At 27, I'm pregnant with not just one child, but two! Already the single mom of a 10 year oid, I wasn't planning on having any more until I was married. Long story short, my "donor" decided that two plus two was four and more then he could handle. Which leaves me as single mom times three. I have a decent paying job, and make just enough for my son and I to live simple, but comfortable. As I began to think about how I was going to finacially manage three children, I started to look into government aids and supplemental programs. Only to find out that there is no assistance that I can even temporarily apply for. I make an average of $45K a year. Not enough to raise three kids. Why is it that the lady down the road with four kids, never worked a day in her life (oh, excuse me motherhood is a full time job, HAHA!) and will keep making babies, can get assistance and I cant? I want to work, I want to finish school, I want to be a productive member of society. I want to keep my barely floating head, above poverty.
Secondly, there is no type of assistance while a mother is out on maternity leave. Most companies will allow a reasonable amount of maternity leave and continue to cover your medical coverage. But what about your income? For the 3 - 4 months that you're out, you have no type of income until you return to work.
You would think having a child could possibly qualify you for some type of unemployment, benifits or temporary/emergency assistance. What have I payed my taxes and social security the last 12 years for? I never expected to find myself 5 months away from not being able to pay my rent or support myself and my children.
We need some type of reform. The current US poverty level for a household of four is about $23,000. I don't know anyone who could possibly live alone on $23,000 a year. Not unless they lived at home with their parents and no responsibilities. That equivilates to $1916 a month, GROSS INCOME! Not net, not expendable, not tax free, GROSS! You cant even rent a home and buy food for that amount.
Where's those wonderful government programs for people that really need it? For the ones that want to stay above becoming a statistic? Do I need to quit my job and be that lady down the road with all her kids? Financially, I'll be worse off then I am now and a burden on America's tax payers. A tax payer like me.
Actually, you can pay for many things with that amount of income. I make less than that a month,and support a family of four with no government assistance and no parents. We have two cars, own a house, and rent an apartment in the same town as our college. It's not that hard- just manage your money right. We actually live quite comfortably- a benefit resulting from lots of coupon clipping and generic ketchup use. It also depends on where you live- where I live that amount is enough to put you into a middle class way of life.
I love abortion. Read more here:
http://progressiveu.org/044921-i-love-abortion-even-if-it-murder
H
congrats on twins! stay positive you will be ok, things will work out. i agree that our government aid sucks, depending on where you live, some states are better than others. i wish you could get help, but not at the expense of the lady down the street. or any lady down the street, i'm sure you know her better than i do, but speaking of all "ladies down the street" using aid and having families, we dont ever really know her situation she may have special needs, or children with special needs and no family support. yes, people have always and will always abuse the system. but dont worry about them, u got to focus on your own fight. the system also makes it hard to use the aid wisely i think, people who really need it often feel they have to over exaggerate their circumstances to get help. i think if we had a more universal healthcare and an all inclusive plan offering conventional and naturopathy care options we would be much better off (much in the likeness of France or Canada)
keep trying, keep applying, they may be willing to review your situation, and sometimes there are other programs that help mothers get grocery and diapers that are not government programs but private ones, search for them