Tuesday, January 26, 2010
WHAT SOUTH CAROLINA LT. GOVERNOR ANDRE BAUER DOES NOT KNOW
Based upon a viewing of the video of South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer's controversial speech, it is apparent that he either does not know or does not care that "The National School Lunch Program" is a federal program established in 1946 under President Truman. Therefore, if Mr. Bauer wants to either end or modify that program, he should run for Congress and--if elected--team up with Jim DeMint to "stop the madness."
Unfortunately, the "National School Lunch Program” is not the only federal assistance program of which Lt. Governor Bauer appears to be unfamiliar. As noted in today’s Post and Courier editorial “Bauer's beastly 'metaphor'," “Perhaps Mr. Bauer missed out on the comprehensive welfare reform that restricted federal aid to families with dependent children, and the related efforts aimed at halting the culture of dependency.”
Although the editorial does not refer to the Clinton era legislation by name, the referenced legislation is the “1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.” Furthermore, as we have written on a number of occasions, a major component of this act is the requirement that States set up a system to identify the fathers of illegitimate children, set child support obligations, and enforce those obligations through such methods as wage with-holding. And although South Carolina has accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to DSS and has also been fined approximately $72 Million for its failure to implement a state-wide computerized child support tracking and collection system, the State remains the only State in the Country that has no such system. This system, which should have been in place by 1998, is not scheduled to come on-line until September of 2011. Therefore, South Carolina will in all likelihood be fined another $20 Million or so before the system is operational.
Under the circumstances, maybe Mr. Bauer should spend some of his energies putting a fire under the butts of DSS and the South Carolina General Assembly rather than engaging in hate/fear-mongering against Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients who have satisfied their eligibility requirements. After all, the State of South Carolina itself is the real "Deadbeat" for accepting money from the federal government while not meeting its obligations.
Based upon a viewing of the video of South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer's controversial speech, it is apparent that he either does not know or does not care that "The National School Lunch Program" is a federal program established in 1946 under President Truman. Therefore, if Mr. Bauer wants to either end or modify that program, he should run for Congress and--if elected--team up with Jim DeMint to "stop the madness."
Unfortunately, the "National School Lunch Program” is not the only federal assistance program of which Lt. Governor Bauer appears to be unfamiliar. As noted in today’s Post and Courier editorial “Bauer's beastly 'metaphor'," “Perhaps Mr. Bauer missed out on the comprehensive welfare reform that restricted federal aid to families with dependent children, and the related efforts aimed at halting the culture of dependency.”
Although the editorial does not refer to the Clinton era legislation by name, the referenced legislation is the “1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.” Furthermore, as we have written on a number of occasions, a major component of this act is the requirement that States set up a system to identify the fathers of illegitimate children, set child support obligations, and enforce those obligations through such methods as wage with-holding. And although South Carolina has accepted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to DSS and has also been fined approximately $72 Million for its failure to implement a state-wide computerized child support tracking and collection system, the State remains the only State in the Country that has no such system. This system, which should have been in place by 1998, is not scheduled to come on-line until September of 2011. Therefore, South Carolina will in all likelihood be fined another $20 Million or so before the system is operational.
Under the circumstances, maybe Mr. Bauer should spend some of his energies putting a fire under the butts of DSS and the South Carolina General Assembly rather than engaging in hate/fear-mongering against Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients who have satisfied their eligibility requirements. After all, the State of South Carolina itself is the real "Deadbeat" for accepting money from the federal government while not meeting its obligations.
Labels: Child Support Collection, Computerized Child Support System, Federal Fines, Welfare Reform
