that reduce costs without improving efficiency, ones that reduce costs and improve efficiency, and ones that simply restructure the way Medicare is financed. After describing all these policy changes the authors note a pathetic truth. None of the policy changes they outlined have even been looked at by congress – even after, congress passed the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which was intended to address this exact point. By the end of the second chapter it becomes frightening clear to the reader, if it had not already, how bad Medicare is functioning. 

The remainder of the essays expand on the ideas put forth by Antos and Bilheimer, but also go further in asserting the idea of fairness. By fairness the authors’ mean the disparities between the rates of return for high-income individuals compared to those with lower incomes. Due to their higher tax rates, the richer see a lesser return in health care from the government. Mark Pauly, a professor in health care systems, says this problem is due to the politics of Medicare. If a courageous politician took a stance and said that those who paid more should receive better benefits, then he or she is vilified as being indifferent to the plight of the needy. Conversely, if a politician declared that the wealthier members of society should pay more money for the care of others, then he or she loses support from those higher income earners.

Review by Charlie Crider:  The New World of Welfare, edited by Rebecca Blank and Ron Haskins is an anthology of competing commentaries on the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996.  Expert contributors from all types of backgrounds, whether it is liberal or conservative, academic or nonacademic, weigh in on the issues and effects of the new legislation.  Originally designed to help preview the coming congressional debate on the reauthorization of the 1996 law, the various contributors examine the issues and debate the controversial elements of the others perspective. 

The book begins with a general overview by the editors followed by a series of issues with one expert commenting at length on the issue and another expert commenting on the previous commentary.  This generally gives the reader a good way to check the validity of many points made in the previous commentary.  In the beginning of the book the editors attempt to find a middle ground between their dynamic differences on the issues.  The commentaries that follow focus on the difference between the various perspectives and provide a very in-depth study of the issue on the future of welfare.  Many times these commentaries examine the issue in two parts, the first being the past and future effects of the legislation and secondly the broader future of the issue. 

The New World of Welfare is extremely useful for individuals looking for well thought out and easy to follow presentations on the issues.  The criticisms that follow generally attack the weakest parts of the prior arguments and provide reference to conflicting information.  Unfortunately these presentations and criticisms tend to be long and very dry concerning policy issues.  Issues covered generally focus on the effects of legislation on poverty, employment, income, children’s issues, and family composition.  However, the politics of these issues are also covered at great length and many of the later commentaries are very similar to earlier ones concerning the same issues.

The New World of Welfare was written for a time prior to October 1, 2002 due to the reauthorization of the 1996 law.  However, this book provides much more that just a preview for the upcoming legislation and should not be considered outdated after October 1, 2002.  The legislation reauthorizing the 1996 act is still up for debate and the book focuses on the larger picture of welfare. 

In the official book review, the authors describe its contributors as providing information on “an assessment of where we are as a nation on the issues of welfare, poverty and work.”  Throughout the book the idea of it providing such information is ridiculous and what it provides in this respect has little if any value, something the contributors readily acknowledge.  Primarily serving as a starting place, the assessments show good information on past performances of the system and current legislation but provide no real indication of any direction to the future performance of welfare policy.

Review by Matthias Kraemer:  The New World of Welfare, edited by Rebecca Blank and Ron Haskins, is an intense and thorough examination of all facets of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. This bipartisan act was the most sweeping welfare reform ever. It was also widely criticized and clouded with controversy. Among the many items stirring debate was the five-year time limit imposed on the benefits, the level of funding devoted to child care, and the requirements meant to reduce out-of-wedlock births.  The New World of Welfare serves as an in-depth analysis of these and other contentious points of the 1996 bill.

The editors have assembled a varied group of welfare experts to pick apart the act and explain where it has worked, and where it has not. These experts are split evenly between liberal and conservative views, creating a forum that attempts to promote further reflection rather than a particular ideology. Each chapter alternates between a conservative or a liberal viewpoint, and every once in awhile, there will be a rebuttal at the end of the chapter where the opposing side can chime in with their counterpoint.

The scope and depth of this book can make it a daunting to read. At times, the sheer amount of information – facts, figures, charts, and graphs – seem overwhelming. That this information is often times called into question by the opposing side puts that much more of a burden on the reader. This is a book that needs to be read actively, with notes and a highlighter, so that you can return to crucial bits of information.

The book begins with an outline of the 1996 Act. This chapter offers helpful analysis of how the bill has worked for the past six years, as well as providing an overview for the reauthorization debate that has already begun in Congress. From there, a bevy of experts, both academic and non-academic, take turns covering such issues as welfare-to-work programs, Medicaid and food stamps, and child support. Some of the most effective chapters deal with the different welfare-to-work systems put in place by each state. These systems take on new importance because of the 5-year limit on benefits. With the onus on recipients to find work, states have been struggling to find the best way to move people into the workforce. Minnesota, for example, has higher-than-average earnings disregards, which means that a poor person receiving a pay check will not lose out on needed welfare supplements. Later in the book, there are also several interesting chapters that deal with the most controversial aspect of the 1996 Act: the money provided to reduce out-of-wedlock births. The debate in this section centers around the effectiveness of this provision. Though out-of-wedlock births have decreased, there has been no definite causal relationship between that and the welfare reform bill.

Overall, despite the challenging nature of this book, it is more than worthwhile. It provides no answers, only the impetus to keep thinking.

Review by Aaron Hintz:  For a book on the working poor and unemployed I chose The New World of Welfare by Rebecca Blank and Ron Haskins. I chose this book because I want to differentiate the liberal and conservative views from the experts and even the non-academics. This book talks extensively about the effects of welfare reform on family income and poverty as well as specific issues and policies that plague our welfare system. The book also touches on Financial incentives for workers, state sanctions and TANF programs for the highly disadvantaged families. 

If your looking for a good general overview of many different welfare policies this is a great book for you. Rebecca Blank and Ron Haskins do a wonderful job of bringing together a diverse set of welfare experts to examine the major issues concerning welfare. The book goes beyond just a discussion but assesses where we are as an entire nation on welfare, poverty, and work. What I find especially interesting about this book is the in depth analysis regarding governments view on welfare at the federal, state and local levels.

Review by Mary Kavan:  Before reading this book, I, like most other people in our society, was oblivious to the struggles that some people must endure on an everyday basis just to stay on top of their expenses in today’s economy.  No Shame in My Game, the Working Poor in the Inner City by Katherine S. Newman intelligently displays simultaneously the frustrations, the characters, the determination and the drive of some of Harlem’s inner city workers, where she conducted her studies.  Newman intimately follows the lives of those whom we define and stereotype to be the working poor in our society.  The stories she tells us are heart wrenching in some sense to her audience, but nonetheless and more importantly they do tell the truth.  Not only do we as a society misunderstand the lifestyle that these people must endure, but we also refuse to do anything to alleviate their suffering and frustrations.  This book is a wake up call for readers to become more active members of society.  The stories she tells are proof that our society must make some major changes in order to fix these problems that so many people are faced with. 

 Newman does a wonderful job of describing the difficult situations that her subjects are challenged with in their normal day to day lives.  Most of the people who Newman interviewed in her book were stuck in the ongoing cycle of poverty and it does not seem logical for them to ever find a way out.  But she tells how they remain determined to beat the system and overcome the problems that they incur.  As a reader, I really felt connected to the people that she interviewed through the research from her study that she reveals.

