TAXES, TAXES

The United States is a country founded on the discontent that the fathers had towards taxes without representation. It is no surprise that taxes actually is where politics really become interesting; hence the power  of Charles Rangle, Ways and Means Chairman Committee. Taxes Taxes!! What then is a more equitable distribution of taxes and should people who do not see themselves as owing anything to the nation be taxed?! Because taxes is theoretically what we pay to live in a society; it is our rental payment to the landlord (UNCLE SAM!).

        Laura Hadden, a 2007 YP4 Fellow at Evergreen State College, has designed an innovative, thoughtful and confrontational Blueprint addressing the public's view of welfare recipients and the way in which these views directly affect the lives of families on welfare.

        Her work is innovative in that she chose to weave together photographs and audio interviews to create a mixed-media exhibit that explores the faces and stories of welfare families; thoughtful in that she intends to formulate a means to "empower those families to have a voice and speak directly against the stereotypes and appeal for more community and government support," and confrontational in its intent to challenge the stigma attached to so many welfare families, break down the public's stereotypes and ultimately challenge legislators -- with public support -- to appeal full family sanctions.

        Laura's strategy for success revolves around media outreach with various independent media outlets, alliance building with nonprofits such as the Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition, and the support of local and student-run organizations and businesses to help sponsor and host her exhibit. With the goal of taking the exhibit on a two-week tour across the state of Washington, Laura hopes the power of art, image and sound will engage the public in critical discussion and bring a human face to the struggles of life on welfare.

Strapped: Why America's 20 and 30 somethings can't get ahead.

Great book; I read it in about 3 days. And I'd recommend it to anyone, so for this blog post, it is my recommendation to you.

Read a free excerpt over at www.StrappedTheBook.com and then go buy it.

In Washington state, March 1st will be a particularly sad day for a lot of families struggling to get by.

It will be the day that "full family sanctions" will be implemented, effectively cutting off all financial support for families (including children) on welfare who are on sanction from the WorkFirst program.  

The problem?  Research by the state's Department of Social and Health Services has proven that 50% of all of these sanctions are illegal, meaning that there was a justifiable cause for the welfare recipients to not meet the terms of their contracts.  Such causes include lack of child care and transportation to attend meetings.

Has the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act benefited our poverty stricken population?  No, what it has done is weaken the family structure, placed single parents in an employment sector that does not allow growth (financial or professional), and it has created a crime stricken, drug and alcohol-abusing environment for these individuals.

By what means does an individual improve their way of life? If a safety net or a satisfactory means of implementation isn't provided.  Many of the persons affected by the Welfare Reform came from generations of individuals who utilized the welfare system; therefore the lack of education, professional etiquette, and an overall means of balancing additional life duties were absent, which resulted in the failed system.  

Adequate training should have been introduced, 2 years advanced notice before the Act came into law, and particular sections should have been redefined (i.e. Making Welfare a Transition to Work: Work Activities? the allowment of 12 months of vocational training).  Whose to say parents wouldn't pursue higher education; such as a Bachelors?  No doubt that its true there has been a decrease in the number of individuals on Welfare, but where are they?  Are they now professional employees, teachers, reaping the benefits of a sizable salary with perks?  Or, are they homeless, living paycheck-to-paycheck, imprisoned or committing crimes to provide for their families?  Welfare Reform in my opinion not only dropped the ball, but also failed to improve the quality of life for these individuals.