Now might be a good time to talk about welfare – that aid given to lazy folks who milk the federal government coffers because they don’t want to “get a job.”
Former welfare recipient and journalist Rita Henley-Jensen writes in her article Exploding the Stereotypes: Welfare that welfare mothers “are a lightening rod for race hatred, class prejudice and misogyny.” Henley-Jensen also states that most often when one hears “welfare mother” the listener hears “black welfare mother.”
Myths about welfare recipients are rampant. Here’s some of what I’ve learned to debunk them:
- As with other women’s issues, poverty is often viewed as an individual problem (lack of responsibility) or a social issue rather than an economic issue. Actually, poverty comes about because of low wages. When rates fall, they fall for all workers, but the largest losses most often hit the lowest paid workers.
- Children (not African-Americans) are the largest group who receive public assistance. In fact that majority of welfare recipients are white (38%), followed by African-Americans (37%). Other minority groups (Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans) make up 25%. However, African-Americans are disproportionately represented on public assistance because they are only 12% of the population.
- To learn more about other commonly held beliefs about welfare recipients, read here: http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/myths.html
In 1996, significant changes were made to the nation’s welfare laws. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). AFDC was a 61-year-old cash assistance program that was passed in 1935 as part of the Social Security Act. TANF is a block grant which requires work in exchange for time-limited assistance.
Critics cite a few problems with the 1996 reform – called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.
- Giving power to the states eliminated a national standard by which to implement the reform measures. Now, individual states, not the federal government, set income eligibility levels for TANF.
- By requiring that 50% of welfare recipients spend 30 hours in “work-related” activities, societal factors that may perpetuate unemployment (inadequate education, transportation, child care, and mental health problems) are ignored.
- The five-year lifetime limit for receipt of TANF is too short and doesn’t take into account the time in which an individual is actually working while receiving the benefits.
- Learn more here: http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/issueguide_welfare_facts
Finally, many believe that any welfare legislation has to consider the particular needs of recipients who are victims of domestic violence (there is a high level of domestic violence among TANF recipients). Abusive partners can sabotage women’s efforts to become more financially self-sufficient by preventing women from working, attending interviews, or studying. I learned this and more here: http://endabuse.org/resources/facts/Welfare.pdf
There are a number of things we can do to improve conditions for the working poor. The first of which is to provide accurate information that dispels welfare myths. I admit, I used to think it was a “Black Thing.” And I have thought, “Why can’t these people get jobs?” Not only do I now know more. I know better.
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2 comments:
Wow, this was interesting. A lot of new info for me to read. Thank you for sharing this. I also recognize that there are some that do not work because the jobs that are available are not at a level that "white collar" workers would typically take. What happened to a "good and honest days work". McDonalds, Starbucks...pride should not get in the way of feeding your family and paying your bills.
Also, in California the Unemployment is higher than it has been in years and they expect the funds to run out in early 2009. So with an extension by Bush this will then cause issues for those are newly unemployed? These are very scary times.
This topic hits a nerve with me. I've been a working mother and a stay-at-home mother, both by choice. I LOVED working outside the home; being a working mother was also hands down the more stressful of the two occupations, for the simple reason that when I worked, I constantly struggled to compress my children's lives into smaller chunks of time than I thought they needed from me. That weighed heavily on me and still does.
But exacerbate my simple stress with insufficient education, single parenting, poor nutrition, possible unsafe living conditions, worry over child care, and poverty, and see where that leaves today's "welfare mother." How can she just "get a job"?
There are surely those who abuse the system. There are also middle class parents who angle for extended time on standardized tests for their teenagers so they can move up the college admissions ladder. I'll wager, though, that the vast majority of kids who receive time and a half on the SAT really DO have dyslexia or another learning disability. And that most "welfare mothers" really DON'T get pregnant to increase their federal paycheck.
I keep coming back to safe, decent housing and reliable, affordable child care as a starting point for women who are trying to end the poverty cycle. But that's a topic for another blog.
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