Saturday, May 24, 2014

Standing In the need!!!


The social welfare system continues to enable healthy human beings. The welfare system continues to favor the affluent people over the poor and true needy people. (Mimi Abramovitz)
The problem is that there is a wide gap between the worthy goals behind welfare and the ground level. There is a tremendous amount of diversity hidden in those large scales. At the same time most welfare recipient has work experience and most want to work. But behind the declining welfare there are a lot of welfare families moving in and out of welfare jobs. the system is design to enable people. I believe it does a great dis service for most people on it. In most cases they are healthy human beings that can obtain a work position and provide for their family. Welfare has made it easy for women to get pregnant and have children and not have to take on the full responsibility of caring and providing for their kids knowing they can depend on people paying taxes and continue to live it up on tax payer’s hard earned money. The question arises who is really in need.

7 comments:

  1. Statistically speaking, it is the very few who are taking advantage of the welfare system. Most of the individuals and families who are on welfare are on it temporarily. It can seem like the recipients of welfare are taking advantage of the system, but this is because we only hear about the negative affects, not the positive attributes.

    We also have to look at all of the funding cuts that have been taking place. Cash assistance is no longer in play, and food stamps have been reduced to a ridiculously low amount! One of the women who comes to my food pantry heads a household of five and receives $405. each month - for FIVE people! This is not enough!

    Then there are the people who have jobs - sometimes two - who still cannot make ends meet because of such a low minimum wage. Earning $8.00 an hour, (which is more than minimum wage) does not support a family of one, let alone a family of two, three, or four!

    Do I think it's right that some people take advantage of the system? No! Absolutely not! But we can't let the few ruin it for the many. If you're a single parent and you have children under the age of four, you have to pay for child care while also looking for a job, and then while you're working at a job. If welfare pays you more to stay at home and care for your children, are you going to work full time and not have enough, or are you going to stay on welfare so you can take care of your kids and make ends meet? It's not a black and white issue - there is a lot of gray.

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    1. I absolutely agree with you Laura. Thank you! There are so many other factors about Welfare that was not touch on. The history of welfare is so profound and deep and we as social workers should not help to perpetuate the ignorance of single mothers and welfare.

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  2. The persons who are in need aren't the ones who are getting the assistance. As you mention, the healthy able body person is the one who are receiving the assistance when in actuality they don't need it. Those are the ones who are as they call it "miking the system" for what it is and it's sad to say they are getting away with it. The rate of teen pregnancy is one cause of the problem and another are those who are just lazy. I personally don't disagree with the government when it comes to cracking down on welfare to those who don't need to benefit from it, such as those who are out there getting pregnant for a free hand out and for those who just choice not to work.

    However, it saddens me to see or hear those who are in need can't get the help they want because how curtain people have abused the system. My heart goes out the the elderly and for mothers or fathers who really can't work and have to live on assistance from the government.

    Why do they call it welfare?
    Is it because it suppose to be fare for all or is it because people suppose to be treated fairly well?

    These are just my thoughts

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  3. I think that while Edwina attempts to shine a light on some flaws that exist within the welfare system as it relates to some people becoming reliant on government assistance; her blog post however contradicts itself as it in one instance speaks about "the welfare system favoring the affluent over the poor and truly needy," but then castigates or speak of 'women getting pregnant and having children just to keep their government assistance." Edwina's response to this issue creates for me a dichotomy, because yes the system is flawed and is being taken advantaged of, but not by the mother who is allotted $200 dollars monthly to feed 4 children. The welfare system is being more exploited by major corporations as they are provided huge subsidies that take away from assistance that can be distributed to areas where it is needed more. Walmart, General Motors, and those big banks that were, "too big to fail, etc" are all multi-billion dollar corporations that the government provides welfare handouts to not because they are starving entities or families, (as most of the money is used on lavish trips, cruises, etc), but because these companies put money in the political coffers of the politicians. Boeing and Lockheed Martin, major defense corporations, are given billions of dollars annually in defense spending, but ironically the military continues to shrink (because wars are no longer fought in the traditional sense with boots on the ground, planes and tanks; wars are now fought with unmanned predator drones, and electronic computers that freeze countries assets). But nevertheless, these companies still enjoy the benefit of major subsidies that could be used to create jobs at home, improve our schools, our roads, and yes even provide subsidies to offset our outrages college tuition. It is a shame that a woman has to feel that the only security that she can find for her children is government assistance, but the reality in many homes where it's a daily battle to keep the lights on, the gas on, rent paid, and children fed; is that sadly this assistance is the only leverage that they have. I don't advocate for complete reliance on welfare, but the exploitation of the masses has to end, it is unfair to cast a spotlight on these mothers, but remain mum and closed lipped on those that rake in billions, and never have to worry about a gas or electric bill.

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  4. I agree with what Laura said. Poor families need welfare services to live and survive. These services are in place to help those in need. They are receiving welfare not because they are greedy, but just that it is a necessity of life.

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  5. Welfare was create to assist the poor and needy. It helps poor low income families with money and medical. I agree with Edwina to a certain extent. There are people out there that knows how to work the system and will cheat the system making it harder for the needy to have and or get government assistance to help their family.

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  6. I agree with what Laura said because a lot of families are on welfare, they have children to care for. And they also have to survive. They cut on food stamp is also affecting them but they do not have any choice than to accept what they see because they have to feed their family.

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