President Clinton says that the Welfare REform bill he signed into law works. NOT! The
only cirteria they have about this is that the rolls have dorpped. No indication as to where these people have gone, what they are doing or where they are going. Nada. None. All they know is that the welfare rolls have less people on them and this is supposed to mean it is successful?
Well here is a typical day in the life of a single mom. Almost all of these things have happened to me, but not all of them. Just take me and multiply me by millions and you will have a good picture of what it is like - a single mom with 2 kids, 2 McJobs, whose deadbeat father refuses to help her with finances. Sit back and close your eyes and imagine this is you. Here will be your typical day ...
...
Arise every morning at 3 AM so you can make sure the dinner, lunches, household chores, are prepared and the laundry is finished (because you had to haul the laundry to a laundry mat in your baby's stroller the night before and you did not get out of there until it closed and were too tired to fold and put everything away).
After you get all the chores done, wake up the kids ~ your 2 year old is sick and running a fever, but DON'T you DARE consider staying at home with her! You could lose your job as well as a day's pay. They don't have sick leave and this would break your whole family because then you would not have enough to pay the rent. Besides stressing the kid out on the bus when they are already sick, and a trip to the doctor's is too expensive in order to bring a note to work to "prove" you are not a deadbeat yourself. Nope at least she will be at daycare ~ where she probably got the disease anyway since most of the other kids have the same situation with their moms. And that sore throat and cough you are beginning to feel yourself? Ignore it because it is just not considered right now ~ if you developed pneumonia because you are not getting enough sleep, you can worry about that later, so gulp down some non-drowsy decongestants so your co-workers won't be mad you are coughing all over them.
You all have to catch the bus at 5 AM because your 1rst job begins at 7 and you have to drop off the baby, which adds an hour to your commute. When you get to work 10 minutes late because the bus was running behind, don't dread the thought the phone will ring again about your oldest stealing from the neighbors. You had to leave him at home, he is 13 and getting into trouble because you are not there, you have never been there because you work odd hours (over 70% of McJobs are odd hours late at night or early in the morning). Work does not like getting calls from the police or school officials about teenage delinquents and you have already lost one job because of it.
The boss calls you into her office. Seems like besides you coming in late for the third time, she did a credit check on your finances because this is one of the job requirements. Your know the rules, three times late and you are out and besides, your credit is shot, she says, so they are going to have to let you go. They just cannot tolerate this kind of behavior! She does not care it is because the crappy wages you make do not allow for the electric and phone bill to be paid (because your paycheck was short, they took out #100.00 for uniforms), so you chose to pay rent instead. A trip for utility assistance takes a whole day off work and gathering a bunch of papers that you don't have (your ex kept the birth certificates and it costs 30.00 each to get another one). She tells you that she is going to dock some hours from your last paycheck because they did not take out enough industrial insurance for the past few months, sorry about that ...
You collect your stuff from the break room and head out to the unemployment office to look for another job. You have just 2 hours since your other job kicks in and you better not be late for it either. By the time you get there on the bus, you have 1/2 hour to look for something, but there isn't anything much in your field of expertise, so you head out to the other job. When you get there, the boss asks if you would stay an extra 2 hours because his staffing is short ~ of course since you are only part time, this does not mean you get overtime pay, but hey it is some extra hours and you will need it until you can fins something else. You ask if you can use the phone to call the daycare, but he says phone usages is limited to work, so you tell him you need to go to the pay phone down the block to call your daycare. Generously, he allows you to punch out to go do that.
While on the phone to the daycare, the worker tells you your child is running a temp and this is not allowed at the daycare. Would you please be so kind as to come immediately and pick her up? When you explain why you called, you tell them you will try to get your friend to pick her up, but you are at a payphone and this will take awhile to track him down and see if he can do it or find someone else. Long pause on the other ends and then she says, "Don't you love your daughter?" Through tears, you choke back your grief and say with the most normal voice you can muster, "Of course I love my daughter. I will do my best to either be there or get someone else to pick her up soon (and please allow them since they are not on your list).
When you get back, your boss is waiting, tapping his foot because you took so long. "Get out there and start ASAP, we need you to cut those fries, we are almost out!" So you get on your apron and begin to work. While working the cutting machine, you slice your hand BAD, but wrap it up and keep moving or you will be docked even more. It hurts and the blood is still oozing, but you keep working.
When you get home that night, your son hands you a paper to sign from school. Seems like he was caught smoking cigarettes and they suspended him. He has a whole bunch of friends over and they are all hanging out, laughing, talking. The place you tidied is a mess, full of dirty glasses and plates, one kid is sleeping on your living room floor, they drank up all the juice you were counting on for dinner, and the dinner you prepared is gone (your son passed it all out to his friends), someone left the refrigerator door open all day and the milk is spoiled for your 2 year old. You dig in your purse and find just enough to walk down to the corner store to buy some more. Maybe you can raid your "stash" for the bus fare tomorrow, but someone, your son or one of his friends, found it and took that too, probably for video games. Your hand is throbbing from the injury you got earlier at work, but you dip it wincing into the dishwater anyway because you cannot fix anything for dinner unless you clear off the counter. The baby starts crying because she is hungry.
While on your way to the store with the baby stroller, you run into a neighbor who tells you that another neighbor has called into the management to complain because your son had loud music playing. The look on her face says, "Where the hell were you ~ doing crack with your boyfriend in some alley?" You begin to prepare an excuse in your head as you finish your errand. You will probably have to write a letter and find some way to smooth things over ...
As you arrive back home from the store, you hear loud rap music coming from your house. Your toddler is watching in fascination as your son and his friends look up in surprise when you walk in. An odd smell is in the air. Marijuana. You ask them all to leave, but your son tells you, "Go to hell you stupid whore!" and the whole room explodes in laughter. You realize that the only way to get them all out is to call the police so you go to the phone to call. It is dead. They cut it off today because you were (again) late with the payment. There is a knock on the door and when you answer it, it is the police responding to another complaint from your neighbor. You begin to wail in frustration so they take out the cuffs. The other policeman is picking up the pipe and residue from the smoking your son and his friends have been doing. "Is this yours?" he asks and is skeptical when you tell him no.
The son and his friends are nowhere in sight. He is so angry at you. The night before you and he had an argument because he wanted you to go with him to a baseball game at the Boys and Girl's club he was playing in. But you were too tired and had laundry to do. He screamed at you, "you know what? Those stooopid jobs you work? I could make more in a DAY on the street than you make in an entire month! And that dumb church you attend? They don't give a rat's ass about you or the baby and me! And that protest you went to where you spoke to the legislators? They don't care, they are not listening and they won't do anything but make it worse!" You realize that the "example you thought you set, how hard working people are supposed to make it, is not where you or he are going. You are merely going to lose everything you worked so hard to maintain ~ again.
The police cuff you and put you into the squad car while you are sobbing uncontrollably, and you see a Child Protective worker taking your baby who is screaming and reaching out to you, out to her car.
It is going to be a long night, they will find you clean and sober though a basket case because you have just about had it ~ but you will probably make it to work on that 2nd job tomorrow when they release you on bail ...