Reading DeParle did not change my perception of social policy to combat poverty; it only re-emphasized what I already believe.  The current welfare system is not designed to help women, such as the one’s in the book, escape poverty.

Stone believes humans should be free to make their own choices with as little interference from the government as possible.  She mentions people have different skills and talents which lead them to different opportunities.  In order to maintain equality, the government has to take from the advantaged and give to the disadvantaged.  It would not be equality if only people considered to be “talented” received all the high level jobs….therefore one person’s equality may come at the expense of another’s liberty.  This reminded me of Affirmative Action.  Personally, Affirmative Action was of benefit to me as a minority, but not to my mother who is White.  I remember in the 1990’s when her position was given to an African American woman who was not nearly as qualified as she was.   At the time I was a teenager who did not understand anything about politics.  After reading Stone, however, the program makes sense from her perspective because many of the White people who founded the US owe many of their achievements to slaves.

In regards to the liberty-welfare trade off, Deparle’s book spoke of intelligent women who were no less talented than women not receiving welfare.  Social problems are what kept them living in poverty.  We saw Angie was a good student, and so was her daughter.  Angie’s home living situation as a teenager, and her daughter’s poor health, are what kept them from excelling in school.  We also saw these women attempted to work.  Angie went back to school to become a nursing assistant and later had a job at the post office.  She had to quit because of stomach ulcers.  The same thing happened to Jewell.  She attempted to go back to school, but the program was discontinued.  When she did finally work, she also had health problems.  These are clear examples of the policy needing to change; not the individual lacking intelligence or talent.

I believe Deparle did feel there was a trade off.  Although throughout the book dependence on others and the government was inescapable as a means of survival, they do mention always being under the control of the government.  First Hattie Mae speaks about having to hide her boyfriends and the gifts he gave her from the social workers who would do pop-up inspections on the house.  Later, we see the hoops Angie, Jewell, and Opal had to jump through in order to keep their benefits.