While scanning the Columbus Dispatch for news articles about the Cincinnati Reds, I came across an article on public assistance with the very rightwing title "Welfare State Getting Larger." Bracing myself, I clicked on the link and was surprised to find the article balanced. Then again, editors write titles to most articles. A part of the article struck me as worthy of mentioning:
People who are comfortable just don't realize how difficult it is to make it in today's America.
Now, you'll hear the argument that government has no place providing job training. While I mostly agree with that, I have to ask where the job training is supposed to come from? Corporations don't provide training to lower level staff any more - they use temp agencies and part-timers to do the work that people like Nia Foster can do. As long as the cost of a college education continues to skyrocket, these people are going to struggle to make ends meet without opportunity for advancement.
Until something is done about the cost of college, people will continue to need public assistance. I think it's time Congress sits down and talks about mechanisms to control these costs, because it will save us money in the long run.
Nia Foster fits the pattern of dependence on government aid. She stopped getting cash welfare payments in the late 1990s and has moved from one clerical job to another. None provided medical benefits.This woman is a fairly typical representative of the lower classes in this country. While rightwing pundits spit out their "Poor people are lazy" b.s., poor people are actually going out and trying to make their lives better.
The 32-year-old mother of two from Cincinnati said she supports her family with help from food stamps and Medicaid.
Foster said she did not get any job training when she left welfare. She earned her high-school equivalency last year at a community college.
"If you want to get educated or want to succeed, the welfare office don’t care," Foster said. "I don’t think they really care what you do once the benefits are gone."
People who are comfortable just don't realize how difficult it is to make it in today's America.
Now, you'll hear the argument that government has no place providing job training. While I mostly agree with that, I have to ask where the job training is supposed to come from? Corporations don't provide training to lower level staff any more - they use temp agencies and part-timers to do the work that people like Nia Foster can do. As long as the cost of a college education continues to skyrocket, these people are going to struggle to make ends meet without opportunity for advancement.
Until something is done about the cost of college, people will continue to need public assistance. I think it's time Congress sits down and talks about mechanisms to control these costs, because it will save us money in the long run.
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