ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an analysis of public perceptions and myths regarding the poor as they relate to core cultural values and presents federal statistics on the measurement and extent of poverty. It discusses many of the assumptions and perceptions of the poor that provide an important part of the underpinnings for current welfare policy. Most of the images of the poor and the causes of poverty that have dominated United States history have focused in one way or another on alleged weaknesses among the poor themselves. The problem of hunger, of course, is linked to the issue of good health. Reaction to the problem of poverty in the United States was heavily influenced by the English approach. Historically, perceptions of the poor have been conditioned by the cultural context. Proponents hailed the new package as a reflection of American values of traditional family, work, and independence, and as a way of forcing those on welfare to be “responsible.”
