Work Over Welfare: The Inside Story of the 1996 Welfare Reform Law (Inscribed First Edition, First Printing)

Haskins, Ron

ISBN 10: 0815735081 / ISBN 13: 9780815735083

Published by Brookings Institution Press, 2006

About this Item

Inscribed First Edition, First Printing of this detailed history of the policy creation and political negotiation that resulted in a fundamental overhaul of the nation's welfare system via the 1996 Welfare Reform Law. Inscribed by Ron Haskins to a policy maker on the front endpaper. "Dear X, You were the hidden force behind welfare reform. I think learned more about how Washington works by watching you than I learned by any other means. I doubt that welfare reform would have passed without your behind-the-scenes operations. The nation owes you a debt. Cordially, Ron." 450 pages. Minimal sign of previous use. Seller Inventory # 012585

Bibliographic Details

Title: Work Over Welfare: The Inside Story of the ...

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Publication Date: 2006

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Work over Welfare tells the inside story of the legislation that ended "welfare as we know it." As a key staffer on the House Ways and Means Committee, author Ron Haskins was one of the architects of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. In this landmark book, he vividly portrays the political battles that produced the most dramatic overhaul of the welfare system since its creation as part of the New Deal.

Haskins starts his story in the early 1990s, as a small group of Republicans lays the groundwork for welfare reform by developing innovative policies to encourage work and fight illegitimacy. These ideas, which included such controversial provisions as mandatory work requirements and time limits for welfare recipients, later became part of the Republicans' Contract with America and were ultimately passed into law. But their success was hardly foreordained. Haskins brings to life the often bitter House and Senate debates the Republican proposals provoked, as well as the backroom negotiations that kept welfare reform alive through two presidential vetoes. In the process, he illuminates both the personalities and the processes that were crucial to the ultimate passage of the 1996 bill. He also analyzes the changes it has wrought on the social and political landscape over the past decade.

In Work over Welfare, Haskins has provided the most authoritative account of welfare reform to date. Anyone with an interest in social welfare or politics in general will learn a great deal from this insightful and revealing book.

Review:

"Ron Haskins writes with humor and candor about the political process and the intrigue that brought the policy change. This insider's view, an accessible demonstration of how sausage (law) is made, is a 'must read' for those who want to make or change policy and need to know what it takes." --Eloise Anderson, "senior fellow, Claremont Institute"

"This book offers a marvelously detailed and nuanced study of the reform, which few are better suited to write about than Haskins." --Peter R. Latusek, "Library Journal", 11/1/2006

"In providing a lively account of the personalities, policies, and politics that shaped the landmakr welfare-reform legislation, Ron Haskins has produced an engaging primer on the complicated and arcane legislative process. In Work over Welfare, the account of how a bill becomes a law receives a remarkably entertaining treatment, and the book should find an appreciative audience well beyond his fellow academics." --Kate O'Beirne, "National Review", 12/27/2006

"In a new book, 'Work over Welfare, ' Brookings Institution senior fellow Ron Haskins--a top Republican congressional staffer during the welfare debate--cites much evidence of success." --Robert J. Samuelson, "Washington Post and Newsweek", 8/3/2006

"This book will be of interest to all readers, and will be especially useful for upper-division and graduate policy process courses. Recommended." --S. Q. Kelly, Niagara University, "CHOICE", 6/1/2007

"Well-written, well-documented (more than fifty pages of endnotes), and thought provoking. Haskins' understanding of history, social science research, policy, politics, research think tanks, and the legislative process is impressive....For policy experts and researchers interested in the history of welfare policy in the U.S., Haskins' "Work over Welfare" should be a must read." --Scott W. Allard, Brown University, "Publius: The Journal of Federalism"

"Ron Haskins, the House GOP staffer in charge of drafting the welfare-reform bill, has written an engrossing book about how this ambitious campaign proposal led to the most important domestic-policy requirements for welfare recipients. This is both a terrific political-science text on how Congress functions (when it functions, that is) and an engrossing tale of a tense and dramatic political struggle." --E.J. McMahon, "New York Post", 12/10/2006

"Haskins has done a superb job of telling the story of the landmark welfare reform legislation, providing wonderful insights about politics and policy-making as well as about welfare. Even for those who were less than enthusiastic about the substance of welfare reform, this is a fascinating and valuable read. Haskins knows how to tell a good story, complete with laughs, suspense, empathy, novelistic details, memorable characters and a distinct point of view." --Frank Solomon, "Policy & Practice", 12/1/2006

"Ron Haskins has done a superb job of telling the story of the 1996 welfare reform legislation, with wonderful insights about politics and policymaking as well as about welfare. Even --or perhaps especially --for those of us who were and are less than enthusiastic about the substance of welfare reform, this is a fascinating and valuable book. " --Mary Jo Bane, "Harvard University"