UPDATE: THE ARTICLE HAS BEEN REMOVED AFTER WE EMAILED THE PUBLISHER. I SCREENSHOTTED IT BEFORE REMOVAL AND YOU CAN FIND IT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE.
This weekend, I stumbled upon an editorial piece titled “Welfare needs some work” by Mike Smith, managing editor of the State Gazette in Dyersburg, Tennessee. In the piece, Mike Smith completely debases poor people.
Mr. Smith offended some Liberal America readers.?Mr. Smith offended me.
Apparently he watched a TV show that was covering some of the issues facing poor people in this country. He claims he would have been better going to bed, and I agree. However, it seems he’s using the program as an excuse to show hatred and intolerance to people living in poverty, as indicated in his rambling editorial piece that is completely devoid of reference links or citations.
Here are his?key points:
1. “First and foremost, for anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 receiving government assistance, sorry, but you do not have the right to vote.”
So Mike Smith thinks people who receive any kind of government assistance should be disenfranchised. He sees it as a “conflict of interest.” His reasoning? Being able to cast a ballot gives people the power to elect people who are “handing out the free cash, cell phones, and so on.”
Wow.
Does Mr. Smith not realize that when he casts a ballot, he is voting in his own best interests? Does he not see this?
That is why we vote. We have a representative government. That whole crazy “for the people, by the people” idea. Or does Mr. Smith interpret this as “for the white privileged people, by the white privileged people”? Because he is clearly working from a position of privilege.
This shocking suggestion by Mr. Smith doesn’t deserve any of my time and attention, to be honest. I’ll put my efforts into debunking his other stupid ideas.
2. A “new law.”
Mr. Smith proposes that people receiving assistance be cut off from receiving additional assistance if they have more children. He generously “grandfathers in” people who already have children, but says that “continuing to have babies would get you nothing more.” He begs the question:
“Seriously folks, if someone is already receiving help, doesn’t the idea of having more babies just sound ridiculous as well as just plain stupid?”
Apparently Mr. Smith hasn’t studied up on welfare. Federal law allows a lifetime maximum of five years to receive TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families, formerly called Welfare) cash benefits. What this means is that if a woman has received TANF for five years, that’s it. She’s exhausted all of her TANF benefits. If she has 100 more children, she will still never get another dime of TANF money.
Let’s talk about food stamps (SNAP), which you will see towards the end of this article seem to be Mr. Smith’s primary concern. Food stamps are a little different. There’s no time limit on them, per se, but there are strict income guidelines. You have to be genuinely poor to qualify for food stamps. See the chart below.
If a household earns any money at all, the amount of food stamps for which they quality is drastically reduced immediately. Here is a chart that estimates food stamp amounts for families. This can vary slightly by state, but the amounts below are fairly standard.
That is a decent?amount of grocery money. I’m sure it seems like a lot to the envious Mr. Smith. However, studies consistently show, over and over, that unemployment benefits and food stamps benefit the economy.?So Mr. Smith’s argument about the savings of “literally billions of dollars” is grossly illogical. These figures do not even represent the logic of investing in the nutrition of our nation’s children.
3. Mandatory drug testing for government assistance recipients, which he calls a “regime.”?
“One failed test would cut off all assistance until those guilty get clean and come back in 30 days to give another sample. A second failed test would result in what we could call a ‘forever ban’. It means the guilty party could never again be eligible to receive government help. We tried to give you a chance and you blew it. Sorry, next. Talk about saving millions of dollars.?The major problem with those on welfare is the fact, as a nation, we could save literally billions of dollars if the majority of those on it would get off their tails and go get a job. The easy way is to sit around and do nothing.”
Oh yes, the easy way is to sit around and do nothing. How many single moms with young children that they’re raising in stark poverty are sitting around doing nothing? Not many.
He compares families?receiving welfare to “farmers, those disabled or even veterans” and suggests that the latter?groups wouldn’t mind being drug tested. I think they would. I think they’d be insulted, just as mothers on assistance should be.
Note that I said SHOULD be. Families receiving assistance are so accustomed to being debased that they rarely question further humiliations.
Lastly, and more importantly, perhaps a two-second Google search would teach Mr. Smith that welfare drug testing programs are expensive for states and the?testing has proven that a?very low percentage of people receiving assistance test positive for drugs — less than one percent of welfare applicants in initial efforts in Tennessee?to be precise. Yes, Mr. Smith’s state has already experimented with drug testing welfare applicants. Since then, out of more than 800 Tennessee welfare recipients who have been drug tested, only ONE has tested positive.
Oops.
Of course, finding this information?would involve some journalistic research skills, or the skills of a?typical third grader. For example, Florida’s failed and humiliating drug testing program cost Florida taxpayers nearly $400,000.
One last point about drug testing TANF and food stamp recipients. The point is moot since, as I’ve demonstrated above, few people on welfare actually use drugs, but let’s just say that Tennessee or Florida catches a drug user. The punishment? Take away their food. Who’s going to suffer most in this scenario? That’s right…the children.