Newman has found a way to portray to her readers the issues surrounding poverty and welfare reform that are often ignored by most people in our country.  Newman also takes great initiative to portray to her readers the different ideas for reform plans for our economy that could be set in place to benefit people like the working poor.  She discusses a of range of things that need to be provided to those less fortunate.  Things such as more employment opportunities, forms of child care, better opportunities for health care and a sense of crime control in neighborhoods such as Harlem where she has focused her research. 

No Shame in My Game is an excellent book to read for people who are ultimately unaware of the lives of working poor Americans today.  I would give this book a strong recommendation to anyone with an open mind and a willing sense of understanding and compassion for mankind, whether rich or poor.        

Review by Bill Shea:  Before I ever entered this class I, like many, had only one perception of the poor. When I heard about the poor I would quickly think of someone living on the street wearing tattered clothes begging for money and finding their dinner and possibly their bed in the nearest dumpster. Sadly there are people who have to live this way. They get by with the help of others and possibly a check from the government. Those people make up only a small percent of the poor, however. There are many more who are too proud to live like this, so they don’t ask for help they live on minimum wage barely making enough to live. These are the people that Katherine Newman writes about in her book No Shame In My Game The Working Poor in the Inner City. In the remainder of this review I will summarize her book and give my thoughts on the subject.

In the book Newman takes a unique approach by first introducing us to some of the working poor. We meet people like Jamal, Carmen, and Kyesha. We are taken into their lives and we learn where they live and how they manage to survive. It is unbelievable when she describes the living conditions of these people. Jamal lives in a place the size of a bedroom with several families that share a bathroom and a kitchen. All these people have similar jobs that pay minimally. After, this we find out more about people that are in the same class as them. Something that I found interesting was that there are more poor whites than blacks. I guess I was in the same group of people that put a black face on the poor. There are many reasons that blacks and whites and for that matter anybody in this situation have a hard time getting and then finding a better job. Employers want workers to have experience or education, which many of them do not. Also, these types of jobs in the inner city are harder to come by then one may think. The employers are overwhelmed with applications and often don’t have time to search through all of them when they are hiring. In the final section of the book, we start to find ways to help people in these conditions.   She gives several examples which include tax breaks, moving people to jobs, getting them into unions, child care, and the one I think would benefit the most is giving them more education. All of these are useful ideas that would surely help out the people living in these situations.

Reading this book really got me thinking about the people in that situation. What I liked best is the way she made it personal by introducing us to real people in that situation and giving us a glimpse into their hard yet proud lives. These people do jobs we might not want to do, but they do it because they would rather earn their money than take handouts from people. That is something that I find admirable and I hope that if I were ever put in their situation I would act in the same manner. Overall, this book is a good read that leaves us with a lot to think about.

Review by Clint Yarges:  No Shame In My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City by Katherine S. Newman is an eye opener to say the least.  This book gives a clear and real world account of the lives of the working poor in Harlem, NY and its surrounding areas.  The book begins by depicting the lives of three young adults working through the struggle that is their life in order to overcome a life of poverty and provide a better life for their families.  Newman continues by discussing the many factors that put these individuals in the position that they are in.  The discussion of difficulty finding work, inadequate education and skill levels, and family life, along with other factors, gives the reader a broad picture of the effect these variables can have on a person’s life.  These broad explanations are then expanded on through the numerous examples of the personal experiences of the people in the area.  The author goes to the next level with these examples by following these individuals through their daily activities; getting a first-hand account of their family life, residence, workplace (if they have a job), education, and even their social activities.  The emotion that these individuals feel can be clearly seen by the reactions they give to the author.  Most of these cases are extreme so naturally their emotion is high.  I tried to compare the lives of these individuals to my own life with very little success.  The struggle and emotion that they face are many times impossible to replicate.  However, everything in this book opens a doorway of new understanding for the working poor that middle class, college educated people such as my classmates and myself can sometimes find difficult to comprehend.  The vast majority of the individual stories throughout the book are the success stories of the people that have overcome the trouble that they face by not laying down and giving up.  Instead, they strive to make a better life for themselves through higher education, a steady job, and a stable family environment.  They may not achieve their goals right away or even at all, but it is the hope they keep that keeps them going and provides inspiration to the reader.

 The author does an incredible job of making the reader always wanting to learn more about the lives of the working poor.  Although all of the information and stories given throughout the book are the true life accounts of over 100 different peoples lives, it is very easy to mistake fact for fiction.  The first stories of the book describe the very dreary and dismal lives of some young adults that at first seem very unreal and almost fake.  Throughout the entire book I found myself asking, “Is this for real,” ”How can people live like this?”  Newman’s compelling perspective of the working poor is something that everyone should be aware of and learn about.

Review by Greg Ringle:  While the problems facing the working poor and the unemployed in the United States are nothing new, they are often misunderstood.  In No Shame in My Game, the Working Poor in the Inner City by Katherine S. Newman, readers are introduced to these daily obstacles and shown how they often interrelate, creating a cycle that becomes very difficult to break free from for those subjected to them.  Newman, however, takes readers further and gives them access into the lives of people who, in the face of these seemingly insurmountable obstacles, still manage to fight their way out.  In doing so, Newman challenges many of the misconceptions American’s have about these disadvantaged individuals and forces readers to reevaluate how society not only views the poor and/or unemployed, but also how it deals with it through its assistance programs, education system, and health programs.

Through her research conducted in Harlem, NY, Newman takes her readers along with her subjects as they try to survive on a daily basis while facing many challenges.  She reveals how through these struggles some of her subjects were able overcome the handicaps that were placed upon them by society and achieve a level of success.  In doing so, Newman is able to illustrate the importance of community within the lives of those living in inner cities and the need for continued support in areas such as education, health care, and job placement assistance.  The stories told are compelling, but they are also real.  Rather than turning a blind eye towards them, Newman gives her readers a reason to care.

Poverty Lines in Theory and Practice.  Martin Ravallion.  World Bank:  1998  ISBN:   0821342266

Review by Kevin Zeck:  Poverty Lines in Theory and Practice by Martin Ravallion was frustrating to read at worst and interesting and important at its best.  The work itself is concerned with setting poverty lines, which are minimum levels of utility or some other form of welfare measurement, that greatly affect government policies.  For example, if a country sets their poverty line too low then not enough spending is directed to the poor and the situation concerning poverty is exacerbated.  The other way around, too much is spent on the poor and that will reduce the incentives to work and will weaken the desire of poor people to become productive members of society.  Therefore Ravallion sets out to create a uniform theory regarding the setting of policy lines.

The frustration concerning this paper stems from the technical nature of the work.  Ravallion realizes that this paper is meant to help guide governments in setting welfare policy, and thus he must use formulas and specific examples to help support his theory about setting poverty lines.  Unfortunately, this leaves the layman wondering what language Ravallion is using.  The reality is that unless the reader understands advanced economics much of the paper seems like foreign speak.  To counter this though, Ravallion also adds excellent summaries that explain his points well.

