I know my attitude towards public assistance is harsh. Maybe this little story will help explain my position.

As I said up thread, I was in the Army. I spent several years as an Army Recruiter. And I was very successful. I won every award that the Recruiting Command offered. I’ve always been proud of the fact that I enlisted the sons and daughter of several millionaires. I was also the Top Recruiter of Females on multiple occasions. I enlisted quite a few extremely intelligent and beautiful women. Into the Army! Not to brag, but I was good. Not because of my charm, there isn’t any, my good looks, I wish, or my superior intelligence, puhleeeease.

Rather it was because, like all salesmen, I was successful because I strongly believed in my product. I knew, from personal experience, what a positive change an Army enlistment could be for a person. And I was always able to translate my own experiences into opportunities for the potential enlistee.

I only had one failure as a recruiter.

Each recruiter is normally assigned one or more high schools to recruit. Our school districts provided us with names, addresses and phone numbers, so that we could contact seniors and recent graduates at home. Since busing was in force at this time, a significant portion of each schools population was from the poorer parts of town. The projects and other depressed neighborhoods.

When I was first assigned, inexperienced and fresh from recruiting school, I thought that those would be the “gold mine” areas for me to recruit. How wrong I was. The people who needed me most, had the least interest. It crossed all racial lines. This was about economic status and motivation to change it. There was no motivation.

Most of those ghetto homes had the latest big screen TV, way more stereo equipment than I’ve ever owned, the most expensive athletic shoes, $200 sports jackets. You know what I mean. Very nice cars sitting outside what amounted to nothing more than shacks. Jewelry.

And they were on public assistance and very happy to stay there. And that’s my problem with these programs.

I’m surprised there aren’t some. The dems should welfare to work though they have totally expanded gov more involved in anyone’s life that applies for TANF and now there is more daycare assistance too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/opinion/12ehrenreich.html?pagewanted=1

I don’t agree with most of what is in this piece and I just cut out about 90% if post to try an make one point but I just wanted to highlight the difficulty with getting approved for TANF specicially the job search, classes and volunteer work requirement. I wish the article had focused on the actual requirements to get approved for TANF instead of adding in the other things like the caseworker was rude.

I read what you wrote again. Ok there is no policy with the man not being present. It’s totally based on income though. There are plenty of families with working men and stay at home mothers that recieve food stamps and medicaid. Even if the mother is required to work and she does not, they will just sanction the mother. The man counts as a household member so the income limits will be even higher.

the wages of the men who are angered at their loss of revenue and leaving bad emotions all around even if the mother wanted to “work it out” . Not all of the men are bastards and for those who want to be present but are wholly unprepared for the expenses and hard work of a baby and knowing that the mother cannot receive benefits with them in the house. I think the government if giving money out ought to encourage families first. They can then perhaps raise the level of the two income family until they both via their paychecks are 5 percent over poverty level.

I would also like them to encourage couseling and parenting classes as being apart of recieving the benefit, if the government wants to be a benefactor to the poor and stop being the DADDY they need to encourage the daddy to be present. If it only was for 10-15 percent of those on welfare that is a couple hundred thousand families working for the benefit of each other and making a more stable environment for the child. I don’t think anyone can ever see that as a bad thing. The government is NEVER going to recoup these outlays or if they did they would divert them to other programs so why not encourage families to be together!

she had her baby and the father left her at 17 she got administrative training and was working at the company I worked at and over the next 4 years I watched her get raises and I know what they were and they were better than 3 percent but anyway she had the help with the apartment and childcare and her daughter entered kindergarten last year and she is now making all by herself after 5 years 45K so she is a success of the program now over those years her mother helped where she could and I bought her lunch quite a few times so she was not totally alone. I am sure there are other’s who did not have her drive or family and friends but that is their problem which is why I like the 60 months be all end all with the WORK or SCHOOL requirement. All the other payments whether apt’s, daycare, health insurance is miniscule in comparison to the benefit that these newly educated and or trained employees are to their neighbors, states, the United States.

With regards to your headache go lay down and then we can continue tomorrow