Blog #5

Chaudry argues that “we are asking the lest fortunate to strive and work harder, we are deeply discounting our public responsibility for the children born into poor families and disadvantages communities” because he is displeased with the tension between the two competing interpretations of welfare: “The one that promoted social policies designed to improve children’s welfare and the one that denigrated policies that provided assistance to able adults, including non-working parents, who have often been considered the ‘undeserving poor’”. The label of the “undeserving poor” takes a strong toll on all working mothers. It is the idea that women on welfare are not grateful or are not in dire need of public assistance, but instead of a lower, harder to qualify for, amount. In asking working mothers to work harder for their assistance, which they are very much in need of, we are not counting the consequences left to take effect on their children.

He explains this and uses example of her interviewees who have been disadvantaged by this new ideal. These mothers now must take more time out of the home and away from their children to qualify for their public assistance. They also much walk on eggshells as to not make too much money so that they will not disqualify for the assistance as well. As in Annette and Aaron’s story with a new job opportunity she began a larger (but not by much) income. This new income then affected her assistance by lowering the amount of food stamps she was allotted, and by raising the cost of her public housing. (Chaudry, 8) This now makes it harder on her and her children who are thrust into more childcare while she works to make up the difference.

In the video “Living with A Hole in your Pocket” many statements are made exemplifying this “vicious cycle”. It is explained that making a dollar more than the poverty line makes it impossible to get decent, if any assistance. As explained in “Poverty in America” with one out of every 8 people in poverty it is hard to believe that this isn’t a public problem over a personal problem. Prof. Katharine Newman explains in her video on America’s Working Poor that they more people try to get out of poverty, the more they are thrusted into debt. With our countries current credit crisis, again this is shown to be a public problem over a personal
one.

Finally as explains in “Born with A Wooden Spoon”, illiteracy, insufficient job skills, substance abuse and crime have played large roles. Children who are brought up under these conditions have little to no chance of overcoming their communities. It is explained as a cycle where poor children grow up to be poor parents and the cycle is continued. In order for this cycle to be broken, intervention of their lives is needed by outside sources.