Just when you thought the dust was settling from the recent taking-of-umbrage inspired by Democratic pundit Hilary Rosen’s “Ann Romney hasn’t worked a day in her life” comment, House Democrats have made a wry political move that is likely to stir things right back up.
A group of politicians led by Rep. Pete Stark of California are taking Mitt Romney at his word — that “all moms are working moms” — and plan to introduce an act that would allow mothers receiving welfare support to count their childrearing duties as the required “work activity” until the child turns 4. Stark told Ryan Grim at the Huffington Post that the Women’s Option to Raise Kids Act (WORK) arises naturally from the Republican presidential candidate’s stated positions:
“Mitt Romney was for forcing mothers into the workforce before he decided that ‘all moms are working moms,’ ” Stark told The Huffington Post. “I think we should take Mr. Romney at his most recent word and change our federal laws to recognize the importance and legitimacy of raising young children. That’s why I’m introducing the WORK Act to provide low-income parents the option of staying home to raise young children without fear of being pushed into poverty.”
Given that so-called “welfare queens” remain one of the right’s favorite obsessions, it will be fascinating to see how Romney reconciles his support of some mothers with his party’s distaste for others.
J. Bryan Lowder is journalist and critic in New York.
They can’t have it both ways. If a rich woman working at home is working, then so is a poor one. In fact, the poor one is working more, since she does not have cooks, maids, personal assistants and caterers.
Ah, yes, but are you willing to pay for it? The fed doesn’t have “money trees” in the backyard…someone has to pay, and that includes you and I; simply, the country can’t AFFORD it…either you have the money to buy something or you don’t. Right now, this country doesn’t. This proposal begs for abuse.
If these Low Income mothers of children under age4 went to work she would probably qualify for child care assistance to pay daycare of her children under age 4 while she works. I bet is cheaper for her to stay home than it is to pay the weekly daycare rate.
Owners and workers at daycare centers can’t even come close to the care, attention. guidance, love and bonding that only a mother can provide. And I’m talking about daycare centers that are fully licensed and meet the expectations of parents. Sadly, there are daycare providers (and their hired workers) who do more harm than good with their poor to scarce competency in the care, attention and patience necessary to be supervising toddlers and pre-school age children.
And of course, on the other hand, if a baby, toddler or pre-school child has a mother who is cruel and abusive, the child is better off anywhere away from its mother (be they rich or poor)
It’s hard work being a mother, no doubt, but millions of mothers are forced to work and
raise their kids at the same time, as Romney says he wants to require
poor
women on government benefits to do. What is the real problem with
that? Millions of us working families have to juggle our work and child
raising…….never mind the comparisons to wealthy/not wealthy…….
Agreed. With one reservation, I’d need some kind of verification that they are actually spending the required hours raising said children. Sadly, this is not given with some welfare moms. (some but not all, before you get on your high horse.)
And you think rich women are home actually raising THEIR children? I just love how its assumed that rich women are automatically better mothers.
That is friggin’ brilliant. I love when the white-wing has to eat crow.
Hmm, meaning that white people are what? I don’t think Herman Cain’s wife did any different.
I have to object to the use of racism here – and I’m biracial; this is no place for overt racism or idiots who espouse it no matter what their opinion is.
Oh, come on. The Judeo-Roman Identity Complex known as ‘whiteness’ is not a cultural or ethnic group. I know that the new dog whistle is screaming “racism!” whenever the reality of white privilege comes up in discussion, but this is a rather shabby and ham-fisted tactic, makes you look ignorantly reactionary. The white doth protest too much, methinks.
It’s a shame that we make such a big deal out of an issue that affects so few people when
our country is on the road to bankrupcy due to the economic policies of the current administration. We should be more concerned with lowering the debt and repealing the poor policy decisions of the current administration. It does not seem to draw any attention or
snide remarks towards the first lady who is a stay at home mom. Why is it such an inflamable issue for Ann Romney.
Michelle did have a career before becoming the first lady and no doubt will after he leaves office.
Speaking of working. How many politicians have done anything but be politicians. How many have run a business, created a product for sale, met a payroll, meet a budget, or made a profit? Can you consider being a politicians really working in the common definition of the word?
