Poverty and the politics of care

page six

Flat Broke with Children
by Sharon Hays

Video presentation:
Sharon Hays: Flat Broke With Children
Hays’ explores the impact welfare reform has had on motherhood, marriage, and work in women's lives. She tells stories of extreme poverty, broken families, sexual abuse, homelessness, and the lengths to which women go in attempts to juggle multiple part-time low-paying jobs. From the University of Virginia Research Channel, 30 minutes, December 2003. Video file can be downloaded in several media formats.

American Dream
by Jason DeParle

Jason DeParle’s web site
Reviews and excerpts.

The Betrayal of Work
by Beth Shulman

Working and Poor in the USA
by Beth Shulman for The Nation. January 2004.

Witness to the Betrayal
An interview with Beth Shulman in Mother Jones Magazine.
February 2004.

Audio format:
Interview with Beth Shulman
On Point Radio, September 2003.

The Working Poor
by David K. Shipler

Interview with David Shipler: The Working Poor
PBS News Hour. Transcript and video available.

Audio format:
David Shipler on The Diane Rehm Show

The Invisible Heart:
Economics and Family Values
Nancy Folbre, 2001

Nickel and Dimed:
On (Not) Getting By in America
Barbara Ehrenriech, 2001

The Widening Gap:
Why America’s Working Families Are in Jeopardy
and What Can Be Done About It
Jody Heymann, MD, PhD, 2000

The Price of Motherhood:
Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued
Ann Crittenden, 2001

Can Working Families Ever Win?
Jody Heymann, MD, PhD, editor
For the Boston Review New Democracy Forum.

Beggars and Choosers:
How the Politics of Choice Shapes Adoption, Abortion,
and Welfare in the United States
Rickie Solinger, 2001

My Life as a Queen: Welfare as I knew it
By Elizabeth Bauchner, in Brain, Child Magazine, Winter 2005

Is motherhood a class privilege in America?
An interview with historian Rickie Solinger, author of Beggars and Choosers

The face of homelessness
Although it was easy to find a job as a waitress on the coast of Maine during the summer, it wasn’t easy to afford and apartment or child care. Every night became a struggle to find a place to sleep—sometimes in a campground, but usually in the parking lot down by the ocean. My own oceanfront property, except that my house was a car." By Michelle Kennedy.

Doing the math on earnings inequality
A comprehensive analysis of earnings and occupational data from the U.S. Census 2000 reveals “there is a substantial gap in median earnings between men and women that is unexplained, even after controlling for work experience, education and occupation.” Includes summary tables comparing men’s and women’s earnings in selected occupations. By Judith Stadtman Tucker.

Economic Policy Institute (www.epinet.org)
Welfare Issue Guide

Center for Law and Social Policy (www.clasp.org)
Welfare Policy

The Urban Institute (www.urban.org)
Publications on Income Supports and Social Services

MMO Resource Pages
Welfare and Women's Poverty
Low Income Families