The importance of the paper extends from the insights into policy decisions concerning the poor, and how terribly difficult it is to make accurate and objective poverty estimates in order to make policies.  The welfare situation and spending patterns of each household vary so much that it can be likened to the movements of objects in our solar system.  No system of record keeping could ever accurately track either phenomena, and therefore estimates are needed.  However, Ravallion reveals that the estimates that are currently used are no more than best guesses, and that when compared to subjective surveys of random people concerning their welfare they are equally correct in setting poverty lines.  Ravallion has many more insights in this paper, but listing them here would take a long time because of background information needed to explain them.  I do not discourage anyone from reading this paper (in fact it has much value), but the reader must come prepared with an arsenal of economics and patience to grasp its meaning fully.

Review by Keith Norton:  Poverty Lines in theory and Practice by Martin Ravallion, in a concise essay that provides a meaningful survey of the various theories used to establish poverty lines and thresholds.  In the first section of his essay, Ravallion addresses the inherent problems that are associated with the establishment of poverty reference points, and identification criteria, which can result in the introduction of regional and social biases that can skew the distribution of resources allocated to anti-poverty programs.

Ravallion, then provides an analysis of the most widely used objective and subjective means used to calculate the minimum amount of resources required to maintain a person at the subsidence level, as well as the different policy outcomes that these approaches yield.  In this section of his essay, Ravallion examines the objective methodologies, which attempt to establish poverty lines and benefit levels by establishing a real income, or economic capability threshold, and the subjective methodologies, which use the minimum income question as the basis to set poverty lines, and determine benefit levels.  In the first part of this section, Ravallion provides an analysis of the real income and capabilities based objective methods, and stress the distinction between these two objective methodologies, by emphasizing the importance that the capabilities model places on normative abilities. The distinctions that Ravallion makes between these two approaches very eloquently demonstrates the benefits and preferability of the capabilities approach over the real income method.  The second part of this section addresses the minimum income question and provides an analysis of the subjective methods of setting poverty lines and establishing benefit levels, and makes a strong argument for subjective poverty measurements, by emphasizing that subjective methods provide a means to establish poverty lines and benefit levels that are not skewed by social or regional biases.

Social Security and Medicare:  Individual versus Collective Risk and Responsibility.  Sheila Burke, Eric R. Kingson, Uwe Reinhard, editors.  2000.  Brookings Institute, ISBN:   0815712839.  

Review by Cheri Nolle:  I chose this book as a supplemental reading to my topic of “Old Age.”  It is a compilation of essays written by various authors.  Each essay has to do with a different aspect of the Social Security and Medicare systems in the United States.  The essays are divided into eight sections:  Bridging Past and Present; Why We Have Social Insurance; Individual Choice versus Shared Responsibility:  Debate on Social Insurance Reform; How People Make Decisions; Regulating Reforms; Policy Implementation, Predictions, and Expectations; International Perspectives on Health Policy Reform; and How Public Opinion Affects Reform.  Each of these sections provides a new viewpoint on the Social Security and Medicare systems and on how each of them functions. 

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For the most part, this book was easy to read.  I learned much more about the functions of the Social Security and Medicare systems.  I had the opportunity to see many sides of the issues that are presented with these two programs, including the addition of an international perspective on the issue of health care and policy reform.  In addition, I learned about how people make their life decisions based on the workings of these programs and our government.  Finally, I learned about how my opinion could affect the reforms made to these two programs in the future.

The content of the book was very interesting to me and I related much of it to my own opinions and experiences.  I thought that this book was set up perfectly for me.  I do not care to read books that have extensively lengthy chapters, and this book did not.  Instead, it was broken up into sections that covered the material in depth, but were not excessively long.  Also, within some of the essays, there were subsections, which helped me to follow the focus of the authors much more easily.  I always appreciate books that are set up so that the reader can follow and understand it.  In addition, the section on international perspectives included some very helpful visuals (charts and graphs) that allowed me to see the subject in a different form.  I think that this is always a good tool when trying to learn about something new—the more ways it can be explained, the better understanding one will have.

Review by Alex Groen and C.J. Brey:  This book introduces the idea of choice into the Social Security and Medicare programs.  However, with the introduction of choice brings risk, which critiques argue goes against the values of the programs.  This book discusses how the programs would have to be defined and structured and what safeguards would be necessary to protect uneducated participants if greater individual choice was adopted.  This book is composed of many essays from different points of view and allows the reader to get an overall understanding of the Social Security and Medicare programs.  Specifically, the essays address the four factors that are contributing to the growing interest in choice:  the concern about solvency and the need for structural change, changes in the economic and institutional environment in which the programs operate, the prospering economy in the 1990’s, and the country’s social transformation characterized by increasing diversity.

After reading this book, one will have a better understanding of the Social Security and Medicare programs.  The reader is able to gain a better understanding of the history of the programs and why we have social insurance.  The analysis of how people makes decision is applied to the question of individual choice versus shared responsibility when considering social insurance reform.  The book closes with a discussion on policy implementation, predictions and expectation regarding the future of social insurance, and how public opinion could someday affect reform. 

The advantages and disadvantages of restructuring Medicare and Social Security to provide greater choice are offered and explored.  Positive outcomes resulting from greater choice include increased participant satisfaction, greater efficiency, and more flexibility for the participants.  Potential negative outcomes associated with greater choice include greater disparity of outcomes, increased complexity of program structure (for both participants and administrators alike), higher administrative costs, and the risk of even more fragmentation as personal interests are plotted against each other. 

Social Security in the 21st Century.  Eric R. Kingson, James H. Schulz, editors.  1997.   Oxford University Press, ISBN:  0195104250

Review by Mike Lindeman and Jeff Eikmeier:  Social Security in the 21^st Century offers many different intuitive looks into today’s social security system.  The authors of this book gave a complete view of social security based on three different categories.  The book began with an overview of social security, followed by some issues that are affected by social security. Such issues include means testing, old age, and the possibility of social security running out of funds.  Finally, the book discussed where social security should go in the future, whether it involves massive change or staying with traditional methods.

The first couple chapters gave a great overview of social security, including the development of social security in the United States. Chapter one gave insight into strengths and weaknesses of the social insurance approach. This approach encompasses old age, survivors, disability insurance programs, hospital insurance, and unemployment insurance. The book provided good insight into how the programs based on social insurance are the largest component of the United States social welfare system.  Chapter two provided a good basis of the historical development of social security in the United States. The book’s history of social security in the U.S. gives a complete description as to why social security was developed. Discussing the history of social security along with where it was when the book was published provided a good bridge into the next couple of chapters.

The middle chapters dealt with current issues that are affected by social security. Means testing is one of these issues that the book stressed as very important. The old approach sought to restrict public benefits to the poor simply based on their financial status. In contrast, the new approach seeks to reduce benefits to higher income persons by an income test applied through the tax system. The author provides valuable insight as to why the new approach should be implemented because social security will be unable to meet its commitments to baby-boomers and those in old age if it is not. This obviously is a very important current issue involving social security, and the book provides extensive knowledge on the topic.

The last few chapters gave us two views on the future of social security. The first dealt with establishing guidelines for how future reform should proceed by getting back to basics and examining fundamental principles. As the book says, future reform will need constant review to ensure that social security will be there tomorrow so that all future generations can benefit from it. The second view states that since the system has never missed a payday in 60 years of existence, it should stay in much the same form based on the same principles. These two views make it easy to understand why the future of social security is such a controversy among Americans.

