Women and Poverty Hearing: A motivation and need disconnect

If you saw a child and his mother on the streets in rags, with sunken eyes, asking for food or to get out of the rain, any normal person would offer to help in some way shape or form. Why, then, do we as a collective body give up, virtually ignoring the plight of an entire group of people, when it comes to helping on a large scale? I get that it becomes more difficult, and I understand that enabling and incentivizing a lack of work-ethic is a legitimate concern for many people. But regardless, these people, children included, are still struggling.

On Tuesday morning, there was a Senate Finance committee hearing on women and poverty, specifically focused on TANF reauthorization. Four witnesses testified, each offering their experiences living and growing up on some form of government aid. Most notable of them was Wess Moore, author of The Other Wess Moore. They spoke of how they were able to “make it” only because they were given just enough aid to support them through their time spent getting an education and bettering their career prospects.

Speaking as a college student, I can’t imagine ever bridging the 4-year-next-to-$0-income time gap that is college if my family was homeless. How could I justify going to college, when it would mean not working to support my family that is still in serious need or when I am racking up debt in amounts I had never seen before in my life? All of these still ignore the fact that my going to college would already be like swimming upstream after a 10-inch rain because I wouldn’t know many people who are choosing the same path and could offer information or help.

Considering that these serious roadblocks to the American Dream are still in place, the committee was attended well where it didn’t count and poorly where it did. While the committee audience filled every chair, even spilling over to the press tables, the chairs at the front were all empty, save four. And during the final minutes of the hearing, there was one.

I get that poverty is a tricky issue, and I get that the economy has been hard on lots of people, even ones who aren’t labeled “poor.” But these people are still there, especially during an economic downturn, and they’re hurting more than the rest of us.