Category Archives: Resources

A Brief History of Welfare in America

101, Book Review, Government Programs, Resources,

brief history of welfare

This week I listened to another audiobook courtesy of the Overdrive app and my local library. If you have a smart phone, tablet, or e-reader, I highly recommend you ask your local library if they have the Overdrive app available. There are tons of audiobooks and e-books you can check out for free.
Anyway, when I was scrolling through audio titles recently, I came upon a book called $2.00 A Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin and H. Luke Shaefer. My first response to the cover material and introduction was skepticism. For as much as I know about poverty and hunger, I still did not believe that this extreme level of poverty was possible in America. Between SNAP, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security Disability, welfare, WIC, private charities, and private donations, I could not believe that there were people with no job AND who were turned down from these social security nets.

As the authors, a sociology professor and a social work professor, began to unwrap their research, I could see the pockets of this level of destitution that exist here in the United States. I still had trouble finding sympathy for some of the subjects because of their terrible life choices. The authors did not go digging for the most innocent victims of poverty, to be sure. I am also not completely sold on some of their conclusions. Their plan involves a lot of expansion in government services and job creation, yet they offer few if any suggestions about how to fund such programs.

But feelings and solutions aside, the most valuable part of this book in my opinion was the historical context it gave to American welfare programs. So using this book as my source, today’s post is a review of that history.

The Great Depression
Prior to the Great Depression in the 1930s, government welfare programs were virtually unheard of in the United States. But when things got desperate, President Franklin Roosevelt enacted several pieces of legislation aimed at putting Americans back to work and providing for those who were unable to care for themselves. Many of the programs (such as the Works Progress Administration which put Americans to work on public works programs) expired or were discontinued when the Depression ended. Others continue even to this day, including Social Security for the elderly and disabled, Medicare and Medicaid health insurance. One of the programs that came out of the Depression era was Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), commonly known as welfare. AFDC provided a cash safety net for families with children who found themselves in a desperate situation.

The Great Society
In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson greatly expanded social service programs, including AFDC, as part of his “Great Society” initiatives. Johnson’s goal was to eliminate poverty and racial inequality in America through a series of legislation which expanded existing social programs like Social Security, AFDC, food stamps, and Medicare/Medicaid. It also created Head Start, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The 1970s and 1980s
Reaction to the Great Society programs were mixed. While it provided tremendously for struggling Americans, many felt that it rewarded indolence and unwed procreation. Edin and Schaefer argue that welfare was widely unpopular after the Great Society because it was at odds with deeply held American values like self-sufficiency, the primacy of family, and the value of hard work. They site a study where the majority of Americans in a survey group stated that they believed that the government was not doing enough to help the poor, and in the same survey they responded that welfare was too expensive. Americans were concerned that welfare was trapping people in a cycle of dependency, and they complained of costly abuses of the system. Ronald Reagan made welfare reform a campaign issue in the late 1970s, and the popular support for welfare reform helped get him elected.
Also during this time, the food stamps program was renamed SNAP, and a program using an Electronic Balance Transfer (EBT) card rather than paper food stamps was instituted to cut down on the (illegal) sale of food stamps, a popular survival strategy for people with no cash income.

Welfare Reform
For all the rhetoric, Reagan was not able to push though significant welfare reform. The issue continued to be a popular campaign topic but difficult to enact. In 1991/92, Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Clinton took up the mantle, promising to “end welfare as we know it.” Once elected, President Clinton set out to reform the welfare system using aspects of a plan proposed by Harvard professor Dr. David Ellwood. Elwood’s plan proposed a system that encouraged work through a combination of cash welfare and job training, with limits on welfare that would encourage individuals to wean off the system and guaranteed jobs in government if nothing was available in the private sector. As the various welfare bills made their way through committees, the House, the Senate, and onto the President’s desk (where two welfare reform bills were vetoed), the legislation looked less and less like Ellwood had imagined. The final result was the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which virtually eliminated welfare as we knew it and instituted a new work-based program. It replaced AFDC with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), a program that supplied cash welfare with strict time limits and work requirements designed to prevent long-term welfare dependence. The results have been mixed. Proponents are quick to point out that the welfare rolls have shrunk dramatically, but opponents point out that the number of families suffering from lack of resources, and the strain on private charities have increased as a result of the reforms.

