Why do people still believe in the "welfare queen?"

United States
January 17, 2007 10:28pm CST
Why is it that people still find the need to stigmatize welfare recipients? People still seem to have the image of a "welfare queen" that they apply to those in need. Most often than not, people are on welfare because THEY NEED IT. And it's not always because of something they did wrong. Some people get hurt and can't catch up, some people have accidents, or have their homes burn down. Some people's parents make wrong choices and it affects their lives completely. Some women are beaten by their husbands and have no where to go but the street. And yet, so many seem to think that people on welfare are out to abuse the system, take all of tax payers' money ungratefully, when they don't need it. The stereotypical welfare recipient: an afro-american woman with a couple kids, driving a mercedes and dressing in expensive clothes. It's not true, people.
7 people like this
38 responses
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
18 Jan 07
Only a complete ignoramus could believe that life on welfare is soft. Stereotypes are always wrong. The middle class idiom is geared to a form of life which permits smug selfrighteouness because it's "normal". So is uninformed criticism of any identifiable demographic other than your own. I, for one, don't expect to get run over by too many Afro-American Mercedes driving welfare recipients.
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
18 Jan 07
then u must not know very many people! or u must know a lot of rich people! i know plenty abusing the system!
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Jan 07
Sterotypes are not always wrong. They had to come from somewhere, they aren't just made up. There are some people that just got down on their luck and need welfare. There are also just people abusing it and squeezing every last penny they can out of it. I myself know people that abuse it. The second they get a little behind or a little low on money then BAM they are inline for food stamps and extra money. Then when they get ahead again they don't give back. So it goes both ways, some needing it and others not needing.
2 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
I'm not afraid of that either. I have YET to date to see anyone, meet anyone, or hear of anyone around me who is actually abusing the system. Especially now that Reagan changed it all, and there are SO many loops and lines and forms and problems that you have to go through just to get a small check to help you get by!
2 people like this
@sylvrrain (659)
• United States
18 Jan 07
There are surely people who abuse the system. I have seen it first hand. I worked in an elementary school for six years and I met many parents. Yes, there was one women that came in with long acrylic nails, tons of jewelry, hair that you know was done by a professional stylist, and clothes that I could not afford. (I do not know what she was driving) Yet the daughter looked like an orphan. Yet, a few years later, I let a 19 year old widow (3 mos. pregnant) come into my house because she had nowhere else to go. I called the Social Service dept. in my county to see what help we could get for her. They wanted information on my husbands income. We did not know this girl, my mother knew her. I just wanted to help her. They told me that as long as she was in my home, there was nothing they could do for her. They suggested I call Red Cross, or contact local churches. We decided to support her until the baby was born, and then I kept the baby while she worked. She did get back on her feet and is now doing very well, but what if I had not been there for her and my husband decided he did not want to pay for her food and shelter for almost a year? I am sure there are people who truly need the help they are getting, but I think there should be limits. I think the recipients should prove that they are trying to help themselves if they are capable. If they are not able to work, then that is OK, but there are many jobs that almost anyone can do or at least learn to do. The state should provide education and daycare. It would cost the state less in the long run, and the recipients would probably feel better about themselves when they can finally stand on their own two feet.
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
18 Jan 07
i know exactly wut u're saying! it's so good to hear of people like u willing to help out!
3 people like this
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
18 Jan 07
that's a lie, my mother in law has been on it for 3 yrs. now, and my aunt has been on it for 27 yrs. so don't make assumptions if u don't have the knowledge to back it up!
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Jan 07
THERE are limits. People can only receive benefits for a total of TWO YEARS in their lifetime. And they need all that information before they can process anything. Like I've said recently, it's REALLY hard to actually get benefits. And they DO have to prove that they're working. People get sanctions every day if they haven't made enough job contacts or phone calls, and then they get less or no benefits for the month. It's not like they're not being checked up on, because they are, extremely scrutinizingly. But I am very impressed with you helping out! We need people like you in this world!
