George Will’s column in today’s Washington Post summarizes the argument of Jason Deparle’s book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation’s Drive to End Welfare. Will makes the point that work is an essential component of the "culture of freedom," but he also argues that "DeParle’s unsentimental reporting offers scant confirmation of the welfare reformers’ highest hope: that when former welfare mothers go to work, their example will transform the culture of their homes, breaking the chain of behaviors that passes poverty down the generations. On the street where Jobe lives today, almost every house is the home of a working mother with children but no husband."
In other words, simply getting people work isn’t sufficient to rebuild the family. This is where faith-based and community groups have a bigger role to play. They can help the newly employed to think about and live up to their reponsibilities as fathers and mothers, not just as employees.
For more on the book, quite celebrated by the Left, go here.
Excuse me! No doubt George Will would send about two cents to the current Asia
tragedy, and perhaps we might get Mr. Bush to spend more than three cents, which is about what 35 million amounts to. Frankly, this blog is such a little girls and boys club of " only my opinion
counts" with your no left turn bull, that what you have to share is useless
bloggish nothings of opinions.
Right on, Gonzalez!
Somehow I doubt we’ll see any postings here about CORPORATE welfare, propping up "free market" businesses with Americans’ tax dollars, for example.
Both the right and the left have some pretty shameless "echo chambers" (as I’ve heard them called), but this place, truly, has got to be one of the worst!
It’s just like Rush Limbaugh and his "dittoheads," except with a slightly more academic sheen to it. Very transparent, though.
Gee, it’s nice to be the recipient of rational argumentation from the Left. I guess it’s a sign that we’ve arrived.
I’d like to ignore the Leftists... I work for the welfare dept. The Ohio administrative code defines "assistance" as basically getting a check. When they say people dropped off the rolls they may not be getting a check, but they are more than likely are getting Food Stamps (which factory farms feed of of) and Medicaid (which John Kerry proposed expanding). Let’s have some competition.
After 60 months people can apply for some type of Federal exemption in order to continue getting a check. I’ll bet you 3 cents that it won’t be that hard to get the exemption. Women with "low self esteem" don’t have babies to get more of a check. I say they have a baby to try to hook a man who more than likely doesn’t love them. Neither party loves each other and therein lies the selfishness. They each know that things will be taken care of by the government.
Welfare recipients are penalized when they get married and when they gain work. Get a job and your Food Stamps decrease and Medicaid may end for the parent. If you are unmarried and your cash is about to end and the father moves in to the case, then they can choose to designate him as the person that time limits count for. If you get married and daddy moves in - sorry you’ve reached 60 months. Go apply for SSI. Better yet have your boyfriend who doesn’t love you move in, conceal it, continue to get full Food Stamps and Medicaid, and forget about the measly $461.00 per month for mom and the 3 kids who each have a different father. The kids may learn how to do this.
I’m not a religious man but what harm can giving government contracts to faith based programs do? The Marxists would say that this "opium for the masses" would do some good. Maybe Bush should use that argument. It would probably please Rafael the recovering repub.