In conclusion, the many different authors provided a comprehensive overview of the past, present, and future of social security. It was helpful as a reader to have diverse viewpoints of different authors on social security, instead of one biased author towards his/her own beliefs. This made the book much more interesting to read.

Review by Davy Brinkmann:  A prevalent issue in our society today is the talks about our nation’s comprehensive Social Security system and its subsequent inadequacy and need for reform.  “Social Security in the 21^st Century” by Eric Kingson and James Schulz seeks to clarify the objective facts about Social Security that are currently misunderstood or are being distorted and misrepresented by policy makers, politicians, and individuals.  In essence, this book gives the reader the “bottom line” on the current state and future needs our nations Social Security system.

Throughout the book, the authors clarify and discuss a variety of issues pertaining to Social Security.  Such areas include: the history of the program, the social context and effects of Social Security, how Social Security affects the economy of our nation, and the future needs and demands of this system.  These areas of discussion provide a good basis of knowledge about the fundamental reason for Social Security, how it affects us as individuals, the programs problems, and possible solutions.  This base of knowledge allows the reader to reflect on how the Social Security system affects them individually. Consequently, this process of individualization creates a sense of urgency in the mindset of the reader for reform in the current system.    

Prevalent issue of whether Social Security in our nation should be “Means-tested” and debates over whether or not payroll taxes are “fair” are discussed in depth.  The authors encompass the totality of our nations Social Security program.  The book does not merely discuss the problems and reforms necessary for the program but argues a far broader view.  The book views Social Security as a comprehensive system, encompassing all types of individuals.  The fairness of Social Security for women, the elderly, and the disabled are addressed.  The depth in which the authors go into creates a good basis of understanding the true value and purpose of Social Security in our nation.

A variety of solutions of how to finance our nation’s current and future Social Security system are also given.  The book first forms a base of understanding for the reader through its discussion of how Social Security affects the economy as a whole.  A variety of financing options are then discussed, such as the prevalent economic role of the trust fund and payroll taxes, for our plethora of Social Security programs. 

A problem with our nation is that our younger population does not hold Social Security problems and reform as a priority.  The problem lies in the fact that our younger generation does not relate to the necessity of Social Security in our high-risk free market economy.  The book seeks to remedy this problem through its discussion on the types of protection our Social Security system provides for our population as a whole.  The argument of whether or not Social Security and its programs will be available to the younger population is then addressed.  The end result is the creation of a sense of urgency in the mindset of the reader for reform in the current system. 

The reader is given an objective viewpoint of the current state and possible solutions for the problems plaguing our nations Social Security system.  Rather than providing the readers with a definitive answer or solution for the future of our nations system, the author provides a variety of possible solutions.  "Social Security in the 21^st Century” is a comprehensive book discussing the entire breadth of our nations Social Security system.  The book provides the reader with a strong base on which to understand Social Security and how it both works and affects them on a personal level.  A variety of open-ended solutions are discussed, but the ultimate decision of the future of our Social Security system is left up to the reader to decide.

Review by Matt Garland: Social Security in the 21^st Century, edited by Eric Kingson and James Schulz, investigates the present and future condition of social security in our country.  The editors attempt to answer the question of whether or not social security will exist in years to come by breaking the book down in three distinct sections.  They first give a broad explanation and historical overview of the social security system in the United States.  They follow this by examining the various elements that are affected by social security.  The editors then conclude the book with a forward looking discussion on the future of social insurance in this country. 

The editors begin with a broad overview and explanation of social security.  This section asks the question, “Why government intervention?” and includes a historical look at social security beginning with the Social Security Act of 1935.  Kingson and Schulz site the shift of the U.S. from an agrarian to industrial society and the onslaught of the Great Depression as major reasons for government interaction in social insurance.  They go on to explain that growing uncertainty about the future and an increasing elderly population during this time also played major roles in the introduction of social security.  

Next, the Kingson and Schulz shift their focus to discussing the separate elements that are immediately affected by social security such as the disabled, working elderly and the economy as a whole.  In this section, the editors suggest that social security might actually discourage work.  They support this belief by citing postwar retirement trends which show how labor force has steadily declined in each of the male age brackets since 1964 and most significantly between the ages of 60 and 65.   

The book then finally asks the question “Will social security be there for me?”  The editors attempt to answer this central question by analyzing the changes that need to take place as well as discussing possible alternatives to the current process.  Kingson and Schulz start by pointing out major problems with social security today such as a lack of need based insurance.  They then provide alternative solutions to the present social security system such as Means-Testing and Privatization, as well as giving an example of Chile’s successful compulsory savings plan.  Kingson and Schulz conclude with the argument that social security should be shifted to focus on those who need it most.  They use a definition by Abraham Lincoln which states, “The legitimate objective of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all or cannot do so well for themselves in their separate and individual capacities.” 

Social Security:   What Every Human Services Professional Should Know.  Victor L. Whiteman.   2000.  Allyn & Bacon, ISBN:  0205307906.

Reveiw by Nathan Legband:  This book does a good job of outlining the current Social Security system in its entirety.  The book begins with a brief history of the Social Security program in the United States to give the reader an idea of how the system came about and what it was originally intending to accomplish.  The book then goes on to describe the current system and how it goes about its business.  After these introductory chapters the book begins to deal with the issues at hand.  The book begins by outlining a variety of problems within the current Social Security system.  Some of the main issues that are covered are the financial status of the system, poverty prevention, system interactions with women and minorities, and how the system interacts with the family structures.  The book then goes on to outline a few reform ideas to deal with these issues.  These range from strategies to reform a single aspect of Social Security to plans that include multiple types of reform to completely overhaul the entire system.  And the book then ends by giving the reader a how to guide on creating reform in the current social security system in our political environment.  Overall the book is very, very informative with many good points on our current social Security System with some well thought out reforms on how to go about solving some deficiencies.

This author does run into the problem of becoming too reliant on statistics in his analysis.  Social Security is a system that deals with money, and the money is coming from the taxpayers' wages.  This does make statistical analysis very important in judging the effectiveness of the current Social Security structure.  Statistical analysis of anything is a very good form of evaluation, but the author goes a little overboard in this area.  Statistics are good tools to use as substantiation for a well argued point, but there are times when the opinions of the author begin to become all muddled together because he is quoting statistic after statistic.  One area that this is especially evident is when he discusses the life expectancy of males versus females and past versus present.  He begins listing life expectancies from several different time periods for each sex rather than simply stating the increased number of years each person is expected to live.  His quote of statistic after statistic do little to bring out the point that the life expectancy of individuals has risen over the last few decades.  This should be common knowledge and multiple statistics should not be needed to prove the point. 

The author does do a good job in his recommendations on change to the current system.  For each recommendation he offers in the book he gives you a very good picture of the plan.  He outlines the features of the plan, the values and goals the plan supports, the projected impact on the program, the projected societal impact of the change, and the feasibility of the plan.  With this outline it really helps to understand what he believes each plan will do to help solve any deficiencies in the current system and how it will affect the people it is trying to help.  This helps the reader to understand the points a lot better than if he were to just say, "We need to raise taxes for social security to get more money."  His outlines really offer the reader insight into how he wishes to correct social security.

Review by Amber Wright:  The book “Social Security: What every Human Services Professional should know” by Victor L. Whiteman covers many topics but focuses mainly on the impact of the social security program on people and society.  However it also focuses on the program’s history and features.  The text is arranged very well because the first part of the book gives the fundamentals of social security and then it goes on to describe its’ effects.

