10 Reasons Why America's Social Safety Net Needs Fixing
by Lauren Kelley June 14, 2010 04:30 PM (PT)
http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/10_reasons_why_americas_social_safety_net_needs_fixingThe safety net, the social contract — whatever you want to call it, the network of programs and services provided by the public and charitable sectors to help the country's most vulnerable individuals in times of need is in dire straits these days. Even the most die-hard social conservative would never say he wants to see impoverished people suffering needlessly, and yet that is exactly what's happening in our country today. Here are 10 reasons why we need to take active steps to repair the safety net.
1. The country's charities and nonprofits are strained to the breaking point by a perfect storm of government budget cuts, financially-strapped donors and increased demand for services.
2. State budgets are a mess nationwide, causing delayed payments to nonprofits that have state contracts to provide social services as well as the elimination and scaling back of many state programs.
3. The Great Recession has created a new class of poor people who are relying on social service programs for the first time.
4. That has been caused, in part, by unemployment rates that are at record levels around the country, especially for certain populations.
5. Food insecurity is at an all-time high.
6. Children are falling into poverty in record numbers. (Even the staunchest "personal responsibility" advocate would have a hard time arguing that children are to blame for their socioeconomic status.)
7. The "new poor" could stay poor, straining the safety net for years, or even decades, to come.
8. The United States lags behind other countries in the world in protecting vulnerable families and promoting economic security.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24815290/Excerpt-Repairing-the-U-S-Social-Safety-Net9. At the same time, America's social contract is an important part of our history that dates back to Franklin Roosevelt's administration and the aftermath of the Great Depression.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24815290/Excerpt-Repairing-the-U-S-Social-Safety-Net10. There are innovative thinkers out there with ideas about new safety net models. What if citizens and lawmakers fostered, rather than largely ignored, that kind of thinking?