by Caroline
Because I’ve been thinking about the directive to not postpone families, I’ve also been thinking about the consequences of such a directive. One consequence, it seems to me, is that several young Mormon families struggle so much financially that they go on public assistance to have and support their babies.
Several years ago, I would think of these young Mormons with a lack of understanding or sympathy. I would think, ‘Why on earth did you start your family if you knew you didn’t have health insurance, if you knew you didn’t have enough money to pay for the children’s food or health care?” Being the cautious sort, I myself was not about to have babies until my late twenties, when both my husband and I had established our careers, owned a house, and had plenty of money to pay for our family.
At the time, there also seemed to me to be something slightly shameful about going on welfare. It boggled my mind that people would deliberately put themselves in a position in which they knew they would need to take advantage of such resources.
However, as I’ve grown older and grown closer with several Mormon friends who had their babies young and utilized public assistance to do so, my attitude has softened quite a bit. I’m grateful for programs that ensure the security and physical well-being of my friends and their families. I now realize that my former attitude was a product of my own privilege and my own narrow exposure to diverse ways to approach life.
But I still do have some lingering questions about Mormons and the ethics of utilizing public assistance. Is there a situation in which it is not ethical to use it? What would that situation be? And what is the Mormon leadership’s attitude about it?
A quick search on lds.org did not produce many results for the terms ‘public welfare’ or ‘public assistance.” But I did find one talk in which Marion G. Romney, (in 1980) talked about the decision in not the most flattering of terms.
“When circumstances combine to require help, it is Church doctrine that one rely upon his family for assistance. Obviously, no one should become a charge upon the public when his relatives are able to care for him.”
Other references to public assistance in General Conference and Church magazines were even more negative. The term ‘evils of a dole’ (1936) popped up a number of time in my search at lds.org, as well as references to the shame of accepting welfare from the government (1944). Interestingly, while the ‘evils of a dole’ quote comes from a 1930′s document about the establishment of the Church Welfare program, it is still quoted – though pretty rarely – in recent times. 2003 seems to be the latest.
So it appears that in the past, certain Church leaders have not looked too kindly on the idea of going on public assistance. However, the very fact that I could find almost no recent references to the topic indicate to me that perhaps GA perspectives on the matter have changed. Kids are way more expensive now. Health care is ridiculously pricey. I wonder if some GA’s understand the new reality that for many young couples to start their families, some kind of public assistance is an absolute necessity.
As for my other question about when it is or is not ethical to use public assistance, it seems clear to me that it is absolutely fine to use it when unforeseen circumstances arise that put a family in a dire situation. An unexpected pregnancy. A health problem. An unforeseen job loss. Thank goodness public assistance is there for those situations, I say.
I am less clear, however, on the ethics of using public assistance when it is a planned thing. When a young married person says, ‘I’d like to have a baby. The prophet has told me I shouldn’t postpone children because of finances. I know we have no money, but the state will pay for the birth because our income is so low, and then we’ll qualify for food stamps after that.”
Let me be up front and say that I in no way am judging anyone who has used public assistance to have and support their families. (Unlike the me of 10 years ago.) I am now a left of center person who believes in government programs to help the poor. But I am fascinated by the idea of so many young Mormons – most no doubt Republicans and in favor of limiting social services – deliberately choosing before the fact to utilize these government programs to have and support babies.
I suspect that most Mormons don’t see an ethical problem in the planned decision beforehand to take advantage of these welfare resources because:
a) they see this as a short term thing – it’s not as if they’ll be on welfare forever and bilking the system
b) they see themselves as eventually becoming upstanding tax paying members of the community, so in effect, they are just getting back a small portion of what they’ll be paying in the rest of their lives
c) all the other Mormons are doing it
d) the prophet told them to not postpone their families
I would like to know how you think about the utilization of government welfare.
-Do you think there are situations when it is less than ethical to go on it?
-Have you yourself made decisions to go on welfare, and was it at all an ethical struggle for you? Why or why not?
-What is your sense of how the Mormon leadership views the utilization of public welfare nowadays?
Thank you for this thought-provoking thread Caroline!
As a kid, I never thought of our family as poor. However, when I realized that a family we knew that received food through a non-profit (probably in addition to government assistance) ate better than us, I asked my mom why we didn’t. We had the essentials and she was proud of her independence.
I can see the ethical use of such programs (we did have church assistance for a time). However, what appalled me was to realize that another acquaintance milked the government for all she could. She didn’t get married so she could have welfare. That made me sick.
Now, as I know quite a few young Mormon couples using public assistance, I don’t really worry about it. They will be contributing members of society. And even if they are not, it is not my place to judge.