2 people like this
• Canada
18 Jan 07
What a great question!!! I mean, that's a REALLY GREAT QUESTION!!!! I agree with all the reasons you stated above, for people to be on welfare. As Mom says "there but for the grace of God go I." OK I don't think God has much to do with it since that sounds like He favours my mother over others, but I do agree with the fact that ANYONE can be fine one day, and have a reason to collect wellfare tomorrow. I'm not going to judge people because of it. I am on Disability because of my vision. I'm legally blind. I have just enough to cover rent and most of the bills (notice I said MOST!) How could anyone ever save enough welfare/disability to afford a fancy car and expensive clothes? Yah right!!! I hear that welfare in Ontario Canada is only half of what I collect in disability money.
3 people like this
@misskatonic (3723)
• United States
18 Jan 07
The problem is, is that there *are* people who abuse the welfare system. And they tend to be the most outspoken and vocal, and the ones who show up on Court TV and so they stick in people's minds. The people who need the help and are keeping their heads down and trying to put their life back in order get overlooked, and the image that stays in people's minds are these loud, entitlement complexed people who just want a free ride. it's sad but true.
3 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
That is certainly true. The media frustrates me, because they just add to stereotypes of this nature. By broadcasting the few who DO use the system, they blow everything out of proportion. And so many would rather "see the world through the news" than actually go out their front door!
2 people like this
• United States
19 Jan 07
I think that you have got it exactly right. There are people out there notonly abusing the system but in all likelyhood lying to get benefits they are not actually entitled to, but I don't believe they amke up the majority of welfare recipients. It's just that who is more likely to get noticed? Who is more likely to be remembered? The person who stands out, obviously. Someone sees a person like this paying for a dozen live lobsters with food stamps, and they tell 18 peoiple who each tell 18 more people. Sudden;y the rumor takes on a life of it's own and it seems like this is a widespread problem, when really it isn't.
2 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
I agree. I used to work for the Mayor's office in DC. I got calls from people regarding all kinds of assistance. Granted, there were quite a few abusers out there. But for the most part, people I helped were senior citizens, young mothers in school. Many women had husbands who were on a disability. Unfortunately, the few who abuse the system make it hard for others. That's why you have to go through so much red tape to get help these days. Often, people who really need help are too tired and don't have much hope for getting it so they don't try as hard as the one who knows what they can get and how to do it.
3 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
My mom has gotten assistance off & on for a couple of years because of health problems. I KNOW that there are plenty of people who need/deserve help, but it is true that there are probably more people abusing the system. I could name 10 people off the top of my head who are getting as much help as they can possibly squeeze out of the taxpayers - even though they've been offered full-time, decent jobs. They just don't want to work. I get sick of seeing tax dollars wasted, but it is also a waste because it takes away funds from those who can't work for whatever reason.
2 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
It doesn't really work that way, though. Without actually getting a job, or trying for a job, you dont get your full benefits at all. In fact, if you are offered a job and don't take it because you "dont' want it" it's still considered not cooperating, and you get sanctioned.
2 people like this
@sala94 (28)
• Morocco
18 Jan 07
if it weren'nt for my wife getting welfare, she would probably be in the streets with my daughter. I got deported from the United and they have nobody that can support them. the welfare system comes very handy in special cases like ours. We are ungreatfull to immigration policy, but gratefull to the welfare system.
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
19 Jan 07
that's not true, my mother in law was offered a waitressing job from my uncles restaurant and do u think she took it no she said oh i can't do customer service, but did she or anyone else report it to welfare, no! how does welfare know if no one tells them? see just because u may know honest people don't push ur beliefs on others! this gentleman and i both said we know a lot of people abusing the system don't go over us and say we're wrong if u don't know the people we're talking about!
