Fourth Spring Break Post
Dorcas Smucker has been writing a series on poverty from the perspective of one who grew up in it while being part of an Anabaptist community. It's posted on her blog "Life in the Shoe." I identify with some of what she wrote, and thank God that other parts of her experience were different in my parental family's case.
Here are things I am newly thankful for:
1. My parents accepted help to pay for school lunches, after my uncle, the school principal, told my father about the help that was available.
2. My father was able to serve in ways that utilized his gifts and training (he and Amos Yoder were similar in that they both attended college as Old Order Amish young men), although he could usually not earn money doing such things. At times he paid out-of-pocket for the privilege.
3. We lived in a community where we belonged and where we were not disparaged for being poor.
4. We enjoyed many rich relationships with relatives and friends.
5. I don't remember my parents ever saying What will people think?
6. We didn't have shameful family secrets.
7. Our family had a lot of fun together.
I learned from Hiromi that frugality doesn't need to be the deciding factor for every financial decision--that money can actually be treated with some ambivalence.
I also learned after I was married that free school lunches wasn't the only kind of help the government offered. Hiromi was laid off four times during his working years. Each time, he applied for and was granted unemployment benefits. The last layoff happened about six weeks before he was eligible for social security benefits. He applied for benefits as soon as he could. The financial help has always been very welcome. The fact that applying for this help always happened at Hiromi's initiative spared me a lot of conflictive emotions. One of the people who commented on Dorcas' Facebook link to the last post said much that I could relate to from our family's experience.
Here's the quote from the comment:
I think too that a good honest discussion on how the church handles situations where a family has fallen on hard times is very, very necessary. So Dad loses his job - let's say he is laid off through no fault of his own - how does the mortgage get paid? And the car loan, if they have one? The home and car insurance, the phone and electric and gas bills, gas in the car etc? Oh, they shouldn't accept food stamps or unemployment benefits because that's taking from the government? So now no money for food? The thing that really gets me is Christians who are secure in their protected subculture which is their support system - who look down on others who have fallen on hard times - who RESENT these "freeloaders" of their hard-earned tax money - who call loudly for drug testing and more hoops to jump through to even qualify for benefits - I'm here to tell them that many of "those freeloaders" are their brothers and sisters in Christ! They say that "the church" can take care of its own poor. There is not a chance the church can do that in the large picture in this country. When my husband lost his job during the Economic Downturn of 2010, I went to work, I scrimped, we made do or did without, we used a government program to save the house (which we paid back when we sold it), we were feeding six teens and two adults with our EBT card, we used the food bank, etc. My husband, who has a degree with a double major, applied for over 500 jobs through this ordeal, receiving a handful of phone calls back. All applications are done online - you see the problem with that in an impersonal society? We were living in a very small Mennonite community, and again, our church couldn't have financially supported us through this whole hard time which lasted two years. My point is (I apologize for talking too much!) that our society's safety net is vital in this country. Nobody likes taxes, but there are hundreds of verses in the Bible regarding our attitude towards those in need, and the attitude of some Christians is incredibly hurtful. Yes, Dorcas, you struck a nerve here. This is actually the first time I have said anything publicly about what we went through.
Reading this comment clarified for me why I find it hurtful too when I hear strong denunciation for the "freeloaders" who benefit from public assistance. In an additional comment, the same person spelled out very clearly what Hiromi and I also realized--the hazard of taking the first available job that comes along.
On another note, people don't understand why a person wouldn't take the first offered job and get off benefits. However, if, say, John had taken that night-stocking job that Walmart offered him for $9 an hour, we would have lost our house and car. Why? Unemployment benefits are based loosely on one's previous income, but don't go much above $2,000/month at best. Taking a job at $9 an hour doesn't begin to support a family, and doesn't even come close to $2,000 a month. So no, you wouldn't take that Walmart job if you weren't forced to.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Here are things I am newly thankful for:
1. My parents accepted help to pay for school lunches, after my uncle, the school principal, told my father about the help that was available.
2. My father was able to serve in ways that utilized his gifts and training (he and Amos Yoder were similar in that they both attended college as Old Order Amish young men), although he could usually not earn money doing such things. At times he paid out-of-pocket for the privilege.
3. We lived in a community where we belonged and where we were not disparaged for being poor.
4. We enjoyed many rich relationships with relatives and friends.
5. I don't remember my parents ever saying What will people think?
6. We didn't have shameful family secrets.
7. Our family had a lot of fun together.
I learned from Hiromi that frugality doesn't need to be the deciding factor for every financial decision--that money can actually be treated with some ambivalence.
I also learned after I was married that free school lunches wasn't the only kind of help the government offered. Hiromi was laid off four times during his working years. Each time, he applied for and was granted unemployment benefits. The last layoff happened about six weeks before he was eligible for social security benefits. He applied for benefits as soon as he could. The financial help has always been very welcome. The fact that applying for this help always happened at Hiromi's initiative spared me a lot of conflictive emotions. One of the people who commented on Dorcas' Facebook link to the last post said much that I could relate to from our family's experience.
Here's the quote from the comment:
I think too that a good honest discussion on how the church handles situations where a family has fallen on hard times is very, very necessary. So Dad loses his job - let's say he is laid off through no fault of his own - how does the mortgage get paid? And the car loan, if they have one? The home and car insurance, the phone and electric and gas bills, gas in the car etc? Oh, they shouldn't accept food stamps or unemployment benefits because that's taking from the government? So now no money for food? The thing that really gets me is Christians who are secure in their protected subculture which is their support system - who look down on others who have fallen on hard times - who RESENT these "freeloaders" of their hard-earned tax money - who call loudly for drug testing and more hoops to jump through to even qualify for benefits - I'm here to tell them that many of "those freeloaders" are their brothers and sisters in Christ! They say that "the church" can take care of its own poor. There is not a chance the church can do that in the large picture in this country. When my husband lost his job during the Economic Downturn of 2010, I went to work, I scrimped, we made do or did without, we used a government program to save the house (which we paid back when we sold it), we were feeding six teens and two adults with our EBT card, we used the food bank, etc. My husband, who has a degree with a double major, applied for over 500 jobs through this ordeal, receiving a handful of phone calls back. All applications are done online - you see the problem with that in an impersonal society? We were living in a very small Mennonite community, and again, our church couldn't have financially supported us through this whole hard time which lasted two years. My point is (I apologize for talking too much!) that our society's safety net is vital in this country. Nobody likes taxes, but there are hundreds of verses in the Bible regarding our attitude towards those in need, and the attitude of some Christians is incredibly hurtful. Yes, Dorcas, you struck a nerve here. This is actually the first time I have said anything publicly about what we went through.
Reading this comment clarified for me why I find it hurtful too when I hear strong denunciation for the "freeloaders" who benefit from public assistance. In an additional comment, the same person spelled out very clearly what Hiromi and I also realized--the hazard of taking the first available job that comes along.
On another note, people don't understand why a person wouldn't take the first offered job and get off benefits. However, if, say, John had taken that night-stocking job that Walmart offered him for $9 an hour, we would have lost our house and car. Why? Unemployment benefits are based loosely on one's previous income, but don't go much above $2,000/month at best. Taking a job at $9 an hour doesn't begin to support a family, and doesn't even come close to $2,000 a month. So no, you wouldn't take that Walmart job if you weren't forced to.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
8:34 PM
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