Why the funky title and photo?? Well I read the Feb 15th Philadelphia Inquirer and they had a very good article about the poor being on welfare. The article states that in hard economic times, there is more resentment towards the poor.
"Last month, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer of South Carolina said that when the government helps the poor, it's like people feeding stray animals that continually "breed."
And just last week, Colorado state legislator Spencer Swalm said poor people in single-family homes are "dysfunctional."
Well, bashing the poor is great for Republicans running in the 2010 Mid-Terms where Obama is a Nazi who coddles the poor
Both statements riled some Americans from the Piedmont to the Rockies and underscored a widely held belief: In tough times, people are tough on the poor."
Futher on, the article tries to explain what makes some folks stay poor.
"Americans don't understand how the poor are victimized by a lack of jobs, inefficient schools, and unsafe neighborhoods, experts say.
"People ignore the structural issues - jobs leaving, industry becoming more mechanized," said Yale sociologist Elijah Anderson, renowned for his study of the Philadelphia poor. "Then they point to the poor and ask, 'Why aren't you making it?'
Underlying negative attitudes toward the poor, experts say, are prejudices toward minorities, who are disproportionately among the indigent.
Twenty-five percent of African Americans, 23 percent of Latinos, and 9 percent of whites live in poverty. Overall, 13 percent of the U.S. population is poor. In Philadelphia, it's closer to 25 percent.
The United States "is very heterogeneous with very little ability to empathize with groups that are poor," said Washington economist Isabel Sawhill. That general lack of empathy can inspire anger toward the poor, especially from the right, experts say.
In Pa there is no 5 year limit since most folks on welfare whould then apply for the State General Assistance program. With the Extended TANF program, the state can continue to use FEDERAL funds instead of STATE funds,
,
Welfare rolls are down around 60 percent since the mid-1990s,In Pennsylvania, enrollment in welfare (now known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) dropped from 486,985 in 1996 to 217,820 last December, with 75 percent of the recipients children, according to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. In New Jersey, TANF rolls fell from 91,364 in 1997 to 36,738 in 2009, state officials said. Throughout the country, around 4 million people are on welfare, government figures show."
The article does address a real issue to me and many others. Why keep having kids when you can not EVEN afford?
"Attendant to complaints about people on welfare are criticisms of unwed women having babies.
"Unplanned childbearing contributes to poverty," said Sawhill, the economist. Others disagree. "Having a kid is not the problem," O'Brien said. "Growing up in poverty is."
Regardless, many people say they cannot understand why women in poverty have children out of wedlock.
For women living in a depressing world of severely limited means and hopelessness, a child "makes you feel loved and wanted," said Sutton, the Northeast mother of two. "Mostly, we don't love ourselves and make bad choices."
This I suppose leads to generational welfare.
Ashley Ortiz, 24, a currently employed, formerly impoverished single mother with a 3-year-old son in Northern Liberties, said young women often "don't have the building blocks others have to make an easier life, and what do you do when all you know is the example given you?"
"Interestingly, said Edin of Harvard, 72 percent do eventually marry by their 30s."
THAT I can not believe. Stats show that there are MORE then 28% of the poor that have single parent households. I also know from experience that most do not get married.
"Last month, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer of South Carolina said that when the government helps the poor, it's like people feeding stray animals that continually "breed."
And just last week, Colorado state legislator Spencer Swalm said poor people in single-family homes are "dysfunctional."
Well, bashing the poor is great for Republicans running in the 2010 Mid-Terms where Obama is a Nazi who coddles the poor
Both statements riled some Americans from the Piedmont to the Rockies and underscored a widely held belief: In tough times, people are tough on the poor."
Futher on, the article tries to explain what makes some folks stay poor.
"Americans don't understand how the poor are victimized by a lack of jobs, inefficient schools, and unsafe neighborhoods, experts say.
"People ignore the structural issues - jobs leaving, industry becoming more mechanized," said Yale sociologist Elijah Anderson, renowned for his study of the Philadelphia poor. "Then they point to the poor and ask, 'Why aren't you making it?'
Underlying negative attitudes toward the poor, experts say, are prejudices toward minorities, who are disproportionately among the indigent.
Twenty-five percent of African Americans, 23 percent of Latinos, and 9 percent of whites live in poverty. Overall, 13 percent of the U.S. population is poor. In Philadelphia, it's closer to 25 percent.
The United States "is very heterogeneous with very little ability to empathize with groups that are poor," said Washington economist Isabel Sawhill. That general lack of empathy can inspire anger toward the poor, especially from the right, experts say.
In Pa there is no 5 year limit since most folks on welfare whould then apply for the State General Assistance program. With the Extended TANF program, the state can continue to use FEDERAL funds instead of STATE funds,
,
Welfare rolls are down around 60 percent since the mid-1990s,In Pennsylvania, enrollment in welfare (now known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) dropped from 486,985 in 1996 to 217,820 last December, with 75 percent of the recipients children, according to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. In New Jersey, TANF rolls fell from 91,364 in 1997 to 36,738 in 2009, state officials said. Throughout the country, around 4 million people are on welfare, government figures show."
The article does address a real issue to me and many others. Why keep having kids when you can not EVEN afford?
"Attendant to complaints about people on welfare are criticisms of unwed women having babies.
"Unplanned childbearing contributes to poverty," said Sawhill, the economist. Others disagree. "Having a kid is not the problem," O'Brien said. "Growing up in poverty is."
Regardless, many people say they cannot understand why women in poverty have children out of wedlock.
For women living in a depressing world of severely limited means and hopelessness, a child "makes you feel loved and wanted," said Sutton, the Northeast mother of two. "Mostly, we don't love ourselves and make bad choices."
This I suppose leads to generational welfare.
Ashley Ortiz, 24, a currently employed, formerly impoverished single mother with a 3-year-old son in Northern Liberties, said young women often "don't have the building blocks others have to make an easier life, and what do you do when all you know is the example given you?"
"Interestingly, said Edin of Harvard, 72 percent do eventually marry by their 30s."
THAT I can not believe. Stats show that there are MORE then 28% of the poor that have single parent households. I also know from experience that most do not get married.
1 comment:
Rich People suck too....
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