Hand-Me-Downs... It's The Law

[filkertom]

I swear to FSM, I'm getting Outrage Fatigue again. I literally cannot fathom what goes through the alleged minds of some of our elected officials. This guy in my state said this, out loud:

Under a new budget proposal from State Sen. Bruce Casswell, children in the state’s foster care system would be allowed to purchase clothing only in used clothing stores.

His reasoning?

“I never had anything new,” Caswell says. “I got all the hand-me-downs. And my dad, he did a lot of shopping at the Salvation Army, and his comment was — and quite frankly it’s true — once you’re out of the store and you walk down the street, nobody knows where you bought your clothes.”

Original post here.

I... I don't even.

Comments

[wednes]

So...fat kids (and tall kids, and probably short kids unless they want to dress in sesame street gear) will get to go naked.
Not to mention, that guy has probably translated "We went to the used clothing store a lot" to "We never had anything new." If your dad had a job, you got new clothes sometimes. What about underwear? Socks? shoes? You think a kid can wear used shoes after another kid wore them until they grew out of them?  This is appalling.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

"It was good enough for me."

That's the same reasoning doctors use to argue against regulating the number of hours an intern can be on duty consecutively. It's the same reasoning people use ot argue against moving schools forward, away from curricula that are no longer useful (which is not to say that all curriculum changes are this sort; many are just the opposite).

And it's clear that because this guy felt he was treated shabbily, he's going to take it out on people who can't fight back.

[Insert your favorite pejorative describing this guy here]

[realinterrobang.livejournal.com]

So, does he allow for an exception for underwear and shoes?

I say shoes specifically because I'm very lucky if I can find new shoes that fit, let alone secondhand shoes, and well-worn second-hand shoes that have been moulded to someone else's feet...forget it. And I can't be the only one. How many foster kids are visibly handicapped?

[fabricdragon.livejournal.com]

posted about this on my facebook yesterday, already wrote hijm a email (very politely despite how i felt)

its been blowing up al over my flists.

i suggest, since the guy obviously HAS no compassion, that you try sticking to practicalities when you write.. like:

not all sizes are available at all times in thrift stores, especially if you talk shoes.
not all the clothing available (or even most of it) is suitable for going to school in.
it is generally considered unhealthy to wear used shoes (or underwear) especially for children whose foot bones are still growing.
you can actually find good new clothing cheaper if you shop the sales.

also i did suggest that to encourage good buying habits maybe he could consider shaking loose the funds to restore home economics classes

[caraig.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry, little Pat, but even though we can afford to dress you in good clothing just like our biological child, we're not allowed to. We have to take you to the second-hand clothing store."

"That's because nobody loves little Patty! Not even the government! You know it's just an excuse to buy cheap clothing for you, right Patty? Nobody wants to spend any money on you!"

Yeah, I don't see any self-esteem, future-suicide issues from this happening.

[caraig.livejournal.com]

And it also just made me thing of something else.

What's next? "Please, sir, may I have some more?"

This guy is like a Dickensian villain: Banal in his evil, mediocre in his vitriol. Without the depth of character to give lease to his misanthropy, and a coward who bullies children for their shillings. He grouses and complains, and kills people with a thousand pricks with a fountain-pen rather than one great, epic blow. All too many of these villians are afoot in the world, and heroes of like caliber are not only few and far between, but of the ilk of those who can do naught but stand against the flood.

... Huh. Wonder where that came from.

[ladyotterfae.livejournal.com]

Okay, maybe I'm nuts, but I've heard from people in a few states (not that one) that the allowance for foster parents doesn't begin to cover the expenses anyway - so why ban the foster parents buying new clothing when it's needed? It's not like it isn't their money to spend anyway, since the fostering allowance is probably already gone to food, increased shelter costs, school supplies, etc. If this is about to be used to justify dropping the foster parent allowance, someone needs to step on this guy's head just a little.

While I'm all for used and clearance rack clothing, shoes is a real challenge, underwear is worse (goodwill often has new undies on sale, but in the right size?), and size-appropriate outerwear...yeah, right.

And, really, I know how long it takes to find one or two good pieces of clothing in my size in thrift stores. I can't imagine trying to outfit rapidly growing children completely in a hurry - and foster kids don't usually come with a 6-month warning including sizes and growth rates. The time demands would be outrageous, and driving/busing from store to store, presumably with the kids in tow... No, thanks.

[chaotic-nipple.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember back when my parents were fostering other kids that their stipend was made up of several smaller allowances, for food, clothing, etc. If it's the same in Minnesota, then this will make it so that potion of the stipend _has_ to be used for cheap used clothes instead of frivolities like, say, the rent.

