Module 16

“Welfare queen” was a new term I learned in the last few days. It refers to someone collecting welfare payments through fraud. First used during Ronald Regans 1976 campaingn, it became a label placed on poor mothers and carried racial connotations. The quote read:

She has eighty names, thirty addresses, twelve Social Security cards and is collecting veteran's benefits on four non-existing deceased husbands. And she is collecting Social Security on her cards. She's got Medicaid, getting food stamps, and she is collecting welfare under each of her names.

I think welfare is a feminist issue because a lot of single mothers may rely on it since some may be less likely to obtain the same pay as single fathers. Although welfare is not available to persons indefinitely (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act prevents this), I think some would require it more than others. Groups concerened with their particular demographic can help those get what they need, and female support groups do exactly this.
Western cultures are less likely to shun single mothers than some other cultures are. In this day in age, having a baby out of wedlock is no longer a serious act of deviance, although the person may still be shunned in his or her respective coumminty. Women with children are expected to be married, and unless the father has died, may have a difficult time earning respect. On the most immediate level (people they see everyday), acceptance in the community may be difficult. The mother may have habits that are not approved of (drugs for example), and others around her may be less likely to lend a hand should she need anything; association with a person like her may bring one's own social status down. When it comes to dealing with someone outside the immediate area, the government for example, the mother may be in a position to divulge less information or blatant lies to receive the kind of assistance she needs.

Privacy is becoming a rare things these days (the Internet provides information many thought was confidential). I think when it comes to obtaining TANF for the first time, a person or family should be given a bigger benefit of the doubt. Although this good faith system can still be exploited, subsequent return trips will trigger alerts within the office if individuals are looking to abuse the system.