The only difference between mothers on welfare and most other mothers is a partner's paycheck. Minimum wage work barely keeps one adult out of poverty, let alone a mother with one or two children. Available jobs can't support a family. Overseas mills and assembly plants have replaced skilled and semi-skilled U.S. factory jobs that once beat the minimum wage. How poverty benefits the wealthiest.
Lower wages devastate the working poor, but lower labor costs mean higher profits for the well-off.
The wealthy get wealthier, in part, because the poor get poorer. Those who bankroll U.S. political campaigns tend to be better-off, so Washington is not even considering using budget surpluses to aid poor working families. As the U.S. income gap has widened, public debate has narrowed. A country that once prided itself on human rights now preaches to the rest of the world while abandoning its own ideals of fairness and compassion. Housing, food, and a living wage are, in fact, universal human rights recognized by the United Nations and endorsed by the vast majority of governments.