An Assessment of Federal Welfare Reform Policy in Texas

This is a study in intergovernmental relations which allows an insight into the workings of federalism in the United States through an examination of public welfare reform policies. Born from the need for national fiscal constraints, welfare reform has been fueled by public opinion concerned with a variety of social disorders, a strong national conservative trend, and political considerations. In Texas, where the reliance of the federal government on states rights and freedom give the states greater flexibility to meet particular needs, welfare reform has been fashioned by the political culture which emphasizes individual initiative, the state’s economic conditions, a conservative ideology, and the political designs of a Republican governor. One result of welfare reform in Texas, especially as it applies to legal resident immigrants along the Texas-Mexico border, has been the further deterioration of poverty-stricken communities such as Hidalgo County, which are also politically weak given poor voting records. The implication is that welfare reform will accelerate the incidence of poverty-stricken areas, already negatively affected by NAFTA, along the Texas-Mexico border.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Grantor

Southwest Texas State University

Year dc:date.issued

1998

Author dc:creator

• Pérez, Lisa

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cardenas, Leonardo

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Robertson, Naomi
• De Soto, William

• public welfare
• federal aid
• Hidalgo County

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10877/20993

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/20993