Chapter one gives the reader the historical information that one needs to know to develop a basic understanding of the social security system.  However, the paragraph structure of the book is somewhat choppy.  It seems to skip from paragraph to paragraph.  Reading style aside, the first chapter goes through the factors that affect social security, the objectives, an accurate historical timeline of social security, the implementation, and what was done to strengthen it.  Throughout the chapter Whiteman presents the historical information in chronological order that helps the reader to actually grow with the development of the social security system.

Chapter two goes on to describe the critical elements of the social security program.  It begins with the program characteristics and goes on to break down each sector of society that receives benefits.  This is beneficial to the reader because someone may know one aspect of social security but may be unaware that social security can affect many different areas of the United States society.  Whiteman does a very good job of breaking each group of individuals and explaining the eligibility requirements and benefits that they can receive. 

The next five chapters of the book are perhaps the most important.  These chapters describe the five integral social aspects of the social security program.  Chapter three covers the topic of poverty and looks at everything from taxes to demographic usage of the social security program.  The next chapter talks about poverty and the role that social security plays.  The fifth chapter of this book describes the intricate role that social security plays in the role of women and minorities.  Chapter six is focused on the family benefits of the social security program and eight rules about how policymakers could reinforce the social security system to better serve family structure.  Finally, chapter seven introduces the chief problem in social security, generational security.  It goes on to talk about intergenerational equity and the problem arising from compact generation gaps.  These chapters provide the information integral to understanding the social impacts and repercussions of the social security program.

Finally, Whiteman closes the book while discussing the topic of reform and political action.  First he gives the reader a brief overview of reform plans and then intricately describes each by dividing them into several categories of importance.  He also talks about the steps that the legislature must take to put proposals into action. He then efficiently describes the important role that human services professionals play in the further development of the social security program.  Reading this book will enhance a reader’s view and knowledge of the social security program by not only offering historical information but also offering detailed descriptions of the affect that the social security program has on society.

Review by Matt Hill:  The first book that I chose to read was Social Security, What Every Human Service Professional Should Know.  The reason that I chose to read this book was my interest in the area of insurance and disabilities.  In my history of working with insurance over the previous summer, I know that some people do rely on social security quite a bit.  So, I figured that having a better understanding of the “competition”, would help me better understand the views of my clients.  I feel that Victor L. Whiteman did a excellent job of explaining the idea of Social Security and how the program is set up to help those that apply.  The way he outlined the book was, I thought, done in a very consistent and well-structured manner. 

He begins with history of Social Security and really the way that it came about, and how not only the United State provides a Social Security plan of some sort, but Germany and England had actually previously developed a national social insurance system to insure people against risk of disability, illness, and unemployment.  Americans were slow to pick up on the idea but we eventually cam through in 1929.  From here Victor L. Whiteman goes on to discuss more historical developments of the Social Security program such as social and political factors, program implementation, and different types of insurance that arose from this program. 

From the historical point of view, we then moved into the processes and benefits of the Social Security program.  Here he talks about program features such as old age, survivors, disability, and health insurance.  Each of these programs comes with a number of benefits to those that apply.  I thought that Victor L. Whitman did a very thorough job in describing what the benefits were to each benefit and what qualifications one needs to become eligible.  The book also did well in describing the difference between part A benefits and part B benefits, which can sometimes become very confusing to the everyday reader. 

Besides getting into every point of the book and reviewing every aspect, let me just say that the way the book was organized was excellent for the every for not only the beginner on the subject but also the more informed reader.  The way that Victor L. Whiteman went from the historical to present to problems and opportunities in the system was very well done.  I thought that he touched on some very important issues such as women and minorities and their treatment in the Social Security program as well as family policies that are available.  All in all I felt that the book was beneficial to read and my understanding of the Social Security system is much more indept than it was before picking up “Social Security, What Every Human Resources Professional Should Know”.  Hopefully I will be able to communicate a little easier with hopefull clients in the future on what will be able to better suit there needs, because to me, helping someone pick what is best for them is priority number one.

Review by Bryan Dewhurst and Amol Batra:  The text discusses the Social Security’s history, circumstances, provisions, finances, and future prospects. It considers the affects of Social Security on the family and on the poor. Much discussion is over the current crisis in funding Social Security and analyzes various proposed remedies.

The issue of Social Security has plagued Presidential candidates for years and the topic is analyzed for the upcoming crisis that will arise.  Social Security was developed back in the 1930 to prevent poverty within the elderly sector.  After the Great Depression set in, many elderly became jobless and received little or no income.  Today, Social Security is based upon three purposes.  It is referred to as the “three-legged stool.”  Social Security benefits and other types of social insurance represent one leg of the stool. The other two legs of the stool are employment-based pensions and individual savings. The three legs need to support each other in order to provide retirement income and prevent poverty. If these resources aren’t properly built and utilized, the stool will become wobbly and eventually break up into separate pieces.

Payroll taxes are the primary source of revenue for Social Security programs. The Social Security Act states that revenues can only be invested in long-term securities such as bills, notes, and bonds. Social Security plays a major role in the prevention of poverty. The poverty rate among the elderly would increase dramatically without the Social Security program. Specifically, retired women, disabled women, and widows make up 60 percent of all retired Social Security recipients. The Social Security program also plays an important role in creating a functioning and solid structured family.

We thought this book was very helpful in breaking down the intricacies of the social security program.  Since social security was created to help many individuals in different situations the fund that distributes money is coming under pressure.  With baby-boomers aging and less workers taking their places the future of social security is not as bright as the creators had hoped. 

Review by Michael Huyhn:  The Struggle For Social Security 1900-1935, by Roy Lubove, was a very informative book that gave me a great understanding on the birth of Social Security.  Lubove described the reasons for the birth of Social Security and the way it has revolutionized American society.  Lubove focuses on the clash between social insurance goals and the ideology and institutions of voluntarism.  Lubove illustrates the influence of voluntarism upon the social insurance movement.  He places a picture into the reader’s mind of the inhospitable and hostile environment in which Social Security was introduced.  There were those who believed that social security frowned upon the dignity of the individual.  He describes the different thoughts of Social Security.  He brings to light the view in which many people saw Social Security as an economic tool to help those in unfortunate people in poverty.  He also conveys the thoughts of individuals whom thought Social Security as repaying debt to society.   

Review by Christina Becker:  The United Nations compiled a series of essays on important issues surrounding Social Security.  As nuclear families become smaller, not only in the U.S., but in many other countries around the world, there are many concerns developing as to how the growing elder population will be taken care of.  The changing family structure and the abandonment of the old tradition of being responsible for the older members of our families have led to a crisis for many governments across the globe.  Funds are depleting at an alarming rate, and it has come into question whether the current model of the programs is indeed out of date and in desperate need for alterations.  The uncertainty of the government’s role and their ability to control has also come into scrutiny.  Citizens are becoming nervous as to whether the money they have invested in Social Security will be there when they need it.  The average life expectancy has increased, and is thus contributing to rising fears and decreasing funds. Although changes are necessary in each government’s system, there is no one universal solution for everyone.  The next steps taken must be unique to the country’s culture, economic state, and governmental structure.

