Why Americans Hate Welfare – Race,Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy (Studies in Communication, Media & Public Opinion) - Hardcover

Gilens, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226293645 ISBN 13: 9780226293646

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1999

Synopsis

Drawing on surveys of public attitudes and analyses of more than 40 years of television and newsmagazine stories on poverty, this book demonstrates how public opposition to welfare is fed by a potent combination of racial stereotypes and misinformation about the true nature of America's poor. But the answer isn't simply that white Americans oppose welfare because they think it benefits blacks; rather, they think it benefits "undeserving" blacks who would rather live off the government than work, a perception powerfully fuelled by the media's negative coverage of the black poor. Martin Gilens not only examines public opinion and public policy; he also explores the historical context that shaped these attitudes and the role the news media have played in "racializing" poverty and poverty programmes. The public's views on welfare, Gilens shows, are a complex mixture of cynicism and compassion; misinformed and racially charged, they nevertheless reflect both a distrust of welfare recipients and a desire to do more to help the deserving poor.

About this title

About the Author:

Martin Gilens is professor of politics at Princeton University. He is the author of Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy and Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America.

From the Inside Flap:

Tackling one of the most volatile issues in contemporary politics, Martin Gilens's work punctures myths and misconceptions about welfare policy, public opinion, and the role of the media in both. "Why Americans Hate Welfare" shows that the public's views on welfare are a complex mixture of cynicism and compassion; misinformed and racially charged, they nevertheless reflect both a distrust of welfare recipients and a desire to do more to help the "deserving" poor.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0226293645
• ISBN 13: 9780226293646
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 296