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by Chip from Phillipston, Mass

Last Post 20 days, 16 hours Ago


Teen Pregnancy, "A Cottage Industry"
Jun 22, 2008 | 5:50 AM
Category: News
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What I'm going to write will irritate some folks.  I don't mean to be insensitive, nor do I mean to be uncaring.  Quite to the contrary, I mean to be kind...kind to the children of the future.

That being said, the recent story out of Gloucester has caused me to rethink how we, as a society, have gotten to the point that 17 girls, from 17 families in one community could have such a cavalier attitude toward parenting, and toward the future of children.  How, in the Name of God, have we gotten here?  This is not a story of a "bad family" or a "bad school" or a "bad community."  This is the story of a "bad policy" put into place with good intentions.

Our present welfare policy is failed, ladies and gentlemen.  It is the proximate cause of the problem in Gloucester and across the country.  By paying directly, with our tax dollars, for having babies (Aid to the Families of Dependent Children - AFDC - "Welfare"), we have created what has become the largest cottage industry in the country, having children and collecting AFDC to support them.  And with that industry, we are supporting the destruction of the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and the potential demise of our society as we know it.

Here's the math:  to make AFDC work, a woman has to have 4 children.  Then, a single mother can afford an apartment (Section 8) and have enough money for a nice car.  She can afford babysitting (subsidized daycare) and can buy jewelry and have her nails done professionally.  Unfortuantely, that causes a generational problem.  One lifetime (important word here, I'm not referring to those respectable women who find themselves pregnant, by mistake and use AFDC as a springboard to self sufficiency) AFDC recipient becomes 4 teenagers who have no working role model, nor a parent who understnad show to get a job and be successful.  Those 4 become 16 in the next generation and 256 in the third.....even if a modest number of these children "make it" by learning sefl sufficiency outside their own families, we still have a logarithmic crisis.

Do we want to do this?  I doubt it.  Is this kind to children?  I don't think so.  Is our goal to create foolish and unsuccessful children and adults?  Not likely. But we are.

What we need to do is think of children first;  we need to place the happiness  and, more so, the convenience of, parents a distant second.  We need to expect that each child will have a parent (preferably two) who is an excellent role model.  One of the minimal standards of being an excellent parent is holding down a job and supporting yourself and your children.  Any less is unacceptable.

At the same time as we have this crisis...the crisis I call "Childbirth as a Cottage Industry"....we have another.  We have thousands of couples who are childless.  Childlessness is the result of many factors, but we have "a gazillion" successful folks who are importing third world babies so that they can be parents.

What would happen if we time-limited AFDC?  What would happen if we made having employment (one parent) be a minimal standard of being a parent?  What if we set in motion a child welfare policy that took from parents their parental rights if one parent wasn't supporting his/her child?

Wouldn't both children and society be better off?

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Member Comments Total Comments: 8
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charlestown27
Jun 22, 2008 | 8:30 PM

Perhaps you should do more updated research. Have you ever recieved TAFDC? There is no such thing as AFDC anymore, it is called TAFDC as in temporary. And there are time limits. You have until your child turns two. Then you need to work or go to school, and with that you only have two years. And if you get pregnant while on TAFDC, there is the cap-you don't get money for that child. As far as section 8 goes, there is at least a 2 year wait list IF YOU ARE IN A SHELTER, 5-7 years if not. And the EEC vouchers you mention, well you need documentation that you are working or going to school. As in signed. By the way, have you seen the job market now? It is not as easy to get a job as you make it. And those jobs that are available pay slightly more than TAFDC. I certainly won't argue with you that there are people that use the system, but next time do your homework better.
Chip read my blog view my photos
Jun 23, 2008 | 2:53 AM

So, charlestown27....there isn't a societally created underclass who lare living off benefits from our government? What happens AFTER a Mom "goes to school"? Is the work required full time? Are the benefits cut off completley?

What percentage of TAFDC (if you prefer) recipients actually move on to seof sufficiency? What percentage file for SSDI?

