An Appalling Welfare Proposal

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/14/an-appalling-welfare-proposal.html

RIGHT WING WAR ON CHILDREN?

 Aamira Fetuga is an 8-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee. Sporting a purposeful walk and a smile that stretched from ear to ear, Aamira and her mother traveled to the Capitol building in Tennessee this past Thursday to protest a piece of legislation that offended her deeply.

State Senator Stacey Campfield, a Republican from Knoxville, had introduced a bill that would cut monetary assistance to poor families if their children fell behind in school. Aamira, like many around the country, didn’t like this, so she decided to let Senator Campfield know.

Aamira wasn’t alone. The group Clergy for Justice and low-income activists from around the state lined the hallways of the legislature to protest the bill that they called the “Starve the Children” legislation (they joined a choir singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” within earshot of Senator Campfield). 

They said that the bill created perverse incentives, pitting teachers grading papers against low income families whose already low levels of assistance could be cut. Even Senator Campfield’s Republican colleagues lodged protests, with Majority Leader Mark Norris, a Republican from Memphis, saying, “You can say that withholding the money from the parents doesn’t harm the child, but you’re fooling yourself.”

In the end, after all the hubbub and within hours of their dramatic hallway confrontation, Aamira won. That very same day Senator Campfield withdrew the offending legislation, moving it to a “summer study session.” But he’s threatening to bring it back in the future, saying on his blog, “time will tell.”

this guy cannot get around the fact that the bill was prejudicially intended for students of color and low income. IMO he probably thinks b doig this he can save some money but most egregiously deny these kids an education thereby there future would not so much include his job?

Maybe if Senator Campfield stops by her school, or her after school program, or one of the other public elementary schools in low-income communities in Tennessee, he will see that the solutions to problems of poverty, dependency, and student achievement aren’t quite as simple as we often think.

For example, Senator Campfield could visit with Aamira’s mom Rasheedat, or one of the thousands of other parents in Tennessee who’ve been on welfare at some point in their lives. They would tell him that the average monthly welfare benefit for struggling families in Tennessee is about $164, hardly a boondoggle or a bailout.

Under Campfield’s bill, if a child falls behind in school for whatever reason—and we all know there are a thousand reasons that kids fall behind—the state could dock up to $50 off that family’s benefit, cutting assistance to the poorest families to $114. Such a cut seems more likely to create a hungry stomach than improve a kid’s test score. And an 8-year old shouldn’t bear responsibility for a family’s monthly budget.

note his definitive action "falls behind for for whatever reason" a bit Draconian for 8 year olds, this is starting to look like a war on women, the poor 6 year olds and guns now 8 year olds for any reason, doesn't leave much for them to hate does it?