{"product_id":"9780871541154","title":"Saving Our Children from Poverty: What the United States Can Learn from France","description":"\u003cp\u003eMore than one in five American children live below the poverty line, a proportion that exceeds that of any other advanced nation. Although large numbers of Western European children live with single or unemployed parents, or belong to disadvantaged minorities, they are better shielded from severe deprivation by carefully designed public assistance programs. \u003ci\u003eSaving Our Children from Poverty\u003c\/i\u003e describes one of the most successful European systems of assistance for families, that of France, and through comparison with American programs offers a valuable guide to improving our own safety net for children and reforming our dysfunctional welfare system.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSaving Our Children from Poverty \u003c\/i\u003edetails the array of benefits available to both high- and low-income families in France. Government-run nursery schools provide free, high-quality care for almost all children between the ages of three and six. Children also receive guaranteed medical care under a national health insurance plan. The French system offers married couples most of the same benefits as single parents, and creates strong incentives to seek and hold jobs rather than remain on welfare. A French single mother who chooses to work still receives substantial income supplements, housing assistance, subsidized health care, and access to public child care facilities. In stark contrast, her American counterpart loses most of her cash benefits if she takes a job and receives no government assistance with child care. Because American policies focus disproportionately on aiding the poorest non-working families, parents forced to rely on low-wage jobs are frequently left without the resources to provide their children with an adequate standard of living.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the public debate on welfare reform continues to rage, ever more American children fall into poverty. Why does the nation remain so unresponsive to their plight? \u003ci\u003eSaving Our Children from Poverty\u003c\/i\u003e probes the American aversion to national assistance programs, citing the negative attitudes that have seeped into the current political discourse. A lack of faith in the federal government's administrative abilities has bolstered a trend toward decentralization of programs, as well as a growing resistance to taxation. Racial antipathies and a belief that financial support encourages irresponsibility further undermine the development of programs for those in need.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSaving Our Children from Poverty\u003c\/i\u003e illustrates what a nation no wealthier than ours can realistically accomplish and afford, and concludes with a viable blueprint for successfully applying aspects of France's system to the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Russell Sage Foundation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47027401916656,"sku":"9780871541154","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780871541154_p0.jpg?v=1763844871","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780871541154","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}