Minnesota's Casualities of War
by Deb Konechne, Welfare Rights Committee
As the Bush Administration leads the U.S. into a war that will result in terrible devastation and loss of lives, we as people of conscience must resist this war and tell the truth about the underlying causes of the current crisis. At the same time, the Welfare Rights Committee and Women Against Military Madness call on people to also examine and resist the war that lawmakers have been waging against the poor within our nation's borders.
As low-income women and families, welfare recipients, and working poor, we have been fighting against a very sophisticated war on poor families in this country for a number of years. In this war we have seen used the same methods used by the U.S. government and the media in building for and justifying wars against people of other nations. First an enemy must be created. In our case, that enemy is "welfare mothers." Politicians over the past number of years have whipped up a hatred and hysteria in the public for poor mothers and their children. They have demonized us as criminals that are deserving of attack. Then, once they turned public sentiment against families needing welfare, they dropped the bombs. They call it welfare "reform". We call it an outright war on the poor.
The most devastating part of the so-called welfare "reforms" is the arbitrary lifetime limit of five years to receive public assistance. On July 1, 2002, over 5000 families in Minnesota alone will hit the five-year limit. This could include as many as 15,000 children. Although Minnesota legislators last year passed a law to provide extensions of welfare to some, their estimation is that only half of the 5000 families will get the extension. That leaves 2500 or more families and as many as 7500 kids to be cut off all public assistance -- all on a single day! Many more families will be cut in the months to follow.
Starting on September 1, 2001, families who moved to Minnesota from other states began to reach the time limit. On the first of each month leading up to July 1, 2002, more will follow. Five Minnesota families have already been thrown completely off cash assistance.
Losing public assistance is an immediate ticket into homelessness. Many families will lose their already fragile housing, be forced to double and triple up with other families, go to overfilled shelters, or find themselves living in the streets. Many women who have experienced domestic violence will be forced to go back to their abusers. We will see children taken away from their families. There will be immense suffering and devastation in families already barely surviving. This is a tragedy we cannot allow to happen.
While staying home to raise children is often seen as a virtue for well-to-do mothers, it is treated as a crime for poor mothers. Families living on public assistance live at nearly 50 percent below the poverty level. In Minnesota, a parent with two children receives a meager $532 a month in cash. This amount has not been increased since 1986. Although it may seem impossible to many, this incredibly low welfare check is the only responsible choice for parents who must choose between the welfare check and a low-wage job coupled with expensive child care. Covering the costs of child care, housing, food, and medical care is out of the question in a job that does not pay livable wages.
For every $20,000 the Federal government is spending on each satellite-guided munition used to bomb Afghanistan, three Minnesota families could receive needed assistance to survive for an entire year. For every $1 million the U.S. spends on air-launched cruise missiles aimed at Afghanistan, more than 156 Minnesota families could survive poverty for another year. As the U.S. government creates homelessness, hunger, and a flood of refugees in Afghanistan, so it is creating homelessness and hunger, and making refugees of poor mothers and children here at home.
As we mourn the September 11 tragedy, we urge everyone to look at the trauma and devastation faced daily by families living in poverty. We condemn our government's brutal acts of aggression against people both abroad and at home. Wars always result in civilian casualties and usually the victims are the same: poor women and children just trying to survive.
WAMM Action!
Emergency Summit: Stop the Time Limit on Welfare!
Saturday, December 8, 2001
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Workshops, informational presentations, and discussion
Sabathani Community Center
310 East 38th Street, Minneapolis
3:30 p.m.
Rally: Stop the War on the Poor!
Minnesota State Capitol Building, St. Paul
Call or write your state and federal elected officials. Let them know how you feel about the time limits on welfare.
To contact your Minnesota state representative and senator:
House information: 651-296-2146
Senate information: 651-296-0504
(If you are represented by Sen. Linda Berglin (Dem., District 61), ask her to not give up the fight. Offer her your support.)
To contact your U.S. representative and senators:
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Or use WAMM's directory on the Web: WAMM Elected Officials Directory
#Copyright © 2001 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.