Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy.(Review) (book review)

By Martin Gilens. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. 296p. $25.00.

Why Americans Hate Welfare is a lucid and provocative investigation of how Americans think about poverty and what they believe government should do in its efforts to help the poor. Readers who hope to find a compelling explanation for hostility toward public aid will not be disappointed. In fact, this carefully argued study delivers far more than its title promises. Sifting through a welter of poll results, Gilens shows that "much of what is commonly believed about Americans' attitudes toward welfare ...

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