Public responsibility to working poor (blog 5)

Mothers interviewed in Chapter 1 of Putting Children First had increasing difficulty paying for living expenses as they worked.  In fact, they were worse off financially after working than before.  Because the state (New York) only has the funds for the most dire of situations, as soon as someone leaves that bracket they are cut off or funds diminished.  The determinants of the various types of assistance don’t appear to be interconnected, either.  To give an example, when Annette (p. 8) started making $100 more per week, her daycare costs went up an extra $23 a week, her rent went up $130 a month, and she was going to lose her food stamp money of $74 per month.  That is an increase of $70.59 per week, which is hardly an increase in income at all.  Healthcare was not mentioned in her response, but if that applies she could be worse off than before. 

In addition to that, they are spending less time with their children due to their rigorous work demands.  This allows children to be more greatly influenced by outside factors and/or people, and weakens the family system.  Because of their lower SES they’re less likely to find quality childcare centers, or quality childcare in general.  This factor alone can contribute to a poorer standard of living, less cognitive development, and more behavioral problems.

People in the videos identified the ‘working poor’ as those who are working but cannot find a way to make a living wage.  An additional video examined generational poverty and mindsets that accompany it.  In that video, it explained that the poor are more likely to produce the poor, which eventually causes a hopeless outlook.  This becomes a public problem, not a personal one.  The financial aids available are intended to help poverty be situational rather than generational, but when they are inadequate they serve no one.  The aids themselves become situational by treating a few symptoms of poverty without reaching the source. The other problem, and possibly the biggest, is the government’s methods for doing things.  The excessive paperwork and time commitment is likely to conflict the most with those who truly need and are trying to work away from it.  In addition to that, the waiting lists that last months to a year are counterproductive.  With these flaws, the country is likely to see more generational working poor needing more assistance than ever.  We may also be likely to see more children in correctional facilities (with high recidivism).  This is a public problem if for no other reason than tax payers foot the bill for all of this.