ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND THE WELFARE STATE: THE QUEST FOR POLICY INTEGRITY.

Policies directed toward alleviating poverty and caring for the needy have become the scapegoat of those who decry the way in which our policies are theorized, developed, and implemented. This is not necessarily because they are the most faulty policies in the policy universe, but because they are, due to a constellation of circumstances, less culturally and politically defensible than are most policies. Most of them lack a strong constituent base, and most seem alien to the premises of democratic capitalism. A fundamental resource allocation problem confronts the many poor people, especially those who face major financial shortfalls due to injury, death of a family breadwinner, or unemployment. These individuals have a rightful claim on the U.S. government's resources to help them overcome their economic disadvantage.