Forcing welfare recipients into a lose-lose situation : political economy and Families First

The media have portrayed this new round of welfare reform as innovative and revolutionary. Welfare recipients are finally forced back into the workforce and can no longer rely on the federal government for a lifetime of financial security. The recent wave of media coverage portrays welfare recipients and employment as an independent phenomenon. This thesis delves into these complex issues by studying economic trends in the last half of the twentieth century and their effect on the economy. It also analyzes welfare recipients' ability to find financially sustainable employment in this new economy, appropriately labeled the age of global capitalism. Historical analysis and political economy are used as theoretical foundations for this paper to show how these phenomena are linked. Manufacturing industries have been the basis of the American economy since its foundation. In the last half of the twentieth century, services industries grew, overtaking manufacturing as the largest employer in the United States. This trend and the introduction of global capitalism produced dramatic changes in the economic structure of the United States. The manufacturing sector of the economy is disappearing. An enlarging dead-end employment branch is rising to absorb the leftover employees of the former middle class employment bracket. A bifurcated economy has risen as in the wake of the collision of all these phenomena. The result is two employment tracks; that of the knowledge-intensive work force, and the uneducated, low paying, minimal stability employees. The latest phase of welfare reform requires welfare recipients to enter the work force. There are immediate time limits and life time limits to enforce this policy. This thesis was aimed at discovering what economic prospect welfare recipients have now that they are being thrust into employment. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted to discover the types of job welfare recipients have held in the past, what training is available to them, and for what kinds of employment they will be eligible in the future. This study found that welfare recipients are being pushed into the lower employment echelon. The training system for Families First is decentralized and prepares individuals for employment with low pay and stability, usually in the services industries. With the added costs of health care, transportation, childcare, and food, welfare recipients are forced off of welfare and into the working poor population.