A lot of thoughts and opinions are expressed in regards to government assistance. The following has been taken directly from the text, Understanding Social Problems (2015) used in the course I instruct as well as a few other sources, to help detail and explain the realities of what many call, “welfare.” Negative attitudes toward welfare assistance and welfare recipients are not uncommon (Epstein 2004). But these negative images are grounded in myths and misconceptions about welfare. For example, in the 2012 election, the famous 47% comment was made. In reality, it is true that about half of Americans live in a household that receives some kind of federal benefit, but a big chunk of these benefits go to support the elderly and disabled. Nearly a third of U.S. households in 2011 received Medicare and Social Security benefits for the elderly and disabled (Plumer 2012).
Medicare and
Social Security are provided to older Americans across the economic spectrum;
they are not programs designed to target the poor. While government assistance
programs are often referred to as “entitlement programs,” labeling Social
Security an “entitlement program” may be misleading because retirees collect
the money that they and their employers have contributed over their work history.
The following are myths and misconceptions regarding other forms of assistance.
Myth 1: People who receive welfare are
lazy, have no work ethic, and prefer to have a “free ride” on welfare rather
than work.
Reality: Three-fourths of recipients of TANF
are children, and nearly half of TANF cases are child-only cases where no adult
is involved in the benefit calculation and only children are aided (Office of
Family Assistance 2014).
More than 1
and 10 TANF families have earned income from employment, but with average
monthly earnings of only $838 (2011), they could not survive on the income from
their jobs. Other adult welfare recipients are participating in work
activities, including job training or education and job searches. Single
parents receiving this grant must work at least 30
hours per week in
order to be eligible, and two-parent families must work between 35 and 50 hours
a week (welfareinfo.org)
Unemployed
adult welfare recipients experience a number of barriers that prevent them from
working, including disability and poor health, job scarcity, lack of
transportation, and lack of education. Parents with infants or young children
may be unable to work because they cannot afford child care. Finally, most
adult welfare recipients would rather be able to support themselves and their
families than rely on public assistance. The image of a welfare “freeloader”
lounging around enjoying life is far from the reality of the day-to-day
struggles and challenges of supporting a household on a monthly TANF check of
$387, which was the average monthly cash assistance to families receiving TANF
assistance in 2011 (Office of Family Assistance 2014).
Myth 2: Most welfare mothers have large
families with many children.
Reality: In 2011, the average number of
children in families that receive TANF was only 1.8; half of families receiving
TANF had only one child, less than 8% of families had more than 3 children
(Office of Family Assistance 2014).
Myth 3: Welfare benefits are granted to
many people who are not really poor or eligible to receive them.
Reality: Although some people obtain welfare
benefits through fraudulent means, it is much more common for people who are
eligible to receive welfare, not to receive benefits. Only about a third of
families who are eligible to receive TANF are receiving TANF benefits (Office
of Family Assistance 2014)
One reason
for not receiving benefits is lack of information: some people do not know
about various public assistance programs, or even if they know about a program,
they do not know they are eligible. They are also hesitant to apply due to the
negative stigma associated with assistance and the complex administrative
systems. In a 2013 case study conducted by sociologist, Autumn Green, she
discusses some of the complexities:
As low-income mothers struggle to
meet the intense demands of balancing work and family, they also have to
continue the time-intensive task of piecing together in-kind and cash benefits
to pad their wages. Doing so involves traveling from one office to another:
repeatedly disclosing intimate and personal information; and documenting, in
detailed paper trail, the legitimacy of one’s story.…Although there is little
time to spare in this world, each office treats clients as if they have endless
time to waste Furthermore, poor families are often at the mercy of buses that
are late, babysitters who do not show up, over-worked case workers who misplace
documents, and other similar barriers to the successful performance of the role
of “good client.” This situation can lead to extreme levels of personal
frustration, which add to the hardship and defeatism experienced while engaging
this system. (p.55)
Myth 4: There is widespread abuse and fraud
in SNAP by beneficiaries, who use the food stamp benefits to purchase beer,
wine, liquor, cigarettes, and/or tobacco, or who sell their food stamp benefits
for cash.
