Abstract

The negative impacts of the Great Recession (GR) (2007 to 2009) on the lives of families with low incomes warrant social work concerns about how well antipoverty policy responded to meet economic needs over this period and since. Given America’s long-standing tension between welfare state adequacy and market-oriented policies, how well did the safety net respond to the economic downturn? Did GR-era changes reverse or accelerate trends in public assistance? This article examines key policy changes and indicators of caseloads, inclusion, and generosity for three antipoverty policies: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), and the Earned Income Tax Credit from 2007 to 2017. Authors’ analysis shows a continuation of market-oriented U.S. antipoverty policy. Authors argue that the reemphasis of conditioning benefits on employment undermines the countercyclical feature of the social safety net and perpetuates the inequitable redistribution of public resources between those inside and outside of the labor market. Authors discuss social workers’ role in strengthening antipoverty policies to improve the economic well-being of people with low incomes and the economic justice of the social safety net.

中文翻译：

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自大衰退以来的美国安全网：趋势与改革，2007-2017

摘要

大萧条（GR）（2007 年至 2009 年）对低收入家庭生活的负面影响值得社会工作关注，即反贫困政策在此期间和此后如何满足经济需求。鉴于美国在福利国家充足性和市场导向政策之间长期存在紧张关系，安全网对经济衰退的反应如何？GR 时代的变化是逆转还是加速了公共援助的趋势？本文研究了三项反贫困政策的关键政策变化和案例量、包容性和慷慨程度指标：贫困家庭临时援助、补充营养援助计划（SNAP，原食品券计划）和 2007 年至2017. 作者的分析表明，美国以市场为导向的反贫困政策仍在继续。作者认为，重新强调就业条件福利破坏了社会安全网的反周期特征，并使劳动力市场内外公共资源的不公平再分配永久化。作者讨论了社会工作者在加强反贫困政策以改善低收入人群的经济福祉和社会安全网的经济正义方面的作用。