The book does a good job of describing these current issues in a coherent, easy to follow format.  Relevant and timely statistics and policies are discussed and examined. There are also clear and concise arguments and illustrations throughout the text.  It is similar to a textbook in that it has subheadings and numbered points and topics, and unfortunately, it is not the page-turner one would like.  However, there is a logical flow, it is written and compiled well, and a lot can be taken from it in regards to Social Security.

It was appropriate for the United Nations to undertake such a book because they are concerned about the worldwide need for reform in regards to the Social Security programs.  They can take an unbiased approach when examining and analyzing each country’s system.  The title of the book Sustaining Social Security is very descriptive and fitting for this text.  The background of the program was discussed as well as the importance of having such a system in place for our societies well being.  Citizens who are most vulnerable such as children and the elderly are dependent on Social Security’s continued operation. Therefore, we must examine what changes can be made to insure that such programs are not outdated.

Review by Sara Brown:  The Unknown City: Lives of Poor and Working - Class Young Adults, by Michelle Fine and Lois Weis, explores the lives of an often overlooked class in our society. Although the book begins with statistics and a general background of poverty in America, unlike texts of similar topics, it is not a book based on an author's opinion alone. The authors' research quickly fades and stories of the lives of poor young adults take the focus. The stories are compelling because they come from the poor themselves.   Although Fine and Weis add their views or the views of the greater society throughout the book, it is the first-person accounts and genuine emotions that the reader takes with them. The Unknown City gives a voice to those who have never held power or have been forgotten. Stories emerge about domestic abuse, racial conflicts, parenthood, unemployment, hunger, and power. Perhaps the most astonishing issue raised was the gender and racial differences of the poor or working-class young. For some, it seems there is no way out. The book does offer success stories that help to break up the continually disheartening issues. Allowing for one to acknowledge his or hers own condition while reading the book, the authors included the basic questions asked in their interviews. I found it intriguing to compare my answers to those asked of the poor young adults. When comparing answers, I realized the many differences in our backgrounds and environments. More importantly, I recognized that there are more similarities than differences. The impoverished young adults are so much like me, yet hidden from greater society. America's greater society and media seem to portray those in poverty or those unemployed as adults and as though many had a choice for their situation. However, reading the accounts of so many younger people changes one's perspective. Overall, this book is well worth the read. There is a class of young adults that need to be recognized and the authors of The Unknown City found a way to compel readers into some sort of action, if not to just listen.

Review by Joe Tippins and Jonathan Twidwell:  Upon Whom We Depend by Dr. J. Gordon Chamberlin draws attention to America’s creation and continuance of systemic poverty to subsidize the prosperous.  Chamberlin proves effective in his writing because he is able to provide an adequate understanding of poverty.  Throughout the book, Chamberlin stresses the importance of understanding poverty because it is something that we will all be involved with either directly or indirectly for the remainder of our lives.  Through his use of supportive statistics and raw data, Chamberlin also highlights the growth of the current gap between the poor and the rich and emphasizes that in today’s society, the word “poor” has come to mean “below the poverty line.”  Another main point that Chamberlin discusses throughout the book regards the errors that people make when providing relief to poor, and that something must be done to change society’s viewpoint towards the poor.

One of the main drawbacks of Upon Whom We Depend is the difficulty of following Chamberlin’s thought pattern. As stated above, Chamberlin uses many statistics and raw data which makes the book read somewhat like a statistical abstract at times and makes comprehension of the main topics much more difficult.  Another reason that it is difficult to follow Chamberlin’s thought pattern is that at times he interjects thoughts from other authors which do not seem to logically fit into the discussion.  Throughout the book, it seems as if Chamberlin will start on one topic then jump to another topic only to return to the original topic all within the same paragraph. 

As mentioned earlier, one of Chamberlin’s main points was the creation and continuance of systematic poverty in the United States.  He proposes that most individuals believe that people are poor because they are inadequate and incapable of functioning at the level of the non-poor.  This leads to the non-poor not wanting to squander time, energy, and resources to educate and train the poor.  Instead, they prefer to provide relief to the poor in the form of handouts and other government aid.  This in-turn causes the non-poor to view the poor as lazy, thus leading to the continuance of systematic poverty. 

Review by Heidi Villamil:  This book is a major study of poverty among the poorest countries in the world based on interviews of over 40,000 poor people in about 50 countries in the 1990’s. The book presents a uniquely authentic perspective on poverty, going beyond the typical methods used to understand poverty. The authors use the Participatory Poverty Assessment (PAA) to get an inside view from the poor people’s perspective about poverty and what it means to them. From the voices of men and women, the authors try to evaluate current programs aimed at helping the poor, showing if these organizations and programs are working. This is an aspect of the book I really liked because it showed the perspective of the people who are ones affected by the programs.

The book gets into a deep discussion about how poverty is multidimensional, meaning that there are different dimensions, that there is not only the lack of food and money like most people think, but that there is also a major psychological factor that carries major consequences. Throughout the book, there are passages and quotes from the interviews where one gets to see some of the dimensions of poverty; these really get to the reader and challenge the reader to redefine his/her own position about poverty. Some of the stories might even leave the reader feeling overwhelmed and, to some extent, depressed.  This approach is good in bringing the reader into reality about what poverty really is and about how real people are living this reality day to day.

The book, overall, offers a perspective different from the one we are used to seeing. It brings the human aspect of poverty, it offers a look of the reality of poverty, and it ties it to real people, making it easy to read and intellectually stimulating when it comes to defining poverty after reading the book.

Review by Bethany Neubauer:  Can Anyone Hear Us?, goes beyond typical methods of poverty assessment to get the inside track on global poverty through the use of Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPA's). PPA's seek to understand poverty from the perspective of the poor and directly involve the poor in follow-up action. This publication encompasses the uninhibited voices of 40,000 impoverished people around the globe. The result is a definition of poverty much richer than the traditional one, as well as, a behind the scenes evaluation of the current methods attempting to alleviate poverty in the world today. This new means of evaluating poverty is truly interesting because it puts a fresh spin on the issue.

Specifically, Deepa Narayan, the book's primary author, reveals that poverty is much more complex than generally perceived. She goes to great lengths to discuss that while poverty is material in nature, it has tremendous psychological repercussions. She weighs the voices of men and woman equally and uses the results of the studies to evaluate current programs, government, community-based and non-government, on the experiences of the people whom they aim to help. Finally, the book recommends various changes be made to status quo international poverty reduction programs.

Narayan succeeds in weaving the accounts of the poor into a convincing call to action without being overdramatic or whiney. Through her use of stories and quotations, her book has an unmistakable human cry; a cry that cannot be blocked from the ears of the reader. These unheard perspectives make the book a quick, yet thought provoking read. At times it seems that the personal accounts will never cease, and the reader is left feeling overwhelmed and depressed. This type of appeal is probably necessary, however, to awaken us to the reality that millions of people on the planet struggle daily for survival. Ultimately, the reader is left thinking, why didn't we consult with the poor earlier?

The most incredible issue highlighted in this book is the general lack of power and control the poor have over their lives. They are most often victims of circumstances beyond their control. Hard work does not make a difference. Many go to bed each night with their hunger unfulfilled, despite long hours of grueling labor. Their governments, our global markets, and even NGO's are not adequately responding to their desire to have a voice in the matters concerning their own fate.

