Don't Blame Deficit on Welfare Moms

by Mrs. Williams

Welfare is only 3 percent of the federal budget, yet to hear how welfare mothers are portrayed in the media, you would think they consumed 99.9 percent of the federal budget (and did so by criminal means).

"Blame it on the welfare mom," for the deficit is constantly the theme. Why not blame the Defense Department and corporate giants for their "welfare" payments: their subsidies and tax write-offs. We now have enough firepower to fight two Persian Gulf Wars simultaneously - and yet we blame our government spending on mothers and children.

I applauded President Clinton for recently vetoing the GOP-initiated welfare bill. However, when I heard his State of the Union speech in support of time limits for welfare recipients. I was disheartened.

I envision an America of even larger numbers of homeless, poverty-stricken families. As a former shelter worker, I know how hard it is to come face to face with homeless and hungry children.

Do President Clinton and Newt Gingrich speak first-hand with homeless people and hear their life stories or are they insulted from this human pain?

It is wrong for our government leaders to abandon its poorest citizens. Before time limits are initiated, a guaranteed decent job and/or paid job training should be available for each citizen. If a government does not care about the well-being and survival of its people, what good is government at all? To ensure that the fat cats get fatter? Let's cut politicians' salaries to balance the deficit.

Copyright NEOCH and the Homeless Grapevine published March – April 1996 – Issue 14