BTW, Call me cynical but bureaucracy is never a solution to any problem Government or not.

LIBERALS: We should make provision for the Poor and Destitute. They
suffer greatly! Many thousands are in want of common
necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common
comforts.

Tax Payers: I can’t afford to make idle people merry.
Are there no prisons? The Union workhouses; They still in
operation? The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full
vigor? I support those establishments. They cost enough;
and those who are badly off must go there.

LIBERALS: Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.

Tax Payers: If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population and let us get on with life.

1. Lakitha blames this on “Republican politics” cutting services to “true citizens”. Of course, what she appears not to know is that this Republican government has vastly expanded the welfare services provided via Medicare Part D and No Child Left Behind. Medicaid has not been cut by the Federal Government (i.e. the Bush Administration). Medicaid (Title XIX of the Federal Code) mandates specific minimum levels that the States must provide in order to receive Federal funding. Any cuts to Medicaid in the past 6 years have been due to States choosing to cut services over and above those minimums, which the Federal government does not fund.

2. Julie is “shocked” and blames the social environment of the poor. What she doesn’t seem to connect the dots on is that the schools are run by the government (i.e. socialism), the services in the communities are run by the government (i.e. socialism), many of the children are more or less raised in government run community centers (i.e. socialism), the healthcare and welfare programs are run by the government (i.e. socialism). There is a theme here. If we look at other countries (especially the former Warsaw Pact) and the issues they have had with citizen dependency because of socialist programs, that theme begins to make sense.

3. Mario thinks it the USA is the most selfish, vicious country in the world, apparently unaware of the fact that we give more money to charity per capita, volunteer more time in charitable causes per capita, than any other first world nation. Apparently unaware of the fact that, mostly without complaint, more than 60% of our taxes go to social programs intended to provide safety nets for the poor and vulnerable. He then chastises us for blaming this woman for not doing everything in her power for the health of her child. Thus, he perpetuates the cycle of dependency. Mario is an enabler of the problem, not someone that would try to empower her.

4. VRB is correct that this woman appears to have tried to help her child. That said, it is clear that many alternatives were available. I work for a not for profit that would have helped this woman if she were in our area of operations and we were aware of her need, for example. To suggest that she is blameless and the entire fault lays on bureaucracy does not recognize the responsibility of the adult parent for their child.

Finally, all of the comments make one thing very clear. Government bureaucracy is always the worst possible solution to social problems like this.

Sociologists often comment on the vicious cycle that occurs in the lower socio-economic classes whether it is within black communities in inner cities or white communities in the poor towns of the Appalachian mountains. They have something in common. People in these communities believe that they cannot achieve anything beyond modest goals. Many believe that they will never have the opportunity to go to college or to “be somebody” because they are growing up poor. In fact, many continue this false belief by teaching their children the same false ideas, passing them on through generation after generation. It is only the very strong and ambitious that break the cycle. All others are too scared and ignorant to know any better. The worst part is that no one is telling them any different.

For example, no one is telling high school children in these communities that furthering their education is possible through student loans and other programs. Sure someone may be telling kids that the programs exist but no one is guiding them through the steps and showing them how to deal with obstacles. Making it worse, schools in these communities are often not helping the situation. The state of education is typically very poor because of a lack of money and a lack of qualified teachers. So, these children are receiving a sub-standard education. If they graduate, they are coming out of school less smart than their counterparts in other communities. So, the cycle continues.

Bad information + a lack of education = crazy stories like this one. To those who say poor people have problems like this because they are “lazy” or “dumb”, I say stop blaming this mother for not knowing and do something to inform people that they do have options in life other than to rely on “the system”.

“From the article, there appears to have been no consideration of looking to a church or charity for help, for example, or, quite honestly, doing whatever it took to make sure your child received the care they needed.”

I think to much is read into the article as to what kind of parent she is. I have gotten the impression, if she had of known her son had an infection that bad she would have tried to get him to a dentist on time. You can’t always read the mind of your child. I knew someone who lost a leg, because he didn’t tell his mother his leg had been punctured by an umbrella spoke. He told her when infection got bad; by that time, gangrene had set in.

I live where there are two dental schools. When you visit in an emergency, you have to have cash in hand, you never know the first time how much you need. One school is rather cheap and the other almost the same as a regular dentist.

The fact that one does have freedom and opportunity doesn’t imply solutions will materialize even with a lot of good effort ; people most of the times just turn their back, expecially in a viciously selfish society in which your are assumed to be guilty of being poor.

Fact is people is _scared_ by this situation, but lack the courage of saying “enough of this in the richest most powerful country in the world” and prefer to blame the person , so that they don’t think they are _exactly_ in the same country and same boat…that’s pure denial.

Go ahead, just blame her. Wonder who will help you when it is your turn.

I didn’t. This is news to me. Whoever said that “what you don’t know won’t hurt you” had no clue what s/he was talking about. How tragic.

True, and while this mother should bear the majority of the responsibility for what happened IMO, it’s also true that she was acting in response to incentives created by a welfare system that she has apparently been a part of for quite some time.

Apparently, Medicaid doesn’t teach you how to brush your teeth twice a day.

I disagree. It sends a message that you can’t just collect welfare and ignore the welfare of your kids. It sends the message that when you enter the world of parenthood you have certain responsibilities and shouldn’t be able to get away with neglecting your child while he’s slowly dying.

Further, it would take her far away from the kids she still has, who I doubt will fare much better than Deamonte did.

I misspoke slightly. I agree that, potentially, her failure to act could arise to the level of criminal child neglect. However, I don’t think punishing her at this point accomplishes anything.