[capplor.livejournal.com]

Excuse me, but it was good enough for me that when I was younger we had politicians who at least pretended to care about people.

Should I be glad to see that change?

[roane.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my first thought when I heard that was, "Hey, I was a fat kid, and even now, my size is NOT in secondhand stores." What kills me about this guy, is that he's even interested in lowering the allowance, so this is NOT about saving money for the state. You know, for a group that claims to want government out of everyone's lives, they like to meddle with some weird shit.

[chaotic-nipple.livejournal.com]

You know, for a group that claims to want government out of everyone's lives, they like to meddle with some weird shit.

They're trying to PROVE that government is inherently intrusive and destructive, so of course they'll be as authoritarian and arbitrary as they can manage whenever they're in power. We can expect a lot worse from them over the next 2 years.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Another practical point-- if all the foster kids are required to buy from second-hand stores, there will be less generally available in those stores. This won't just hit the kids who are unusual sizes.

It will also impact people who are poor enough to need to buy from secondhand stores.

And push more people into law-breaking.

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

And then we get to send more poor kids to prisons...and prevent them from ever voting when they grow up!

Mission Accomplished.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Last time I was between jobs I volunteered at the food bank and some times I took clothing donations. The good news is that the clothing room was always more than full. But the clothing itself was obviously well used. This was clothing for around the house. I don't think this was clothing for school. Throw in how hard it is to find some sizes and I can see esteem issues for those kids.

Now to some self esteem is optional for others and they act like it shouldn't matter. They think that bullying doesn't affect school performance and just a part of growing up. I say that's bull. It's not the end-all/be-all, but it should always be a factor because if there are esteem issues, then it will affect how well the children learn and relate to others.

This clown doesn't see children as people. He sees them as a burden that will never amount to anything. So why should he bother with trying. What do you want to bet Caswell is also against health care for people who need it and is "pro-life".

[maiac.livejournal.com]

Because poor people don't deserve nice things. If they did, God wouldn't have made them poor.

I'm waiting for someone to offer an amendment to the bill requiring foster kids to wear armbands identifying them as Unwanted, just in case the thrift-shop clothes aren't obvious enough.

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

"Because poor people don't deserve nice things."

This. Exactly this. That's precisely the attitude I've heard.

Every mushroom cloud has a silver lining...

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

1. Perhaps I read that wrong, but does it say that foster PARENTS can't buy clothing FOR the child from anywhere save second-hand stores?

2. Think about how much money it will bring for charities such as the Salvation Army.

3. Places like Buffalo Exchange (http://www.buffaloexchange.com/) count!

Re: Every mushroom cloud has a silver lining...

[pandoradeloeste.livejournal.com]

Buffalo Exchange doesn't have anything in my size. And I'm not even terribly large - I wear a size 14-18 depending on the garment, and I've been that way since high school. If that was the only place I could go for nice clothes, I would have said "screw it" and lived and died in my Goodwill jeans.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

All I can think of is the "garbage bag" speech from BONES. Former foster child Temple Brennan talks to a foster kid about how they don't get suitcases when they move - they have to put all their possessions in garbage bags. Because that's how the system thinks of them and treats them - as garbage.

By all means, Senator Sphincter, reinforce that attitude even as you vote for legislation that will cause more unwanted pregnancies and strain the foster system even more. 'Cause pro-lifers are all about the Pooor Baybeeez until they're actually born, then they're worthless little welfare cheats. And bawl and bleat about Adoption Not Abortion only because it's a great way to oppress women and children.

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Then they must have been buying clothes in a prosperous neighborhood, where people donate fairly good clothes a good deal. In a poor neighborhood, those clothes are coming to bits--and they don't donate blue jeans, because you can sell those back to exporters who take battered blue jeans to the fashion markets in Asia.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

It's spite, pure and simple.

But we knew that was one of the big tea party motivations.

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

As a friend of mine said the other day, "It's shocking how much contempt some of these people have for the poor."

[zellion.livejournal.com]

Stay classy, republicans! Oops, sorry that's "classist"

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I was one of those kids who never got anything new. We had money. That's what bothers me--we HAD money, but my mother was a skinflint with no sense of taste.

Let me tell you, going to school in hand-me-down clothes years or decades out of date was torture. I had to deal with being the new kid when my mother remarried, and I had a speech impediment and an ugly nose.

I could have dealt with this if my parents had been poor. But we weren't poor. We were middle class, and I went to a middle class public school. I'm caught between rage and tears just thinking about it.

