This course examines the extent, causes, and consequences of poverty in the U.S. and current and proposed strategies to address non-elderly poverty. We review the evolution of social welfare policy in the U.S. We examine how families, neighborhood, schools, labor markets, The Great Recession, and government policies influence socio-economic disadvantages. We focus particularly on declines in marriage among low-wage men and women, the decline in the labor market prospects of low-skilled men, how “tough on crime” policies altered the transition to adulthood for low income teenagers, and how The Great Recession has altered the playing field.