The System Today
The TANF program was reauthorized in 2005 with slight adjustments. Following the advent of the Great Recession in 2008, Congress enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a temporary addition to TANF designed to get Americans through the recession. It provided a temporary TANF emergency fund (2009-10) as well as jobs programs aimed at stimulating the economy and improving American infrastructure through public works programs.
In 2010 the TANF program was reauthorized for a second time.

It’s not easy to tell the whole story of American welfare in 1000-ish words. I know this does not cover every argument for and against the programs. But it does provide you with a basic understanding of how we got to where we are today. Edin and Schafer argue that the old system was out of sync with American values and full of holes, but they also argue that the current system leaves many people with few legal options. They propose further reforms that focus on wage and workplace protections, and work opportunities, among other ideas.

This feels a bit scary, like opening Pandora’s Box, but if we agree to be civil I think we can have this discussion. What POSITIVE changes would you like to see in the way the federal government treats the poor? More mental health services? An increase in the minimum wage? Leave a comment!

6 Cheap CROCKPOT Meals Your Family Will Love

Resources, Saving money

cheap crockpot meals

When it comes to making affordable, nutritious meals on a tight schedule and/or budget, the crockpot is a girl’s REAL best friend! Slow cooking allows you to come home at the end of a long day and not have to spend a lot of time cooking, and it keeps you from giving in and ordering out when you’re exhausted. It also allows you to make tender, delicious meals with cheaper or leaner cuts of meat. So here’s a roundup of 6 cheap crockpot meals that each serve four people.

  1. Taco Chicken – I got this recipe years ago from a friend, and it has become a regular staple at my house.2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
    16 oz chicken stock (remember, I make mine for FREE using chicken bones! Click HERE for that recipe)
    1 packet of taco seasoning
    optional: sliced white onion and/or peppers

    It’s really that easy, three ingredients tossed in the crockpot and cooked all day (4-6 hours) on low heat. When you’re ready to eat, shred the chicken with two forks, and you’re all set for quesadillas, chicken nachos, tacos, or healthy taco salads.

  2. Basic Rice & Beans – My friend Heidi, whom you know from her guest post a while back, kicks off every week with a basic rice & beans dinner. Like our Food Shelf Friday meals, her rice & beans Mondays are a cost-saving measure that allows her family to support kids through Compassion International. It also reminds them that this is reality for much of the world. You can read Heidi’s inspiration – We Are That Family’s blog about rice & beans Mondays HERE.bag dry black beans
    rice

    Put dry black beans in the crockpot, and fill the pot with water. Let it soak overnight without turning on the crockpot. The next morning, rinse the beans, add fresh water just to cover the beans, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook on low until dinner. Make plain rice according to package directions right before you eat.

    Heidi and her family eat the rice and beans plain, because most of the world does, but if you want to take this basic recipe to a new level, try adding some cumin, salsa, or diced onion and peppers to the beans, add lime juice to the rice, or top the dish with salsa, cheese, avocado, or cilantro.

  3. Crockpot Bean with Bacon Soup (from Money Saving Mom)– I know, ham and bacon are not exactly cheap. But if you buy a ham for a holiday dinner, the leftovers can go a long way. This soup is warm, filling, and uses the ham bone – stretching the value of that holiday ham and turning leftovers into a new meal.Ham bone
    6-8 cups of water
    1 (1 lb.) bag of navy beans (2 cups)
    2-3 bay leaves, depending on size
    salt and pepper, to taste
    4-5 pieces of bacon
    Small amount of chopped ham (optional, the bone will probably have a good amount still on it, so it’s not necessary to add more unless you have some more leftovers to use up)
    1 small onion
    3 stalks celery (optional)
    1/2 cup heavy cream, (optional, I usually use whole milk that I keep on hand for cooking)

    Bring ham bone to boil in water. Add salt, pepper, celery and bay leaves, reduce and simmer for 1-2 hours. (You can use plain water, but the bone gives it some more flavor, and bone broth is super good for you) Strain broth, add to crockpot.

    To prepare beans, soak overnight or for a quick soak, bring 6-8 cups water to boil, add beans and boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse, add the crockpot.

    Cook bacon for a few minutes, then add chopped onion, sauté until golden brown and bacon is done, but not crisp. Remove from pan and chop, add to crockpot. Add ham to crockpot, if desired.

