I am behind on reading and commenting on journals; I've tried to catch up a bit today. Just because I didn't leave a comment, doesn't mean that I didn't stop by for a visit. I owe you a comment on the next trip.
I didn't plan to write an entry of my own today; I've been reading a really good book that my sister recommended, and my plan was to read a few journals, and get back to my book, 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. However, as I read journal entries and the comments that some engendered, I was struck by a recurrent theme, a willingness to give in to our pettier impulses, a rush to judgment of others, to assume that laziness, dishonesty, and lack of a willingness to work are what leave people impoverished or homeless or just without the basic necessities of life.
Don't get me wrong, I read much goodness and kindness in these journals too, but it's the judgmental observations that chill me. Far too many of us toss them off so casually, without even thinking about what our views do to others or what they do to and say about us.
Several comments that I read eagerly affirmed that people on public assistance spend their food stamps on cigarettes,T-bone steaks, and nonessential food items. I'm not certain what the nonessentials are. There is also the Greek chorus chanting how people drive SUVs while collecting public assistance and live in public housing while driving Escalades. Then there are those who attest to witnessing the food stamp users who leave the grocery store with their beer and wearing Adidas and sagging pants, and then climb into their SUV. Clearly, the rest of us are missing out on a good thing. We should quit our jobs, sign up for public assistance, and live the high life.
When I first began my legal career, I worked for Legal Aid, which provides free legal assistance in certain areas of law to low-income persons. Some of my clients were facing things like eviction from housing or repossession of a vehicle. Others had been denied Medicaid, SSI, or some other federal or state assistance. Some had been fired and then the former employer tried to block them from receiving unemployment insurance benefits. Some owed money to hospitals for medical treatment and the hospitals creditors were threatening them with collection agencies. Legal Aid doesn't handle criminal cases, but I did represent women seeking 50B (civil protective orders in NC's courts) in domestic violence cases and I also did child custody cases. Most of my clients received public assistance of some sort and I learned a lot about the welfare system while I worked at Legal Aid.
I have no doubt that somewhere there is someone, maybe a few someones, who have figured out how to milk the welfare system for all that it's worth. Much like the top executives at Enron and other corporate businesses figured out how to rob people of their life savings. Criminal behavior doesn't always wear baggy pants, sometimes it wears business suits and white collars. However, the majority of people receiving public assistance of some sort are not living the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
You cannot use your food stamps to buy alcohol, tobacco products, pet food, or laundry, household and paper supplies. By the way, they are no longer food stamp coupons, it's an Electronic Benefit Card (EBT), which may be used to purchase food meant for human consumption, and plants and seeds for food production that are sold in a grocery store. The SUV dealership does not accept food stamps. If you are interested in how much your monthly food stamp allotment would be click here.
If you detect anger in my post, then you are not imagining it. I'm not angry because some people think that those who are receiving public assistance are a bunch of miscreants who abuse the system, I'm angry because those misbegotten points of view actually impact the lives of the very real people whose survival depends on that publicwelfare system. Every person who believes the half truths of the Chicken Little clones who are constantly espousing myths and lies about the welfare benefits system makes very real decisions in voting for public officials at the federal, state, and local level. Those elected officials are the ones who decide what monies are allocated to what some call social benefits program; I prefer the term "survival programs."
During his administration, Ronald Reagan liked to tell of the Chicago Welfare Queen. According to Reagan, she had ripped off $150,000 from the government, using 80 aliases, 30 addresses, a dozen social security cards, and four fictional dead husbands. The country was outraged and the "Welfare Queen" driving her "Welfare Cadillac" became permanently lodged in American political folklore. What didn't get nearly as much attention was that the press attempted to track this "Welfare Queen" down only to discover that she didn't exist. The closest that they could come to a real, live welfare queen was a woman who had used two aliases and managed to collect $8,000 in benefits to which she wasn't entitled. (Interestingly, there was a wealthy couple living in Pasadena, California in the 1980s who engaged in welfare fraud to the tune of $377,000, filing claims for public assistance for 38 nonexistent children but they were not poor and clearly should have never qualified for welfare assistance.)
In addition to the EBT (formerly, food stamp) program, the major other funding for public assistance goes to TANF or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, formerly known as AFDC. TANF payment amounts vary somewhat from state to state. Under TANF, states receive a fixed amount from the federal government based on what they spent on welfare programs in 1994 without regard to subsequent changes in need. TANF frees the states from many federal constraints on how they manage the funds. The program reduced the federal welfare Based on a cursory check of the Internet, it appears that TANF monthly payments average less than $300. Sort of hard to imagine making payments on an Escalade on that income.
The bottom line is simple. Those of us who know better have got to start making as much noise as the town criers who shout half-truths, misrepresentations, and down right lies about the individuals and families that find themselves in need of a helping hand in order to have life's basic necessities. A society that doesn't take care of its least fortunate is devoid of values. Shouting about the greatness of America means nothing if we take no steps to ensure that everyone partakes of that greatness. For every person who is convinced that people who depend on public assistance are living the good life, eating steak daily and drinking imported beers, tell you what, quit your job, apply for TANF and get your piece of the pie. Don't forget to pick out your SUV.