Wow you have a very narrow definition of what it means to work/contribute. There are millions of people out there who contribute to the world who haven’t “made a profit.”
I was speaking strictly of politicians who seem to think they have all the answers but have never heald a “real” job. I agree that there are many people who have never made a profit or payroll but help keep this country humming. I just have a problem with the politicians who make decisions with very little practical experience in the business world.
only if you’re a lazy, thieving, criminal! like all conservative religious fanatics who claim belief in god only god doesn’t believe in slaves, kind of like the constitution says all men are created equal, that especially goes true for women they have to work 3 times harder to run a family while their conservative masters sit, drink ,and watch ball games, and criticize their fine work, and it goes for some lib’s, too but rethugs are the ones always stripping away female rights and condemning women as inferior,can only feel sorrow for a certain mormon female
There is not one word in the US Constitution about Capitalism! Why do you think a politician has to be a businessman? How is that going to favor the working man? Remember that it was “businessmen that took 17 million American jobs and sold them to the Asians!
The people who wanted the cheapest price on the goods they buy are part of the cause. About half of the products sold in our National Park gift shops come from China or somewhere off shore. Why??? Because the Federal Government want the lowest price it can get. Most of the steel in Californias Bay bridge came from China. I would predict that the CA High Speed Rail projects makes it off the drawing boards, the steel for the rails will come from China. Consumers almost drive jobs off-shore by demanding the lowest prices. US companies can not always compete pricewise with some of the oversea sources. Think Apple, WalMart, GE, all companies we love and admire. We love their products, but,,,,,
I had a neighbor many years ago who worked for a US electronics firm who was always bitching about foreign competition but never bought an American car. This was before the foriegn auto makers started building cars here in the US.
Is the question really whether rich mothers “work” as hard or are we really comparing whose LIFE is harder? Yes, if rich moms take care of their own kids they probably put in a few hours dedicated to child-rearing and reduce time spent socializing and shopping on 5th Avenue (temporarily). But…and this is a huge but – they don’t have to ALSO work outside the home an additional 30-50 hours per week, paying out child care costs that are probably more than 50% of their salary. They don’t have to worry about paying for their children’s health care, food, school activities, rent, gas, car expenses, etc. etc. etc. They know their kid’s college will be paid for. They know their kids will get a job – even if it just means working for daddy’s firm. What is the cost of constant worry? For heaven’s sake people, let’s not be so smug and righteous and say the rich have it just as hard as the poor, because that’s a lie and everyone knows it.
Your point would be much better made if you skipped the vile class envy rhetoric. The rich and the poor are making assumptions about each others lives that just aren’t true in all cases. And the class envy talk just dilutes your message.
I think we are missing the real point a bit. Having kids is a resposibility one should not undertake if they can’t afford them. A discussion about keeping families together and living within our means would do more to move the ball forward, I think.
Your rationale and common sense approach, when it comes to having a child, fell by the wayside a long time ago. If I decide I want a car I can’t pay for and I buy it anyway…. the bank has to repossess it when I can’t make the payents. The same goes for a house. In the old days (not all that long ago) if it was obvious I didn’t have the income necessary to be granted a loan for a car or a house, the financial institution would deny me the loan. (We would never have arrived at any repossess or foreclosure part)
It is sad and appalling for women (and men, if there is a man in the picture) who have no means of supporting themselves, much less a child, still bring the child or children into the world and can’t afford to properly support or care for them in the manner in which any child deserves. ….so, it falls on the tax-payers backs to carry the load.
The welfare industrial complex has become bloated, excessive and absurd and worst of all, routine. The results of LBJ’s Great Society Programs (40 years ago) have proven to be insidious, deadly and injurious to our Nation’s psyche. The mammoth social welfare entitlement programs that streamed out of Washington D.C. in the 60’s did more damage to the fabric of our society than any number of alternate solutions could have done.
We are now entering into our 3rd generation who are only acquainted with entitlement programs from Big Brother.
