My paternal grandparents had 30 sibling between them.Both families were close to each other and among themselves.
So... I have a lot of cousins.
One of my older cousins took in her niece when the girl's father died.
My cousin gave her niece everything my cousin never had while growing up.
Her niece grew up having all of her material and financial needs (and most of her wants) met by her benevolent aunt.
The girl had her first child as a senior in high school.
As the girl was unable to provide for her child financially - she joined the Navy right out of high school (leaving her son to be raised by her aunt).
When the girl returned home from the Navy, she had another son with her.
The aunt gave up her own bedroom for the sake of her niece and grand-nephew.
The aunt was now paying most of the bills for her own daughter, her niece and two grand-nephews.
After five years of having to sleep on her family room couch - my cousin asked me why her niece could never seem to move out and support her children and herself.
The problem was that my cousin had made her niece's poverty too comfortable.
While my cousin would pay her tax bill every April - her niece would receive an Earned Income Tax Credit.
So her niece was actually paying negative taxes.
In 2004, the financial burden of such tax credits was estimated to be $36 billion.
With the recent stimulus packages - some people are actually being paid to be poor.
People who actually have a tax burden are being asked to subsidize the comfort level of another person's poverty.
Do I hate the poor? Nope.
But I hate poverty.
Like in the case of my cousin's niece - it's time for many to let go of that tiddy.
Sure handouts are a treatment of the syptom and not the disease, but what now that we are well into second generation?
ReplyDeleteCutting aid can only come with a simultaneous opportunity/education program as well.
I hear you. But its a societal thing now where holding onto the nipple is considered a way to prosper. Fannie Mae is holding on as tightly as your cousin. The poor use the rich to justify what they do, and vice-versa. Getting tough on freeloaders has to be done across the economic divide, or the hostility of the group that gets weened toward the one that doesn't will cause hell for those in the middle.
ReplyDeleteA final thought... if your paid to be poor, and your still poor, you ain't really paid. And the rich do profit from keeping a certain amount of folks spending more than they earn. They are really the ones who profit from paying the poor to stay poor.
@ brohammas - Yep.
ReplyDeleteMaybe an after school mentoring program for the parents while their children are in an after school tutoring program.
IMO - If more programs were better run and poverty became the least desirable option - more people would have an incentive to do better (or at least have their children do better).
@ Dwayne T - Yep, yes, oui, si, hai, etc.
Okay, maybe "bribed" to continue being poor would work better.
But yes, 'hood surcharges ARE higher than those of a middle class person (higher interest rates, banking costs at check cashing services, groceries, gasoline - all while offering an inferior product).