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Daniel Patrick Moynihan

1965 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then working at the Department of Labor, published The Negro Family—The Case for National Action. 

Moynihan was concerned about the growing number of children growing up in households without both parents. Moynihan plotted the unemployment rate and the welfare dependency rate on one graph. Moynihan noticed that during the 1950s when unemployment went down, so did the number of welfare cases. This made sense to Moynihan. But in the 1960s, this relationship disappeared. Unemployment went down, but welfare went up and continued to go up.

Related Links:

Program Segment 12

Interviews:
Moynihan
DeMuth
Fukuyama
Jencks
Loury

Social Disruptions

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