Share your knowledge with us.
CforSRandCS read my blog
Jun 23, 2008 | 10:51 AM

Chip,
I am very impressed by your knowledge and the way that you voice your opinions. Your beliefs and forward possitive thinking have caused me to approach you concerning a currently small but growing (not quite organized) society of like minded americans. We are the Coalition for Self Responsibility and Common Sense.
We are a group that believes this country needs individuals to begin standing up for the rights that we have as individuals and as a nation that the courts and the government seems to believe they can strip away from us through legislation and court rulings. We are tired of all the finger pointing and the severe lack of self pride that society in general has seemed to alow to become common practice and in essance an approved way to live our lives.
As we are not organized to the point where we can operate as an organization I would appreciate any information or guidance that you might be able to share to ensure that we can carry out an appropriate and legaly sound movement.
Thank you!
Chip read my blog view my photos
Jun 24, 2008 | 3:22 AM

CforSR,

Thank you for the kind words. It is clear to me that we have created a semi-permanent underclass through well intentioned, yet failed, social engineering. For me, it is not abut money or taxes. It is about people. We are ruining the lives of children, and threatening the fabric of our society.

Now, to answer your question: I think you need only worry about an appropriate (your words) movement. Legally, you are entitled to both your opinion and your voice. I think that maybe you want to organize legally in the form of a "Political Action Committee". I'd consider a website, fundraising and a public agenda that is clear, concise and un-confusing.

I'd also suffest a name change: Coalition for PERSONAL Responsibility and Social Change.

Common sense ain't so common....and the term is ambiguous. Hope I've been helpful.
CforSRandCS read my blog
Jun 24, 2008 | 5:51 AM

In return I thank you! If you don't mind I would love to hear your ideas on one more subject? I have asked many people this same question and received many varying responces. Why is it that the government chooses to change the constitution and our very fabric for the smallest assembly that is able to receive enough media attention? With that said why do we as American's allow it to happen? Is it just that we are a lazy society that doesn't feel that its worth it anymore or is there something that I am missing?
Chip read my blog view my photos
Jun 24, 2008 | 5:20 PM

First off, the government cannot change the Constitution. It is only amendable by vote of the citizens in each state. However, the "changes" you are seeing are engineered by a majority of our elected officials. very often, their agendae are dictated by personal gain. The most duplicitous of these folks are actually Democrats. They are telling you that they are looking out for the common man, yet they are deceiving the common man in search of profits for themselves.

As an example, look at Teddy Kennedy's opposition of windmills off cape cod. Is that responsible activity by a man who is a vocal proponent of alternative energy sources?

The common man, do his discredit, looks no further than the liveral media, who panders to these guys, and does not make him/herself educated enough to scream.

Liberal America is dumbing down the public, through propoganda, and economic slavery like AFDC.
heatherfont read my blog view my photos
Jun 24, 2008 | 7:14 PM

Hey Chip!

It's been a while since I've been around here, but I find myself hopping right back in to agree with your viewpoint. As you know, I live in an urban area that has a very high percentage of people living off the system. While working in real estate, I have seen apartments trashed by Section 8 recipients. While working as a late-night grocery checker, I've seen blatant abuse of food stamps.

I came to the realization that when one grows up receiving everything without having to earn it, he or she values it very little. Why? Because someone else is going to have to work to replace it or fix it. Generation after generation of families live in public housing. Wasn't that, too, supposed to be "temporary?" Anyone that truly believes that the supposed time constraints on welfare are being enforced is wrong. If you have to get off when your baby is two, what better time to become pregnant again? It's almost like a reward for creating another child that will be a burden to those of us that scrape by and have to carry Walmart handbags, while seeing people on the system walk by carrying Coach bags, with their fingernails perfectly painted by someone else, talking on their cell phones that our tax dollars pay to service.
Chip read my blog view my photos
Jun 25, 2008 | 3:01 AM

heather...SO good to see you!!! Stick around, huh?

And, just to "tweak" it a bit, I don't even really care about the "tax dollars" really. In truth I'd pay double if a system were developed the didn't ruin lives!!! I was brought up on a chicken farm (I've said that a bazillion times). My grandfather, the staunchest of "insensitive men", would NEVER allow a person to leave his house unfed. If a hungry person were to arrrive at his house, an extra plate would be set, and 1/4 would come off the plates already set (we were not affluent....we ate everything, lol). It was a matter of Christian values.

But what we have done is to create a machine that eats the self reliance of otherwise decent people and spits out leaches. We are equally to blame for allowing it to happen...
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Chip

Just your average guy, married to a woman who is incredibly smart and possibly more conservative than I am. Father of three and grandfather of one soon to be two. Devoted Patriots fan and season ticket holder, snowmobile enthusiast and lifelong public servant.

Member Since: 9/26/2006


 

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