2 people like this
• United States
19 Jan 07
Couldn't one of the reasons for having a stigma like this be as an incentive to get/stay off of welfare? I've known people who were to ashamed of getting their welfare checks, food stamps, etc... that they did everything in their power to get off welfare. They didn't want to be labled. If such a label did not exist, wouldn't there be more people on welfare? There would probably even be more people abusing the system.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Jan 07
I'm not saying everyone on welfare is a deadbeat or anything like that. There are people who need it. But the stigma is probably an incentive for those who are just able to get off it, to get off it.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Jan 07
It is sad that there are so many people abusing the system these days that it is harder for the people who actually need the help to get it. I see nothing wrong with someone who actually needs help to get it, such as the situations that you have listed, but their are people out there who get it just because they can and don't really need it, its sad, we live in a totally messed up world. When I worked at Walmart as a cashier I would see women come in dressed in designer clothes I could not dream of being able to afford, nails done and sculpted, hair done, ect.. and they would be using food stamps or wic, ect, it seems to me if you can afford all of these things then you can afford to buy your own groceries and such, those people always stuck in my head more than people who used wic or food stamps and you could tell they needed it and werent abusing the system simply because I would get so irritated at the ones who didnt need it. Its one thing to be struggling to get necesities and not being able to make ends meet, but its another to not be able to make them meet just because you are too materialistic.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Jan 07
You are making assumptions. A friend could have done the hair and/or nails (actually it's pretty common to have a friend or family do your hair). Do you know if that person purchased their clothes or could it have been gifts? Or is it really designer or could it be a "fake" (my friend has a "Prada" bag she paid $20 for)? I hate when people make assumptions like that. The thing is unless you personally know these people you DON'T really know. I grew up quite poor and people assumed I had money because I dressed well. In reality I was the queen of scouring for sales. When I was a teenager, my first car was a BMW. Again people were full of assumptions. In reality my car was as old I was and cost me $1,000 and my peers had cars that cost much more than mine, but people assumed I was the one that had money, I was rich. I told people often that I wasn't and what the deal really was, but people believe what they want to believe. Reality isn't always what you think.
1 person likes this
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
18 Jan 07
i don't think "everyone" is abusing the system, but honestly every 1 i know is! so wut does that tell u the ratio! out of say 20 people probably more none of them have it because of desperate times! they take it because they can and it's free money some even have more kids for more money and longer time on welfare! my mom in law complains that her social worker keeps track of her and makes her do the welfare to work program! can u believe that! u're gonna complain because u're getting money u don't want to work for! it's unbelieveable! i could understand if these people just fell on hard times but since they started having kids is that considered a hard time! my aunt had her last child # 7 because her one b 4 was getting too old and once he reached 18 they would take her off she's 43 yrs. old! it's just not right! i understand there r honest people but i'm sure majority r not!
2 people like this
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
18 Jan 07
well it 's hard to believe u when the majority of people i know are cheating the system! my mother in law is lazy i didn't say she wasn't that's why she was complaining about her case worker checking up on her! i c cheating the system as people who don't want to go out and look for jobs because they want to sit down and collect gov't assistance! if they were worried about day care then there's low income day care gov't helps out with also! or people who sit and collect while their boyfriends r out working good jobs but they don't claim it since they're not married! and the system doesn't go check to c who's living with u! all of those r not honest people and those r types of people i know sitting around collecting! i'm not talking about the people who r trying to look for jobs or are just down on their luck for a few months! those r honest people, but i don't know any!
2 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
You are SO wrong, statistically speaking. If your mother-in-law is complaining, it's because of her laziness issues, I'm assuming (no offense to her, but if she's complaining about being checked up upon and not doing just cuz she doesn't feel like it, that's what I'd say). And people who "just started having kids" and being considered a hard time is not necessarily true, either. The majority ARE honest. Believe me.
2 people like this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
18 Jan 07
It is not said that all do but I am afraid it is true there are many out there that abuse the System and I will not argue over it There are 4 Families in my Street that I know of who abuse the system I agree not all do but you have to be honest there are a lot that do and they brag about it by saying things like "Well you need to know how to screw the System " and it is them that give the bad Name to others
2 people like this
@na2482 (423)
• United States
18 Jan 07
Well, Color has nothing to do with welfare i'm sorry to say and it really pisses me off how alot of people especially different races are so quick to sterotype black people as welfare freaks. Don't get me wrong but there are many people that abuse the system, Instead of trying to pick them selves up they chose to sit around and collect a check. At the same point i'm a young black woman, with no kids, i've been through plenty of tough times and not once have i ever thought about going to welfare. Welfare is there for indiviuals who needs assitance. White people abuse the system just as much as blacks do. Assitance these days, you can't live the high life, getting a mercedes is way out of there league. Thank you for this discussion.
