a gathering of old men

            
            
             In the political game of shaping public opinion on poverty and the American welfare system, one of the most powerful tools that a warring faction can employ is the stereotype. A stereotype's power lies in two areas- it's fundamentally unfocused nature it cannot be proven, but more importantly, it cannot be absolutely refuted. The stereotype lingers like a rumor, and is trusted like a fact, despite it's lack of authentication. The only way one can separate the truth about the poor from the agenda-driven hearsay is to look at the real numbers surrounding the issue, and to contrast what those statistics say with current popular opinions. .
             One of the most widespread, and thusly, effective, stereotypes of those on welfare is the public perception of the AFDC family. Since the rise of "family values" as a popular political issue, the families of the poor have been the target of the political right - both their single-mother based structure, and their primary motives for having children in the first place, are under scrutiny. Recent sentiment, especially from the right, has been that young, unmarried, and unprepared girls have children out of wedlock only to collect the welfare benefits. In War on the Poor, Rep. Roukema of New Jersey is quoted, "No other civilized nation in the world pays young girls to have babies. But that's what our system does." Statements like this insinuate several points- first, that welfare recipients are more likely to have more children than other families, and secondly, that this is part of a pre-meditated effort to make money. According to the conservative viewpoint, children are being robbed of the traditional American family experience, and their own families are essentially irresponsible, unhealthy, and most of all, illegitimate. .
             Both War on the Poor and The Working Class Majority do a fine job of taking on this stereotype and it's many facets, citing precise statistics that speak louder than any unfocused generalization.