The music is an orginal composition by Jeff Majors (on the harp) setting the 23rd Psalm to music. The vocalist is James Murphy. Majors has an album, Sacred, with equally beautiful songs on it.
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil;
My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
17 comments:
I do know a couple of families who receive aid, and they are not living the good life by no means. What they get is not enough to support the family. Families in our church provide when their cars break down, or when they need heat, or need the electric bill paid. We buy their groceries when the trips to the doctors each week eats up all their money in gas. We've provided in so many ways, and yet, they are not living high on the hog. They are just getting by, just making ends meet. I can't imagine anyone choosing that over getting ahead. There's a Catch 22 situation. Both parents are out of work, one due to disability, the other because if she goes to work, they will lose the assistance they get, and the expense of traveling to work daily would eat up anything they could make with minimum wages ... so they'd have less income if the wife went to work, and be even worse off than they are now. It's a lose-lose situation. It probably happens more often than not. I feel sorry for their plight... I am guilty of playing the "If" game... "If they had planned better when they got married... if they hadn't smoked or drank all their money away... if they hadn't spent everything they ever earned... if they hadn't lived for the moment... if they had gone to school and gotten a better education... if they hadn't had kids... " A nasty little game that prevents us from helping others out when they get caught in Poverty Circle. Your passionate words are true. We are too quick to judge others. bea
I only get food on my EBT card! I didn't realize u can buy veggie seeds , makes sense though!
Sharon
The biggest sin in this country consists in the plight of the working poor. Most people living below the poverty line are working full time, and yet the right-wing free enterprise Darwinian propagandists want us to believe that with a mere willingness to work hard, everyone can partake of the American dream. As my Dad used to say, someone has to pick up the trash. (Little did he realize he'd be refering to me!)
The way economies really thrive is when everybody contributes and everyone is taken care of. The reason there is poverty is that too few have too much, leaving the many to divide an every smaller portion of the pie. The unequal distribution of wealth is now as bad as it was under the great robber barons. And to compound the tragedy, much of those who suffer most from it buy into the very fantasy that keeps them poor and oppressed. All those red-state farmers and foreclosed are the ones who keep voting these velociraptors and their puppets into power.
I wish the profit motive didn't seem a necessary engine to prosperity, but it recognizes that human beings need reward. I just wish the rich and powerful who hoard their wealth and power so zeaolously would realize they're no happier making $100 million than they are $10 million. And if they are, that's a damn tragedy.
What a BRILLIANT write up today...It encompasses everything that I would say if I ha dyour elequance with words. It is the same over here in the UK. We rae bombarded with peopel who should know better shouting about people on benifits. Even the government try getting extra votes by saying how much THEY are saving the tax payers by chasing up on benifit fraud...not a word said about THEIR great big bonuses they pay themselves and the tax breaks they seem to get. It was a new years resolution of mine to wherever possible try to make peopel see 'bad' things that are written in the papers in another way. First question I always ask when they are ranting on about that sort of thing is DO THEY ACTUALLY KNOW THESE PEOPLE ? have the met anyone...At the moment it is hospital bashing time. yes there are undoubtably bugs in hospital...but there always have been !..yes people die in hospital...but then there always have been ..what they fail to say is that many millions more is being paid into out health service every year and the improvments that have been made... Oh yes please continue speaking up on behalf of people who ar eunable to do so for themselves. Love Sybil xx
sybilsybil45/villagelife
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for writing my letter for me. My anger at the blame bashers is so intense that I lose strength for a clear, lucid piece. Just..thanks.
It's a sad truth that one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. The very rare benefits abuser is the one that people focus on, rather than the thousands that need help just to survive.
Beth
I believe people espouse lies & myths on both sides of this issue. I do believe many people thru illness, lack of education, disorders, personality, circumstances & many other things, countless, do remain the working poor, while still trying to better their lives.
I have also thru charity work & the medical field encountered many who do not want to improve their lives if it involves hard work or making choices that are quite difficult. I've had people on both disability & welfare tell me they don't want to work. I've also had people on disability & welfare tell me they would very much like to work & have found it extremely difficult. I believe both sets of people.
If someone went back to me at 10, I would have been from then to about 25 a likely welfare recipient, but I never was. My parents just didn't go that way, & I'm not saying that was right, because they could have certainly used help rather than turning off the heat or going without food, but they didn't do it. Later on I didn't go that route either, but the route I did take was pretty hard in the beginning & not for everyone.
I am for economic independence, but not against social justice. ~Mary
I find that the magnitude of the damage done by white collar crime dwarfs that done by blue collar or indigent individuals. I think there is a fine line to be walked between those who truly need assistance, and those who have an "entitlement" mentality. Needless to say, I agree that all of us must understand the truths and the myths, and strive to make it equitable for all :o)
Sheria, I am glad you got this off of your chest. It has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time. The press and media sure can make a big splash with the cases that they present. Be the rich or the poor.
