Maslow's Peak: Reports From the Left
  • home
  • blog
  • grant consulting services
  • about
  • contact

The underbelly of the NC Legislature.

10/18/2011

8 Comments

 
PictureState Rep. Thom Tillis (R)
I stumbled across the clip below late yesterday, and it stayed with me all night.  I woke up and watched it again to make sure it wasn't a bad dream.  What bothers me so much about it is the forthrightness of these people's prejudices, and the unapologetic effort of this government official to encourage them.  The clip encapsulates the ugly mythologies and willful ignorance that define the conservative side of the class war.  


It's a video clip of NC Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, (R-Mecklenburg County) speaking recently to supporters, advocating for entitlement reform.  

On its face, reform is a worthwhile endeavor.  While I oppose Tillis' proposals for drug-testing of people on welfare, and required volunteer work for people on unemployment, he has every right to suggest policy changes and make a case for them.  He also has a right to his own philosophies about what it means to be on public assistance.  I appreciate his... clarity about the fact that he thinks there is one type of person on assistance who is "respectable" and one type who isn't.  The former, according to Tillis, would be a woman in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy.  The latter would be a woman "who has chosen to have 3 or 4 kids out-of-wedlock."   Respectability is subjective, and as voters, we do want to hear such sentiments stated, loud and clear.  In his position, Tillis has a responsibility to form opinions about government provision of welfare, officially called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).  While I find his opinion to be simplistic and callous, at least his honesty lets me know where he stands.

And he is honest.  According to Tillis, what we have to do is find a way to divide and conquer the people who are on assistance.  We have to show respect for that woman who has cerebral palsy, and had no choice in her condition - that needs help, and that we should help - and we need to get those folks to look down at these people who choose to get into a condition that makes them dependent on the government.  And say: at some point, you're on your own.  We may end up taking care of those babies, but we're not going to take care of you.

Wait, wait.  Hold on.  I'm being unfair to Tillis; I've put his ideas into such crude and judgmental terms that I'm bordering on being disrespectful   No public servant could be that obtuse about the complexities of poverty and public assistance.  That's probably not exactly what he meant, and I shouldn't put words in his mouth.  Let me go back and listen again, and transcribe exactly what Tillis said, word for word.  Then you can compare it to what I wrote above.  

According to Tillis, "what we have to do is find a way to divide and conquer the people who are on assistance.  We have to show respect for that woman who has cerebral palsy, and had no choice in her condition - that needs help, and that we should help - and we need to get those folks to look down at these people who choose to get into a condition that makes them dependent on the government.  And say: at some point, you're on your own.  We may end up taking care of those babies, but we're not going to take care of you." 

Okay, so I was quoting him directly.  But again, as unsettling as this is to listen to, Tillis has a right to a point of view.  

What he doesn't have a right to do though, is lie, through statement or omission.  He doesn't have a right to knowingly exploit the trust of his constituents and assist them in maintaining an untrue vision. 

Tillis has been a North Carolina State Legislator for over five years.  He has claimed entitlement reform as a personal cause.  It's perplexing then when he demonstrates less than a layperson's understanding of the difference between disability, welfare or unemployment.  But much more disturbing is observing him moving artfully, deceitfully, from presenting proposals and points of view to suggesting and reinforcing falsehoods.  Tillis cannot have been a legislator this long, identifying himself as an advocate for change on this very issue, without knowing the basic facts about our state's version of TANF; NC Work First.  It would be inexcusable for him to be this ill-informed about the program, and unconscionable for him to be this proactively misleading about it, so there is no acceptable explanation for what he presents here.  

The myth of the able-bodied young woman hanging out on welfare, answering to no one, having more babies to increase her benefits was never realistic, but it became less than possible nearly two decades ago.  Massive federal welfare reform laws were signed into effect in the mid-nineties by President Bill Clinton.  The most important aspect of this reform was to solidify work requirements and establish stricter time limits.

Tillis knows this.

