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Obama's Welfare Legacy: An Assessment of US Anti-Poverty Policies

Online ISBN:
9781447338376
Print ISBN:
9781447338338
Publisher:
Policy Press
Book

Obama's Welfare Legacy: An Assessment of US Anti-Poverty Policies

Anne Daguerre
Anne Daguerre
Middlesex University
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Published online:
18 January 2018
Published in print:
10 July 2017
Online ISBN:
9781447338376
Print ISBN:
9781447338338
Publisher:
Policy Press

Abstract

How will the social policies of Barack Obama go down in the history books? Obama's record stands out principally because of the strong political and philosophical commitment to affordable health care. However, the U.S. still performs badly in terms of antipoverty policies compared to other rich nations. Using new research, Anne Daguerre examines Obama’s legacy on welfare and antipoverty policies, focusing on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, (SNAP), and Medicaid. The book provides an up-to-date account of the contemporary politics of poverty and public entitlements in the U.S., comparing this with the Western European experience to assess what lessons can be learnt. Anne Daguerre explains how the Obama administration's attempts to expand the frontiers of the American welfare state have been confronted by institutional, ideological and constitutional constraints. The presidential capacity to shape legislative outcomes has been severely limited in an era of divided government and hyper-partisan politics. Barack Obama was faced by a right wing backlash of colossal proportions in the form of the Tea Party movement. Donald Trump represents the continuation of this revolt. However, Trump’s cabinet of insurgents has been unable to run complex government programs. The divided Republican-dominated Congress has failed to offer credible alternatives to Obama’s social policies. The ideological and partisan nature of the anti-Obama backlash could paradoxically help Obama’s signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act, survive the Trump presidency.

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