2 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
I'm not saying I THINK that black people abuse the system more than anyone else. I'm saying that's what the generalized stereotype was after Reagan redid the welfare system. Above, I made no reference that I believe that, just that it is what the stereotype has been. In fact, this discussion is aimed to reverse that idea and those negative stereotypes of those who use and need welfare.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
18 Jan 07
I have a lot of problems with this stereotyping. I worked as a caseworker from 1975 - 1985 and there were very few welfare queens. Most of the cheating was what I'd call "survival cheating" and didn't amount to much. To this day I'm getting into arguments with otherwise rational people who really believe that women are out there doing it up on their tax dollar. Only, a few weeks ago I got into it with a friend. He was trying to tell me he was tired of paying for $40,000 year welfare grants to women having babies to get welfare. Eventually, he admitted he may have "exaggerated" the amount....Truth is that he (And many middle class people like him with their own businesses) probably saves more money cheating on income tax returns than the average caseload of welfare people make by cheating. The one's who yell the most about welfare and their tax dollars are actually not paying much in tax dollars anyway.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Jan 07
I agree. And the crazy thing is that a very small percentage (2%?) of income taxes go to welfare programs. I pay far more into a social security system that they have basically told the younger generation they will not be able to use...however, if I were to ever need it, I would be able to use the welfare system. And trust me, if it were to ever come to that point I would absolutely use it. For one, that's what it is there for. For two, I am a taxpayer.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Jan 07
OK, the welfare system DOES need a fix! I had gone in and asked for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) when I lost my job and the unemployment didn't even cover my mortgage. I was turned down, because my assets (my home) were considered "too high". I was turned down for every program and told to get a job. (What did they think I was trying to do???) I struggled for a while paying those outrageous gas bills (my utility bill was in excess of $450 a month from November through March 05-06)...ineligible for programs for one reason or another. In my town, there is a housing-assistance program. My daughter's friend's mom has two children living in a 2-bedroom apartment. That's all that she could get (they don't have 3-bedroom units, except homes and those are taken). One of her neighbors drives a Land-Rover. Excuse me, but if you're so poor you can't afford to pay regular rent, then you really shouldn't be driving a Land Rover (which to be leased around here is at least 25% of a mortgage payment!) The stereotypical image you mention was the norm during the 70s, before the federal system was overhauled. Ever see the show Good Times? It glorified what was happening in the inner cities. I don't say that the system is wrong, but I see a lot of people abusing it and that makes everyone else mad.
@tohot666 (300)
• United States
18 Jan 07
Well when I imagine a system abuser, I definatley dont think about black woman driving a mercedes. I think about the hispanic lady with 6-10 kids, with no english speaking capabilities. While her illegal husband is working in a cannery and she is not claiming him. Not to sound racist but I live in oregon and this is often the case.
1 person likes this
@mgmagana (3618)
• United States
18 Jan 07
well not to sound prejudice and just trying to disprove ur opinion but if u look at statistics it's actually white women r the majority on welfare! but if i see anyone in my head when i think of welfare it's just my mom in law!
3 people like this
• United States
18 Jan 07
No, that's totally ok! And it's true! Actually, the majority of people are single mothers with children. The reason I said the Afro-American image is because that's what was always used when the term "welfare queen" was coined, back in Reagan's day.
2 people like this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
19 Jan 07
With things changing the way they are today alot of people are having to resort to food stamps and help because they are making it to where you have to have a high school diploma to get jobs now days or more college. So some people are taking jobs they can find that will hire them and sometimes it is only part time or other only when they are needed and sometimes a person is self employed where they get out and try to get odd jobs and sometimes they aren't enough to buy groceries pay all the bills and everything else. There should be no shame if a person is living on welfare. Just because people dress nice doesnt mean anything that means they take pride in how they look maybe they are hand me downs or thrift store items they bought but are in great new like state. Does a person have to be in rags to be able to get stamps without comment? I know alot of people who draw welfare and stamps and most of them wouldn't be able to live and provide for themselves and their children without the help.
