Lifting Up the People

Bill Clinton’s promise to “end welfare as we know it” played a decisive role in his 1992 victory. Despite its deliberate vagueness, Clinton’s pledge foreshadowed real changes. Jason DeParle’s fascinating new book, American Dream, chronicles the “end of welfare” from Clinton’s campaign slogan through the historic legislation passed by a Republican Congress, and— even more important—offers an insightful examination of poverty and the underclass.

DeParle begins with the following premise: “We live in a country where anyone can make it: yet generation after generation some families don’t. To argue about welfare is to argue about why.” He attempts to answer this question through an in-depth personal exploration of the lives of the poor—and the result is one of the best books on the American underclass ever written, a compelling account that is disturbing, yet hopeful.

RR

About the Author

Robert Rector

Mr. Rector is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

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Bill Clinton’s promise to “end welfare as we know it” played a decisive role in his 1992 victory. Despite its deliberate vagueness, Clinton’s pledge foreshadowed real changes. Jason DeParle’s fascinating new book, American Dream, chronicles the “end of welfare” from Clinton’s campaign slogan through the historic legislation passed by a Republican Congress, and— even more important—offers an insightful examination of poverty and the underclass.

DeParle begins with the following premise: “We live in a country where anyone can make it: yet generation after generation some families don’t. To argue about welfare is to argue about why.” He attempts to answer this question through an in-depth personal exploration of the lives of the poor—and the result is one of the best books on the American underclass ever written, a compelling account that is disturbing, yet hopeful.