Can Anyone Hear Us? is compelling. It gives a voice to those who have been unheard and forgotten and reveals that our current efforts to help alleviate poverty are falling short. It is an indispensable read for anyone seeking to understand the nature of global poverty.

Review by Philip Young:  This book inspires the reader to spread their knowledge and to make a difference. I believe the book makes the reader feel how lucky they can be to get a book and be able to read about people who have experienced things that we have not experienced. Who knows, those people who tell their stories in this book probably never got the chance to read this book. Like what Bill Vaughan, a journalist, once said, “It would be nice if the poor were to get even half of the money that is spent in studying them.”

This book will give you a tour of what the other side of the world is suffering. It’s a journey that a reader will never forget. The book takes you to what is really inside the faces of the people who are living in poverty. It also tackles global poverty through the use of the Participatory Poverty Assessment; which seeks to bring the perspectives of the poor, through consultations, into the formulation and the implementation of policies and planning for poverty reduction at both district and national levels.

All the chapters in the book were well researched and well detailed, and also provide some facts and statistics (Note: Some of this statistics may not be current). The main author, Deepa Narayan gives the reader a good introduction by defining what poverty is. She reveals that poverty is much more complex than it is perceived to be and it is hard to give one definition on poverty. The book discusses different definitions of poverty according to regions, people and lifestyles. She also broadens the discussion on this issue discussing how the psychological and social effects on many people who are living in poverty. She then succeeds in recommending some changes to global poverty programs. 

The book also included some inspirational quotations that would slowly melt their hearts of even a cold-stone hearted reader. Such as when the book quote a woman from Ghana “We watch our children die because we cannot pay the high hospital bills,” Ghana 1995a. The purpose of this book is mainly to enlighten and to educate and not to ask for sympathy of the reader to help.  The book does not sound whiney about the situation of the poor but instead the book gives a ray of hope to the people who are living in poverty, giving the poor a chance to use their voice and tell their stories.

Review by Sarah Molseed: The Web of Poverty, by Anne-Marie Ambert was a very interesting book that gave a very complete view of poverty. In showing how poverty is both a cause and an effect of many different situations, the severity of this social issue became very apparent. The book reads both like a novel and a textbook. Ambert uses many statistics and raw numbers. These serve to communicate the large amounts of poverty actually present and to give comparisons among different races and cultures. Ambert also helps the reader understand the where and what of poverty but also the why. She does a very good job of demonstrating that people living in poverty are often not responsible for their situation, at least no more so than the overall social structure they are a part of. Web reminds us the true cause lies in a system that creates cycles of poverty by putting so much influence on personal wealth and the bottom line. At the same time few escapes are offered for those unfortunate enough to fall below the poverty line. In addition, Ambert also emphasizes the cyclical nature of poverty. She shows how causes of poverty can lead to effects, which in turn cause more poverty. Effectively, when parents enter poverty their children are often doomed to the same state.

Overall, this book was very interesting and difficult to read. The information presented was very valuable and eye opening. It was hard to acknowledge the dreary state that so many people live in every day. Since the book did not give very many solutions to this social plague, it, at times, painted poverty as a bottomless black pit. However, the negative feelings caused by this book are necessary to spur readers to action, or at least away from apathy, towards poverty. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a true view of the extent, causes, and consequences of poverty.

Review by Akber Ameer:  What Government Can Do

Many individuals share in the common belief that the government cannot do anything about the problems of poverty and inequality. When the book was published America was enjoying a substantial economic growth period, but many Americans were left behind. Income inequality continued to grow, and poverty rates remained the same. As a result many individuals subscribed to the opinion that government action in regards to these situations was either wasteful or inefficient, or both. Page and Simmons, however take the stance that the federal, state, and local governments have the ability to significantly impact and improve the situation.

 The authors’ first detail what programs have worked and at the same time introduce concepts to how they can be improved. The general reader is introduced to the general concepts of social insurance programs such as Medicare and Social Security, minimum wage increases, and the overall concept of basic needs. Page and Simmons find that many of the government programs and policies work far better than people tend to realize, and help to soften the blow of poverty and inequality in the United States.

Page and Simmons then go on to introduce changes that they believe will help social insurance programs operate more efficiently and have a greater impact on our society. They argue that by doing even more in key policy areas such as taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and education, America would be better equipped to deal with inequality. Even if the reader disagrees with a number of their proposed changes, they still come away with a better understanding of how social and economic policies are implemented and work.

Who Will Care for Us?:   Aging and Long-Term Care in Multicultural America.  Ronald J. Angel, Jacqueline L. Angel.  1999.  New York University Press, ISBN:  0814706835.

Review by Jodi Shaw:  This book discusses the social and economical standpoint of America today, pointing out important issues in multicultural America today.  It contrasts the traditional family of the past with the traditional family of today, focusing on the aging process and the affects this has on our society.

The living situation of many families dedicates some length in the book (e.g. grandmothers who take the responsibility of their grandchildren because they have ceased to function as parents as opposed to the traditional mother/father relationship with the child).  Along with this, household status is discussed with the changes in condition of marriage and fertility, which the author refers to as the mosaic of American culture.

With the household contrasts in mind, a broader look on society is approached.  The diversity in the United States culture, race, values, and norms is focused on because of the differences today versus the past.  One main issue discussed is the retirement differences between white Americans and other races such as Hispanics, Blacks, and Asians.  The book goes into great detail in regards to the monetary status of these races upon retirement age.  Detailed graphs and charts aid in the illustration of the gap in retirement income, life expectancy, causes of death, problems with daily living (e.g. trouble walking, eating, toileting, etc.), chronic illness, and home equity to mention a few.  The employment status and retirement income, the supplemental security income, Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance are discussed thoroughly in respect to the retirement process.

The role the family plays the lives of their elders is mentioned with the importance of their love, patience, and time dedicated to their loved one.  Institutionalization, staying at home, group homes, or employing a live in aid are a few of the retirement living options mentioned in the book.  It discusses the pros and cons of each situation, taking into account the inequalities in health care and financial status, leading to an idea for a multicultural, intergenerational method of retirement today involving the preservation of the social welfare safety net crucial to the well being of the poor and minority elderly.

I would recommend this book if you are interested in the social perspective of the aging process as America continues to change in diversity and wealth.  I found the book very informative and true to life, as I know it today.

Review by Mike Soucie:  Who Will Care for Us? begs the question of exactly what its title asks, who will care us?  The authors describe the increasing trends of people living longer.  All over the world, including the United States, Mexico, and Japan, countries are seeing their populations dominated by individuals over the age of 65.  As people get older, it is also becoming more apparent that the population is becoming more diverse, especially in the United States.  The country no longer consists of only non-Hispanic white people, instead a mixture of Hispanic, Black, and Asian ethnic origins are filling up the elderly quota. 

The book describes the evolution of elderly care from what used to be solely a family thing to currently a government thing to what should be a combination of both.  The solutions described involve the government using its resources to aid “families” in caring for the elderly, instead of putting the duty entirely upon the government.  The authors support living communities and support systems allowing the elderly to remain close to what makes them feel secure.  One key point in the book is that as we get older, we grow closer to our homes, and never want to leave them.  This is a good baseline for determining what serves as important when choosing to enact policies for the elderly.  That is why the communities and support systems mentioned earlier are so important. 

