Government Assistance is Temporary

I grew up in poverty. My mother was on government assistance my entire life. I wasn’t even aware of it until I was around 10 years old, at which point other children began making fun of me because we were on food stamps.

As an adult I’ve been on food stamps for a couple years. I also recieved government health care and I have been on the WIC program, for pregnant women, infants and young children.

It’s wonderful that our country has this assistance in place for those who really need it. Unfortunatly there are many people who abuse the system.

If you’ve ever had to go down to your local Welfare office, you may have seen some people there that didn’t appear to have any business being there. Granted we don’t know their situation without talking to them, but I personally couldn’t help but wonder about them. I’d be sitting in that office wearing the same clothes I’ve had for 5 years, most of which were originally purchased at a second hand store. My children’s clothes also purchased second hand. Our stroller was most likely second hand as well. Many of the people in the office were dressed as I was, nothing special. But then there are those who show up looking like a million bucks. Designer clothes that look brand new. A designer baby stroller, designer purses, leather coats etc. etc. Even the babies are wearing designer clothes and leather jackets. Then to make matters worse they pull out the latest new cell phone and start making phone calls. I often wondered, if these people were so broke, how did they afford all this stuff, and if they’re so hungry to come down to the food stamp office, why not sell their leather coat and buy some peanut butter and bread.

Again, I don’t know their situation, but in some areas of the US people do live like this. My own mother, at one time, had a decent paying full time job. But since she was paid under the table, she was able to not claim that income to the government, and got full benefits. When I was a teenager and began working, they were going to cut her benefits due to my income. So my mother told them I’d moved out so there was no income to claim. Granted this didn’t help our situation at all, because government assistance isn’t enough to live off, even with a measly salary.