I heard a caller call into c-span one morning when a guest was discussing entitlement programs . She was livid and angry. She screamed that she couldn’t believe the government expected her to live on what she was receiving from the government (3 children involved) and was convinced she was being shortchanged, in some way, of her “welfare rights.”
It’s hard work being a mother, no doubt, but millions of mothers are forced to work and
raise their kids at the same time, as Romney says he wants to require poor
women on government benefits to do.
What is the real problem with
that?
Millions of us working families have to juggle our work and child
raising…….never mind the comparisons to wealthy/not wealthy…….
Its such a hastle being a rich working mom..imagine trying to figure out how to work the car elevator at the beach house while the maid is unloading the merlot from the trunk….and the kids want the driver to take them to the club for tennis lessons..all at one time…christ how does one stand the pressure
Ignorance and jealousy……….a volatile combination.
The Romney’s are Mormon there will be no merlot.
Are we really having this discussion? People who have incomes of over 100,000 don’t have a clue what’s it like for people with less resources. They never have to chose leaving their children alone so they can go to work. They never have to chose between paying a bill or buying food or gas. They never have to chose between medical care for themselves or their children. Is our country so decieved that there is a really a discussion about someone who has access to millions of dollars a year works as hard as those who have much less???? She probably has sitters, cooks, housekeepers, errand runners, drivers, accountants, bill payers, etc etc etc. They are privildged and clueless about what it’s like for everyone else.
why do you assume that people that make over 100K per year started making that right out of the gate into adulthood? this past year I make about 60,000. I remember though, working in a minimum wage job full time and going to school full time. two preschool children at home as well. things are much much better for me now but it wasn’t always like that.
Now there can be no comparison in income levels when you look at our current president’s upbringing and Romneys. However, if you think that President Obama wasn’t privileged in many ways growing up, you have a very distorted view of how things are outside of the United States.
Both parties don’t give a crap about anything other than to keep us all fighting so that they can maintain their own power bases. the 1%er’s are full of democrats and republicans. Keep on fighting the class envy line though. It’s just what your democrat masters want.
It’s hard work being a mother, no doubt, but millions of mothers are forced to work and
raise their kids at the same time, as Romney says he wants to require
poor
women on government benefits to do. What is the real problem with
that? Millions of us working families have to juggle our work and child
raising…….never mind the comparisons to wealthy/not wealthy…….
Prepare for the Republican comment: Welfare Anchor Babies. You know they will scream and carry on…
How about… Dem’s scream back… SANTORUM is an Anchor Baby Corporation!!
Democrats gutted the federal welfare program under Clinton. Now they are playing Kabuki. The bottom line: there is a vicious bi-partisan consensus here against children, the poor, and anyone else not possessed of a high-net worth. The relatively powerless people in this country (in terms of the current system, where $ =s representation, access, and influence) will continue to be screwed by the political and ruling elites until they exercise their power, which is overwhelming.
No doubt it is work when a poor woman is a homemaker. The question is:
is she doing the best she can do to provide for her family given her
current situation. For Ann Romney, she was. With Mitt’s income, the family was already rich.
Ann raising the kids was the best way for her to provide. If you are
poor and single, the best thing you can do is work and bring in the
money – and hopefully you have a mother, sister, or friend who can
babysit. Any help in the form of charity or welfare is good, but should
not be considered a given. Afterall, the charitors and taxpayers are
on budgets too. Assistance is from their good will, and there are limits on that. Counting mothering hours as work hours seems acceptable
to me, provided it counts as half-time and provided the policy change is not too
expensive.
“Hopefully” they have a mother, sister, or friend who can raise your kids while you are at work? Why not the father of the kids? I love how the mothers are totally responsible for all of this. I guarantee you if the father was paying his child support, this wouldn’t be such a problem. My grandkids haven’t received any support from THEIR father in 3 years, and this is in Texas. He works in landscaping when he feels like it and lives where any friend or family member will take him in.
High applause!!! ROFL! As a woman who was a mother who worked outside of the home and now a grandmother who takes care of grandkids, I can tell you that it IS harder to be a mom who works and does everything the stay-at-home mom does. I couldn’t do it again in my 50’s, I’ll tell you that. Being able to stay home with your kids these days is a privilege and the moms who are fortunate enough to do so should count themselves lucky. And all women will tell you that the two groups can throw stones at each other and always have: “You stay-at-home moms have it easy… You working moms neglect your kids.” Each family has to figure it out for themselves. Besides, Mrs. Romney had nannies and housekeepers, she’s not the same as the rest of us.
