Abandonment of poor: much worse than you thought

On this page, we present another map of the United States, this time color-coded by the inflation-adjusted value of the maximum monthly benefit in each state. Again, use the year slider to view different years. You will see that in 1970, the maximum monthly AFDC value was more than $1,000 in 29 jurisdictions, while in 2011 it was more than $1,000 in none. In Mississippi, the state with the lowest monthly benefit maximum, the benefit level in 1970 was $334; in 2011, it was $175.