POSC 459 — Social Welfare Politics and Policy · Week 6, Monday 28 September 2026
Accessible text version of the Week 6 Monday slides — same content in linear order, with no slide-scaling container. Reading: Campbell chs. 1–3; Howard ch. 5; Desmond ch. 5.
POSC 459 — Social Welfare Politics and Policy Week 6 · Monday, September 28
Campbell chs. 1–3 · Howard ch. 5 · Desmond ch. 5
| Wed 9/30 | No class. At-home exercise, due 11:59 p.m. |
| Thu 10/1 | No office hour. Email me. |
| Fri 10/2 | Paper 2 due 11:59 p.m. |
SNAP (food stamps)
The EITC (a tax credit for low-wage workers)
The mortgage interest deduction
Tax-free employer health insurance
Pell Grants
| The rule | What it meant |
|---|---|
| Income: keep $2,100 of $3,250 a month | “a 100 percent tax on Dave’s earnings” (p. 16) |
| Assets: $3,150, total | No savings, no 401(k), no college fund (p. 17) |
| Family help | A gift counts as income (p. 16) |
“Dave and Marcella must stay poor, forever.” (p. 16)
| Tier | Examples |
|---|---|
| Private: employer benefits, tax-subsidized | Health insurance, pensions |
| Social insurance | Social Security, SSDI, Medicare |
| Social assistance: means-tested | Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, TANF |
“Which protections we enjoy depends on whether we work, and for whom.” (p. 31)
| If the person hurt were | Tier | Monthly support |
|---|---|---|
| Marcella | Social assistance | SSI + Medi-Cal, $3,150 asset cap |
| Dave | Social insurance | SSDI, $1,267 (p. 50) |
| Campbell | Private + social insurance | 60% of salary (SSDI + employer plan) + $864 (p. 52) |
A husband leaves → AFDC/TANF
A husband dies → Social Security survivors’ benefits
Joe Soss, quoted in Campbell, p. 56
Is that deservingness, or design?
| Program | Cut by 1984 |
|---|---|
| Social Security | 1.5% |
| AFDC (welfare) | 16% |
| Food Stamps | 19% |
Means-tested programs: under 15% of the budget, 70% of the cuts
Howard, pp. 92–93
| 1985 | 1990 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Families (millions) | 7.4 | 12.5 | 19.3 |
| Cost (billions, 2000 $) | — | < 10 | > 32 |
“No other U.S. social program grew faster” (p. 99)
| Favorite sons | Political orphans |
|---|---|
| Medicaid | AFDC (welfare) |
| EITC | Food Stamps |
| Housing, job training |
Howard, p. 92
pp. 100–101
His caveat: “two formulas for success, not one”
Head Start serves young children.
It did not grow like the EITC.
“What’s not to like? There must be something” (p. 108)
| Program | Eligible people who take it |
|---|---|
| TANF | about 1 in 4 families apply |
| SNAP, older adults | 48% |
| EITC | 1 in 5 don’t claim it: $17.3 billion a year |
Unclaimed aid, five programs: nearly $142 billion a year (p. 90)
“The American poor are terrible at being welfare dependent.” (p. 90)
| 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Homeowner tax subsidies | $193 billion |
| Direct housing aid, low-income families | $53 billion |
Mortgage interest deduction, by income (p. 101):
| Under $20,000 | Over $200,000 |
|---|---|
| $4 million | $15.5 billion |
Desmond’s three answers:
| Program | Share of Americans |
|---|---|
| SNAP | 14% |
| EITC | 19% |
| Employer health insurance, tax-free | almost half |
“We’re all on the dole.” (p. 92)
Is “deservingness” an explanation, or a label for the outcome?
Deservingness: the idea that some people have earned help (workers, children, the old, the disabled) and others have not
Pick one:
Use at least one. Gitterman is optional.
| Length | About 600 words |
| Evidence | One specific claim from a reading, with a page number |
| Position | Take a side. Both sides = partial credit |
| Citation | (Howard, 2007, p. 103). No title page, no reference list |
| AI | Yellow. Last sentence: what tool, what for |
| Due | Fri 10/2, 11:59 p.m., Canvas file upload |
Deservingness does / does not explain ______,
because ______ (Author, year, p. __).
10 minutes · then three pairs read theirs
| Last name | Household |
|---|---|
| A–H | A: single parent, two kids |
| I–R | B: married couple, one child |
| S–Z | C: full-time CSUF student |
Programs for the poor can thrive: the EITC did.
Friday’s question: does deservingness explain that, or just name it?