Gaps in the US safety net: A
 Challenge
 for
 the
 Obama
 Administration


The
 social
 policy
 of
 the
 US
 welfare
 state
 is
 based
 on
 a
 liberal
 model
 of
 social
 protection.
 The
 social
 contract
 is
 based
 on
 the
 idea
 that
 individuals
 of
 working
 age
 individuals
 should
 support
 themselves
 and
 their
 dependants
 thanks
 to
 their
 earned
 income.
 However,
 to
 have
 a
 job
 is
 no
 longer
 sufficient
 in
 protecting
 individuals
 against
 main
 social
 risks.
 President
 Obama
 has
 been
 elected
 on
 the
 promise
 that
 he
 will
 restore
 the
 American
 dream,
 whereby
 individual
 work
 is
 rewarded
 by 
upward
social
 mobility.
However,
the
 Obama
 administration 
faces
 the
 challenge of
 rising
 social
 inequality
 and
 poverty,
 in
 an extremely
 difficult
 economic
 context.
The
 Great
Recession
 has
 laid
 bare
 the
 gaps
 of
 the
 safety
 net:
 a
growing 
proportion
 of
 families 
must
 choose 
between
 paying
 for
 food or
 rent.
To
 understand
 the
 inadequacies 
of
the 
US social 
protection
 system,
 it 
is 
necessary
 to
 study 
the 
structure
 of
 public
 assistance
 programmes,
 as
 well
 as
 labour
 market
 trends
 and
 the
 impact
 of
 the
 recession
 on
 low-income
 households.
This
analysis
 will
 shed 
light
 on 
the
 main characteristics 
of
 the
Obama
 administration’s 
response
to
 the economic
 crisis.