longingforanewwelfaresystem渴望新的福利救济实用制度.docxVIP

Longing for a New Welfare System (Longing for a New Welfare System) A welfare client is supposed to cheat. Everybody expects it. Faced with sharing a dinner of raw pet food with the cat, many people in wheelchairs I know bleed the system for a few extra dollars. They tell the government that they are getting two hundred dollars less than their real pension so they can get a little extra welfare money. Or, they tell the caseworker that the landlord raised the rent by a hundred dollars. I have opted to live a life of complete honesty. So instead, I go out and drum up some business and draw cartoons. I even tell welfare how much I make! Oh, Im tempted to get paid under the table. But even if I yielded to that temptation, big magazines are not going to get involved in some sticky situation. They keep my records, and that information goes right into the governments computer. Very high- profile. As a welfare client Im expected to bow before the caseworker. Deep down, caseworkers know that they are being made fools of by many of their clients, and they feel they are entitled to have clients bow to them as compensation. Im not being bitter. Most caseworkers begin as college-educated liberals with high ideals. But after a few years in a system that practically requires people to lie, they become like the one I shall call Suzanne, a detective in shorts. Not long after Christmas last year, Suzanne came to inspect my apartment and saw some new posters pasted on the wall. Whered you get the money for those she wanted to know. Friends and family. Well, youd better have a receipt for it, by God. You have to report any donations or gifts. This was my cue to beg. Instead, I talked back. I got a cigarette from somebody on the street the other day. Do I have to report that Well Im sorry, but I dont make the rules, Mr. Callahan. Suzanne tries to lecture me about repairs to my wheelchair, which is always breaking down because welfare wont spend the money maintaining it properly. Yo