Over the last few years I've written a lot about people on welfare
and being on welfare. Others, such as Mike Marlett, for F5, Jan. 16, 2014, have also
written on what it is REALLY like to be on welfare.
AND STILL—the stereo types persist. I keep hearing people talk
about all the "free stuff" people get with the Democrats are in
office. "When we finally get rid of President Barack Obama the Republicans
will stop all that that free stuff he is giving away" (to his
constituents), I hear over and over again. I get tired of hearing that and
there is little I can do about it other than writing these stories to try and
educate people.
It doesn't take long to see that many people think of black folks
when they think of welfare. [1] I saw a comment in Yahoo News were a
person blamed the Baltimore
Kansas Senator Michael O’Donnell wrote an editorial to The
Wichita Eagle, April 25,
defending the new rules for those on welfare:
"A recent study shows that most Kansans support the
intent of this bill – to make sure resources are there for needy families and
to encourage independence rather than dependence. The study, conducted by the
Remington Research Group, shows that 64 percent of Kansans support the HOPE
Act. A majority, 66 percent, also agreed that limiting benefits from 48 to 36
months encourages self-reliance."
I don't deny the results of the poll. Much of what I hear people
say about those on assistance, and the comments I read on various news sites
would indicate that many people are badly misinformed and much of what they
seem to believe is just plain wrong. I would bet that O'Donnell knows they are
wrong but uses those on assistance as scapegoats. The poor are helpless people
and when the right-wing political establishment has problems with their own
policies, blaming them is a way to divert people's attention somewhere else. It
is possible that O'Donnell really believes his own blather and if he is that
stupid he has no business in politics.
And what is the stereo type of a person on assistance? —They are
lazy; they are on drugs/alcohol or both; they make no effort to work or find a
job; they are uneducated and people with low moral standards.
We see a man or woman sitting on a couch watching TV and drinking
all day. These people are believed to get everything they want or need free;
including phones and housing. Apparently these people are scene as those who
decided it is easier to declare they are poor and then everything they need is
given to them for free. They are getting a free ride while the rest of society
works hard and makes less money. People get angry because they believe they are
giving much of their income to those who don't work. Of course the reality is
quite different.
What poor people get is not that much and little of what they get
is really free. When I was doing research on my book, War on Drugs, War on People, in
the 1990s, I found that Black people make up less than half of the people on
welfare. I doubt if that has changed much since then. Another way to look at it
is that more whites than blacks are on welfare and most black people ARE NOT on welfare.
I was on assistance with my ex-wife back in the late 1970s. Back
then the two of us got $240 a month in cash. A single person I knew was getting
$116 per month cash. That was before Ronal Reagan. Since that time welfare
across the country has been cut—not once, but several times. I have been told
recently, by people who work with poor people, that people on welfare get less
benefits today than I did when I was on welfare 30 years ago. Kansas
I talked to Debbie Frank, from the Call Center for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families[2] and she gave me some ideas of what people
really get when they are on welfare.
"A single person can get $194 for food," Frank said. She
added that a mother with two children can get $347. That isn't much different
from the late 1970s. But getting cash is a different story.
Frank said that a single person can't get any cash assistance at
all. Only people with children can get cash. She couldn't give me an exact
figure, however she said they look a person's income. Most people that
come in for welfare have some income, most likely part-time jobs.
There are a lot of hurdles to get cash. The recipient has to take
part in a jobs program, take classes, pass a drug screening and if the
recipient is a sing mother, they have to cooperate with the states efforts to
collect child support.
When I was on assistance in the 1970s I considered public housing
but there were lots of restrictions. We had a dog and cat. We would have had to
get rid of them. There was a waiting list. When I lived in Junction
City Kansas
Over all nothing from the government is really free. There are
restrictions, background checks and all kinds of hurdles to keep most people
from ever getting on welfare. And that includes people with disabilities. The
government makes these benefits as hard to get as possible and the recent new
restrictions on how people can spend their money is a good example of that.
I'm growing tired of the ridiculous stereo types that seem to be a
part of middle and upper class culture today. These stereo types are wrong and
they are harmful. Many people in this country have not gained the benefits from
this society that we all take for granted and many of these people have worked
hard. Some are still working at minimum wage jobs. Some have gone through
tragedies, others simply made honest mistakes. It is bad enough these people
have a hard time getting health care and other necessities. They don't need to
be falsely identified as being lazy moral-less people. I for one am tired of
hearing all the insults and lies. All I can do for now is try to educate people
as to what poverty in this country is REALLY like. People in poverty are the
most powerless people in the US
Pix from britpoptarts.wordpress.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment