Christopher Howard is the Pamela C. Harriman Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary, where he has worked since 1993. He specializes in the history and politics of US social policy. Howard is the author of three books and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy; he has also written numerous journal articles and book chapters. He is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Scholars Strategy Network. He has won a campus-wide teaching award and an Outstanding Faculty Award from the state of Virginia. Chris was a History major at Duke University and earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from MIT.

• Acknowledgements


• Introduction


• WHAT WE SAY


• 1. General Public


• 2. Business and Labor


• 3. Churches and Other Charities


• 4. Public Officials


• WHAT WE DO


• 5. Income


• 6. Food


• 7. Housing


• 8. Medical Care


• 9. Daily Care


• Conclusion


• Postscript: The Social Safety Net and the Pandemic


• Notes


• Bibliography


• Index

In Who Cares, Christopher Howard focuses on the poor and offers the first comprehensive map of the US social safety net. He chronicles what Americans say about poverty, and what we do about it, capturing the views of ordinary citizens, business and labor organizations, churches and other charities, and public officials. Although the US social safety net is extensive, Howard argues that major gaps remain, particularly impacting Blacks, Hispanics, and individuals who are not employed full-time. Emphasizing how we have spent many years investigating the poor, this book also shines a light on the behavior and views of the non-poor.