The Working Poor and Welfare Recipiency: Participation, Evidence, and Policy Directions

Abstract

Current welfare debates assume that the poor are taking unfair advantage of the government's largess by shunning work for welfare benefits. Yet many studies indicate that many of those who qualify for welfare benefits fail to receive assistance. This study adds to this growing body of research by finding that a substantial number of the working poor do not receive the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Food Stamp benefits for which they qualify. Thus, it does not appear that the working poor (nor the general population of the poor) are taking advantage of the welfare system. In addition, we examine the argument that the working poor are poor because they are somewhat unusual-that they are either very young or old, do not work many hours, drop out of high school, or are in unusual family arrangements. We find that the working poor do not share these characteristics to the extent previously claimed. Many of the working poor are in married-couple families, most are in their prime working years, most have at least a high school education, and the majority work many hours. We conclude that rather than being poor because of their own bad choices or behavior, the working poor are destitute because of the particular jobs they hold, which tend to be in low-paid service occupations and industries.

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