Editing Working poor (section)

===Welfare state generosity===
Cross-national studies like Lohmann (2009) and Brady, Fullerton, and Cross (2010) clearly show that countries with generous [[welfare state]]s have lower levels of working poverty than countries with less-generous welfare states, even when factors like demography, economic performance, and labor market institutions are taken into account.  Having a generous welfare state does two key things to reduce working poverty: it raises the [[minimum wage|minimum level of wages]] that people are willing to accept, and it pulls a large portion of low-wage workers out of poverty by providing them with an array of cash and non-cash government benefits.<ref name="Lohmann">{{cite journal|last=Lohmann|first=Henning|year=2009|title=Welfare States, Labour Market Institutions and the Working Poor: A Comparative Analysis of 20 European Countries|url=http://esr.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/4/489.short|journal=European Sociological Review|volume=25|issue=4|pages=489–504|doi=10.1093/esr/jcn064|access-date=5 November 2011|hdl=10419/27300|hdl-access=free}}</ref>  

Many{{who|date=July 2019}} think that increasing the United States' welfare state generosity would lower the working poverty rate. A critique of this proposal by [[Charles Murray (political scientist)|Charles Murray]] is that a generous welfare state would not work because it would stagnate the economy, raise unemployment, and degrade people's work ethic.<ref name="Murray">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/losinggroundamer00murr_0|url-access=registration|quote=losing ground murray.|title=Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950–1980|last=Murray|first=Charles|authorlink=Charles Murray (political scientist)|publisher=Basic Books|year=1984|isbn=978-0-465-04233-3|location=New York}}</ref>  However, {{as of|2011|lc=y}}, most European countries have a lower [[List of countries by unemployment rate|unemployment rate]] than the US. Furthermore, although Western European economies' growth rates can be lower than the US's from time to time, their growth rates tend to be more stable, whereas the US's tends to fluctuate relatively severely. Individual states offer financial assistance for child care, but the aid varies widely. Most assistance is administered through the Child Care and Development Block Grants. Many subsidies have strict income guidelines and are generally for families with children under 13 (the age limit is often extended if the child has a disability). Many subsidies permit home-based care, but some only accept a day care center, so check the requirements. However, in an academic research, half of the respondents linked aspirations to their tax refunds for financial support, even though they did not ask for specific governmental aid.<ref name="Sykes 243–267"/>

Some states distribute funds through social or health departments or agencies (like this one in Washington State). For example, the Children's Cabinet in Nevada can refer families to providers, help them apply for subsidies and can even help families who want to pay a relative for care. North Carolina's Smart Start is a public/private partnership that offers funding for child care. Check the National Women's Law Center for each state's child care assistance policy.<ref name="care.com">{{cite web|title=7 Sources to Help Pay for Child Care|url=https://www.care.com/c/stories/3153/7-sources-to-help-pay-for-child-care/|website=care.com|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref>