First They Came for the Poor: Surveillance of Welfare Recipients as an Uncontested Practice

Abstract

There have been moments in American history when government surveillance of everyday citizens has aroused public concerns, most recently Edward Snowden's 2013 revelations concerning widespread, warrantless surveillance of Americans and foreigners alike. What does not arouse public concern are longstanding governmental practices that involve surveillance of poor people who receive certain types of public benefits. This article traces the political history of U.S. poverty-relief programs, considers the perspective of welfare beneficiaries themselves, analyzes American cultural beliefs about the poor in order to offer some thoughts on why those surveillance practices garner little public concern, and argues that those who are concerned about warrantless surveillance of ordinary citizens should do more to protect ordinary poor citizens from surveillance.

Welfare Fraud 2.0? Using Big Data to Surveil, Stigmatize, and Criminalize the Poor

“…They cost more than budgeted for, fail to save taxpayers' money through the promised goal of uncovering welfare "cheats," and, to date, have yet to increase efficiencies and the delivery of services to those who need them most (Kennedy, 2012;Knaus & Davey, 2017; Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, 2015). Perhaps most troubling of all, however, is the uncontested practice and degree of surveillance and social sorting resulting from the data mining, which is being used to not only surveil but also stigmatize and criminalize those who live in poverty (Hier & Greenberg, 2009;Lightman, Herd, & Mitchell, 2005;Marechal, 2015).…”

“…In Canada, for example, it is estimated at less than one percent of welfare recipients annually (Maki, 2011;Mirchandani & Chan, 2007;Mosher & Hermer, 2005), and similarly low rates are found in the United States, Australia, and the U.K. (DWP, 2012;NAO, 2008;Prenzler, 2011). Yet governments in each of these countries are becoming more aggressive and punitive of welfare "cheats" (Chann, 2012;Gavigan & Chunn, 2006;Gustafson, 2009;Marechal, 2015;Marston, 2008;Marston & Walsh, 2008;Varma & Ward, 2014).…”

Spicy red in Shrimp Town: Smart farming and settler colonialism in Guizhou province

“…Major news headlines throughout Guizhou paint a picture of an up-and-coming province pioneering the most forward thinking poverty alleviation schemes. Yet, poverty alleviation can also be synonymous with top-down control by the state when social service delivery is coupled with invasive surveillance and population containment (McElroy and Vergerio, 2022; Byler, 2021a; Eubanks, 2019; Jefferson, 2020; Maréchal, 2015). Guizhou is seen as an incubator for national-level Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rising talent, as a place to test young cadres’ ability to implement economic development in a predominantly ethnic minority region (Zhou, 2017).…”