Reality: First, the SNAP program strictly
prohibits beneficiaries from purchasing alcoholic beverages and tobacco
products, as well as any nonfood items such as pet food, cosmetics, and paper
products, with their benefits card. And due to increased government oversight
and the introduction of the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card system,
fraud in the SNAP program has decreased considerably (Blumenthal 2012).
Myth 5: People use welfare to support their
drug habits.
Reality: Federal government research tells
us that the population of welfare receivers on drugs is basically the same as
that of the American population in general, but in some cases, even lower.
Recent drug testing from individual states also prove the falseness of this
widely accepted myth.
In July
2014, Tennessee began testing their welfare applicants, resulting in a whopping
1-in-800 people testing positive for illegal drugs. That’s less than 1%.
In Florida,
four months of drug testing revealed that only 2.6% of applicants tested
positive (in contrast of Florida’s 8% of non-welfare receiving population
regularly test positive for drugs). (Info taken from: Tennessean, 2014).
Myth 6: People who receive welfare
assistance, stay on for years or even their entire life.
Reality: As seen in the chart below
(provided by the Department of Commerce), 53.5% are off of any assistance
within 2 years. In five years’ time, 80.4% are no longer receiving benefits.
Average Time on AFCD (Aid to
Families with Dependent Children)
|
|
Time on AFDC
|
Percent of Recipients
|
Less than 7 months
|
19%
|
7 to 12 months
|
15.2%
|
1 to 2 years
|
19.3%
|
2 to 5 years
|
26.9%
|
Over 5 years
|
19.6%
|
Myth 7: Immigrants place a huge burden on
our welfare system (Repeat from last week).
Reality: Low-income noncitizen immigrants, including adults and children, are less likely to receive public benefits than those who are native born. Moreover, when noncitizen immigrants receive benefits, the value of benefits they receive is lower than the value of benefits received by those born in the United States (Ku and Bruen 2013). Immigrants drain the public welfare system and our public schools.
Repeating from last week: Unauthorized and temporary immigrants are ineligible for major federal benefit programs, and even legal immigrants may face eligibility restrictions. Two benefit programs that do not have restrictions against unauthorized immigrants are the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch Program. Public schools are also not allowed to deny access to education to children of illegal immigrants. Children of unauthorized immigrants, 73% of whom are U.S. citizens, comprise only 6.8% of students in elementary and secondary schools (Passel and Cohn 2009).
Although the states bear the cost of education, social services, and medical services for the immigrant population, research suggests that the economic benefits that immigrants provide the states outweigh the costs associated with supporting them. For example, a study of immigrants in North Carolina found that, over the prior 10 years, Latino immigrants had cost the state 61 million in a variety of benefits, but they were also responsible for more than 9 BILLION in state economic growth (Beirich 2007). Half to three-fourths of undocumented immigrants pay federal, state, and local taxes, including Social Security taxes for benefits they will never receive (Teaching Tolerance 2011).
As one of the wealthiest nations on earth, it is important to understand the realities of those struggling and in need of assistance programs. Rather than focusing attention to negatively stigmatizing those in need, we would all benefit by further examining how we can provide the best assistance to get families back on their feet.
Sources (In order of appearance)
Epstein,
William M. 2004. “Cleavage in American Attitudes toward Social Welfare.” Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
31(4):177-201
Plumer,
Brad. 2012. “Who Receives Government Benefits, in Six Charts.” The Washington
Post, September 18. Available at www.washingtonpost.com
The Office
of Family Assistance http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa
Green,
Autumn R. 2013. “Patchwork: Poor Women’s Stories of Renewing the Shredded
Safety Net.” Affilia 28:51-64
Bluementhal,
Susan. 2012 (March 12). “Debunking Myths about Food Stamps.” SNAP to Health.
Available at www.snaptohealth.org
The
Tennessean http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/03/new-drug-screening-law-knocks-benefits-list/13536859/
Passel, Jeffrey S., and D'Vera Cohn. 2009. "A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States." Pew Hispanic Research Center. Available at www.pwehispanic.org
Beirich, Heidi. 2007 (Summer). "Getting Immigration Facts Straight." Intelligence Report. Available at www.splcenter.org
Mooney, Linda, Knox, David, and Schacht, Caroline 2015. Understanding Social Problems. Cengage Learning: Boston, MA.
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