Posted on 10/13/2009 5:26:07 AM PDT by Niuhuru
I was chatting with another FReeper on how teen mothers should be treated. Instead of being given free housing, what about Hostels as one Tory MP suggested? Why not save all the welfare perks for people who are responsible?
There used to be what were quaintly known as “homes for wayward girls”. One of them is not far from where I live. Girls were given work, usually handwork like sowing and knitting. In return they were given food and shelter for themselves and their children. They were not allowed to leave the grounds (since that would only invite more trouble) and male visitors were strictly limited, generally only a chaplain and a doctor (who might have been female).
The home had a chapel with mandatory daily attendance. Some people are upset because the facility had a cemetery for girls who died there. They forget that half of all Americans died of tubercolis in the Nineteenth Century and crowded institutions were breeding grounds.
The idea has merit, though I doubt we could successfully impose the kind of restrictions ( daily chapel, no leave and no male visitors) that made them effective. In the day, the alternative was begging in the street or prostitution.
Basic economics—Levy an annual tax/fine on each bastard child instead of subsidizing them.
I was a teen mother and I think it would be a great idea. Except the knitting and sewing stuff. I think it would be better to have some sort of job skill training instead, teach people how to use computer programs and type. Things like that. Basic entry level skills that will get you a job so you can support yourself and feel better about yourself.
I had one daughter when I was 18 and the next daughter when I was 19. I put myself through college twice. I have no regrets about having my girls when I was young. They are 14 and 13 now.
There are no programs that give women work skills. It should be mandatory that if you are receiveing state assistance then you have to attend classes Mon-Fri to learn job skills. NO show = NO Check on Friday. They could even have a daycare facilty on site.
How we stop giving welfare and free apartments to foreigners first and then stop giving them to abled bodied men who should get jobs, then pregnant and teen mothers can become a real issue.
Watch abortion rates sky rocket in that instance.
That is an excellent, constructive idea. I would add that if people are receiving government dole-outs, that they should have to pass drug tests as well. If they flunk, they get no money. Welfare needs to be completely over-hauled, it isn't helping the way it is now.
"Obama Money"........give me a break!!!!!
Each day will be a new workout routine and the kids will get supervised and then the mothers take over. They’ll spend the day taking skills lessons to learn marketable skills and resume building.
Then give all the welfare perks to those who are responsible. Let the responsible kids enjoy gas money for thier car to go to school, free housing, and other amenities.
GovernmentShrinker suggested barracks style places.
THis is my long held plan and one I would propose if I ever went into public service.
Welfare mothers will live in a dorm. It will be pleasant with a separate room for the kids.
Meals will be common and family style in the cafeteria. Meals times will be specific with no makeups.
The young ladies will be compelled to take part in classes, first to complete high school, then to a vocation of some kind. Also will be classes on manners, proper dress for business, how to get up on time etc.
30% of the women will be trained in child care, taking care of the kids in the program and then in real life as a job or self owned business.
welfare payments will be vendored in by the state. After graduation, the girls may stay for a pre-determined time as they enter the workforce. Welfare will be reduced commensurate with income, however not an exact amount. They will receive bonus payments that are put into an account. When they are completely done with the program, they will have a small nest egg to use toward a home, or seed to start their own business.
If they don’t like it, they are free to leave, but all payments stop permanently.
Sewing and knitting are great skills. And great income skills. Custom handknit items can make a good dollar for a few hours work. And custom sewing is a always in demand in any place.
Both activities have helped hundreds of generations of women learn an inner peacefulness that yoga cannot touch.
What if all illegitimate children became the responsibility of the babydaddy & he had to live with the kids, take care of them 24/7 and work to support them.
Bet the teen mom problem would vanish!!
Yes, the old home for unwed mothers is a great idea.
Bastardy is criminal — having a child out of wedlock, aka single motherhood. It’s in all the old-school criminal codes. Octomom is a excellent example of why it should be back on the books, and it would greatly help reduce the huge multiple lifetime social costs of teenage single motherhood if it were back on the books and prosecuted — especially in concert with re-establishing the homes for unwed mothers.
WE ALSO SHOULD GO AFTER THE DADS. I favor jailing the Dads of any child born out of wedlock until they marry the mother. THAT would really reduce the rate of father-less children.
Not if you tax abortions, too.
1) They pay their own way, or...
2) Their PARENTS pay their way, or...
3) Only if the first two are IMPOSSIBLE, then what you said.
How about the recipients take shifts babysitting. Say two hours of babysitting out of an eight hour day? Kid get to see their moms and know they are never far away. And all the mommies and kids could have a healthy lunch together? This really irks my libertarian bones, but mommies and kids hit a soft spot with this old grandfather.
Moms could also do most of the kitchen work as well. For some of them it would be job training since not everyone has aptitude for more intellectually demanding work.
The one thing we ought never, ever do is subsidize indolence.
BTW, sowing and knitting was probably about as good as it got in the Nineteenth Century. In the early part of the century about 90% of the American population worked on farms. Mill towns grew up in New England (and elsewhere) because a mill job was vastly preferable to drudgery of farm work. Lucky was the Irish immigrant girl who could find 60 hours a week of work in the mill.
I agree with you to an extent. But there isnt a great demand for knitters and sewers.
My point was that we need to have an educational center for these people that will broaden their skills and give them the tools to survive without being on public assistance.
I would rather spend the money now to invest in the future of someone else rather than give them a check for 20-30 years and have them learn nothing and have no skills.
Knitting and sewing are life skills, like knowing how to balance a checkbook. Or how to find a husband. Or how to make a lunch for your kids. Or how to cook and not just dump snack food and fast food on your children.
good ideas! and I’m glad to hear that you put yourself through college twice. That’s huge! :)
The wheels are a turning... I totally agree with you. If we implement a sytem of training/work for welfare benifits then everyone actully benifits from it in the long run and it will help instill values and good ethics back into people. Especially people who already come from poorer families.
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