Urban Exile: Michigan Legislature Votes to Toss 30,000 Puppies Out of Shelters

by Erika McNamara

Now. Replace “puppies” with “children,” and “shelters” with “public assistance.”

One morning last week while I made coffee and semi-listened, Good Morning America announced its exclusive new series HUNGER AT HOME: CRISIS IN AMERICA (best if said with a big voice as if in an echo chamber). Apparently, they found out there is a problem with hunger and poverty in the country and a plan “shine a light on the terrible incidences of poverty and hunger in the world’s richest nation.” This certainly was a surprise, as this show usually only has segments highlighting the latest salacious murder.

I hope the series will focus on the fact that one in six individuals in the country go hungry on a daily basis, and many more are insecure about food for their next meal. [A2Politico posted a piece on August 27, 2011 about the Snyder’s administration’s place at the top of the national hunger heap in terms of percentage of residents who face food insecurity on a regular basis.] Hopefully, Good Morning America will not serve up a glamorization of poverty. It would be great if the focus of the series were grounded in fact with profiles of people providing meals for those without food.

A girl can dream, right?

If Good Morning America came to Michigan, the show could focus on the fact that here in the southeastern Michigan 300,000 children receive free meals during the school year because there is no other source of food for them. These meal programs are only in place for the school year, so during the summer many children in our area go without meals. This summer alone The Hunger Free Summer campaign worked with local charities and foundations to provide over 2 million meals to hungry children.  Without these free meals children in our community would be hungry on a daily basis.

It is good to see a national morning show begin to report on poverty issues.  This is a chance for the millions who watch the show to understand that there are many have-nots in our country, and that the number of have-nots grows on a daily basis. It’s easy to overlook the fact that millions of children live in homes where parents work, but do not earn enough to cover all of the expenses of the household. In Michigan 36 percent of children younger than age 18 live in a household where no parent had full-time, year-round employment in 2009.  A study done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation revealed last week that Michigan is rated 30th in the United States for well-being of children (number one being the best).  Our state’s performance has slipped down two notches over the past year.

It is dismaying that there has been little reporting on poverty issues here in the state.  I’ve spoken to people interested in politics and poverty who do not know that on October 1, 2011 Governor Snyder and his Republican-led legislature will end social benefits for those that have been on them for forty-eight months or more.  The final decision occurred on August 24th in the Michigan Legislature.  This decision by our state government will immediately kick about 11,000 families including 25,000-30,000 children off of assistance.

Is is important to note that these numbers only reflect those that will be ousted on the first day—thousands more families with children are expected to be cut off the following month and each month thereafter. Tens of thousands adults of these families must now magically find tens of thousands of jobs in the coming days. Of course, despite the Governor’s insistence that his policies will result in job creation, Michigan business simply have not created nearly as many jobs as needed.

The average age of an individual receiving cash assistance from the State of Michigan is seven—that’s 7-years-old.  The average check a family of three receives is about $492, and this money typically goes to rent, electricity, water, and gas. Republicans in the state legislature hope to save about $77 million next year thanks to tossing tens of thousands of the state’s children and their parents off of public assistance. As one Michigan Representative said, “This should be a strong statement for Michigan residents that (cash assistance) should not be a lifestyle.” Amen, Brother. The Snyder administration is sending a strong message that in Michigan seven-year olds don’t get free rides—or even food.

When those fated to lose their apartments and homes do, these families will have nowhere to go—in the middle of a Michigan winter. Shelters in the state of Michigan are already overcrowded and have long waiting lists.  Faith-based organizations and non-profits will simply be unable to handle the coming influx of people who will require assistance. The Snyder administration has a mantra: “Job creation is all our state needs to make things better.” This may be true to some extent, however, what about the people who are in dire need right now? Studies show that adults who spent one to three years in poverty as children were more than twice as likely to drop out of high school, and about 20 percent of adults who spend more than three years in poverty as a child will not receive a high school diploma.

So just who does Governor Snyder think is going to fill all the great jobs he has yet to create for Michigan? The growing number of high school drop-outs who will make up the state’s population? It certainly comes across as though Governor Snyder does not care about poverty in the state, nor does he care about those affected by it. In response to the Annie E. Casey Foundation report that revealed a sharp increase in childhood poverty in Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder announced he was going on a junket to Asia.

I wonder. What would happen if the news reported that 30,000 puppies in Michigan were going to go hungry and be turned out into the streets on October 1st? There would probably be national news coverage and a tremendous outcry from the state’s residents. Where, I have to ask, is the collective outrage on behalf of 30,000 children whom our Governor and Republicans in the legislature would condemn to hunger and homelessness in order to save $77 million dollars, or 1.1 percent of the state’s $7.3 billion dollar 2012 projected general fund balance?