But What If the Husband Had Left?

I am happy that Barbara Lewis had the motivation to continue her education against all obstacles. I am uneasy about the fact that she remained on welfare for 10 years to do so, leaving taxpayers to support her and her children, and of paying for her education.

I am angry that Robin Abcarian backs the idea that welfare is the vehicle for minorities to get an education. Second only to drugs and drug-related crime, the biggest problem with our society is the attitude that all good things should be free, handed over by Big Brother, or obtained without effort. Whatever happened to the work ethic that made America great?

I am also a minority. I am a white female, considered by some to be a senior citizen at 57. I had to quit school and start supporting myself at 16, even though I was an honor student. When I was 28 and pregnant with my fourth child, I graduated from high school as class valedictorian. Since then I’ve also earned six years of college credits. Yet I never applied for welfare or received a handout from any other public agency or man. I paid for my education, except for a (since repaid) student loan of $1,000 and a $500 scholarship while at Orange Coast College.

EDIE BOUDREAU

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