The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State

by Michael B. Katz

The culmination of twenty years of research and writing, The Price of Citizenship traces the evolution of the welfare state from colonial relief programs to the war on poverty to our own age of "compassionate conservatism." Historian Michael B. Katz argues that in the last decades three great forces-a ferocious war on dependence; the devolution of authority from the federal government to the states; and the application of market models to social policy-have affected every element of the social contract and redefined both Republican and Democratic policy and rhetoric. Katz shows how these changes are propelling America toward a future of increased inequality and decreased security, while transforming citizenship from a right of birth to a privilege reserved for the fully employed.

A magisterial overview, incisive and bold, The Price of Citizenship is a new and indispensable classic work on American social policy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2001

Reviews

[CTEP]

This month I decided to read Michael Katz’s The Price of Citizenship. In the book Katz explores the need to redefine the American welfare system. Katz, who is a historian of American social welfare, put in years of research in order to write an in depth book that analyzes the developments of the American welfare system and how it has changed and evolved for those living in poverty. The book takes the reader through a multitude of historical events during and following World War l. He sets out to prove that the American welfare state has changed significantly from once being a sense of security and has now turned into a social injustice.

At its beginning in the 1920’s, the United States’ welfare system was put in place in the anticipation of economic stability and a form of protection from unpredictable risks. Katz describes the welfare state as: “a collection of programs designed to assure economic security to all citizens by guaranteeing the fundamental necessities of life: food, shelter, medical care, protection in childhood, and support in old age”. In the early stages of the welfare state it was positively viewed because it was looked at as economic security and a source of dependence for Americans.

A sudden shift occurred during the Truman era in the 1950’s. The welfare state began to strictly focus its services on single mothers and African Americans who were unable to care for their children. Katz states, “By the 1960’s this meaning of welfare and the welfare state had changed completely. No longer understood to protect everyone against risk, “welfare” had become a code word for public assistance given mainly to unmarried mothers, mostly young women of color, under aid to families with dependent children”. This caused a spilt between the “undeserving poor” who received welfare and the “deserving poor” who received social insurance, such as health care and social security. Katz argues that this is unfair; he passionately believes that the recent welfare change has caused a social injustice between the underprivileged and the upper class. He goes on in the book to explain how all American citizens deserve the right to social welfare because they do not always have control over factors such as disability and prejudice against race which are factors that can get in the way of finding a job. Katz states that a weak economy cannot be the sole reason for why jobs are unobtainable for people especially in the inner cities. He says that jobs will be consistently hard to find because of factors such as location, transportation, skill requirements, and racial preferences in hiring. In other words, it’s the economic structure that is hindering the disparity between the wealthy and poor.

I found this book to be very compelling. It’s obvious from the very start that Katz has a lot of knowledge of the welfare state. I enjoyed the way the book was written. Katz did a great job of starting from the very beginning of the welfare state while progressing to the present. He also presented both sides of the argument surrounding welfare. I would highly recommend this book!

[Mark Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katz gives a detailed investigation of almost all U.S. programs that would be considered "welfare", including Social Security, AFDC, unemployment insurance, and the rest. By design, he omits the large government handouts that go to the wealthy. (I would have liked to see at least a list of the most significant ones.) And unaccountably, there is no coverage of foster care. The main book follows the programs through 2000, and a 40-page addendum extends it to 2007. The coverage includes history back to the 19th century, description, politics and motivations which affected each program, and outcomes.

Three common themes emerge. First, the U.S. has been systematically reducing welfare since 1980 or so, with predicable results for the poor. Second, a great deal of welfare is tied to employment, including Earned Income Tax Credit and (until after this book was written) health insurance. The pervasive attitude, which has been pervasive for over a century, is that if you don't work, you are worthless. Third, poverty and race are closely linked, and not by accident. Some welfare programs have been designed to hurt racial minorities.

The book is not a hard read, but not easy either. Summaries and tables would have helped. It is not a happy read, either.

[Karen Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent job showing how our patchwork social welfare program came to be.