Table of Contents

Introduction Ezra Rosser; Part I. Welfare and Federalism: 1. The tools in the battle: federalism, entitlement, and punishment across the US social welfare state Wendy Bach; 2. Laboratories of suffering: toward democratic welfare governance Monica Bell, Andrea Taverna, Dhruv Aggarwal and Isra Syed; 3. The difference in being poor in red states versus blue states Michelle Gilman; Part II. States, Federalism, and Anti-Poverty Efforts: 4. States' rights and state wrongs: SNAP and Medicaid work requirements in rural America Rebecca H. Williams and Lisa Pruitt; 5. State and local tax takeaways Francine Lipman; 6. Early childhood development and the replication of poverty Clare Huntington; 7. States diverting funds from the poor Daniel Hatcher; 8. States' evolving role in SNAP David Super; Part III. Advocacy: 9. Federalism in health care reform Nicole Huberfeld; 10. Poverty lawyering in the states Andrew Hammond; 11. Conclusion. A way forward Peter Edelman.

Promotional Information

An overview of the role played by federalism in anti-poverty policy and in poverty law.

About the Author

Ezra Rosser is a law professor at American University Washington College of Law, where he teaches poverty law, property law, and federal Indian law. He is a co-author of the leading poverty law textbook and is the editor of the Poverty Law Blog.

Reviews

'American federalism has many faces, both bountiful and miserly, beneficent and malicious. Sadly, as Holes in the Safety Net shows, America's poor too often see its darkest face. Fortunately, the experts whose work animates this powerful book also light the path to a better federalism for the nation's most vulnerable citizens.' Jacob S. Hacker, Yale University, Connecticut, co-author of Winner-Take-All Politics and American Amnesia and author of The Great Risk Shift

'This volume brings together the most important and influential scholars investigating poverty and the government programs designed to assist those living in it. The book is a must-read for anyone trying to understand why poverty persists in the one of richest countries in the world.' Khiara M. Bridges, Boston University and author of The Poverty of Privacy Rights

'This fine collection illuminates the important role that the legal profession has come to play in defining and defending a rights-basis for our social policies that deal with poverty and inequality.' Francis Fox Piven, City University of New York and co-author of Regulating the Poor and Poor People's Movements

'This exploration of the intersection of federalism and poverty policy includes informative, timely essays that speak to critical questions of how best to formulate policy … Overall the collection is critical of how US poverty programs have evolved, but it does offer hope and guidance to those working on poverty policy. This collection offers a lot to like.' N. K. Mitchell, Choice