Posted by
Conservative2008 on Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:00:45 PM
If you ever want to feel like you are owed the world sign up for food
stamps. Now as I say that let me bare my own closet and say when I
first became a single parent I had to use the welfare program to start
over. I had a 1 and 2 year old to care for and no job as I had to quit
to get my kids. However. . .
I went to sign up and was made to
feel as if the world owed me everything. I only asked for insurance for
the kids and food stamps until I could get another job. Well the worker
who handled my case began telling me what I was eligible for: $189 in
cash each month $120 to go to classes for an hr a day so they could
tell me how to fill out an application and get a job. FREE Childcare
for a year almost $400 in food stamps free counseling transportation if
I did not have a car and the list goes on and on. They even offered me
WIC and to help me get a house at about $50 a month with lights and
water paid.
When I kindly told the lady I was not interested she
seemed offended at the fact I only wanted what was needed at the
moment. This experience shaped me and my opinions to the welfare system.
I
have come up, over the years, with a plan to truly have a "Welfare to
Work" program. First when someone applies for aid lets make sure they
truly need the aid. Second lets give only the needed aid not every
service available solely because it is there to use. Third let's assign
a monetary value to the services given and the family must perform
community service. For example if a family of 3 recieves aid totalling
$500 they have to do community service to help the community. Case and
point helping in after school programs, trash pick-up on roads, and any
number of menial tasks. Would this pay for all services rendered? NO!
However, it would begin to thin the rolls a little. If someone doesn't
do their community service then they lose benefits the following months
and there after until they are in good standing.
LAST BUT NOT
LEAST YOU PUT A TIME LIMIT ON SERVICES. With the exception of insurance
you put a time limit on benefits so it encourages people to get a job
and become self reliant and not welfare reliant.
This is only part of the solution. I WILL TACKLE THIS ISSUE FURTHER IN THE COMING DAYS.