Welfare Mom Sparks Ire in Readers

If your article on Jenny and her children was written with the intention of garnering sympathy for her and her situation, it had the reverse effect. It was, in fact, a long overdue expose of the flagrant abuse of our county and federal welfare systems. It appears that the benevolent taxpayers have kept and educated this woman very well for the past six years, and it is about time she became a contributing member of society instead of a subtracter.

It boggles the mind that Section 8 Housing and the Welfare Department are paying $1,025 per month just for housing this woman and her children plus whatever other support is being provided her. In your article you did not divulge the amount of her welfare support. No doubt if one were to inquire, one would be informed that such “was not public information,” although the generous taxpayers are picking up the tab. Jenny states she has only one vice--cigarettes. Wrong! she has three more vices:

1. Misguided priorities. The $161 for a hairdo and a dress for a child finishing the sixth grade (which no doubt was to impress others) was a very foolish expenditure--most of all for someone on welfare!

2. Lack of motivation. For a 37-year-old woman with two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in psychology to state that she has been unable to find work for 14 months is beyond belief. There is plenty of work in this county. Perhaps she means she cannot find work that pays as well as welfare.

3. Selfishness. Jenny wants the best education for her children--a most commendable goal--and with her education, she should have no difficulty attaining that end. However, she does not have to live in such an affluent community where her 13-year-old daughter feels ostracized because she comes from a welfare family.

The community of Irvine does not have a monopoly on excellent schools and/or safety for its citizens. One wonders how many of the Jennies among us would work if they did not have children to use as a bargaining tool to extract money from the system.

Perhaps some kindhearted soul will read your article and offer Jenny work. If this should come to pass, the county could save money by providing her with a bus pass or possibly a car for cheap transportation (which very well could include insurance payments for a year.)

The county should also fire Jenny’s social worker, who has advised this obviously intelligent woman to remain on the system for a period of six years. As for Jenny, her “embarrassment” would be greatly alleviated by finding work.

PATRICIA D. MARTIN

Santa Ana