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Once Again Corbett
Starts at the Bottom
It is
difficult to believe that Gov. Corbett, his Administration and the Republicans hate
the working poor and the unemployed, but sometimes actions speak louder than
words. Corbett takes over as Governor
and cuts AdultBasic leaving over 40,000 Pennsylvanians without affordable
health insurance. Now he wants to take
the food off their tables.
Yes there
is some fraud in the food stamp program, but the solution of throwing the baby
out with the bath water is ridiculous. The simple solution would be to go after
those committing the fraud. Instead of
going after rich and power donors, that may be committing fraud in getting
government loans and tax breaks, it is easier to go after the powerless.
By means
testing, the government puts another road block to those that want to get out
of the system. What is the motivation to
get a job, promotion or save money if it means losing a benefit you need for your
family? If you recently lost your job
and had a savings account with $4,000 in it you won’t qualify for the
program. Too bad if it is your safety
net while trying to get unemployment, or pay for health insurance, pay bills, keep
your car own the road, or any other expense that life throws at you.
The welfare
system seems to be set up so that there is no incentive to get out of it. As soon as you begin to build a financial
foundation, the state takes all of your support structure away. Get a job making minimum wage, you are in danger
of losing health, cash and food stamp benefits.
The system needs to be revamped so that it rewards those making the
effort to stand on their own.
Wouldn’t it
be better to wean people off the system?
Let’s say a recipient gets full-time employment; instead of taking away their entire benefit,
they receive 75% of the benefit for one year. A second year
at 50% would add further stability to the family and they would be removed from
the system after the second year. The
elderly and disabled would not fall under these provisions, only those able to
work. The program would begin to see a
savings, people would be working their way off the welfare rolls, and the focus
could be on catching those defrauding the system.
Granted
this is not a perfect solution, but it could be a starting point for
debate. The Republicans continue to try
to balance the budget on the backs of the working poor and middle-class, and let
their powerful friends benefit from government benefits and access. This is fundamentally unfair. Everyone, rich or poor, should be treated
equally by their government, otherwise we are no longer a Commonwealth, but a
fiefdom.