Review by Steve Drucker:  After reading Working From The Margins, I have a whole new insight into the lives of single mothers in poverty. The author, Virginia Schein, really gets deep into the lives of the thirty women interviews this book. While reading through the book, a reader can really feel the pains and struggles of each and every one of thirty women interviewed for the book. Whether one of the women is telling about her daily struggles with her children or another woman is complaining about her job, as a reader you start to feel you are right there with these women. You start to feel these women’s pains and sufferings.

Working From The Margins also is good in that we learn about many different aspects of these women’s lives. As you read this book, you find out that there are many different reasons why these women are single mothers living in poverty. You find out some of these women work, go to school, and take care of their children without any type of support from family or friends. Some of these women are even going to college and getting an associate’s degree or the equivalent. They have a self-motivation that is instilled in only a few people. These women see clear skies when the future has a grim outlook and their sense of optimism seems to rub off on the reader.

Review by Renae Zaruba:  Poverty takes on many shapes, forms, and reasons. Cynthia Duncan, author of Worlds Apart: Why Poverty Persists in Rural America, talks about the different reasons, backgrounds, and solutions to the diverse causes for poverty in three different regions of the United States. She moves from the Appalachia region to the Mississippi Delta and back to New England to contrast the different stages and reasons of poverty. The three areas hold stark realities that can be generalized to the whole United States. Duncan picked three great areas for comparing.  The greatest part of this book, and why it excels, is that Duncan allows the people of each city to tell the story. Duncan and her team of interviewers spoke to over 300 citizens and the story has quotes from over 40 of those interviews. The people tell, from their point of view, why poverty is rampant or not so. They speak of what the city has done to further the work on poverty, or what has not been done at all. It is interesting to compare the quotes and ideas of the different groups of people. You really see it from their perspective, not totally from Duncan’s view-an outsider’s view. The villagers show an inside view on how their village views poverty, the poorer people, and how the village is working to get people out of the rut or keep them in it.

Duncan begins each segment of her book with a detailed look at the area. It is boring and could be eliminated from the story. I feel it holds no difference for the story. She tells the landscapes and the layout of the cities/villages that does not need to be involved. This is really the only bad part of the book.  Each section then moves into a chapter of history of the three sites. This is the most interesting to me. Duncan tells of each place from its inception to now. She gives a bare overview of the beginning purpose of each city/village and how that helped or hindered each area in regards to poverty. Duncan excels in her objectivity and just tells the story as she has been told.

The three sections go on to talk about politics, lack of education, and various other reasons for each community’s poverty. Individually each chapter describes what is wrong with the community or what it is doing right. In the Appalachia region, it is the social barriers of past generations that continue to haunt the present families. The Mississippi Delta, near the heart of the Old South, still holds to the racial segregation of former decades. In the New England area, the community has used all these differences to create a smaller version of the American ‘melting pot’. This makes the book interesting in that all these communities have a general problem and they make it better or worse with what they have in their community.

The final segment of the book is about social change. It brings the chivalrous values of the New England community to light to show that change can happen. It talks about the social structure and economy (or lack there of) in the Appalachia and Delta areas and why they do not help those in poverty. The main point is about education in all the areas and how that is the key out of the state of poverty.  This is an interesting read if you are hoping to learn reasons and/or excuses of poverty. It brings to light the worst situations and the hope that it can change for those ‘stuck’ in poverty. Duncan adds statistics to the book about the reasons and the regions. It is a good book for a model of comparisons and for the quotes about the harsh realities of poverty.

Review by Ben Sjostrom:  The book Worlds Apart describes what life is like for people of different social classes in three different places in the United States.  Blackwell* in the Appalachia, and Dahlia* on the Mississippi are two of these places where inequality is constant.  Another place where Cynthia M. Duncan studies is Grey Mountain*, New England, where the opposite happens.  Citizens are involved in local government; this helps to reduce class inequalities.  Duncan gets very in depth in discovering the roots of the problems of social inequality.  Her research consists of visiting everyplace for an extended period of time, with dialogue from 40 of the 350 local people she interviewed in the book.

In Blackwell, she describes the everyday contempt the rich and poor hold for one another, and how neither side has any desire to meet in the middle.  People in Blackwell are also distinguished by the job they hold.  If you are lucky enough to hold a job, you become a “have”, if you don’t you become a “have not”.   As the author describes, poverty and inequality situation is so drastic in Blackwell that a local pastor is forced to start weeding out candidates for Christian charity.  He says everyday people come in and ask the church to pay for their groceries, gas, and other bills.  Word has spread around the impoverished community about his good charity and he finds the numbers of his congregation rapidly rising.  Duncan finds that experiences like this undermine community trust and reinforce community held opinions that the poor citizens scheme and manipulate the system.

Dahlia in the Mississippi Delta has similar class separation to Blackwell and contempt for one another.  The book continues through Dahlia and Grey Mountain, New England.  The New England section focuses on equality and civic involvement.  Something unheard of in the previous two sections of the book.

The section after Grey Mountain, Northern New England is titled “social change and social policy”.  This section makes suggestions for solutions on how to combat the problems seen in Blackwell and Dahlia. The main point that Duncan is trying to make is that in order for real change to happen, a complete outside source is needed.  One with no local ties or biases.  Her suggestion is that federal aid come from the outside, where locals are unable to take advantage of aid, and aid is based on need rather than first come first served.  I suggest that before reading Worlds Apart, the reader look in the appendix and study the various trends.  This will allow the reader to paint a more realistic picture of the three circumstances that Duncan describes.   * Real names have been changed

Review by Pat McQuillan and Megan Steffensmeier:  In the book Worlds Apart, the author, Cynthia M. Duncan, takes a look at three different areas of rural America to study rural poverty. She studied the different aspects of the communities, including social, economic, educational and political issues. Of the three communities, two areas (Blackwell and Dahlia) have very similar profiles that have limited the people from moving upward in society. The third has a different perspective, in which the middle class is helping the whole community gain opportunities.

In the community of Blackwell, the foundation is based on the "have" and "have-nots". This mining community was founded on a continual idea of separation of class. Every facet of the community depended on how much money a family had and a person’s last name. The "drawers" were the people who continually draw money from the government. They were the uneducated, poor who had only known this way of life. Outside opportunity was never able to enter the community, because the wealthy class would not allow it and wanted to keep its tight hold on the lower classes.

Dahlia is a community similar to Blackwell, unchanging classes and no opportunity. Yet, it differs from Blackwell because the poor were crippled by racial segregation that has existed since slavery. Even though the plantation work is still done by the black people, they are paid considerable low wages. The social elite control everything in the community from who is on the school board, county board and any official government offices. Any radical changes by the people, were punished by "blackballing" any chances of future employment or service. Education was also damaged by this continual segregation. The community had two schools, the better school is were the best teachers were and the white children and the poorer school had the worse teachers and all the black children.

The community of Gray Mountain was founded on many different ethic groups. It was considered a small version of American’s "melting-pot". The poverty here came from the decline of the mill factories employment, but community did not let this create a gap between the classes. The lower classes still associated with the middle class, it did not matter how much money a person’s family had. Outside improvements were not pushed away, but welcomed into the community (i.e. unions). Education was key in this community. The poor children went to the same schools as the rich children. The adults knew that the way to improve their society was through education that would inspire mobility.