CNN published a variety of articles about the impact of going over the fiscal cliff would have on a multitude of people. One such article was about a Caucasian woman who feared her biracial 14-year-old autistic son would not have access to some of the supplemental funding he currently receives to enhance his quality of life.
Bloggers responded vehemently.
One response in particular stood out to me.
“Call me cold, but how many of those millions of kids are in a single-parent household with six or seven kids and are second and third generation welfare dependents,” wrote the blogger. “It is terrible that they may suffer, but whose fault is that? I certainly don’t feel any obligation to support them if their own daddies won’t do it. My wife and I made a conscious decision to limit our family to what we could comfortably support on our income, and did not just spit them out assembly-line style expecting the ‘gubment’ to take care of them. Whatever happens, it is going to get ugly, and people are going to suffer. Maybe if we go through another great depression, people will re-learn the meaning of individual response and self-reliance.”
While this blogger has some blatantly offensive comments, I understand what he was trying to say and certainly believe his point could have been articulated in a more culturally sensitive manner.
I’ve written editorials in the past that detailed my thoughts of people who take advantage of government assistance programs. I even said that at some point, those people could potentially ruin such opportunities for people who genuinely need help from our federal government.
I also realize the number of people who abuse the system represent a small demographic of the overall population of people who receive some capacity of funding.
My response to the blogger went something like this: The fiscal cliff debate impacts most Americans, not just those who receive government assistance. And while a small few may abuse the system or may even be second and third generation welfare recipients; it is not fair to dismiss any opportunities to reach a reasonable conclusion because some people may have a disdain for recipients of “gubment” funding.
This fiscal cliff is a tremendous deal and if an agreement is not reached, there can be potentially negative consequences for millions of Americans.
Late last week, the White House released a report on the impact the tax cuts could have on African-American families in particular. The report clearly demonstrated why middle-class Black families cannot afford tax increases. Here are some of the highlights of the report:
n A median-income African-American-headed family of four (earning around $53,000) could see its income taxes rise by $2,200.
n 99 percent of African-American families who make less than $250,000 a year would not see an income tax increase under the president’s plan.
n Nearly 2 million working Black families and roughly 3.4 million African-American children would continue to benefit from the president’s improvements to the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit.
If Congress does not reach a deal, the result could mean across-the-board cuts for many federal agencies including the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (which had a $16.36 billion budget in 2012) and the Department of Education (that has a requested about $68 billion for 2013).
The President’s Council of Economic Advisers found that implementing tax hikes will result in American consumers nationwide spending nearly $200 billion less than they otherwise will in 2013. Of course if Americans spend less, the economy in general is still in jeopardy.
There are so many negative scenarios that can occur if a deal is not made by members of Congress. Republicans and Democrats need to stop the in-fighting, put partisan politics aside and reach a deal. Perhaps it’s the holiday season that has me all jolly, but I am optimistic that a deal will be reached by the Dec. 31 deadline.
You can email comments to Shannon Williams at shannonw@indyrecorder.com.
