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A Better Way: Four Interviews On The Welfare System Myths surrounding the issue of welfare in our country today are so prevalent that it is difficult for individuals to determine the exact source of their learned misconceptions. Whether it be through the media, family, peers or elsewhere, Americans become indoctrinated with the stereotype of the welfare recipient to a greater degree than any other I can pinpoint. From extensive discussions with others on the subject, as well as from personal experience in addition to the four interviews I did for this paper, I have come to realize that the media plays a huge role in people's misconception of the reasons for welfare dependency and this misinformation is never corrected by readings, such as we have had in this class, nor discussions with welfare recipients themselves. These popular misconceptions create a problem in and of themselves since they are, at least in part, the cause of the stigma's that recipients often feel are associated with their being on welfare.
These stigmas can lead to a loss of the feeling of self-worth that is absolutely necessary if one is to cease government dependency and return to the workforce rather than resigning themselves and thereby failing to seek alternatives. I have done four interviews with Duke students from a variety of backgrounds, two of whom have themselves received welfare assistance, and found some surprising results. Though four interviews are certainly not enough to draw any groundbreaking conclusions, there are several themes common to all. First of all, they all identify a common stereotype: an inner-city black woman with several children whose parents were most likely on welfare, too.
Secondly, they assert that welfare is a cycle that is very difficult, if not impossible, to break. And finally, they all believe that if one is to be successfully weaned from welfare, the government has a responsibility to educate them about available resources and help them to develop job and other skills that are vital to their success. I will now describe the contents of each of the interviews, changing names for their privacy. It should be noted that what the interviewees describe as the stereotype is what they believe that most people think is true of welfare recipients, not necessarily what they themselves believe. I began by asking what they perceived as the stereotype and how much they thought that it held true.
I proceeded then to ask what they thought led to a person getting on and staying on welfare, followed by how they thought someone might get off of welfare (i. e. personal attributes as well as system requirements). For those whom I believed had misconceptions, I recalled the statistic that welfare and non-welfare mothers have the same number of kids on average, also adding discussion about the difficulty (especially for single mothers) of starting a new life in the workforce when child-care and medical coverage are at risk.
I then asked for any general comments if they felt I had left anything out. Finally, I asked if they would propose a new model, or at least some portion of a model, that they thought would be of better use than the current one. Sarah is a middle class, Caucasian girl who grew up in a small town in Vermont. She is an Economics major with a political science minor and will also have a certificate in health policy. She says that when she considers the stereotype of the welfare recipient, the image that comes to mind is "a lazy baby factory." She claims she has quite a few friends and knows students who attended high school with her who are currently receiving at least some sort of government assistance. The people she knows, however, do not fit the stereotype, she says.
Most of them ended up in their situation because they became pregnant in high school and chose to keep their babies, raising them as single mothers. Those who became pregnant and were able to make it usually did because their parents helped them out either financially or with childcare. But she says of her friends and peers "I don't think they need it as much as if you qualify, why not sign up?" When I asked Sarah what she thought led to someone's remaining on welfare, she drew from what she had learned in her Economics classes. She says that the government actually provides more of an incentive to stay on welfare than to join the workforce, this includes encouraging recipients to have more children. She admits that the problem is neither with individuals nor with the system, rather with a combination of the two. It is a situation of learned helplessness, she says, that people lose self-esteem and with that goes the will it takes to get off.
She thinks it takes twice the work to get off of welfare and then get a job than it does to go straight into the workforce. Personally, getting off welfare requires "strength and courage to make the effort. " She says gathering one's strength would probably be very difficult because of the shame that goes with welfare. She thinks that a parent might "think that their kid perceives them as worthless. " Getting off requires a boost in confidence and the government should make an effort to "rebuild" their selfhood. The government could accomplish this with more money and personnel.
People need more personal attention, tailored to their individual needs. If there was "career counseling for direction, people would be inspired to work harder and the alone feeling might be eliminated. " In general, Sarah feels that welfare is "a necessary evil with misguided direction. " When I asked her if she was aware that welfare and non-welfare mothers have almost precisely the same number of kids, she was shocked at how that information conflicted with what she believed to be true because of the stereotype. She says especially in this country it is difficult to tell people what they can and can't do, but that those receiving assistance should not be able to have any more children until they get off. When I pointed out the difficulty in attaining appropriate day care when attempting to get off of welfare, she agreed that it would be hard gave this process an economic term. She said daycare, in this instance, is a "zero sum game" in which you end up spending all that you make. Her proposed model is a step-situation.
It would gradually wean people off by allowing them to keep medical coverage and some benefits for a period of time after they got their job so that they weren't pushed out of the nest too hastily. Also, she would stress the importance of not allowing children to be harmed by the cut-off. Kate is an upper middle-class white female who was born and raised in Marshfield, Massachusetts, with the exception of spending four years at a Massachusetts boarding school. She has a double major in Public Policy and French and a minor in political science. She says that she sees the stereotypical welfare recipient as an unemployed, black, inner city mother raised on welfare who doesn't perceive a life off of welfare. She has given up on the job field and is unhappy, but has resigned herself to the lifestyle.
This stereotype spends money on extravagant things like "new nike's. " Though Kate doesn't know anyone on welfare, she says this is the stereotype and it holds fairly true. Once on welfare, Kate admits, it is probably very difficult. Especially if one has kids, it is much easier and more lucrative to stay on welfare than to get a job, so she thinks that people just figure they may as well stay on. She points to many talk shows she has watched in which recipients say "why work when you can get by easy?" To get off of welfare, Kate says motivation, patience and willingness to start at the bottom are necessary. It also requires making good decisions such as birth control. It would be helpful to know someone who has gotten off welfare before as inspiration and a role model.
As far as identifying problems with the system, Kate admits that she really doesn't know much about it. She imagines that people don't have enough support and that since they have already demonstrated that their decision making abilities are poor, perhaps their decisions should be more guided such as by having vouchers which are designated for different purposes rather than a lump sum. She thinks that it is "weird that people on welfare smoke cigarettes, " for instance. A voucher system could hopefully ensure that people wouldn't spend their welfare check buying drugs and ensure that children get proper nutrition. In general, Kate feels that the problems with welfare are many, especially after I pointed out problems with childcare and insurance. She notes the stigma that is associated with recipients and the lack of resources there are to help them get off.
Resources that would be useful are job training and some sort of program where women with low paying jobs with no benefits can get medical coverage for themselves and their children. She thinks it would be useful for people to receive a lot of information when they go on welfare so that they might be more aware of their options, programs that pertain to them, and the non-profit / grass -roots organizations that can help them out. It is difficult to make good decisions when you are not properly informed, she notes. They often don't know how to make good financial and nutritional decisions and we can't expect anything to change until something is done about this. By not ameliorating the situation, the government is perpetuating what Kate describes as both a dead-end (on an individual basis) and a cycle in which kids see parents and say "why not?" Welfare should be short term aid to get back on feet. " E is black male raised in Detroit, Michigan. He is a double major in Sociology and African-Americ...
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