Welfare in America: Who is Denied Assistance?
Families in Need...who Are Bothering
We are a nation compassionate to others and its own, and we will take care of those unable to take care of themselves. Much of the time, it's those unwilling to take care of themselves taxpayers are often footing the bill for. I can't imagine the creators of this system forseeing that it would rarely be used on a temporary basis, and by any others than families having fallen on hard times.
Today we see lifetime recipients of welfare benefits whose offspring become the same.
We also see the system abused by people who will basically turn their children into hostages in a negotiation for free income. An individual who would otherwise be denied assistance poses the question to the system: You're not going to let my kids go hungry are you? Well, despicable person, they would let your kids go hungry....if you were contributing anything to your household.
A needy family, denied for trying:
Mine is a family of four, the children are ages four and one and a half. It's a single-income family, and has been since the eldest child was born. The budget has always been tight, so tight in fact, that there has been little room for any unanticipated expenses. Well, recently there have been many of those, and we've been unable to recover.
Formerly a paycheck-to-paycheck household, one paycheck no longer reaches the next. We begin every payday in the neagtive. We have no credit cards, car payments or cell phones. We have a tiny 10-year-old car that barely works and we share it. We rent a small duplex. We don't have the option of spending money unwisely or on fun, there simply isn't any do to so with.
Imagine supporting a family of four with these numbers:
Monthly income: $1647
Monthly expenses: $1538 (rent, groceries, utilities, fuel)
Then imagine getting denied food stamp benefits because you "make too much money".
The male head of household has had the same job for 5 years, and has advanced as far as he can without a degree. He is enrolled in school for the next semester to acheive just that. The mother of these children cannot earn enough of an income to even afford daycare.
Ours is a temporary financial hardship, but in the meantime we cannot count on assistance from our State, from a system to which our tax dollars have contributed over the years.
I've always been horrified at the thought of asking for assistance such as this, and would never have until it became absolutely necessary.
I've observed people whose families are being supported by welfare benefits, use the funds to buy drugs and alcohol, electronics, trips to the nail salon, etc. I think about them when I'm having to wait 3 days until the next paycheck to buy milk or laundry detergent, and I am outraged. It is an injustice for my family to be denied services while we are so in need, simply due to the fact that someone here has bothered to earn a living. It doesn't matter that it's not even close to enough, and that we've fallen on extremely hard times. We would be rewarded by the State of Texas for just not working at all.
So if you ever wonder who this system, funded by your allotted tax dollars, is assisting, know that it is not this family.
Published by Superdork
I am a wife, and a mother of two children. These two roles are my favorite parts of being alive. I'm one of the most imperfect humans I know. And I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. View profile
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28 Comments
Post a CommentHas it occured to you to stop having children DUH!
We have been begging for help with them for almost 2 years now!
It's been a horrible ride. A lot of the Negative issues are re-moved from this statement to encourage help or any other options that have been
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Yes, I agree that those people who are allowed to do nothing and be taken care of by the government are really not being done any favors. Our situation at the time I had this experience was a temporary one, and all I wanted was temporary relief. We have since moved on to a much better place. And my husband had already had a vasectomy by this time, so we weren't even going to have anymore children. We knew 2 would be our limit. So they wouldn't have even needed to do much for my family, and it would have had period at the end of it at some point--unlike most of the cases that go on and on and on for generations!
