Making Ends Meet-How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low Wage Work essays

Making Ends Meet-How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low Wage Work essays In the article "Making Ends Meet-How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low-Wage Work" by Christopher Jencks, both sides of the welfare for working mothers issue are addressed. From the effects of new government policies, to issues of childcare and health expenses, as well as a look into the future consequences of changes that may affect the current programs, the article looks closely at the economic hardships of single mothers in the world today (Jencks, 199. Jencks discussion begins with an explanation of why low-income statistics are generally incorrect, and his explanation makes sense to me. According to Edin and Lein (1997), the Census information collected only relates to wages earned, and does not take into account the added costs of employment, such as daycare and transportation. To me, we could improve in this area. If the Census information can be drawn for wages earned, there should be corresponding data to show the total net earnings of individuals. In this way, we could better see a representation of the poor. Jencks also discusses the inabilities of single mothers to live on their federally supplied monthly income. According to the article, families with incomes below $5,000 a year somehow also spent $1,100 a month. This is because these women also take non-reportable work and rely on family, friends and the fathers of their children to help support their family (Jencks, 1997). While many may see this as taking advantage of the system, I see it as a necessity. If the federal government is providing so little income to these mothers, they absolutely have to find other sources of income, in order to obtain necessities. In addition, I feel that this is one way that mothers consider themselves responsible for providing family Jencks also points out the flaws of a new program called "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families" (TANF) that replaces...