Social Inequality In Welfare

Devon Kaminski

Soc 309 Final Paper

Liz Stygar

12/9/16

Throughout this semester, we have discussed many topics that intersect with one another. The more topics covered in class, the clearer it became that there was a link between everything in society. Although everything intersects in some way, the topics I have chosen to discuss are the connections between poverty and welfare with racial and ethnic inequality. Many people have fallen victim to poverty and had to take up welfare, but there is vast amounts of inequality in the welfare system.

The stigma around welfare is a cloud of misconception. During a survey in 1973, only twelve percent of the respondents recognized that a large majority of welfare recipients are white (Ogren, 1973).

As outdated as it seems, the statistics are not that much better in recent times. It is often due to the racialization of welfare that people hold the thought of blacks being the ones most dependent, when 43 percent of welfare recipients are white; only 28 percent are Hispanic, and 23 percent are black (Hurst, 2013) (Kaminski, 2016). The major problem is that people who are actually in need of welfare or income assistance are often not granted the aid and some are afraid to seek out assistance because of the stereotyping that does exist. It is a loop of struggle for those minorities that may need help but cannot or will not receive help due to unequal opportunities. “Welfare is a racial policy because many Americans perceive welfare recipients as African American, even though many Whites also receive welfare. Factors such as racism, nonracial ideologies, and group interest, which scholars believe generate opposition to a range of policies intended to reduce racial inequality may also help explain opposition to welfare (Wald, 2005).”
This is partially due to the fact that white privilege exists and makes it socially acceptable for whites to have access to welfare without as much judgement, they have to have someone to blame for the issues. society pawns off the bad image onto people of color as being lazy. People of color have been systematically repressed for ages in every aspect from jobs to housing. Statistics show that being poor is directly correlated to unemployment (Ogren, 1973) (Kaminski, 2016). The public assistance programs are largely founded on the idea that the beneficiaries have contributed both to the financial and social support (of these programs) through years of work and taxes (Hurst, 2013) which is seemingly impossible if the system is preventing individuals from getting decent jobs that can support themselves and their families, let alone public assistance programs that are intended to supplement low income families. Attempts at reform have been made to make the supposed “dependency” on welfare go down. TANF— or, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families was part of the reform act of 1996 and only offered assistance for 2 years. If the recipient was deemed able-bodied, they must seek out work or lose benefits (Hurst, 2013) (Kaminski, 2016).
“Combine this corrosive cultural soup with growing inequalities within groups (racial and ethnic groups, workplaces, genders, neighborhoods, etc.) and the race is on to define who is the “least worthy” to receive help, jobs, incomes, and public assistance (Leicht, 2016).” This article does a good job of breaking down opinions on welfare and how it is spread out and it mentions white privilege as well. From a critical- race perspective, viewing race as an individual phenomenon masks its structural nature and prevents its eradication (Hurst, 2013). This is essentially saying that race perpetuates itself. People in society continue viewing race as an excuse to label and place others into categories of deserving and undeserving. “Racism as an ideology is used to justify the oppression of the subordinate group; that is, Blacks and other racially or ethnically distinguishable groups are seen as biologically or otherwise inferior to Whites (Hurst, 2013).”
The persistence of poverty has led some to believe that the poor may serve a basic function to society such as making the rest of the population feel superior and reinforcing dominant values (Hurst, 2013).

Viewing poverty as a stepladder for the upper-class does not justify the maltreatment of the people in those situations. For example, Wald explains that “having a higher level of education increases the likelihood that Whites will state that welfare spending should be increased while having a higher income increases the likelihood that Whites will state that welfare spending should be decreased. Her research views the relationship between education and welfare could indicate that education leads people, including those who have high incomes, to express less hostility to welfare, perhaps because education reduces beliefs in racial stereotypes and heightens sensitivity toward racial issues (Wald, 2005). While it appears that Wald’s research claims education is the solution to the problem, it is a matter of who and how we are educating. The people who need the education to help better themselves and their families may not have access because of the lack of resources available to them. Their money could have to go towards bills or other resources whereas if they had proper or fair access to welfare, they might be able to save up for education and then avoid welfare dependency. This is probably a microlevel example but it could apply to someone of any race or

ethnicity.
While racialization appears to have decreased, African Americans are still overrepresented as America’s poor (Dyck n.d.).

These studies focus mainly on the overrepresentation of African Americans in the media but in reality, these stereotypes are prevalent for anyone of a different race or ethnicity. This source is bit dated and touches on income inequalities, which is another chapter in the textbook but it supplements just how far back inequalities among races go. Massey and Mitchell argue that housing segregation is the key factor behind thee unusual and growing concentration of poverty among blacks and some Hispanics and that the persistence of racial segregation is essential to understanding the plight of the underclass (Massey & Mitchell, 1990). Bringing it back to modern time, it appears that racial segregation is still prevalent but in a less forward manner. Those who can afford housing, have it; those who cannot depend on welfare or assistance to provide a place to live. Since many minority groups are discriminated against, this could make getting public housing assistance more difficult than say if a white family were to

apply.
Some argue that these people have brought poverty and lack of success upon themselves by using the argument that there are resources available to them that white people cannot even gain access to. What they fail to see is their own white privilege. While whiteness is invisible to whites, it is a privilege that they are unaware of, society and cultural norms are organized in ways that privilege whiteness (Hurst, 2013). They are failing to see the larger picture, the impact of racial and ethnic inequality tied with poverty and welfare, has a macrolevel impact on many people.
The entire semester was spent discussing a litany of topics that overlap to form our society. While everything has an overlap, the prominence of racial and ethnic inequality and the injustices of the welfare system will be a topic that can be chased round and round without an end. The best thing to do about these issues is to become educated with a purpose, not just to have the knowledge of how the system is broken.