Patchwork Welfare Nation

Welfare anger made a huge splash with Reagan, again in the mid-1990's, and now it seems to be making yet another comeback.

But there's a very racialized view of welfare--and it's not justified. Just looking at the map, I'm not seeing many "welfare queen" bastions. It's mostly the rural poor, and the majority of welfare recipients are white. I'm sure high urban incomes offset this somewhat, but it's interesting nevertheless:

Here's a map of Welfare by county. Also this article, from the Chicago Tribune, discusses the stats and perceptions of welfare. This article, from the New York Times, supplements the map somewhat.

I'm glad to see this issue is getting attention though. The difference between peoples' perceptions and reality is vast on a lot of political issues--perhaps none more than welfare, though.