After attacking poor people, Mr. Smith then gives a rather lame (and oft-heard) example of he?and his wife standing in line at the grocery store behind people who were?using EBT cards to pay for their groceries. It rings of the typical urban legend.
His myths about welfare have already been debunked over and over. I’ve written such debunking articles myself, with graphs, stats, and citations. There is also the simple fact that social programs work. Furthermore, he’demonstrates a profound and shocking lack of the most basic?knowledge about these issues. He sits in his office at a small publication and gives an opinion without researching facts.
To shoot down?his most damaging (and false) myth, the amount of money a family can receive from TANF is limited. Furthermore, the amount states give to families is not set at the federal level.?Benefit amounts are determined solely by the states. While it’s true that most (not all) states pay TANF cash benefits based on family size, ALL states have a maximum benefit amount and this is usually paid to families who have no other income. Families who have some income besides TANF are paid a reduced benefit amount.
Below, I’ve pasted the chart for various family sizes.?Note that a family of six in Tennessee (Mr. Smith’s state), receives $305 dollars, which is one of the lowest amounts in the nation.
I don’t really like to get personal. My bleeding liberal heart has sympathy even for people like Mike Smith. However, he got personal, didn’t he? He decided to make a vicious, planned, calculated attack on the most vulnerable people in America. So yeah, Mike,?I’m going to get personal with you.
Mike Smith?is a sad, disappointed little man. His?life?is probably uninteresting. He likely didn’t fulfill his potential or realize his dreams. And all of these disappointments came to a head when he got behind some people in line at the grocery store who bought more food than he did. He’d have been just as angry, just as resentful, had they paid cash. Because Mike?is envious — envious of anyone who gets more than he does. The means don’t even matter to him, really.
A source who wishes to remain anonymous informed me that Mike Smith’s lot in life could have well been very different than what it is. Adopted by the owner of the Dyersburg Ben Franklin store, Smith had a reputation in the town as a guy who “went to school high every day.” As a football player, it’s fortunate for?Mike Smith that they didn’t drug test football players randomly in the 1980s.
What he’s wanting to do to?welfare recipients could have well been his own undoing had he been drug tested. Furthermore, does he get drug tested for his current job? Just curious.
I’m adding a call to action to this piece. I want an apology from Mike Smith. I’m trying really hard to be nice. I hate to see anyone lose his?job, even an idiot like Mike Smith. However, I want to know what action the State Gazette and Rust Communications (the owner company) plans to take to address our concerns. You can help with any of the following.
1. Email Mike Smith (Facebook) and tell him that you don’t appreciate his attack on poor people and that you’re demanding a public apology. His email address is [email protected]
2. You can call his office at (731)?285-4091 ext. 120.
3. His publisher is Shelia Rouse Smith?(LinkedIn). Her?email address is [email protected] and her office number is (731) 285-4091 ext. 111. Let her know that you want to know what action the State Gazette plans to take regarding Mike Smith’s offensive editorial piece.
4. The State Gazette is owned by Rust Communications, which is located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri (LinkedIn). They operate 49 community newspapers in eight states. Do all of these papers debase poor people? At any rate, I admire their tenacity. I’ve never seen a whiter masthead. It must be challenging to maintain such a stunning lack of diversity.
Their phone numbers:
(573) 335-6611
(800) 879-1210
5. If you’re the snail mail type:
Southeast Missourian
301 Broadway
P.O. Box 699
Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
6. Contact the executives at his parent company.
- Co-President and Publisher?Jon Rust. His email is [email protected]. Jon Rust is also on the board of directors for the Associated Press.
- Co-President?Rex Rust. His email is [email protected].
- Chairman of the Board (and founder)?Gary Rust. His email is [email protected].
- Mark Kneer, General Manager of Operations. His email is [email protected].
The fact is, we may not get an apology from Mike Smith. Likely his?job won’t be affected. Mike Smith will probably never learn his lesson. It’s unlikely that he will ever see what he did wrong here. He will never understand that the large majority of Americans have not?had his advantages.
That’s OK. Mike Smith is going to have to answer some questions this week. Doubtless he’s a Christian. I’d love to know how he justifies ranting against “the least of these” in this way.
For more,?read Mr. Smith’s article,”Welfare needs some work.” See more TANF statistics here?and visit the ACF website to?educate yourself on welfare rules. Be informed. Don’t fall victim to people who put out false information with the expectation that people will not research independently.
And do take one of the calls to action above. I’m not asking you to harass?these people, Liberal Americans. I’m specifically asking you not to do that. I know you’re passionate about your commitment to advocating for poor people, but please be polite and respectful — an email or a phone call. Let’s do a peaceful protest.
In other words, let’s be better than people like Mike Smith.
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THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HAS BEEN REMOVED (WE’RE SATISFIED, BUT WE STILL WANT AN APOLOGY FROM MIKE SMITH). BELOW IS THE SCREENSHOTTED ARTICLE BEFORE IT WAS REMOVED.
Tiffany Willis is the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