While the work requirements and some other aspects are defined at the federal level, a lot of responsibility for program design and administration was turned over to the states.  So it's possible that somewhere in the country, there is a state that has found a way to be more lenient in its application of federal standards.  Considering the reforms were expressly designed to rectify weaknesses in the welfare system that seemed to encourage generational poverty, it's unlikely.  And certainly in NC, since well before Speaker Tillis was elected, these programs were transformed into time-limited, employment-focused programs, providing subsistence-level monies, requiring participation in job training and budgeting counseling, with a focus on moving towards independence, and a clock on eligibility that is not restarted with the addition of new family members.  No one is bringing darling little bundles of dollar signs home from the hospital.  A newborn baby can add roughly $90 a month to benefits, which are calculated partly by family size, but that amount only offsets the additional expenses a baby brings.  In most cases, benefits will still remain under $1000 a month.

Tillis knows this.

So when one gentleman in Tillis's audience raises his hand to suggest that there should be some modicum of follow-up on the county level when people are given government money, some kind of system in which government officials could at least take a look at beneficiaries, and ask them some questions from time to time, Tillis knows but does not say that in fact, NC Work First goes much further than that.  Program oversight is very structured and strict.  It relies on much more than a once-over by staff to assess whether beneficiaries are keeping their nails clean and their shirts ironed.  The gentleman with the concern said, "The county - DSS in each county - ought to be required to bring the people in periodically and see what they're doing and question them, see if they're trying to find a job, what kind of shape they're in.  You can look at somebody and find out a lot about them."  Tillis's inscrutable response; "I don't understand it... everybody says it's because they're all looking for jobs.  Folks..." whereupon he launches into a bizarre proposition that people on unemployment have plenty of time on their hands and ought to be required to do 15 hours of community service a week.  

At the end of the clip, there is a moment of humor for the discerning viewer as Tillis squirms away from the suggestion by another audience member that all state employees, (which would include Tillis) be drug-tested.  But most of it is grim, as this state representative uses populist fabrication to encourage class distrust.  Does Thom Tillis want to solve problems in North Carolina?  Does he even misguidedly want to "create a sense of responsibility and obligation on the part of people receiving welfare" as he says at one point, or does he just want to push buttons and inflame people, who will then look at him as a hero?  

You be the judge.

8 Comments
Lloyd
10/19/2011 04:13:54 am

Why do people have this pie in the sky view that the majority of people receiving social help are living high on the horse? It's a extremely hard and meager life and these politicians are either showing their extreme disconnect from reality or plain lying to further their political agendas. I'm tired of it. And to those who oppose social welfare programs I always say you will pay someway, whether it be through a tax based program or a broken window because people are going to survive at all cost. I'd rather keep order in society and pay a little extra for those who need it. Not religious but WWJD for most of the folks vehemently opposed to these programs!

Reply
Julie link
10/19/2011 08:58:39 am

Lloyd I don't always think they are just plain lying but in this case I can't imagine how he isn't - you can do a simple search of the NC DHHS site and read about the Work First program and see that there isn't anyone having "benefits babies". And you are so right about the meager life - there is just NO incentive there - can you imagine having a family of four and trying to make it on $900 a month? Even if you added EVERYTHING possible in government assistance, food stamps, housing subsidies, and Medicaid, you are looking at no possibility of making a car payment, living in a safe and comfortable place, or keeping yourself and your kids in new clothes and shoes. And there are so many things I think people who have always been even lower middle class take for granted. Do they know what it's like to have to struggle to come up with enough for toiletries and OTC meds, and cleaning products, and tupperware and light bulbs and feminine protection products? To replace a broken broom or lamp or mirror? To consider things like stamps and copy-paper and newspapers luxuries? Forget about having a pet, going on vacation, buying toys and books, or upgrading your furniture. I think some people live like that when they are in college or just starting out and they romanticize it, not understanding what it's like to be afraid your lights are going to get cut off or you aren't gonna a have a way to get to work OVER AND OVER your whole life. and every one in your extended family is in the same boat so you can't borrow money in an emergency. I have lived something close to this off and on, but I am close to people who have lived like it or worse their whole lives, and to hear someone like Herman Cain say "if you are in that situation, blame yourself" is just sickening.

And I'm with you Lloyd - I hesitate to bring religion into it except for the hypocrisy issue - Tillis identifies as a Christian and felt perfectly comfortable standing up there literally telling one set of people to look down on another. That shocks me.

Reply
Art link
10/20/2011 09:30:24 am

Well with your warning and the horrible things I have seen people say (including the Republican presidential debates), I have to say that he did not sound as awful as I feared. Pretty garden variety stuff really.

