It's not like I'm poor: how working families make ends meet in a post-welfare world PDF
Preview It's not like I'm poor: how working families make ends meet in a post-welfare world
It’s Not Like I’m Poor how working families make ends meet in a post-welfare world Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Kathryn Edin, Laura Tach, and Jennifer Sykes university of california press It’s Not Like I’m Poor It’s Not Like I’m Poor how working families make ends meet in a post-welfare world Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Kathryn Edin, Laura Tach, and Jennifer Sykes university of california press University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2015 by Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Kathryn Edin, Laura Tach, and Jennifer Sykes Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Halpern-Meekin, Sarah, author. It’s not like I’m poor: how working families make ends meet in a post- welfare world/Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Kathryn Edin, Laura Tach, and Jennifer Sykes. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-27534-8 (cloth:alk.paper) isbn 978-0-520-27535-5 (pbk.: alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-95922-4 (e-book) 1. Working poor—United States—History—20th century. 2. Public welfare—United States—History—20th century. 3. Tax credits— United States. I. Edin, Kathryn, 1962– author. II. Tach, Laura, author. III. Sykes, Jennifer, author. IV. Title. hd8072.5.h35 2015 332.0240086′9420973—dc23 2014016886 Manufactured in the United States of America 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fi ber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). To the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy at Harvard University for bringing us all together in the fi rst place Contents List of Illustrations and Tables ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1. Family Budgets: Staying in the Black, Slipping into the Red 23 2. Tax Time 59 3. The New Regime through the Lens of the Old 100 4. Beyond Living Paycheck to Paycheck 126 5. “Debt—I Am Hoping to Eliminate That Word!” 152 6. Capitalizing on the Promise of the EITC 182 Appendix A: Introduction to Boston and the Research Project 217 Appendix B: Qualitative Interview Guide 224 Notes 235 Bibliography 261 Index 283 Illustrations and Tables figures 1. Structure of the 2011 EITC benefi t 7 2. Number of families using government assistance programs 39 3. Number of government assistance programs per family 40 4. Categories to which tax refund is allocated 64 5. Number of AFDC/TANF and EITC recipients in Massachusetts 109 6. Number of families on AFDC/TANF in the United States 110 7. Changes in TANF, SNAP, and unemployment in the United States 111 map 1. Location of recruitment sites and respondents 12 ix
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