    Cook on low in the crockpot for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Add heavy cream, and continue to cook about 15 minutes more. Remove bay leaves.

  4. Crockpot Baked Potatoes – this is another terrific way to make leftovers feel like a fresh new meal.Potatoes
    Aluminum foil

    in the crockpot on low heat for about 8 hours, and that’s it! Let everyone top them with leftovers, canned stew or chili, or just cheese for a quick, warm, personalized meal everyone will enjoy.

  5. Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches – I love the Six Sisters Stuff They have lots of great freezer meals that you can make up on your day off and throw in the crockpot when you need it. That’s where I found this beef sandwich recipe. While beef roast doesn’t exactly equal “cheap,” a little research on Grocery 411 taught me about the most affordable cut of beef for this recipe – a skill that will help you cut down on grocery spending. Check out the link to learn more about saving money by buying the right grade and cut of beef.2-3 lb select grade beef chuck roast
    2 cans (14.5 oz each) beef consommé (it is right next to the soups and beef broth)
    6-8 buns (croissants are delicious with French dip, but can be overpriced)

    Place roast in the crockpot and pour beef consommé on top. Cook on low for 8-11 hours, or on high for 5-7 hours. With 2 forks, shred roast and serve meat on buns. Top with Provolone or Swiss cheese (optional), and serve the juice from the crockpot on the side.

  6. Crockpot Roast Chicken – Lately I have found whole chickens at the grocery store for $5-7. That’s not a bad price for feeding a family of four. In contrast, a rotisserie chicken at the same grocery store is $9 now. Prepare ahead and get the same roast chicken dinner for almost half the price!1 whole chicken, baggie of neck, giblets, etc. removed. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels
    1 lemon
    salt, pepper, and seasonings to taste

    Slice the lemon and place the slices on the bottom of the crockpot. This adds a little flavor, but more importantly it keeps the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the crockpot. Place the chicken breast side up in the pot, sprinkle with seasonings, and cook on high for about 4 hours or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees.

    You can shake this up a bit by changing out the seasonings. You could cut a garlic clove in half and stuff it into the chicken before cooking, add sprigs of fresh rosemary, or place additional lemon slices under the breast skin or on top of the chicken.

 

So there you have it, a hot, tasty, easy roundup of slow cooker recipes that are, or can be, affordable. Do you have a favorite crockpot recipe? Share it in the comments!

Understanding Water Inequality

inspiration, Resources

Water Inequality

Thank you all for your patience this past week as I took my first week off from the blog. I had a wonderful time at a retreat with great friends in the stunning peak fall colors.

Today I’m introducing a topic that has been on my list since day one – Water Inequality. The two most important things that a person needs to survive are food and water. They work hand in hand to regulate body systems and provide fuel for everything one does. But in many parts of the world, there is little access to water and/or the available water is dangerously unsanitary. In some areas, people (usually women and older children) walk MILES every day to bring back whatever water they can carry from the nearest river or well. This stunts many areas of economic and medical progress as water is needed for growing crops, caring for livestock, sanitation, and human consumption, and one person can only carry so much.

water map

(Water map from unep.org – United Nations Environmental Programme)

As you can see from this map, access to water looks a lot like access to food, sanitation, economic opportunity, and education. The United States, Europe, and Australia are well provided for, and Central Africa and parts of Asia suffer the most. I’m not an environmental expert or an economist, but it seems pretty obvious to me that those things are connected. What is less clear to me is which came first – the chicken or the egg, so to speak.

At it’s most basic, access to clean water is a matter of simple geography. Here in Minnesota we have well over 10,000 lakes, including giant Lake Superior. There is no lack of water here. But it isn’t entirely that simple. There is desert in Africa, but there is desert in the American southwest as well, and yet Arizonans have access to safe drinking water. They ration more than Minnesotans, but they don’t suffer like the people in the yellow and red sections of that map. Infrastructure like wells, pipelines, and water treatment facilities are vital.

With geography and/or infrastructure in place, there are still hurdles to water access. Corrupt régimes know how vital water is and there are stories of soldiers blocking access to wells in retaliation or in effort to control the people. Lack of education is a problem as well. Uneducated peoples do not understand the importance of sanitation and water purification. In societies where survival is a battle, people do not have the means to hold out for cleaner water.

So here in the comfortable U.S. what does water inequality mean to us?

