Jill Quadagno is Professor of Sociology and Mildred and Claude Pepper Chair in Social Gerontology at Florida State University. She is the author of The Transformation of Old Age Security.

Thirty years after Lyndon Johnson declared a 'War on Poverty, ' the United States still lags behind most Western democracies in national welfare systems, lacking such basic programs as national health insurance and child care support. Some critics have explained the failure of social programs by citing our tradition of individual freedom and libertarian values, while others point to weaknesses within the working class. In The Color of Welfare, Jill Quadagno takes exception to these claims, placing race at the center of the 'American Dilemma.'