Welfare State

To people who have been indoctrinated by propaganda concerning welfare (state assistance)…

… welfare is where the government pays all your bills while you sit on your lazy ass and do nothing but eat food purchased by food stamps.

… there is government assistance that is out there that people become dependent on and that the taxpayers slave away to pay

… or those who say that before you put people on government assistance; they should be subject to a drug test.

I used to be as ignorant as the next person when it came to knowing what kinds of government assistance there is. Then, I got laid off, became pregnant with twins and immigration refused to allow my husband to enter the country even for the severe emergency that became the birth of my twin daughters.

I knew things would be rough, even with my husband present. But I knew I would at least survive, if he was with me. However, the chances of having him get a Visa were slim and I had to make alternative plans if he was denied. I drafted a plan and a budget for before and after the twins were born and I handed it out to family members at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was met with kindness and some skepticism but largely, I don’t think anyone realized the true health risks I faced in birthing twins. My family only started to realize how serious things were, when I began to end up in the hospital repeatedly. Everything climaxed when I finally had an emergency C-section and had to stay in the hospital because those in charge of releasing me wouldn’t because they knew I would be going home as the sole care provider, and I was not well enough to do it. By then it was too late to move in with a brother or sister, as it would have required moving across the country.

Needless to say, if the sole care provider of preemie infants is still laid off and too ill to work or look for a job, there is no income into that household. Who is going to put a roof over their head? People helped here and there and gave baby gifts and that part was all good. I was tremendously grateful. But as things progressed and I began searching for jobs and applying, I saw the writing on the wall, when stumbled out the door to an interview and I nearly passed out. This was just the beginning of the day, not the end. How was I supposed to work to my fullest of potential and keep a job if I was exhausted at 10 am before I even got to the interview? Needless to say I didn’t get that job, nor the next and the next.

I had begun to research state assistance (welfare), while I was working, even before I gave birth. I researched it as a last ditch option and a worst case scenario. And for The Visa application for my husband, I spelled out how much it would cost the government to support me in my husband’s absence. It may be a shocker but the truth of the matter is that to go on the maximum benefit, government program, for my family of 3 it would cost the government a direct cash amount of $1,005/month. I am quoting DHS’s 2013 informational flier. Note that this number has increased ever so slightly from the 2011 number I was quoted before my babes were born.

A family of three — two children, one adult — with no other income can receive $532 in cash and $473 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program support monthly. 

https://edocs.dhs.state.mn.us/lfserver/Public/DHS-4737-ENG

This might be another ingenious observation but there is no housing available for $532/month. Further, this is assuming you buy nothing else but housing with your cash grant. Diapers, clothes, shampoo and any other baby items as well as energy costs and car insurance all need to remain in that $532/month budget or things will start looking pretty dismal really fast. This is 100% of what a person is eligible for.

Wow.

How does one live? Where does one live? Maybe I’ll sleep in the car with my preemies and use paper towels from the gas station to diaper them in the middle of winter.

…oh, and by the way, the food assistance kicks in right away when you apply but the cash assistance begins 2 months after your income drops to $0/month.

I wonder how many people, if forced to live within this budget, would call this kind of existence, “sitting on your ass and doing nothing?” If you were so unlucky to have found yourself in the $0/month situation for 2 months, your ass would be sitting in a homeless shelter or the street. I don’t call that easy living. I don’t call that desirable living. I certainly wouldn’t begrudge someone for living off a “government handout” in this situation. How could anyone in their right mind become dependent upon this lifestyle?

There were a number of people that encouraged me to apply for government assistance during this time. The way in which they encouraged me to do so, seemed to indicate that they thought my basic needs would be easily met. When you do the numbers, it simply doesn't balance out and it’s not because I can’t do the math because I’m on drugs.

It’s time people started to see the truth about welfare and government assistance. 80% of people on welfare are working  20 hrs/week or more. This is required in order to get a handout at all. The remainder are not able to work due to a health condition or disability. Only a very small percentage of people on welfare are able bodied and jobless. I was considered able bodied and jobless in my first and second trimester as well as immediately after I was discharged from the hospital, following my delivery.

Of those 80% that are working, the government pays more money to subsidize their daycare expenses (so they can work and not become lazy) than the individual actually generates by working. Here’s the break out. Single mom finds a min. wage job at $8/hr for 40 hrs/wk. Single mom brings home $300/week. Daycare cost for her 1 and 2 year old children are $310 and $270/wk respectively. Total $ 580/wk. Because the Mom’s wage is so low, the childcare assistance program will pay the entire daycare expense of $580/wk, so the Mom can earn $300/wk for her household, because this is preferable to paying the Mom $532 in cash assistance to stay at home and do nothing. This is the result of laws generated by misinformation and false propaganda.

Most people on welfare are struggling and they are frantically working their butt off trying to stay ahead of the crush of life. Read the rest of my blog. They live in the shadows, alone and afraid of ridicule. They either put on their best face and pretend to be someone in a different state of life until the demands are too much to bear, then they give up and succumb to their destitute existence. Meanwhile, those lucky enough to have married a well employed individual/well insured individual…lucky enough to have not been laid off or have chosen the education and career path currently hireable…they feel it their duty to insult those whose life (by no fault of their own)was plunged into a struggle.

I have to fight my emotions when I hear people who have been lucky/blessed enough to have a comfortable life then judge my struggle and attribute it to laziness. I want to be angry with them. I want to wish them a struggle that would humble their privileged opinions. And I know I work far more hours than they do and much harder. But I have to leave it to the Lord. I know what God has done in me. I know that God has visited me and provided for me in my struggle. perhaps some day they will get what they wished for and voted for. By that time, I will have moved on into a different stage of life and it may be them that now needs assistance.