First, awareness of finite resources should spur us to make better choices about our water consumption. Shut off the water while you brush your teeth. Limit your shower times. Don’t overwater your lawn or run the dishwasher half empty.

Second, support efforts to create water access for all. Encourage your representatives to defend human rights around the world. Get involved in charities that dig wells and educate. A number of these organizations exist. Consult one of the charity rating sites to find a good organization.

There is always a lot of talk in the media about human rights and which provisions are basic human rights. Protesters like to use that language in their signs, “X is a basic human right!” Is it food? Affordable health care? There is no doubt that clean water is necessary for human existence, so in my mind that makes it, along with access to safe food, a basic human right. Does that mean I think food and water should be free? Not really. People don’t value free things. In crisis, free is important; the need is urgent and temporary. In the day to day, having life’s necessities available, safe, and affordable while ensuring people’s physical safety sets up a system where people can have basic human rights and where they will respect and not waste these vital building blocks of life, health, and society.

What do you think? Have you ever experienced the lack of clean water or been involved in raising money for water infrastructure? What was your experience like?

Book Review – When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikker

Book Review, Ministry, Resources, Service Projects

When Helping Hurts

I read a story in one of Jen Hatmaker’s books about a school in Africa visited every summer by a group of American teens on a short-term mission trip. Every year the local leaders sent kids to muddy the walls of their school in preparation for the Americans coming in. The building didn’t need painting, but they needed the Americans’ support, so they had to give the missions team something to do to feel useful. Clearly the Americans thought they were helping, but the local people didn’t have the heart (or possibly the power) to tell them they were wasting time and ridiculous amounts of money. Having been on a short term missions trip and part of outreaches, it made me wonder how often I have reinvented a perfectly good wheel and gotten in the way of what really needed to be done.

A few years ago I heard about the book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. I’ll admit it paralyzed me. Until I read the book, just knowing that it was out there made me afraid I would find out that the mission trip and outreach programs I had participated in were full of mistakes that had done more harm than good. As we prepared for the Convoy of Hope event, I decided that it was time to read the book. Maybe it would give me some guidance as we planned the outreach.

I didn’t love it. There are some good points, for sure. But I feel that it lacks focus. Some parts are for average people who want to help, and some parts are like a policy manual for people starting a non-profit or establishing benevolence policy for a church. Not being a pastor or policy maker, I became frustrated with the advice about things I can’t control, and bored with the technical financial jargon. There are a ton of acronyms and technical financial concepts (not my particular skill set). I feel it should have been two books – one for minimizing the mistakes of average people involved in charitable work, and one more technical manual for pastors and policy makers.

Least you think I hated the book, let me share with you some of the good parts:

“Our relationship to the materially poor should be one in which we recognize that both of us are broken and that both of us need the blessing of reconciliation. Our perspective should be less about how we are going to fix the materially poor and more about how we can walk together, asking God to fix both of us.” (p.79)

There is a necessary emphasis on helping the poor in a way that empowers them and restores dignity. The authors encourage people to start their charitable programs by taking an inventory of what a community has to work with, rather than what it lacks. “…the very nature of the question – What gifts do you have? – affirms people’s dignity and contributes to the process of overcoming their poverty of being. And as they tell us of their gifts and abilities, we can start to see them as God does, helping us to overcome our superiority, that is, our own poverty of being.” (p. 126)

“Pouring in outside resources is not sustainable and only exacerbates the feelings of helplessness and inferiority that limit low-income people from being better stewards of their God-given talents and resources.” (p. 126)

“The money spent on a single STM (short term missions) team for a one- to two-week experience would be sufficient to support more than a dozen far more effective indigenous workers for an entire year.” (p. 173)

So you see, there are valuable practical insights throughout the book, but I’m afraid they’re lost on the less business-minded. I found it hard to keep reading when the authors spent several chapters on banking details and interest rates, as that’s not likely something I’ll ever make decisions about.

The other problem I have with this book is the way the authors encourage us to judge people in need to determine not just what type of aid will be most beneficial, but whether we should help at all or let people learn from consequences. In my experience, most people are more than happy to blame the poor for their plight and use that excuse to not help. A Christian engaging in relief work should look first and foremost to the Bible for direction, and the Bible tells us “judge not.” On the other hand, if you’re a policy maker for a church or non-profit, there are judgments you have to make to efficiently and responsibly manage your organization. Separating this into two books would have made this clear and allowed the authors to go into greater detail for the different audiences.

