[lbo-talk] More on OEO and CAP

[Bill Bartlett]

Piven argued that one of the main reasons why the War on Poverty set 
about empowering local activists was that this was the only way 
welfare payments could actually be delivered. As I recall, the 
argument went that until then, local welfare officials, who Piven 
dubbed the "Poverty Police", simply refused to grant claimants even 
their legal entitlements. There needed to be some force which could 
compel the welfare workers at state and local government to pay 
people what they were legally entitled to.

 From my experience, this is highly plausible. But I wondered, given 
that you seem to have been involved on the ground with all this, what 
was your experience? Was that what happened and if so do you think it 
was what was intended. If so, it seems an unusually clever policy for 
the times.

Bill Bartlett
Bracknell Tas