My rationale for remaining calm about either or any of these stories is that they are just "making" news. It is sad that a majority accept these stories and the usual thing and do not realize that it is a small percentage of the people that are the problem. The majority do not rip off the system but struggle along and do what is right and best for them. They will never make the news!
Keep up the good fight, wish I was younger or had more energy to join you. Bill
i think there are valid points on both sides of this issue, and extremes on either side are not good. i really like what you said: "Criminal behavior doesn't always wear baggy pants, sometimes it wears business suits and white collars. However, the majority of people receiving public assistance of some sort are not living the lifestyle of the rich and famous." perfect! thanks for sharing that beautiful video. :)
gina
your words only speak the truth... criminal behavior is truly not prejudice it shows it's ugliness everywhere... I love to read your entries... thanks for sharing
Kelly~
A thoughtful entry. I had to choose not to receive welfare benefits in my home state, Utah, but in Arizona and on the west side where the poor working class making a little more, enough to own their own little homes, knew how to treat the poor among their midst on welfare and food stamps. Utah people would make nasty comments in the grocery stores when they saw you get out food stamps. I lived on food stamps a long tme and could not have fed my children without. I would sometimes cry to think that relatives had to buy my son's sneakers so he could pay basketball. He never got a new shirt. I know how to shop in thrift stores and I thank god for the great movement of cycling clothes where the better off pass on clothes to the really poor. I would see the poorest Mexican women buying clothes to send back to Mexico for relatives I knew were probably in rags. My dad was the richest man in our town, a man of property and stocks and bonds, so it was a very humbling experience for me to live for years among the poorest of the poor. I felt God was answering my prayer asking where I was the most needed. I was needed to fight the very people you are talking about. My own father said that I had fallen into the gutter as far as he was concerned when I got too disabled to work! He didn't believe a word of it. If people are cruel to their own children they do not hesitate to crucify strangers. I saw people abuse the welfare system, but I knew that without it, many would be far worse off. We need more people to walk among the poor with open minds and clear vision and their hearts would break. i have seen far more people welfare saved. It is up to the people to see that the task goes on in helping others to become independent, such as myself. I always knew I had the intelligence to take care of myself, but I could not get the opportunity, because too many people's hearts were closed to my kind. Gerry
It's a shame that some people are so damn judgmental.
When I first started reading you I thought to myself here is a strong black woman who is intelligent and tells it like it is...Later on I've come to see a friend who I'm pretty damn proud of for standing on principle and reminding me to do the same. I've come to learn there are always two sides of the fence no matter what the circumstances are. When I first went deaf I couldn't handle my world (that's as honest as you get). All the jobs I had currently worked where factory jobs or jobs were you had to deal with association (telephone, running register, etc.) with people. I was lost and tried to find a way to not rely on the system to keep my on my feet. It was an entire year AFTER my last job ended (the business closed it's doors) before I even applied for assistance...trust me what they give you isn't enough to live on and I'm a small person.
Job wise the unemployment office, welfare didn't know what to do with me...what people don't realize is if your handicapped your going even further down the ladder of what will be done to help you. Almost 2 years would go by BEFORE SS disability. Now do I sound like someone who wanted to go that way? Yet all anyone ever saw and still sees is I'm on SS. They don't see the 60 hour weeks I worked almost non-stop for close to 25 years before that. They don't see my pride or defeat in being in this place. In reality I've worked more years than quite a few people ever will or have and I'm only 43. Right now I'm tired, school would be an option but by the time I finished there won't be alot of doors open, even fewer with my deafness. I'm not taking advantage of SS. I've done MY share of labor in the job force. Thank you for speaking up for people "LIKE ME"...(Hugs)Indigo
I too am dipping my toes in an out of J's at the mo. I couldn't resist coming to say Hi, to my fav girl! I am sitting in an airport at the mo going to Belfast so must be quick. This was a very thoughtfull entry. I read it real quick and tend to agree with you about food stamps. Our S/Services dishes out houses and food stamps and benifits willy nilly without checking up. I know this as my sister and her family benifit from them. She spends over £70 a month on Sky TV and has a 50" plasma on the wall. Food coupons contributed to that!
On the other hand I do not be grudge the needs a pack of fags either, after all what other treats do they have apart from 50" plasma's?
Love ya. Gaz ;-)
I dont' think I got this alert, oddly enough.
I feel for the working poor, and while not as familiar as others, I, like Mary writes, have known some who say they don't wish to work, and some who really really want to, but cannot, and etc. People who need help, need help.
I am curious, however, if you're anger at what you've read online in journals, is due to an entry, or its comments. I have seen some real negatively in comments. The only entry *I* have read, was about someone who could easily afford something but refused to pay. Anyone who canNOT pay, well, that'd be a different issue.
You're right...those of the finger pointing society need to point to themselves every once in a while.
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