Tuesday, January 10, 1984

One of my neighbors, whose whole household is unemployed is involuntarily having his home auctioned January 20th. I wonder what they will do, or where they will go. I feel utterly helpless! How can this happen in our great society? Why aren't there any jobs?

I know there are families who qualify for food stamps, but their refrigerator, freezer and/or stove is on the blink. They don't have any money to repair the appliances, nor buy working models, and putting the paper food stamps in the non-working frig doesn't quiet a hungry stomach.

Single people without children have it the worst. They don't qualify for any type of housing or utilities through the Aid to Dependent Children agency. They can receive $80.00 in food stamps a month from the ADC agency and partial assistance from the home Energy Assistance Program for a utility bill, if they have the utility in their name. The only other thing they qualify for is $144.00 a month welfare. At least people with children can get $180.00 a month for rent or house payment, including taxes, $150.00 a month for gas and electricity, and water money. Here's the rub - there's no money for necessary items: toilet paper, razor blades, hand soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant, nail files, dish soap, laundry soap, bleach, vacuum cleaner bags, vacuum cleaner belts, mops, brooms, any cleaning products, gasoline for lawn mowers, gasoline for automobiles, shoe polish, cosmetics, clothes, shoes, appliance repairs, etc. Can you imagine what their residences , no matter whether it's a house or apartment, rented or owned, will look like in one month's time on welfare? Now, imagine what those people look like in one month! Here's what happens to the food stamp money, whether the person is single or as a family: the person goes to the grocery store and buys the cheapest thing he can with a $1.00 food stamp that's considered food, perhaps a candy bar, gets the monetary change from the food stamp, and buys a roll of toilet paper with it. End of $1 food stamp! What real nutritional value is in a candy bar? On paper $80.00 a month in food stamps equals $.88 a meal, but that's only on paper. Subtract all of the above mentioned articles, and all the unnecessarily bought candy bars, and how much is left? We are going to end up with severely brain damaged children, and senile middle-aged people living in slums that, were once, before 1978, nice homes and apartments because of the welfare programs, as they exist today.

When someone goes for a job interview, the employer looks at the person's appearance. Without polished shoes, clean clothes, clean and filed fingernails, shining and well kept hair, and clean and odor free body, the employer certainly wouldn't even consider hiring that person, yet the government doesn't allow any money for a clean appearance, let alone money for transportation to get to the job interview. No money is allowed for transportation to the grocery store where we spend our food stamps, nor to a soup kitchen or food pantry, when we run out of food, because we only receive $80.00 of food stamps a month, had to buy personal products, cleaning products, and candy bars. The government thinks it is giving us a helping hand, when, in fact, it is crippling anyone wanting to work, from being able to do so, and being able to try to work. It is encouraging dependence upon the welfare system, with no way out for the welfare recipient.