DOCUMENT 24 A Country Singer Decries “Welfare Cadillac” (1970)

This 1970 Top Ten hit song, written and recorded by Guy Drake, is premised on stereotypes of welfare recipients as undeserving. The song portrays an impoverished father with little incentive to work because of a government check (though in fact few fathers had access to public assistance). The song contrasts hard-working people who pay taxes with welfare recipients who get free commodities and drive brand-new Cadillacs. That same year, President Nixon requested that Johnny Cash perform “Welfare Cadillac” at the White House. Cash refused.