@patootie (3592)
19 Jan 07
I don't like being on benefits .. I wish I didn't have to live on them as they really aren't a penny over the threshhold of poverty .. but I have no choice ... What does annoy me is the folks who commit fraud and collect benfits as well as work or get money on the side .. I know it's a hard world but at least you have the choice .. can do overtime and get more money .. or can find a better job that pays more .. I am stuck now and forever more on the very least amount of money that is deemed to be threshhold of poverty .. the governments says they can't afford to pay more out in benefits .. but if only people wouldn't cheat I could have a little bit more money coming in each week .. I don't ask for much .. I haven't had a holiday in 15 years .. I don't smoke .. I don't drink other than a small glass of whisky once a week ... When these people cheat the system and collect even small amounts of money they are taking it away from me .. and hundreds of other people like me .. please don't do it .. let me have a little bit more money coming in a week and be able to enjoy life just a little .. thank you !
1 person likes this
@dawn5679 (266)
• United States
19 Jan 07
I was on walfare for the 9 months i was pregnant. I had to stop working and was put on bed rest and my husband and I couldn't afford for me to not be working so I sucked up my pride and went down to the welfare office and applied! It was NOT easy getting on it either! I had to prove EVERYTHING! So I had to get my landlord to say where i lived and get the doctor to write a note saying that I HAD to be on bedrest! I don't think you can abuse the system really. However I do have a friend that was on welfare for 2 yrs while she went to school and around here you can only be on it for 2 yrs and then she lost her home and was homeless so she got cash and food stamps for 2 more yrs!
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Jan 07
In my opinion, there are very few instances of welfare queens and anyone who is abusing the system is really shortchanging themselves. C'mon now, nobody is getting rich off the system. How much money do you think someone on welfare gets? I knew of someone who received welfare benefits and they received less than $300 a month. Which brings me to another reason that the "just get out and get a job" notion is hard for people to comprehend. Let's say you have one or two children. You are made to get a job, which is cool, people work and that is what adults are supposed to do. If you have little skills, training,or education you will probably make minimum wage or just a little above it (heck, when I worked I didn't make too much and I have a degree). The place where the welfare system goes awry is that just when a welfare recipient begins working full-time or gets a few raises, they are no longer eligible for programs (oh no! they make too much money!) and then unable to afford to live. And believe me, few people WANT to be on welfare. It saddens me that people glamorize welfare when actuality you are living in poverty and struggling daily. It is a vicious cycle.
1 person likes this
• United States
20 Jan 07
Thank you for writing this. When I was getting Cash Aid, I did not want to be on Welfare. Whenever I heard people having a conversation about welfare and the people taking advantage of it, and blah, blah, blah, I would turn my head and not admit that I was getting help. I wasn't abusing the system, no nice car, no nice clothes, no secret boyfriend living with me bringing in money, nothing, just me and my kids trying to get by. Society makes you feel ashamed if you're on it. I still believe too that most people don't abuse it. Maybe I'm naive, or maybe I'm not. Sometimes people just need help. The day I told my worker to take me off Cash Aid was the most liberating day of my life. I didn't have to go through the systems loopholes to get help anymore, I didn't have to feel guilty when I heard people talking about how anyone on welfare took advantage of the system. If I needed help again, I wouldn't hesitate to apply again though, that's what it's there for. To help people who really need it.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Jan 07
Most of the families I have seen around here, that are on welfare..are in fact, not black, but white, with tons of kids trailing them. They're always pregnant one right after the other, and run right to welfare to get more money. They drive pretty nice cars, and their families suffer. I've seen the kids running around in pretty crappy clothing, while they wear pretty nice stuff. I've seen it happen first hand. However, I know that not everyone abuses the system like that. However, I have seen it happen.
1 person likes this
@sproutz (260)
• Canada
19 Jan 07
the problem is too many are abusing the system and gettign the SAME treatment as some person who has come under some unfortunate circumstances. I've seen people make more on assistance than my spouce made @ one point and we would not be allowed to go and ask for help because of the fact that he works! Thnakfully this scenario has changed now but what about the other people in that predicament? They try to keep afloat and when they get a chance, they go to assistance, only to be turned down. All this while some couple who has been collecting check after check for years, squeezes out baby number 3 and hops down to collect a bigger check. Sure that sounds cruel to say but I've seen it happen and it pisses me off. I do feel for the people who actually do things proper and need assistance but the others make it so hard to sympathize or even to tell "needy" from "greedy". I think there needs to be more "hoops" for all.
1 person likes this