The Wages of Relief examines the Depression experiences of three municipal governments-Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg-and the individuals and families who relied on them for unemployment relief through the 1930s.

Guaranteed employment can be valuable insurance against poverty. But the recent experience in Maharashtra suggests that raising the wage rate when you don't have the budget to pay for it is not in the interests of all the poor. Some get higher pay, but others must go without relief work.