Vortexia's Secret

well, i was going to write about the idiots in my program, but then i discovered a comment on tony's blog that made me see it was so much more important for me to set the damn record straight. i can't believe that i'm stooping this low, except that i absolutely abhor the misguided assumptions about people on the welfare system.

welfare-to-work was a disastrous plan that has failed miserably. no, i take that back. it has been somewhat effective because the goal of the program was horrendous to begin with. the point wasn't to keep people from becoming impoverished, to help them out of poverty when they got in it, to help the children of these families to get a proper childhood or upbringing or nutrition or supervision. no, the goal was to get people off the program. what a circular goal. to get people who got on, off. but that was the point. and to force people into "traditional" families and "traditional" lifestyles. the majority of people on welfare are not men who are too lazy to get a job (as most people assume), or women who want the government to pay them to raise their children, or any other vision to that effect. the majority of people on welfare are women who cannot juggle an infant, a job, and the extreme expense of childcare. many of these women have a high school education or less, thus often qualifying them for minimum wage jobs. simply to make rent on an apartment, people must now earn 3 times the minimum wage. then you add in that childcare is several hundred if not a couple thousand dollars a month and there is no fucking way.

for those who think that these women try to get more money by having more children, let me set the record straight. if they get pregnant while on welfare, they cannot receive further funds. they only get an extra $20 maybe for an additional child. that may feed the kid a couple meals of formula that month, but doesn't even cover the cost of putting a diaper on the kid's ass to catch the shit that comes out after it eats. i know that's blunt, but that's the reality.

what else... the program also (now) requires women to identify paternity. yes, this is so that the men are actually held responsible. for the life of me i can't understand why the man who argued with me tried to make them out to be poor martyrs, but whatever. of course, it is also more of the value-laden politics that we've dealt with for at least all of my lifetime.

and the women are currently required to find a job, job training, or be receiving an education within 2 months of entering the program. in other words, the baby has to enter day care at 2 months old. i realize that women have had to make that sacrifice to keep their career for quite a while now since our maternal leave time is next-to-nothing, but that doesn't make it any better. not to mention, that day care for a newborn is outrageous, and if these women cannot afford it they are faced with straining family relations by forcing relatives to donate child care or with neglecting their child. and that is detrimental to the child obviously, to the woman, and to the employer even.

as for the "research" that has been unearthed that has proven that it is better for a newborn to be in daycare than to be raised by his/her own mother, i would love to know what insane scientists made that discovery.

i'm also curious if you realize that the government does not subsidize couches or condos, and that the average wait for section 8 housing is now measured by years, not months. and just how many of these poor poor fathers that are suffering under this program are paying their child support? you really think they're all walking their paycheck over to the nearest check 'n' go so they can do their share to take care of their child? hell no.

as for some valid research, before welfare-to-work and TANF (i realize TANF came after reagan but i'm using my current knowledge and not going into archives from the 80s for the original legislation) there were very few people who stayed on welfare for longer than 5 years of their life. being on any kind of government assistance is extremely dehumanizing. most people are ashamed that they cannot take care of themselves without help. they try to get off as soon as it is humanly possible. however, the welfare-to-work program has created a terrible catch 22. people have to be below the poverty line to receive welfare assistance. welfare keeps people way waaaaay below the poverty line. people have to have a job within 2 months of getting on welfare. once you have a job, even a minimum wage job, you make more than the threshold. you get kicked off welfare and are in even greater poverty. you can't afford rent. you can't afford the childcare to watch the baby while you're working. you can't afford to work, but you can't afford not to work while on welfare. you're screwed either way. your child is screwed either way because childcare, food, clothing, shelter... everything is scarce.

any other misconceptions you'd like me to correct??

to the guy who challenged this... you know what? thank you. thank you for giving me an opportunity to step up on my damn soap box and set the record straight. thank you for reminding me why i am strongly considering devoting the majority of my adult life to advocating for the impoverished and homeless. it's because there have been too many people out there making up lies and deceiving the public and villainizing these people who are less fortunate than them. i'm fucking sick of it. and i'm going to make a difference. give me an audience and a microphone or a computer or any other means, and i'll talk until i'm so hoarse that you can't hear me anymore, or type until my wrists swell and my fingers fall off. i won't sit idly by letting these people be misunderstood and misrepresented. fuck that. thanks. getting off my soap box now and getting on with life.

P.S. Keep them in your prayers.