The undeserving poor : America's enduring confrontation with poverty /

Katz (Univ. of Pennsylvania) has written a provocative, insightful, and much-needed update to the first edition of his The Undeserving Poor (1990). Like the first edition, this gives a comprehensive and well-thought-out interpretation of the history of how the poor have been dealt with in the US, based largely on the Poor Laws in Europe. However, in this edition Katz goes several steps further by discussing the framework that defines the ongoing contention among those concerned with policy making regarding the poor: how to draw boundaries between those who deserve to be helped and those who do not; how to provide help without creating more dependence on social aid; and what we owe the poor. Challenging centuries-long debate surrounding these questions, Katz convincingly argues that the interaction among political economy, resources, and power offer clues to addressing these questions, and that ad hoc deliberation, rather than ineffective consistency that has dogged past efforts to combat poverty, must be the order of the day. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic audiences, upper-division undergraduate and up; researchers; professionals; general readers. L. T. Grover Southern University and A&M College