Fifty million Americans get government assistance every month to pay for groceries. The current population of the United States is 311 million, so that means that 16% of Americans cannot fully support themselves. The state of Georgia finds this to be unacceptable. Their policy-makers think welfare begets more welfare, and that providing too much for their citizens ensures that poverty levels will remain high.
Their conservative-led state house has crusaded against welfare, reducing their rolls to only 4,000 people in a population of nearly 10 million. This amazing statistic actually hides the fact that food welfare is provided by the federal government. Therefore Georgia provides other benefits like housing to those 4,000 citizens.
Slate magazine, which is owned by the most liberal newspaper in the country, The Washington Post, thinks that Georgia might as well be performing crimes against humanity. You can feel the hatred coming from its reporter, Neil deMause, as he pulls at our heart strings with bad-luck stories of women who are down on their luck and need help from you, the taxpayer…
It’s a state of affairs that’s left an increasing number of Georgians with nowhere to turn. Teresa, a single mom of a 2-year-old living in a domestic violence shelter, tells of how she broke down and applied for cash benefits after fleeing an abusive relationship—only to be chastised by state welfare officers who asked, “Wouldn’t you rather work?” Eventually, Teresa says, “I was sitting there crying—I just didn’t know what else to do. I said, you’ve gone from letting people sit on their butt and collect money to the very opposite of that.”
Ultimately, it didn’t matter. In the end, she was rejected for failing to fill out her paperwork correctly.
Do you have sympathy for Teresa? I don’t. I surely don’t want to pay for her food after she’s made the wrong decisions in life concerning her education, mate selection, and career choices.
One woman in her seventh month of pregnancy was ordered to take a waitressing job that would require her to be on her feet all day. Another was told that if she applied for TANF while living in a shelter her children would be taken away. Smith recalls, “Some of the stuff that was said to individuals was pretty awful—’If you can’t find a job, we’ll have you shoveling shit at the dog pound.’ “
A pregnant woman that has to stand all day is not cruelty. Next you know they’ll be designated parking spots for pregnant women that treat them like disabled people. What’s cruel is having to make us pay for her pregnancy mistake when she doesn’t have the income to support herself or her child.
The article quoted many more domestic abuse victims—all single moms—in what I think is an attempt to make you feel guilty. You’re a savage if you don’t want to help women who are beaten by men and have no money. The author is indignant that Georgia doesn’t let these women go instantly on the dole. Those who have money should give to those who don’t.
“Two hundred and thirty-five dollars, what the hell is that supposed to pay?” wonders Renea Buck, a Savannah grandmother caring for her daughter’s two children. [$200 a month can feed a family of four]
If anything, Neil’s article is a great argument against welfare. Georgians aren’t dying. No skeletons are being discovered in rancid apartments. No kids are going bald due to lack of protein in their diet. Instead, charities are filling the gap, funded by donations from those who have sympathy for these women. Who wins? The Georgian taxpayer. Let those with a soft heart provide food and shelter for the poor instead of all of us being forced to do so.
It could be said that I’m heartless and want to see my fellow Americans suffer without adequate food and shelter, but I believe that welfare beyond a few months enables poverty instead of solves it. People do suffer legitimate emergencies, but it’s not my responsibility to provide for someone for years on end. If you disagree with me, and think that your money should be given to the poor, I urge you to donate money to a reputable Georgian charity like Step Up Savannah via their Paypal button.
I won’t be donating.
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