Welfare Reform: A History Lesson

When people say “welfare” today, they mostly refer to AFDC, the program for single parents and their children. These single parents are mostly mothers, of course, and the current vilification of welfare recipients and their “dependency” is directed primarily at women. The definition of the welfare problem is thus feminized, although this is not always acknowledged. Take the concern about teenage pregnancy as an example: the propaganda and the proposed solutions might l...