How much is a child worth? Your taxes at work...?

Question

So your taxes go to taking care of foster children, who NOT by their choice are in a system wrought with problems.

These kids did not choose to be there and most of them have suffered extreme conditions. But yet, people complain that it is not society's responsibility? Then whose is it? The bio-parents? Well, in that case, most of the foster kids would continue to suffer in ways that are horrendus and unacceptable.

It is a HUMAN responsibility to step up and care for those that need help, especially those that are innocent and powerless. How can people argue against that? How can you argue that your taxes are already spent too much on a system?

If you want, be mad at the bio-parents, but punishing the kids, where is the right in that? Complaining that your taxes should not help kids in need, where is the justice in that?

Answer 1

Dear LT,

I absolutely agree that it is a human responsibility to care for one another, especially those less fortunate than one's self. Children, the elderly, the handicapped, etc. Imagine a world where no one helped each other. Helping others is a basic foundation of most religions and should be at the core of  the basic skills and character we expect in one another and teach our children. People who have the "why should I care about other people" attitude make me feel a little sick. This attitude is negative and unproductive to society and frankly makes me wonder how they would feel were the shoe on the other foot. In my experience  however, karma usually does a good job of working things out eventually.

It takes a villiage to raise a child. Children are everyone's responsibility (as is the well-being of ourselves, our society and our planet.) If we all had the attitude that everyone should deal with their own problems and we needn't trouble ourselves with the welfare of others, no one would ever report child abuse, no one would testify against criminals, we would have no human services to aid people in disasters (or to adopt children from!), we would have no laws and no justice, Is this really a world people want for ourselves and our children?! I think not!

I am not saying that everyone has to be a saint or spend all their time and money on those who need it, merely that we each must do our part to make the world a better place whatever way we are able, otherwise we are no better than "animals". Oh, wait, we ARE animals. The smartest and most adaptable ones. Oh, yeah, animals usually help each other, especially those of the same species! And don't forget those symbiotic relationships we learned about in elementary science classes, like ramoras and sharks or crocodials and those little birds that clean their teeth for them...

I wish more tax money were allocated to provide free national birth control,  honest, public sexual education and assist families in need/crisis. Not all children in foster care come from abuse. Many come from neglect. Most of the time, neglect comes from an issue within the family such as poor education (lack of parenting skills), over whelming medical issues or financial difficulties. All of these problems could be addressed with programs funded with taxpayer funding and would not only preserve more original families by reducing the number of children in foster care as well as reducing other "side effects" related to family needs. (ie: crime, abuse, drug & alcohol abuse, etc. These things would lessen because we would be eliminating the motivation to do them in many cases.

While working in Family Court (and for other service organizations) I have noticed that often times, Poverty = crime for survival, Frustration and/or ignorance translates into abuse and Depression about circumstances results in self-medication. And all this can be ciclical, passing from one generation to the next. Education and resources are a key factor if we ever want these problems to lessen. (They will never go away altogether but we could reduce the numbers signifigantly if we tried!)

I would rather see my taxes go to educate and assist people than funding wars (which KILL children!!!!) or lining the pockets of companies like Blackwater and Haliburton...

Answer 2

Personally, I would love to see more of my tax dollar helping people, all people.  If that isn't the most important thing, I don't know what is.  If foster parents had more money for the kids, the kids had the best treatment, counseling, education, social and travel opportunities, how different could their lives be as an adult?  One that may very well be one making decisions about society when we are old and vulnerable.  I sure hope we have instilled good values in them and that they feel worthy and compassionate when they wear the power shoes.

How different could it be if foster parents were paid for more then just the very bare essentials.  I had six kids from foster care and adoption, that means a bigger house, bigger kitchen table, bigger van, two hotel rooms... so $$$.  We had enough to get by and pay bills but there were no extras, so I still had to work to pay for vacations, dinners out, snow boards etc.  yes, they get a holiday and rec money.  The vacation fund was $160.  So to finance a two week vacation, they had just under $11 dollars each per day.  Woopee!!!  Then there is a rec. fund, it all sounds good, but they want a new bike and its all gone.  Yet, they still wanted a skate board, skiing lessons, equipment, to go to the water slides, a movie, roller blades, summer camp.....  So what do you do? Tell them, its not in the budget?  No.  Not when everyone else has all those things around them, so I worked.  