Like both of you, I am sick of the trope of the person living high on the hog on government assistance. Any program, government or not, is subject to abuse. Large banks and other companies have whole departments devoted to finding and eliminating this fraud and waste. They do not propose eliminating whole programs or products or whatever just because a few people take advantage or steal. People do not say that bank customers are lying lazy horrible people just because a few people perpetrated fraud. Ridiculous.

And I am sick to fucking death (am I allowed to say "fucking" on the Peak?), of people acting like people can sit back and collect checks and do nothing and be fine. "Where's the incentive to work?" one of the audience members says. Obviously, Julie, you have spoken knowledgeably and eloquently about some public assistance, but I have almost 10 years of experience working in that field (and yet people still argue with me about it because they heard something or other from some unnamed boob. A damn Democrat recently posted on Facebook that unemployment in Washington is $583 per week and anyone can live off of that. He later admitted that he had received unemployment so I am not sure why he did not just sit around and live off of that if it was so great.

But what is so frustrating is that I am sure a bunch of people have since repeated that figure (because hey, he works in HR), which is the TOP figure you can receive. Unemployment is a small percentage of a person's pay. That figure was the maximum. The minimum is well below $100. I defy anyone to live off of under $300 per month unless they are living with their parents or in a tent off of the grid or something. Only the most pathetic person is going to think that they hit the jackpot and sit back and milk the system. But politicians and "journalists" and lots of people repeat these total lies that have been repeated so often that they have become "truth." I actually remember talking to a person who quit his job because he was told that he could make more on unemployment. Sad that he would do this, but sadder for him that it was nowhere near the truth. He was not a happy camper. Every day working in that field I talked to people losing their apartments or houses. I talked to homeless people who were trying to get back on their feet. These people are not trying to live off of unemployment. The most fraud I heard about was people trying to work and receive benefits at the same time. While that is surely fraud, you cannot really say it is laziness.

With the risk of lighting a firecracker, I honestly do not think it would be a horrible idea for people to do volunteer work while on unemployment. More than combating laziness and being good PR, I think it could give people more of a sense of purpose. As one who tends to get very depressed when unemployed, I think such a thing could have helped me. In fact, I need to go now because I am volunteering tonight. I understand the problems with the government forcing such a thing, but there are some progressive countries who have required military service who offer alternative community service to those opposed to or unable to serve in the military.

Reply
Julie link
10/20/2011 10:03:04 am

Thanks, Art. Maybe I over-warned about the clip - still not used to some of it. Don't people usually have more finesse when they are thinking thoughts like "we need to divide and conquer" and "get these people to look down on these people"? What a world.

Re: your frustration that people will repeat that $583 I'm taking it as my mission to combat that sort of thing, at least in my little corner of the world.

I'll be interested to see if your compulsory service idea is indeed a firecracker. I haven;t thought it through yet myself, I just thought it was weird, and when he used an out-of-work teacher and doctor as his examples, I just thought, really dude? Is that how you want to try to win friends and influence people?

And you are actually REQUIRED to say "fucking" at least once if you post on the Peak.

Reply
Art link
10/20/2011 02:53:14 pm

Julie, you are right, I guess I have heard that stuff in harsher terms by some other fuckers.

Reply
Julie link
10/21/2011 12:32:53 am

Omg, you got me belly laughing over here. It is awesome to be cracking up before noon - I'm usually sitting here gruff till about 12:30. Okay, keep it up for now, but I'm cutting you off soon, LMAO.

Reply
Art link
10/21/2011 09:26:43 am

You said REQUIRED.

Reply
Julie link
10/21/2011 09:38:47 am

I know! I didn't know you were gonna go fucking hog wild. You move to Seattle and all your morals go to hell...

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Politics & Policy
    all posts by Julie Boler

    Categories

    All
    2012 Election
    2016 Election
    2025 Current Crisis
    Better Angels Journal
    Capitalism
    Church/state
    Conservatism
    Crime & Justice
    Democracy
    Election Law
    Gun Regulation
    Lgbt Policy
    Liberal Theory
    Media
    Obama
    Poverty
    Race
    Reproductive Law
    Voting Rights
    World Affairs

    Archives

    April 2025
    February 2019
    January 2018
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    October 2014
    May 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo from nathanrussell