This chapter seeks to draw the reader's attention to the importance of the socio-legal arrangements that underpin the philosophy of public assistance in the US. It provides an overview of the array of various social programs and their administrative rules. Courts are key actors in social policy, especially the Supreme Court, because judges decide on what constitutes a legitimate claim on public resources. What is important to understand is that welfare rules have been the subject of fierce political battles in American history. These battles have opposed different levels of government, that is, individual states versus federal government, as well as types of constituencies, such as black people versus white people, urban versus rural, North versus South, and liberals versus conservatives.

The structure of American public assistance programs

The American welfare state has been described as a ‘laggard’ in comparison to others in the industrialized world. The US safety net is less successful at reducing poverty, partially because there is a much higher tolerance threshold for income inequality in the US than in other developed nations. The American welfare state is best described as a ‘liberal’ welfare hybrid, with five main characteristics.

First, the American legal and political tradition, by protecting citizens from the interference of a potentially tyrannical government, essentially promotes ‘negative rights’ (Sunstein, 2005). Socio-economic rights are curtailed by strong selectivity principles. Indeed, individuals can only have access to public assistance when they satisfy certain eligibility criteria, such as to be below a certain level of income, and behavioral requirements, such as actively looking for work.

Second, the US safety net is stuck between local residual coverage for the poor and reluctant national protection against traditional social risks, such as illness, invalidity, unemployment and old age. States and localities play a key role in the design and administration of social services and benefits. Federal agencies such as the Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) (Medicare, Medicaid and welfare benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]), the Social Security Administration (pensions and disability benefits), the Department of Labor (unemployment benefits), the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (housing assistance), the Department of Agriculture (nutrition programs) and the Internal Revenue Service (various refundable and non-refundable tax credits) are comparatively small given the size of the US population.