So, do I think money will solve everything?  No.  But do I think that if the kids were not given an amount of money that as an adult would keep them below the poverty line, if foster parents were paid more, to reduce stress and to perhaps plan a future.  I worked or was on-call 24/7/365 without a pension plan or enough left over to save for a rainy day.  But was my "work" as important as that of an oil executive? a lawyer? So, yes I would have had less worries if I had been paid a little bit more.  If the funds were there for better care standards, more training, more support I do believe it would be easier to recruit and keep good foster families. That burn out would happen less and more attention could be focused where it belongs, on the kids.

Many of the people in power seem to think so short term.  If people believed enough in these kids to invest in them, they would grow up, and the likelyhood of them being self-supporting increases and they would then be the tax payers and perhaps their children will be raised differently and they won't go from the fostecare system to the prison system.....

To me it is one big cycle.

I have worked in the prisons and know many, many inmates and their stories.  i know many people will hate this and not agree, the opposite has already been stated here.  However, what if we allocated a lot more funds to the prisons, what if the guards were happier and less stressed?  What if the inmates, for the first time in many of their lives were treated with dignity and some respect?  What if they learned how to act with integrity?  If they were treated decently, would it then be harder for them to be abusive, if they liked themselves, even a little, would they need to be?  What if we didn't keep them in lock up for days and weeks on end, and instead invested in them?  What if they went back to the community and they could read and write?  If they had a certificate as a cook or a welder?  Could they then support themselves and their families, and stay above the poverty line, without returning to crime?  What if he had been able to attend his own Mothers funeral?  or go without leg chains on?  Would he have learned empathy that he may then now know how to show to others?  I know, I go on and on and on, sorry....

Just my two cents worth....

Answer 3

It is nice to see that some people still buy into the whole sins of the father bs... My god talk about backward thinking.

It is a societal issue, it is a human rights issue, it is a HUGE issue. No child asks to be in a situation where their parents are unable to do their job for whatever reason. Tax money pays for things far less valuable than foster care, think things like infrastructure and planning... nice things to have but not vital to community health or preservation. We should all be doing more to provide for our future generations, in or out of foster care. Someday these children will be our leaders, movers and shakers and I want every single one of them to have the best opportunities in life. If anyone disagrees with that I can't help but wonder who they think will be making their health care, housing, pension and community resource decisions 30 years from now.

Answer 4

I would certainly appreciate my taxes going towards helping children...  rather than educating prisoners, per say.

Answer 5

Clearly Sunshine doesn't have have a clue.

The issue also lies with some of the corrupt practices of CPS when they take children.  Some of the children we are "paying" for, should not be in foster care to begin with.  And I don't care if my taxes pay to help poor moms keep her and her children together.  Don't like it, find a job that's under the table.  Public assistance doesn't mean you're a crappy parent.  And not all who lose their children to CPS were actually abusive.  Some states have actually gotten in trouble for "special orders" (potential foster/adopt parents literally picking the child they want while in stores or at parks and calling CPS to "make the order").

If anything, we need to pay more.  Why do people think the foster kids should suffer?  Where is the money going to come from if not from the tax payer?  Some people don't think (*cough*cough*SUNSHINE!*cough*cough*).

Answer 6

I agree and I get frustrated when taxes are allocated for public education over and over again and not allocated for foster care.  The taxpayers are (sometimes) okay with taxes for schools because it benefits them, but not okay with taxes for foster care because they don't see how it benefits them.  I'm all for education, but I'm also all for helping our foster kids and helping to make the "system" better.