However, the most common use I see is of Medicaid (not food stamps). This really just makes me wish we had some type of universal healthcare system.
Putting the young families aside, I am absolutely appalled by the number of singles I know who are uninsured. It quite frankly scares me. Sometimes their families absorbs the costs, sometimes the church, and sometimes they acquire massive quantities of debt. I think the government should do more in this matter.
Thought it might help to a different quote, this time from the Ensign. I think the Church’s position is clearer than some might think, when you look at the many prophets opposing government welfare as a primary means. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=52ce1f26d596b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD
I am way way late to this blog, but this topic is on my mind lately and I found your blog googling “Mormons & Medicaid”. My biggest problem with this whole issue is what many below point out and has come up so much lately with health care reform. People accept assistance to children and plan to do it, then condone others and decry socialism etc. Blows my mind. One final BIG questions. Does the very high cost of maternity health care push people (on purpose?) to use Medicaid? I don’t see how it could be so expensive and be in line with the idea of having kids right away. Very odd if you ask me.
I can’t say I know much about your religion. However, from what little I’ve read, it seems you basically stem from Christianity and do recognize Jesus as God’s Son. In saying that, I’m left utterly confused.
There are numerous situations in which individuals live rather “apart from God” during portions of their lives. During those times, basically, things happen. For instance, I am a single mother of two wonderful children. I do not have a college degree and cannot get one until I pay off student loans from a previous attempt to attend college. Yes, I attended and did not finish. My children were young and things were just too rough. Some of you may think yourselves more righteous than someone like me, but such is life. None are perfect. We all make unwise decisions at some point in life. As the Word says, all have fallen short of the glory of God.
Not then, I do not receive any child support. Frankly, I’ve chosen not to pursue it because of the type of person the father is. I fear visitation rights when he’s in and out of jail on a regular basis, has been brought up on rape charges, etc. I’d rather live in extremely poor conditions than have him left alone with my children. I love them and would die in order to see their protection. Honestly, I don’t much trust our justice system in terms of “parental rights.” He doesn’t bother to come see them, which shows a lot to me as a mother.
At any rate, I work at a minimum wage job, earning around $7.65 an hour, part time. Note that it’s near impossible to get full time at this job because hours have been cut drastically. I bring home around $850 to $900 per month as income. We live in government housing because there is no way I can afford anything better. My children receive TennCare, though I have absolutely no insurance myself. Yes, we also receive Food Stamps as I could not fully feed my children alone. I have a mother who helps us out as much as she can. However, she also works in a low paying job and barely makes it herself.
I am in debt including student loans and medical bills. About the only way I could ever get them paid off is to do it at tax return times and even then it will take a few years.
I agree that I’ve made some absolutely horrible decisions in the past. Now that I am a believer in Christ, I also know that I am much better off.
You who don’t agree with individuals partaking in govenrment assistance, answer this question:
Should my children starve because I make poor decisions while lost? Should we all be without a roof over our heads? Should my children suffer medical illnesses for lack of insurance?
I’m not sure what your Mormon faith teaches you in terms of helping the poor, but I know what mine tells me.
We are a fallible people and often “make our own beds.” The difference is in the hope that in the end, we will see how we went wrong and work to improve. In my case, I don’t see my family coming off of government assistance for a very long time (at least, until after the children are grown) simply because I could never find a better paying job while without a college education. It is humiliating and I hate it with an undying passion. Though, I find myself eternally grateful because this is how God has chosen to provide for us at this point in time.
What bothered me most about this whole issue was the fact that people who follow Jesus are complaining about their tax dollars going to the needy. You may not agree with the idea that some are misusing those funds, but you would allow a few bad apples to harden your heart against those who are truly working and doing their best?
That reminds me of hearing folks state that they refuse to consider Christ because of the hypocrites in the Church. There are -always- going to be those who abuse any and every thing. Turning your back to a much-needed thing is akin to general stereotyping.
It’s just extremely disheartening to see how fellow believers view certain things.
My Bible tells me this:
Concerning the young man who wished to have eternal life.
Matthew 19:21
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Matthew 23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Matthew 25: 34 – 40
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Not everyone is able, or even meant, to attend college and possess the ability to make a wealthy life for themselves. Jesus spoke highly of the poor many times in scripture. This alone leads me to believe that though we will suffer in this life, we are truly blessed. We may be frowned upon and others may turn their noses up at us, but we can hold tight to the fact that our Savior loves us.
I may never climb the social ladder here on Earth or become one of the prestiged. Yet, my true wealth lies within my Lord, Jesus.