So I give this book a mixed review. On one hand it has many thought-provoking insights, and on the other hand, it spends too much time on technical financial issues and encourages judgment over mercy. If you’re in a position to be making benevolence policies for your church or non-profit, it’s worth a read. If you’re just an average volunteer who wants to avoid making blunders, don’t let the knowledge that this book exists stop you from getting involved. A little compassion and respect is what you really need to make sure your help doesn’t actually hurt.

What are “Poverty Orphans”?

inspiration, Resources,

Poverty Orphans

In 2011-2012 there was severe famine in the Horn of Africa. Every evening the news would show more pictures of people suffering and migrating in hopes of finding provision. One particular evening I saw something that moved me to tears and has stuck with me ever since. After the crowd moved down the road, a tiny baby remained. The news reporter explained that the parents may have died and no one wanted to take on a baby, or the child may have been abandoned by parents who had nothing to give the baby but didn’t want to watch him die. Doesn’t that break your heart? If the parents survived, they must be living with guilt over that choice. And what became of the child? Did the news crew film him and then pick him up? They undoubtedly had water and food. Honestly, when I think about that I get upset at the news crew way more than the parents. The news crew had resources. I hope they did the right thing.

That was my first encounter with the truth of poverty orphans. Poverty Orphans are defined as children surrendered or abandoned as orphans but who actually have one or both parents living. They are given up because their parents can’t feed them and they believe that it will be best for their kid(s) to go to orphanages, churches, hospitals, or maybe even new families where there will be food to eat and safe water to drink. Other poverty orphans are surrendered because they require expensive medical treatments or have special needs, and desperate parents truly feel that they have no other option than to give their child to an organization that can care for him or her. Giving away a child and never finding out what happened to them is the most crazy desperate thing I can imagine. It’s horrifying that these parents truly have no other options. If they don’t surrender their children, they watch them die. It’s that simple and that ugly.

There are no accurate statistics on the number of “orphans” who actually have parents. A large number of the abandoned kids are too young or too sick to tell anyone if they have parents. Often a surrendering parent will tell the organization that they are an aunt, uncle, or neighbor and that the parents are dead with no one to take the kids.

I know this is a heavy topic, and I have promised over and over that Food Shelf Friday is not about guilt and sadness, but hope and resources. So here’s the good news: a number of charitable organizations have been developed to reduce the incidence of poverty orphanage. Their goal is to reach families in crisis before it becomes so desperate that they give their children away. These organizations employ local people at a fair wage, provide micro finance loans so the parents can start their own businesses, provide relief for children in the form of food distribution, or provide medical services so the parents don’t have to make that desperate choice.

I personally struggle to balance my budget with my social and environmental concerns. It seems that if something is fair trade, then it’s out of my budget. If I find something affordable, it’s tested on animals. My consumer habits are a big tangled mess of concerns that often conflict. I find it can be really overwhelming, but my friend Heidi reminded me of two quotes: First, “Do the next right thing.” (Michael Hyatt) And second, “Do the best you can until you know better. And when you know better, do better.” (Maya Angelou)

So I decided to take some baby steps:
– My chocolate and coffee choices are fair trade. I’ll be eating less chocolate because the fair trade-grown chocolate is expensive, but the coffee is not. We’re Keurig users, and the fair trade cups are the same price as the others. So that’s an easy step to take. If you’re brewing grounds you may have to spend more for fair trade.
– After seeing a video in class about birth defects and working conditions for banana growers, I reduced our banana consumption so we could switch to organic bananas. My “right” to something should not trump another’s right to be safe.
– I get a monthly subscription box from Fair Trade Friday and purchase things from Noonday Collection so that I can give gifts I feel good about. I may have to give less to stay in my budget, but it’s worth it. We can pare down our luxuries to provide others with necessities.

I know I have a long way to go and an abundance of things I could be doing better. I’ll get there. But this is my “next right thing” and as I learn more about global systems, I’ll do better. No parent should be so desperate that they have to give their child away. I want to be part of the solution.

How about you? What is your “next right thing?” What businesses or non-profits do you support for their efforts to keep families together and fed? Share in the comments so we can all “do better.”