Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The System and It's Flaws

So I mean to use this blog mostly as a tip line but I do feel the need to sometimes express my opinions on related topics. So with that in mind I want to talk about the prejudice that surrounds our state aid systems. There are a lot of people out there, especially in this economy, that need to use state aid. There is still a huge stigma surrounding it. That welfare is for lazy fat people who refuse to work, or for mothers that just want to pop out kid after kid and we are paying for it all with our tax dollars. The sad fact is, sometimes this is true. But for the most part, people take state aid because they actually need it and the usually feel ashamed about it. Please don't feel ashamed, or let anyone put you down for using a system that exists to help you. Have you ever worked? Did your partner or your parents work? Then consider the fact that you are only using what you already paid for by having taxes taken out of your paychecks. That is what my father said to me when we had to get medicaid so that I could take my little one to the doctor. He told me that he paid into the system for years so that I could do that, and I shouldn't feel bad about it. State aid should be considered a hand up, not a hand out. If you need it, use it to try to better your situation so that you won't need it any longer. At the same time, the systems sometimes makes it difficult to get ahead.

For instance, I recently got a job that I love and it pays well, better than any other job that I've ever had. But around here, child care is ridiculously expensive. It cost us over $1500 a month to put my daughter into day care. We also live in a suburban area, so I had to drive an hour just to get to work. Despite a good salary, I wasn't even making enough to cover my daughter's care and the gas to drive back and forth. It can be rough to climb out of the hole, and I want you guys to know you are not alone. Do not be ashamed if you have to take state aid, as long as you are working to better yourself.

Next in the series, I will be discussing the prejudice that can exist in the system.

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