"Broken promise: Bush spurns working poor"

[Bluebear]

Star-Tribune, Minneapolis 2/25/05

When Congress passed a landmark overhaul of welfare in 1996, Washington made a deal with parents on public assistance: You leave welfare and get a job. We'll help pay for child care, health insurance and skills training so you can provide for your family and join the nation's economic mainstream.

Welfare recipients did their part. Since 1996 the number of families on cash aid has dropped by more than half, from 4.6 million to fewer than 2 million. Some 2 million parents have left the caseloads and taken jobs. And for a time, Washington played its role too, with big increases in child-care subsidies and tax credits for the working poor.

But now President Bush is reneging on the government's end of the bargain. Under the budget Bush presented to Congress this month, about 300,000 low-income families would lose child care subsidies in the next five years. Some 370,000 families would lose federal rental vouchers, according to estimates by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. The president also proposes, in effect, a 30 percent cut in the federal block grants that help states like Minnesota pay for job training, home-heating assistance and other social services for the working poor.

Many Americans comfort themselves with the notion that work alone can liberate a poor, single mother from any need for public help. But nine years of welfare reform, including a series of studies by respected scholars, have proven that to be mostly wrong. The typical welfare "leaver" gets a part-time job paying $8 an hour, which isn't enough to pay for child care, health insurance or even a decent apartment in a safe part of town. As New York Times reporter Jason DeParle documented in his powerful book, "American Dream," many mothers leaving welfare toil long hours in strenuous jobs, while gaining no ground financially and leaving their children unsupervised for long hours in dangerous neighborhoods.....

more

http://www.startribune.com/stories/561/5259363.html

[Lindacooks]

1. Typical 'compassionate' conversatism.

These pigs have no shame. May they burn in hell for the pain they're causing.

[Sugarbleus]

2. Thanks Blue, for continuing to pound this drum...I posted

a *Call to Action* the other day asking for those interested to call the congressional budget office and then their sen/reps to ask them to oppose the FY06 budget on these grounds! Saving low income housing was just one issue that's wrong with the budget. Obviously there are many other problems.

I've been reading about the welfare to work "reform" fiasco--there are scores of books on the subject available. It is a total rearender for most.

Through the late 80's and on into the mid 90's a change took place in our community that made the Welfare program work WELL. The program virtually bent over backward to give every advantage to those needing and wanting off the system. It was GREAT..............until they killed it with the *new reform*.

So let's see: Besides being liars and con artists...

*America is engaged in unlawful, needless, costly wars.

*The fascists in power have drained the Treasury.

*The same fascists want to kill Social Security for no good reason.

*Funding is being cut right and left for everything from schools to fire depts.

*The wealthy and Corps don't have to pay no stinking taxes.

*The Bushenator is cutting funding for housing subsidies.

*The Bushenator is cutting Medicaid.

*The Bushenator compeletly screwed up Medicare.

*The Bushenator wants to toss elderly and disabled out of nursing homes/assistive facilities to go home in order to cut medicaid costs (not bad except it won't truly be funded properly)

*The neocons don't believe you need any overtime pay or unemployment insurance.

*The neocons believe its "good business" to offshore/outsource American jobs.

*Abortions is allegedly "wrong" but cutting child care for struggling families is OKAY.

*Bushco kills class action lawsuits so you can't sue for lack of safty measures by products or employers.

*Dept. of Education is now a "Terrorist" organization.

*Media will only report what "they allow them to report".

*With the "new" FCC you can't say shit on the airwaves.

fill in the blanks for what I left out!

...Somebody stop me! I can't take anymore

[jojo54]

3. No, No, keep going

you're doing a great job.

You could have said it in one sentance tho: * is successfully turning this country into HELL!

[Disturbed]

4. Thanks to Bill Clinton

Clinton's NAFTA and Workfare have screwed over the Working Poor and the Poor. The Bush Junta is continuing the hatchet job.

[depakid]

7. Bill Clinton was also smart enough to foresee

that in the future, the government would renege on those promises he claimed would be trade offs to the newly working poor (particularly single women with kids). The man was extremely bright, which is one reason I cut him so little slack when it comes to some of his ill fated policy decisions. He knew better- and sold vulnerable populations out in order to further his own aggrandizement- just as his wife has proven willing to do with her support of the bankruptcy bill.

[Bluebear]

6. A comprehensive list. And DON'T stop!

:toast:

[GetTheRightVote]

5. And they wonder why so many hate them in this country, repub liers

:kick:

[pinto]

8. great article, thanks for the find and the post...n/t