Answer 7

"It is a HUMAN responsibility to step up and care for those that need help, especially those that are innocent and powerless. How can people argue against that? How can you argue that your taxes are already spent too much on a system?"

Amen! for this statement!

I cannot imagine how quickly my son may have been institutionalized without the help of "tax-payers" monies here in Canada. Because of foster care funding in Ontario, he was able to stay in foster care even with his Reactive Attachment Disorder, instead of being carted off to a group home or institution. For an "an unadoptable" child, this is often the equivelent of emotional death. And because of this funding, he remained long enough for us to adopt him. I feel quite fortunate that I have paid into this system with my tax money, because without it I probably would never have my beautiful son.

Answer 8

Its disgusting and disturbing.  

Ethics and education are in a downward spiral.

Look at the people leading this...conservative republicans using christianity as a justification for their defects of character as well as for their harmful personal agendas.

I would like to see my tax money helping the welfare of children and struggling mothers than on warfare and useless organizations like NASA.

Answer 9

I completely agree....64% of welfare recipiants are children under the age of 5. 1 in 4 children in america only have medicaid for health insurance. 6 million elderly americans are below the poverty level and need medicaid to pay for their costly care, prescriptions, and check ups. 1 in 4 people on welfare and 1 in 4 homeless people are Veterans. It is an absolute shame that we care so little for our heroes and our weakest members of society.

A reminder to Sunshine of our Constitution: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, ESTABLISH JUSTICE, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America".

The commitment to promote the general welfare of all persons, as opposed to protecting the interests of a narrow section or class of the population, encapsulates what is most unique about the United States of America--that it is the only modern nation-state republic founded on this principle.

A complete understanding of our Nation's commitment to 'promote the general welfare' from our earliest days: http://american_almanac.tripod.com/welfa...

Answer 10

I agree with this totally.  I don't mind if my taxes were to go up to help out an already needy cause...my problem lies with that my taxes are being raised because the govenor needs prime rib for dinner every night!  

Answer 11

Some people ONLY think with their pocket book in mind.

I think they figure "well mine are take care of "

Answer 12

It is interesting that you mention the prisoners being foster kids.

Just last week I was speaking to a prisoner who was hospitalized and he was telling me how he was a foster kid for twelve years. He was only eighteen, highly intelligent and nice looking. I could not help think that if somebody nay ANYBODY showed concern or compassion for him he may have been readying for his first year of college instead 2-5 years in the slammer. It really touch me because he could be anybody and yet he was nobody, just another kid lost in the system. :-(

Answer 13

You want to be mad I agree but not with all of what you say I feel more money is needed to help our children however foster care isnt working either There are some good foster parents but all too often we end up with bad foster parents abusing a system that is failing our kids Too many are in it just for the money and not the childrenand yet social workers are turning away good loving families that want to adopt just because they feel its better to foster a child and eventually get him , her back into a abussive, drug infested ,s*x offencive home other than making sure they are safe and loved. We are failing these children however i would love to see more money come avaliable to help keep these kids safe But I DO NOT AGREE in giving anymore money to foster parents so that they can abuse the system anymore IF you love children you would more than likely take the responsibility on and not worry about a PAYDAY, A social worker one time told me i dint know what i was talking about and how dare i say the things i say she also said shes responiable for over a thousand kids and this would never happen on her watch so if she really has a work load that large i can see how this can happen some money needs to go to more social workers so that the load isnt so great on them and i dont mean RAISES now like i said there are some good foster parents but we need more social workers looking into the foster program

Answer 14

No one wants to pay taxes for unwanted children, the parents should have to pay for them, they chose to give birth to them. If taxpayers wanted to pay for children, we'd have some of our own. They are NOT our responsibility any more than the homeless, the mental patients, the prisoners (who I think should have to pay for themselves), etc. If you care about them, you can pay, but frankly, irresponsible people should be sterilized if they put so many children into foster care, and I am not an advocate for abortion, but if you're going to abandon your child off on the welfare system or put it up for adoption and it may never find a home, that may be the right choice for you.