Soap Box Time!

4/28/2018

My regular readers know, that I've been known from time to time, to get up on my soapbox and expound on a particular subject.

The subject of today's rant is the HUD proposal which calls for rent hikes for poor households.  Really?  There is now an executive order in place requiring federal agencies to expand work requirements, for low income people who receive Medicaid, food stamps, public housing benefits and welfare. 

There is a proposal that, if put in place, would require most recipients under the age of 60, to work part-time or enroll in a state-run training program.

Ben Carson's initiative would raise the rent for tenants in subsided housing to 35% of gross income.  About half of the 4.7 Million receiving housing benefits would be affected.

Cap on rent would for the poorest families would increase from $50.00 to about $150.00 a month.  This increase would affect approximately 712,000 households.  HUD also wants to scrap rules allowing deductions for medical and child care costs, which gives some tenants an unfair advantage. 

The list of rules and limitations just goes on and on.  I can speak from personal experience.  In my first life, a teen-age marriage, my husband and I couldn't have financially handled an increase in costs, whether it was the house, child care, etc.  We just didn't make enough.  At the time, my then husband was manager of a store similar to Woolworth's.  We lived on a very tight budget, and to help out, and yes it was wrong, he would, when the need arose, bring home baby clothes.  I'm certainly not trying to justify what he did, but poor people, and we were, will do just about anything for their families.  

Our checks bounced all over town, so we had to pay cash for groceries.  Doctors wouldn't see us, unless we brought cash.  One time, in particular, I became very sick, but couldn't afford to go to the doctor.  My coworkers, chipped in and gave me the money, so I could go.  Do you know what that feels like?  Or, when going out to lunch, which I did seldom, one of my older friends was polite and always said it was her time to pay - and it wasn't. 

I could go on and on about the life I led in my 5 years of marriage.  When my parents came to visit, they never came empty handed.  They brought food, which we always needed, and something for the baby as well.  Divorce ended the pitiful and poor life I had, but have never forgotten.

What can you say to people, including family, who give you a hand up?  Thank you seems like too little of a word to express your strongest emotions. 

Now, I checked, and Ben Carson earns $207,800 a year or $17,316 per month.  Do you suppose he stresses about the rising cost of groceries, utilities, child care or anything else for that matter.  Nope, he does not.  It is estimated that his net worth is around $26 Million.  That's a lot of money.  Which is the reason for today's rant.  Poor people, and there are a lot of them out there, really need someone to help them.

Okay, climbing off my soap box.  I just had to get that off my chest. 

P