Story Archives of 'Welfare'

Who is responsible for our welfare—the individual or society? In 1981, Ronald Reagan famously declared, “Government is not the solution to our problems.” In February 2009, Newsweek proclaimed, “We Are All Socialists Now.” Surely the economic crisis triggered this tectonic change in our political culture, but Deborah Stone has a different take. The desire for collective responsibility also grew from the vast reservoir of everyday altruism that was so neglected during the “greed is good” era. She will show why bringing the Good Samaritan ethic into public policy is critical for a healthy democracy.

Deborah Stone is a Research Professor of Government at Dartmouth College and a founding editor of The American Prospect. She is the author of three previous books, including Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making, which has been translated into five languages and won the Wildavsky Award from the American Political Science association for its enduring contribution to policy studies. She has taught at M.I.T., Brandeis University, and as a visitor at Yale, Tulane, University of Bremen, Germany and National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. Her essays have appeared in The Nation, New Republic, Boston Review, Civilization, and Natural History, and Natural New England. She has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and Harvard Law School, and was a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar.

At one time, towns cared for the poor through a reverse auction.

I’m Jon Greenberg with this town meeting minute.

This wasn’t slavery. At town meeting in the 17 and early 18 hundreds, people with a room to spare might bid for the right to take in a person or family in need. They would house them and feed them in exchange for payment from the town. The lowest bidder won. Steven Leavenworth has been systematically going through the original records at the New Hampshire Historical Society. He says, farmers sometimes used this as way to get cheap labor.

LEAVENWORTH: Those that could work, worked the farm and helped pay for their own food and so on, just by working there.

1823 record of fees paid to support paupers in Eaton (Jon Greenberg, NHPR)

Towns took care of widows and those who became too ill or too old to work. But charity was limited. If a poor family walked into town, they might just as well be asked to keep walking.

Today, federal and state programs play a large role in helping the poor, but after them, towns are still known as the third safety net.

With this town meeting minute, I’m Jon Greenberg.

Four months after the most substantial overhaul of the state welfare system in a decade, health officials report positive initial results.

Critics, however, point to a steep drop in enrollment.

Some believe fewer people on assistance means poor people are falling through the cracks.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports.

A new report shows one in ten New Hampshire children is living in poverty.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein has more.

Life for people who receive monthly welfare checks in New Hampshire is about to change.

Earlier this year Congress tightened requirements to the welfare program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF.

Now state officials must find a way to work within the more restrictive rules, and continue helping people out of poverty.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports.