Letter to the Editor

I disagree with Duke Political Union’s Sept. 30^th column, “Welfare and the federal government,” on several points. First, being only 11 percent of the budget, safety net programs will not bankrupt the federal government. What will is the military budget and corporate welfare. The military budget is 18 percent the federal budget and larger than the next seven countries combined, way too large. And there is no need for the government to be giving handouts to big oil and big banks.

Second, while the breakdown of the family may contribute to poverty, the biggest cause is a lack of jobs and a lack of good paying jobs. A single person cannot live on minimum wage, and certainly two people supporting a family cannot. Also, too many better paying jobs have been shipped overseas. Education can help, but today there are many college graduates who cannot find jobs, and these are not just art history and English majors. If these things could be corrected, there would be less need for food stamps and other poverty programs.

As for states managing poverty programs, that sounds good, but I would be concerned that there would be more states like Wisconsin and Maine. And not all states have adequate resources to manage their poverty programs. They need financial assistance from the federal government.

Judy Schlegel

M.A. ‘96