Poverty Simulation

The poverty simulation we took part in this week was an eye opening experience. Reflecting on the experience of thee moms’ in the activity from my position as a parent was truly heart wrenching.
What role does stress play in the lives of low income women?
I can only imagine that these women are in a constant state of panic. The questions I imagine they would be thinking of include: How am I going to pay the bills? Where is the food coming from? What am I going to do about transportation, a job and a place to live? What about my kids? What is this lifestyle doing to them? How can I subject my kids to this stress? Will my kids have a better life? Are my kids mad at me? How did I get in this situation? I am sure this is only a few of the things a woman in this situation worries about. This can only lead to a high level of stress. High levels of stress lead to health problems, negative effects on relationship and poor work performance. Each of these things leads to more stress. This puts these women in a destructive cycle that is hard to break out of.

How do low income women perceive themselves? Do low income women feel stigmatized?
Women in this situation might have a variety of self conceptions. Some women may feel like a victim of circumstance or societal structure. Some women may feel like they are in this situation through some fault of their own and deserve the problems they have. Regardless of the position they take the women is bound to feel ostracized by society because there is such a powerful stigma attached to poverty. Any of the social services offered to these women have stigma attached. Low income status in this country is associated with poor decision making, lack of intelligence and laziness. If a woman is in a low income household she is double stigmatized. She is penalized for being a woman and for being poor.

TANF

I have been truly bothered by the information I learned about TANF this week. I did not understand the ramifications of the welfare reform before this week. A five year lifetime maximum on benefits seems like a ludicrous facsimile of assistance. The idea that most states have a shorter limit is beyond upsetting. How can country that claims to be one of the most civilized locations on earth support such a program? How can we ignore all these people? How can we allow people to go hungry?
I was bothered by the idea that people thought those on welfare were lazy. Many of the people on welfare were performing unpaid labor in their home because it did not make senses to work outside the home. As a stay at home mom (more or less for a year) I can tell you that I worked harder when I stayed at home than I ever did in the workforce. There were no scheduled breaks or days off and I was basically on call 24 hours a day. That is not the type of work that allows for laziness. People also do not take into account what working truly costs a single mom. If this woman is earning minimum wage and has two children in daycare she basically brings home $50 a month. No person can be expected to work 200 hours a month for $50. Then there are the time constraints and human costs to figure into the equation which would basically mean this woman was paying to work.
The other idea to consider in all of this is that in order for our economy to work we need people performing the lower level jobs. How would our country survive if there were no trash collectors, cashiers or food service workers? Our society needs to revalue this kind of work and offer some sort of subsidy program to the people performing these needed services.
Welfare certainly needed reformed but TANF is not a reasonable answer. How can our country claim to be a human rights advocate and still allow our own people to go hungry and without shelter? Another answer to welfare must be reached to ensure the safety and well being of everyone.

Western Feminist Role

The question of if and how Western Feminists should be involved in promoting gender justice in under developed areas is difficult to answer. It is comparable to the problem of the United States being the world's police force. Should western ideals in any form (be they form of government or feminist ideals) be forced on other cultures? This cannot be considered appropriate. Should violence against populations who are unable to defend themselves be ignored? This also cannot be considered appropriate. So, what is the answer? Some decisions must be made about when to take action and what action to take. A plan of action must be created.
The plan of action must be extensive and cannot be accurately addressed in this type of format. However, a few fundamental ideas behind the plan can be addressed here. When interacting with people at any level the most important thing to remember is to treat everyone with respect. Respect is an idea that is often forgotten when offering assistance to people. We cannot expect to facilitate change without respect (consider the situation in the Middle East). People must be able to address issues in a way that is consistent with their culture. This means allowing people the freedom to help themselves. The other important idea to remember when working together with people is clear and honest communication. If we want to create an atmosphere of equality it must start with clear communication and the removal of any hidden agendas.
At some point the western world has a responsibility to step in and stop violence. If we deny any responsibility then atrocities like the holocaust occur. When is action required? This question must be addressed on an individual basis.