Halpern-Meekin, Sarah,

It's not like I'm poor : how working families make ends meet in a post-welfare world / It is not like I am poor Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Kathryn Edin, Laura Tach, and Jennifer Sykes. - xii, 286 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-281) and index.

Family budgets: staying in the black, slipping into the red -- Tax time -- The new regime through the lens of the old -- Beyond living paycheck to paycheck -- "Debt! I am hoping to eliminate that word!" -- Capitalizing on the promise of the EITC -- Appendix A: Introduction to Boston and the research project -- Appendix B: Qualitative interview guide.

"This book chronicles the impact of the sweeping transformation of the social safety net that occurred in the mid-1990s. With the dramatic expansion of tax credits--a combination of the Earned Income Tax Credit and other refunds--the economic fortunes of the working poor have been bolstered as never before. 'It's Not Like I'm Poor' looks at how working families plan to use their annual windfall to build up savings, go back to school, and send their kids to college. But dreams of economic mobility are often dashed by the reality of making monthly ends meet on meager wages."--Provided by publisher.

9780520275348 (hardcover : acidfree paper) 9780520275355 (softcover : acid-free paper)

2014016886


Working poor--History--United States--20th century.
Public welfare--History--United States--20th century.
Tax credits--United States.

HD8072.5 / .H35 2015

332.0240086/9420973