I wonder how much time Mrs. Romney spent raising the kids without help with the other chores around the house, like cooking and cleaning?
Well played….. expose the right for the hypocrites they are.
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hired help……….any you know this how?
all of these made up issues are just smoke screens so we the voters will not be asking for answers to the real issues that the politicians (on both sides) should be solving…..not trying to distract by bring up bogus “gotchuas”
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Tax returns show how much help the Romney’s have. One reason they don’t want to release them.
When Romney was gov of Massachusetts he said that mothers receiving benefits had to go to work when the child was 2 because he wanted to teacher them ‘discipline’. Did Ann Romney have to go to work to learn ‘discipline’? I sense she does have discipline but she never worked outside the home (and in the home there was a lot of help). He said even if the state had to pay out more in daycare it was worth it because the moms were learning ‘discipline’.
not sure where you got those “facts” but Gov Romney did not mention “discipline” in regards to “benefits”, but he did say:
“Welfare without work erodes the spirit and the sense of self-worth of the recipient,” he wrote in his book No Apology. “And it conditions the children of nonworking parents to an indolent and unproductive life.”
which does seem to have some merit …….. imho
I watched the video clip. It came out of his own mouth. He did say it. “Discipline’. IMHO he is an authoritarian, patriarchal jerk and I hope he never becomes president. No EMPATHY for people or dogs!
would like to see that video clip ……..
It’s hard work being a mother, no doubt, but millions of mothers are forced to work and
raise their kids at the same time, as Romney says he wants to require
poor women on government benefits to do. What is the real problem with that? Millions of us working families have to juggle our work and child raising…….never mind the comparisons to wealthy/not wealthy…….
how about getting over the dog issue from years ago when that might not have been thought of as such a bad thing? (bet there were more people who left their dogs at home tied out alone while they were gone than actually brought them with them)
“Do welfare moms work as hard as Anne Romney?” The question is deeply flawed; for Anne Romney and her husband receive far more in public assistance than does any poor mom or dad. The real “welfare queens and kings” of this nation are those who “have it all,” hide some of it in other countries, and enjoy that puzzling gift of privledge–a deeply discounted tax bill.
so paying 3+ million (in income taxes alone) is “a deeply discounted tax bill”?
amazing …………..
it is if others earning much less are paying twice the percentage on their income. Reagan understood the need to increase the capital gains tax.
The left wing gave us welfare and abortion. One system promotes birth the other rejects birth. The party of big government and social control. Is this the answer?
Yes, our country’s citizens consistently demonstrate the inability to do what is in the best interest of society, hence, government regulation and social control is in the best interest of society.
Spoken like a true socialist!!!!
Anybody know what Governor Romney took as a salary when he was governor of Massachusetts???? 1 dollar, he obviously wasn’t in it for the money.
Of course they work as hard, they probably work harder. So what, you get a welfare check, food stamps, rent paid, etc. This is not a reason to hand out more welfare benefits is it?
Collecting welfare from the gov’t is irresponsible and should be considered a burden on society.
Ann Romney never worked a day in her life. Her Illegal Alien Nannies raised her kids. Who is kidding who here. All the while Romney’s grass was also cut by Illegal Aliens. This is Romney’s new vision of the economic future, have Illegal Aliens replace American Workers for half the minimum wage.
It is hard job keeping all those baby ‘s dad out of trouble and putting in all those reviews and getting all those EBT cards.Keeping the same address.You know how hard it is to have three babies with different last names,on and on.
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This is nothing more than another vote buying bill by the Democrats. As if we don’t have enough debt already they want to create more. They have been pulling this crap for years at that taxpayers expense and it is time for it to stop.
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Rome is burning and this is just one of a string of distractions to keep us from focusing on the issue that we’re leverage to the point of insolvency. Obama failed… Ann doesn’t matter at all.