The Assualt on Social Policy

259 Pages·2014·2.843 MB·English

by  William Roth & Susan J. Peters

The AssAulT on sociAl Policy
Second edition

The Assault on
Social Policy
Second edition
William Roth and Susan J. Peters
columbia univerS ity PreSS  n ew york
columbia univerSity PreSS
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2014 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roth, William, 1942–
The Assault on social policy / William Roth and Susan J.
Peters. — Second Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16006-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-16007-0
(pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-53797-1 (e-book)
1. United States—Social policy—1993– 2. Business and politics—United States.
3. Corporations—Political activity—United States. I. Title.
HN65.R66 2014
303.3ʹ72—dc23
2013048914
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover design: Elliot Strunk
References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
dedicated to the 99 Percent

contents
Foreword by Senator bernie SanderS ix
acknowledgmentS xi
introduction xiii
chapter one
▶
Policy 1
chapter two
▶
Corporations 20
chapter three
▶
Poverty 47
chapter four
▶
Welfare 67
chapter five
▶
Disability 86
chapter six
▶
Social Security 105
chapter seven
▶
Health 120
chapter eight
▶
Children 141
chapter nine
▶
Education 159
viii contentS
chapter ten
▶
Outsiders 171
chapter eleven
▶
Democratic Change 187
noteS 207
index 223
foreword
the assault on social policy is even more relevant today, in its sec-
ond edition, than it was ten years ago. In the first edition, William Roth
investigated poverty, welfare, health, the social security system, and dis-
ability in children. I was impressed then and I am impressed now by his
analysis of economic politics, the role of corporations in shaping public life,
the media, and the globalization of our economic policies. Roth and Susan
Peters contribute to elevating the debate regarding social policy at the pres-
ent critical historical hour.
Since William Roth wrote the first edition of The Assault on Social
Policy, America has lived through two major wars in Iraq and Afghani-
stan and suffered the most sustained systematic economic downturn since
the Great Depression, which has left millions upon millions of Americans
without jobs and millions of others without decent housing.
The progressive approach that Roth and Peters argue for has been less
successful than many Americans had hoped for with the election of President
Obama and a strong progressive presence in the U.S. House of Representa-
tives. We have witnessed an unprecedented assault, at least in my lifetime,
on the public policies needed to assure a decent society and hopeful future
for most Americans. With the financial assistance of some of the wealthi-
est people in America, a bitter right-wing reaction and full-scale assault on
the rights of workers, teachers, women, and the poor has risen to the surface.
Regrettably, the first edition of this book has proven all too painfully pre-
scient. When President Obama said a couple of weeks after his first inaugural
that the Republicans had a choice between cooperating with him or staying
at home and listening to Rush Limbaugh, many of them chose the latter.