When Poverty Becomes a Crime
As the political circus heats up for November, one New York gubernatorial candidate has decided to cast his lot with those for whom poverty is symbolic with decadence, if not criminality.
Although Carl Paladino does not explicitly use those terms, his welfare reform suggestions - that the State of New York convert its underutilized correctional facilities to housing for the homeless and mandate that those on welfare take part in his workfare projects - is not without its subliminal implications.
Moreover, to include lessons in 'personal hygiene' in the proposed programs is not only insulting to the poor who are systematically denied access to public areas for hygiene, but reinforces a range of stereotypical notions about the poor as lazy, dirty, and criminal.
While the adaptive reuse of excess institutional buildings is a positive approach to preserving the American way of life, it seems that he is using language intentionally chosen to inflame the already inflamed, dividing and conquering the poor from the almost poor among us.
His choice of words like prisons, hygiene, and welfare to describe his projected into a package impugns a wide range of people for whom the new post-industrial economic system has failed.
Indicating that "everyone capable of doing work will be expected to work or prepare for work if they want financial assistance," he glides over the systemic problems that have led to the increasing numbers of those on welfare, most of whom are mothers with children. Given the paucity of child care in New York, those mothers are caught between a rock and another rock. Stay home and raise your children - but without adequate income - or, leave your children unattended [or, try taking them to work with you!] and work at a low-paying, less than full-time job. Either way, the people to whom his campaign is directed will be among the first to throw stones.
There has to be a better way. Indeed there are better ways, but they don't make for sexy campaign slogans.