I have been right where you are. It is hard. It is frustrating but waiting for help won't get you anywhere. The welfare system is designed to make people sorry. The people who try are not assisted. They are punished. The people who are lazy are rewarded. Sad but so true. Hang in there. I hope your situation gets better. Keep on trying and Keep your chin up no matter how hard it gets. Great work here. Keep writing.. It helps
Great article.This is a double edged sword. People who are really trying to get on their feet, can't get help and the ones who will lay up and have a house full of children to live on welfare, get help. Times are hard and people who try should get some help. However, it has been abused for so long, it is impossible to be fair I think. I do know that if you are struggling and can hardly make it, hold off on having more children. Everybody knows where they come from. If you can't feed and clothe you and the ones you have already, DON'T have anymore. It takes millions to raise one. I know people are struggling. If they are trying to take care of themselves and are responsible, they should have some assistance. If they are just being irresponsible and not trying to do their very best, I say tough nuts. Get over it. We have become so dependent on being irresponsible and letting someone else bail us out, we don't even look for other answers. We just stick our hand out to the government. I h
I AM A NEWLYWED WITH A THREE MONTH OLD DAUGHTER. MY HUSBAND WORKS TWO JOBS AND I AM A FULL-TIMW STUDENT PURSUING A LAW DEGREE. I WANT TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME WITH MY DAUGHTER AS POSSIBLE, AND HAVE DECIDED TO EXTEND MY MATERNITY LEAVE. I GET ABOUT 100 DOLLARS A WEEK AND MY HUSBAND MAKES ON AVERAGE 1300 A MONTH. THAT AVERAGES AT ABOUT 1800 DOLLARS A MONTH. WE ARE LIVING WITH MY MOM, THE THREE OF US SHARE ONE COUCH!!! WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE FOR AN APARTMENT, BUT WE PAY BILLS HERE, AND HAVE OUR OWN EXPENSES, SUCH AS FOOD, GAS, PHONE, CAR, INSURANCE ETC. WE APPLIED FOR A ONE-TIME RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. WE JUST NEED A BOOST TO GET ON OUR FEET, OUR PLAN IS NOT TO GET MONTHLY ASSISSTANCE AT ALL. HOWEVER MY HUSBAND APPARENTLY WORKS TOO HARD TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY, AND I MAKE TOO MUCH FOR MY PAID FAMILY LEAVE., WE WERE DENIED. OUR OPTIONS ARE LIMITED, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE ON HOW WE CAN GET A LITTLE HELP TO GET OUR LIFE STARTED??
I totally agree with this author. My family is doing a little better as we never have trouble with the small necessities like laundry detergent, but we can't buy a car, car insurance, and a bigger apartment (we're in a one bedroom, my husband and I sleep in the living room so our son can have his own room.) I can't work because I have anxiety and major depression. I need therapy to work and I need work to get therapy, figure that one out. Besides, part time jobs don't pay enough to even bother with what with daycare costs. I saw that one person said that is because of a lack of education. That is not true, I have my diploma. Just when your young and starting out the jobs only offer minimum wage and at part time that will only just cover daycare. I understand that not everyone on welfare is lazy, they are just having a hard time, but a lot of them are lazy. You don't think so? My friend isn't working, so she's living off welfare, because she wants to be a stay at home mom. She's single!
poor attacking the poor' unbeliveable. If you are earning to much for welfare and you cant make ends meet' imagine how hard it is for someone who only has welfare.
Why dont you attack the billionaires and city worker who get all the tax breaks. In london a cleaner paid more tax than her billionaire employer. I detest paying $10 for a gallon of gas which is 90% tax, a millionaire could be filling his car next to a pearson on minimum wage and both paying the same amount for their gas.
In the uk the poor pay more for gas and eletric through prepayment meters whilst the well off pay less by paying by direct debit.
In the uk last week it was the disabled that were getting attacked by politicians stating " even a person with no legs and arms could do some kind of work".
In the victorian days a miner could work down the pits and keep his wife and eight kids yet today we need both parents to work just to survive.
I said to my wife after working a 60 hour week that slaves lived better th
And I couldn't agree more about what you (the author) said your comments about moms staying home with their kids - there IS a huge cost to society when kids are in day care their whole lives, we must remember that. And why have them, if you're not raising them?!? Our society is really messed up in thinking that a family is doing something wrong by having a mom stay home to RAISE HER CHILDREN. Superdork, you should subscribe to the free magazine, "Above Rubies" a publication of No Greater Joy Ministries - it is very encouraging to people like us who know it is best for children to be raised at home.
I have felt this way a lot myself recently. If you have a job, even if it is one of the highest paying jobs in the whole county (except for doctors, lawyers, etc.) and you're barely above the poverty line, and you miss the parameters for gov't assistance by a small amount, you're out of luck, and worse off financially than people who get food stamps and welfare. If I'm so well off, those programs should bring people up to my "high" income, not to a level surpassing it - that implies I don't make enough, right?