od sees this as especially destructive to family life, but both commentators see it as destructive and find that there are ample critics of the system on both sides of the political spectrum, though Ellwood in particular sees the need for some centralist restructuring that does not veer too sharply to Left or Right, neither of which he sees as having the correct answer.
Murray considers the question of welfare in the larger context of American social policy over a thirty year period. He has more in mind than welfare policy, though welfare is at the heart of what American social policy during this era wanted to achieve and also at the heart of how the system has failed to achieve those goals. Murray settles on the term "social policy" to describe what he is talking about and defines this as
a loosely defined conglomeration of government programs, laws, regulations, and court decisions touching on almost every dimension of life. Welfare programs are part of any social policy toward the poor, obviously. Jobs programs are part of social policy. So also are the Miranda decision and Affirmative Action and the Department of Education's regulations about bilingual education.
Murray also gives a clear indication of the goal of these programs, noting that each has
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