Session 9

After watching the film "American Dream," it is clear to me that welfare reform does not help families to get out of poverty.  Single mother Angie was on welfare for 12 years working two jobs as well as working overtime.  She lost her electricity, healthcare, and sometimes ran out of food.  She began to go deeper in debt.  Welfare reform seems to not make any significant difference because women are working jobs that cannot provide for themselves or their family. If someone does not have proper education or is well prepared for the work field, then they will not be able to make ends meet.  I thought that it was crazy for Angie to be so against quitting her job and returning to school.  The woman that she met got out of poverty, due to her furthering her education.  I believe that if the poor population were given the chance to return to school, they should be aware of the benefits that will greatly pay off in the long run.

The article Welfare Aid Isn't Growing as Economy Drops Off was very interesting when it adressed that the welfare system is not working the way it was designed to work. With unemployment skyrocketing, we need to be focusing on creating new jobs rather than handing out food and money assistance.  Food stamps are increasing in states which seems to be a help for poor families.  However, critics state that food stamps as well as cash aid only increase dependency on the government.  Families should learn how to be self dependent.  In my opinion, this can be found in education and awareness of the opportunities that people have.

Returning to the question "How well do you think poverty is being addressed?"
I have changing my previous answer.  I was unaware of Bill Clinton's "end welfare as we know it,"  and I was unaware that many families recieve food stamps as well as financial aid.  I beleive this is a good start for aiding the poor, but if it is not helping families to stand on two feet, then we need to fix it.  It is a great idea in my opiniom, however we just need to twerk it into be 100% beneficial.