And that asshole wants to do the same to foster kids!? Kids coming from broken homes, parental neglect and abuse? Give them new clothes. Show those kids they have worth.

[melchar.livejournal.com]

I come from this too: new clothing - rarely - as gifts from my aunt - who had no sense of style then, but wanted me to wear dresses. My gawky form garbed in cheap thrift shop clothes - that then sometimes went to my 5 year younger BROTHER.

This along with meal after meal of potatoes, overboiled vegetables and [usually] a bit of hamburger.

In my case, my dad came from very poor surroundings and my mom [and aunt] were physically abused fosterchilden rescued from an alcoholic, sexually abusive father. They had major issues and even though they both made good wages, they were terrified of becoming destitute. They were also both alcoholics and abusive to my & my sibs.

Yeah ... I can look back on that NOW and understand, but it was hell to grow up in.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Poor kids. Yet another way to be told that you don't deserve the same things as everybody else.

[jovan-scorn.livejournal.com]

I remember a friend of mine who helped care for foster kids and what he said was that when he dealt with DHR you were "not" allowed to purchase clothing second hand. This was to keep people from caring for a dozen kids, buying all their clothes from garage sales (and probably stealing donations from in front of donation bins because they're locked at night due to people dumping trash in them) and wherever else they can scrounge them from and pocketing the allowance money.

[chaotic-nipple.livejournal.com]

I guess we should congratulate the Republicans for doing their best to solve this problem by making the fostering stipend so paltry and inconvenient to use that no-one could possibly make any sort of profit from it. Or something.

[mathmuffin.livejournal.com]

I tracked this story closer to the original source. It gets both more practical and stranger.

The practical part is that the proposal would not make it illegal to buy foster children new clothes. Michigan Public Radio (http://news.michiganradio.org/post/plan-would-require-foster-children-shop-clothing-thrift-stores?nopop=1) reported,

Foster children in Michigan would use their state-funded clothing allowance only in thrift stores under a plan suggested by State Senator Bruce Caswell.

So the foster parents or anyone else could spend their own money on new clothes for the foster children.

The stranger part is that this hard-hearted barb is shot at foster parents rather than at foster children or at budget expenses.

Caswell says the gift card idea wouldn’t save the state any money.

Caswell says he wants to make sure that state money set aside to buy clothes for foster children and kids of the working poor is actually used for that purpose.

[jenrose]

I seem to remember telling DFCS where I wanted the voucher for and they issued it for a specific store. Which addresses that just fine. They MUST have some flexibility, or it won't work for special needs kids.

[jenrose]

I'm fine with second-hand stores for most of the kids I"ve been involved with.

My special-needs daughter gets new clothes almost exclusively. Because the last thing she needs is one more signal to the world that she's different.

And I'm *very* good at finding deals on new clothing. If I spend more on her clothes, it is entirely because I can, not because I need to. Target's prices on brand new t-shirts beats many 2nd hand places, probably because of Republican's anti-labor, pro-outsourcing policies...

But seriously. I've been a foster parent. And the only way you can already make the clothing budget stretch is if you shop second-hand stores. They don't have to waste public funds legislating that... but damn them if they're going to tell foster parents who CAN afford to go beyond the budget that they SHOULDN'T because the foster kids aren't worth it.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Well, I just keep thinking... who buys used underwear?

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

As a mom on a limited budget, we do shop thrift stores. It is much easier to clothe children ten and under, because clothes aren't worn through before they hit the charity shops. Girl items are more plentiful than boy items.

But once you get above size ten, it is extremely difficult to buy clothes for boys, or appropriate attire for girls. And so I end up going to K-Mart, Target and Meijer for more than just underwear. Watching the sales, it isn't all that bad.

[ladycheron.livejournal.com]

I'm fostering my grand daughter at this point in time, so I'm familiar with the Illinois DCFS stipends. Inadequate, to say the least.

But what burns me up about this story is that the majority of foster kids have been neglected, abused, and traumatized. (That's why they're IN care, after all.) This guy would add insult to those injuries.

[Approximately 200 words of rant has been deleted after sober reflection and upon re-reading. Posting in anger is not a good thing. And jerks trying to nickle-and-dime the foster care system is something that makes me angry.]

[admnaismith.livejournal.com]

When I was a boy
We walked 20 miles to the schoolhouse
Barefoot and uphill both ways
Through blizzards in summer and winter....

....therefore we should force today's foster children to do that, too.

It's all about Senator Bumble, pissed off that someone he sees as inferior might be getting a better deal than he once had. He probably peers into other people's carts at the supermarket too, searching for someone buying meat with food stamps.