SOCY 1101 - Intro to Sociology Assignment #4: Welfare Myths

 

4^th Assignment:

Roberts points out the welfare reform that took place under Bill Clinton's presidency was shaped by ideological assumptions, which manifest in three myths when translated to black women's reproductive policies. Choose one of the three myths and explain it.

Roberts describes 3 myths often thrown against welfare initiatives:

Welfare induces childbirth

Welfare causes dependency

Marriage can end children's poverty

While these viewpoints are quite oversimplified to the point that it seems like a straw-manning of conservative ideals, the third viewpoint is the most interesting to discuss.

It is no hidden secret that divorce rates used to be very high in the US thanks to the introduction of no-fault divorces and other more liberal policies throughout the 20th century. They correlated with the rise in single-parent homes. Statistics from around the nation demonstrate that single-parent child-rearing has profound negative consequences on childhood development. Especially Black populations were hit hard by the 1980s Crack epidemics and the mass incarceration system, leaving many families with missing fathers. This phenomenon even started its own myth of the absent Black father often repeated/parroted by different news pieces.

 

The bad press surrounding single-parent families and missing fathers spawned a reactionary solution: marriage, a return to the "good old" roots of family. The basic knee jerk reaction is to return to the old days when families were solid and parents remained married for life. Unfortunately, this attempt to use marriage as a tool to stabilize society completely ignores the emotional reasons behind divorce and does nothing to attack the actual root cause of poverty. It is a narrow, short-sighted attempt to tackle an economic issue socially. Roberts attacks this misplaced notion of wealth through marriage by pointing out that Blacks in 2 parent households are more likely to be poor than white children in female-headed households.

 

In essence, the myth takes a look at the good statistical benefit of married, two-parent households and attempts to gain these mythical societal and economic benefits by encouraging people to marry. Roberts sees this as a manipulative attempt to punish rebellious, single Black mothers, whereas I see it more as the State's misplaced attempt to improve society. Whatever the true cause may be, marriage will definitely NOT end children's poverty.

4^th Assignment Discussions

Kevin Chen

Welfare's connection to increased fertility was tenuous at best, relying on stereotypes of welfare Queens to rile up the public. The reality does not quite pan out as America does not have many benefits at all to give. Compare the US to other EU countries with better healthcare coverage and benefits, does their better welfare system increase their fertility rates?

 

A resounding NO. Interestingly, high fertility rates are present in some of the world's poorest nations with no benefits whatsoever. Nations with great welfare systems seem to be struggling from quite the opposite, low fertility (such as Japan). Controlling birth rates itself is a daunting and complicated task done by various governments throughout the world with varying levels of success.