Demonizing the poor

In one of our class meetings, we watched a documentary on poverty. Families lived on very little money and opened their doors to cameras to document what it was like to be poor.

The controversy in the clas came when a family, who could barely afford to feed their children, ended up getting pregnant again and keeping the child. They said they didn't believe in abortion, which is understandable, but there were several people who pointed out that adoption was an option and that it was selfish to bring another mouth to feed into a home that was already struggling.
It led to a heated discussion on whether it was okay to police what the poor did with their families and their bodies and their lives. 

Someone mentioned the nails of one mother and having the money for that.

In class, I commented that her nails could have been free, full price or discounted. She could have bought the supplies earlier and done them herself, had a friend do them, or get them from Walmart. We don't know what they pay for things and how they pay and unless we are writing their checks, we have no room to judge or comment on it.

The whole discussion on people living in poverty made me think of this clip from the Daily Show where a Fox News commentator tells a Daily Show correspondent that the poor should stop being poor.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/03/07/todd-wilemon-healthcare-stop-being-poor/


 The discussion over how the families spent their money also made me think of several articles I read on limiting how people on welfare can spend their money.


http://www.refinery29.com/2015/04/85249/kansas-bill-curbs-spending-for-welfare-recipients?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=post&unique_id=entry_85249



http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/1080454/nothing-wrong-with-using-food-stamps-to-buy-steak-and-crab



In one article, it says, "I have seen people purchasing filet mignons and crab legs with their EBT cards," Rick Brattin, the lawmaker proposing the bill, told The Washington Post. "When I can't afford it on my pay, I don't want people on the taxpayers' dime to afford those kinds of foods either."



This goes back to the point I made in class about how unless we're the ones actually doing their budgeting for them or writing their checks or whatever, we have no idea how they actually spend their money and whether they bought an item at regular retail price, got it on sale or received it as a free gift. People on food stamps often are working while receiving them. In order to receive food stamps, you have be making below a certain amount, showing need for the assistance. Depending on the state and the income level and I believe the size of the family, each family gets a certain amount each month on their card.  I doubt that steak or lobster are every day purchases, but even if they were, that amount is still spent from the initial amount given. If the lawmaker is saying they can't afford the steak or lobster, that's on them and they are the ones choosing not to spend however many dollars on meat.

I know people who are on food stamps and WIC (they're expecting a baby this summer) and the items that they can and can't get are limited to certain brands or certain food items and they have to spend it because while it will rollover, if they don't use enough of them, they run the chance of losing the benefit of food stamps. And they end up with a decreased amount over time.