Comments on: Romney-Ryan proposals for children, education draw new voter interest

By: Earth Woman

Earth Woman — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 03:35:44 +0000

My daughter by no fault of her own was terminated from a private charter school 90 days after her hire, She received a glowing letter of recommendation and later found out that the directors were put on administrative leave. In her gut she new they were unethical in their practices and she was not going to play by their rules. Long story short, she applied for unemployment compensation because she had worked 3 years in a Family Learning Center under the umbrella of a church. She learned that churches are exempt from paying into unemployment compensation fund so was denied. She had no income, no health insurance, was 6 months pregnant, single but with her partner who also had been terminated from a private charter school. These ‘at-will’ contracts are horrible…that is why we need unions to help negotiate good contract language. She eventually got on WIC, received state health insurance, and food stamps. Worked substitute teaching during that time, but because her income varied from month to month she would often lose her health insurance coverage and food stamps. Healthy beautiful baby born and she continues to sub teach the rest of the year, while Daddy stayed home and did child care. Next school year did not find a teaching position but did run an after school program while continuing to sub teach which kicked her off the health insurance and food stamps again. This instability in the program is hard to maneuver; she wasn’t making enough to pay rent and keep up on her bills. Student loans were put in last deferment.Two years later she is starting her teaching career anew in a public school system! If it wasn’t for financial assistance from her family she would have been homeless because there was no financial assistance for housing that she was able to get…funds were exhausted or programs cut. We are proud of her fight and determination. Young families are delicate and extended families play a vital role in the lives of young adults today…we hold them until they can fly! Middle class families struggle today because many are assisting their adult children financially and those dollars are not tax deductible. FORWARD…support the Democratic incumbent; President Obama.

By: Autumn Odette

Autumn Odette — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 18:45:15 +0000

Great comment, DHFabian. I didn’t grow up on welfare (lower middle income or “working class”), but thanks to some poor decisions of mine I found myself an uneducated, single welfare mother of three at 25. I went back to school thanks to Pell Grants, welfare (AFDC and food stamps then) and a fantastic student loan for prospective teachers who agreed to teach in critical shortage areas. All I had to do to pay that one back was to teach the visually impaired for five years. I’m starting my 22nd year in that field now and have been off the welfare rolls for just as long. It is easy for critics to say that I’m an exception, but most of the on-campus apartments where I lived in school were filled with single welfare mothers, couples and fathers creating better futures for themselves and their children. President Obama will continue to invest in our countries’ greatest resource if reelected–its people. Romney/Ryan have promised to stop investing in about 98% of us!

By: DHFabian

DHFabian — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 14:46:35 +0000

What we are NOT going to hear from either party is how our former welfare programs made it possible for millions of Americans who started out in poverty to work their way up into the middle class. It was precisely because of those “failed” welfare programs that we once had that I was able to be a full-time parent during those vital first few years of my daughter’s life — and an infant and toddler development program connected with WIC was an extraordinary resource for helping me learn how to help my daughter develop her full potential. The measure of stability provided by welfare enabled her to thrive, focusing on her school work, going on to earn enough academic scholarships to to go on college. She now has a good-paying career, got married, bought a home, started a family. She has been able to go from poverty to having a solid, very happy middle class family that would not have been possible if she had been born in post-welfare America. The one most interesting fact about her story: there is nothing unusual about it among former “welfare kids.” Contrary to the propaganda, the overwhelming grew up to do well.