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Let Them Eat Ketchup. The Politics of Poverty and Inequality
Collins, Sheila D.
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1995
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December 26, 2007
"[This analysis by] Gilder [leads his readers] to conclude that the welfare state should be reduced and made unattractive and "even a bit demeaning". Let Them Eat Ketchup!: The Politics Of Poverty and Inequality Sheila Collins, p.68
The title refers to the Ronald Reagan Administration's declaration that ketchup, with its high fructose corn syrup and vulgar processed nature, was classifiable as a vegetable fit for children's consumption in public school cafeteria's across the nation. The book does a fine job introducing the sordid history of the United States welfare system and its progression (regression) into the modern era as it was in 1996,. The book is a wonderful introduction for anyone who must deal with the welfare system today or wishes to understand the sad state of affairs when embarking upon the noble career path to become a social worker.
Collins' book begins with the chapter "Class and Poverty: Myths and realities". Far from being a defanged account of history, this book opens with class analysis and does a fine job accomplishing what I can imagine Collins set out to do. Critique the aims of welfare with the actual practice of the welfare system.
Collins approach is easy to understand, easy to get into, and lays bare the innards of the bureaucratic machine that lurches so rarely in favor of the poor and disenfranchised. She adequately presents the manner in which welfare legislation is written, presented, influenced and finally voted upon. While briefly touching this subject, she prepares the reader to understand just what happened to get to where we are today; revealing the fiasco and joke of a safety net for those that most need it.
As a person who is at present living off the system (not of my choosing) [2007], serving the system (through health outreach funded by the California State Office of AIDS), and looking towards social work as a career path I can attest to the realities Collins speaks of so clearly in this short book. It delves deep, but the lumbering machine is far deeper: this machine forms an enormous knot. This knot is comprised of smaller knots; by pulling at one knot we strengthen other knots elsewhere. Thus each tug at each individual knot only serves to strengthen the macro-knot's hurly-burly reality! No one person can untangle this knot and we who deal with and understand the system must cooperate and work together to untangle this knot together!
The quote opening this review sheds light on the true nature of the welfare machine found in the present United States! As a college grad, it hurts to enter these office buildings and languish in the dehumanizing waiting rooms that ooze with sadness and discontent - furthermore being a college grad and forced into these offices because of the way Workman's Compensation legislation is written is a small atrocity. These people, We, don't want to be there (the absurd notion that people do want to be in such conditions is debunked fantastically in chapter one), anyone who says these people, We, does in deed want to be there has no grasp of the reality that festers within those office walls.
People want stability. They (we) wish to not go without vital nourishment. To work- to be paid- and to move on with their lives. Yet the welfare system today does much to hinder or flat out inhibit these wants. For instance, in California, if an individual is hurt at work- is not declared "permanent and stationary" by a doctor chosen by the employer, thus unable to legally work- and is going to school on a scholarship, that person CAN NOT receive food stamps, General Assistance or other programs necessary to stay afloat? This holds true even when the hurt worker is obtaining no income from anywhere! This is one example of how the current system does not work when one considers the pressure set by the media and general public opinion is to get as many people off welfare programs as possible (going so far as to bar many people from even applying; such as people who have committed federal crimes [even non-violent federal crimes]) and punish those who commit welfare fraud (which is less than 1% of all welfare cases nationwide).
Please. Read this book. There is no way you will go away from this well written, well presented, and well researched book without learning something important. If nothing else, it may open your eyes to a world most middle-class-America has not seen. Should your eyes be open already, this book will serve to open them wider.
The title refers to the Ronald Reagan Administration's declaration that ketchup, with its high fructose corn syrup and vulgar processed nature, was classifiable as a vegetable fit for children's consumption in public school cafeteria's across the nation. The book does a fine job introducing the sordid history of the United States welfare system and its progression (regression) into the modern era as it was in 1996,. The book is a wonderful introduction for anyone who must deal with the welfare system today or wishes to understand the sad state of affairs when embarking upon the noble career path to become a social worker.
Collins' book begins with the chapter "Class and Poverty: Myths and realities". Far from being a defanged account of history, this book opens with class analysis and does a fine job accomplishing what I can imagine Collins set out to do. Critique the aims of welfare with the actual practice of the welfare system.
Collins approach is easy to understand, easy to get into, and lays bare the innards of the bureaucratic machine that lurches so rarely in favor of the poor and disenfranchised. She adequately presents the manner in which welfare legislation is written, presented, influenced and finally voted upon. While briefly touching this subject, she prepares the reader to understand just what happened to get to where we are today; revealing the fiasco and joke of a safety net for those that most need it.
As a person who is at present living off the system (not of my choosing) [2007], serving the system (through health outreach funded by the California State Office of AIDS), and looking towards social work as a career path I can attest to the realities Collins speaks of so clearly in this short book. It delves deep, but the lumbering machine is far deeper: this machine forms an enormous knot. This knot is comprised of smaller knots; by pulling at one knot we strengthen other knots elsewhere. Thus each tug at each individual knot only serves to strengthen the macro-knot's hurly-burly reality! No one person can untangle this knot and we who deal with and understand the system must cooperate and work together to untangle this knot together!
The quote opening this review sheds light on the true nature of the welfare machine found in the present United States! As a college grad, it hurts to enter these office buildings and languish in the dehumanizing waiting rooms that ooze with sadness and discontent - furthermore being a college grad and forced into these offices because of the way Workman's Compensation legislation is written is a small atrocity. These people, We, don't want to be there (the absurd notion that people do want to be in such conditions is debunked fantastically in chapter one), anyone who says these people, We, does in deed want to be there has no grasp of the reality that festers within those office walls.
People want stability. They (we) wish to not go without vital nourishment. To work- to be paid- and to move on with their lives. Yet the welfare system today does much to hinder or flat out inhibit these wants. For instance, in California, if an individual is hurt at work- is not declared "permanent and stationary" by a doctor chosen by the employer, thus unable to legally work- and is going to school on a scholarship, that person CAN NOT receive food stamps, General Assistance or other programs necessary to stay afloat? This holds true even when the hurt worker is obtaining no income from anywhere! This is one example of how the current system does not work when one considers the pressure set by the media and general public opinion is to get as many people off welfare programs as possible (going so far as to bar many people from even applying; such as people who have committed federal crimes [even non-violent federal crimes]) and punish those who commit welfare fraud (which is less than 1% of all welfare cases nationwide).
Please. Read this book. There is no way you will go away from this well written, well presented, and well researched book without learning something important. If nothing else, it may open your eyes to a world most middle-class-America has not seen. Should your eyes be open already, this book will serve to open them wider.
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