Ch 1

Seccombe let me just state is a very intellectual person with strong values and wanting to fufil her purpose in social inequality. In Chapter one she interviews several people on welfare and goes in dept on the particular issues I will be disecting and how life is for them. Not only are the interviews very helpful but they help her have a better understanding with the struggles, and their experiences. These examples help the reader understand their lives and to understand their situation and that it examines the attitudes and reactions that women on welfare get from strangers. She also examines the assumptions, values and perspectives that are assumed with the people on the welfare system.
I think Seccombe wanted to start off interviewing women to see the life they had and have and I think she knows that being a woman is far harder to survive in society than a man. Saccombe points out several times and suggests some statistics on the average employment history of woman and men and it is relativly higher that men will continue to have a better and more paying job than a woman. She states that women are more likley to be dependable on others and are more likley to be poor, lower wage work and being a single parent.
Sheila was the first that she interviewed. Shelia is working on her GED while taking care of her daughter and sometimes her grandchildren. She has looked for jobs but has not been lucky. With her going to school two nights a week, she has figured once she gets her diploma she can have a job by Jan 1. Shelia stated how hard it is to get a job if you cannot type, add, or read. So the jobs that she has had were being maids and cleaning ladies. With her being on welfare it is sort of a security thing as she stated. She fears if she accepts a minimum wage job she wont get health insurance and that her food stamps will vanish leading her in worse conditions. And if she gets laid off she would have to wait to get her welfare at least a month later. It is bad enough the life that she is living now and I can understand the fear of change because the risk of doing so can be a great thing yet a bad thing. Its almost like gambling. You can have 50% winning or 50% loosing. I think Saccombes contention was to share with the readers the real stories and life of someone struggling and being poor. She has been seperated from her man for about 14years and he has not helped with a dime. She has been under water and cannot seem to stay a float.
Saccombe has opened my eyes and to understand the life of people on welfare. I have come to understand that many people do work but still cannnot do it by themselves especially if they do not have their babies father in the picture to help financailly or emotionally. Some people do not even have friends or family to turn to. I know someone close to my boyfriends family that is un-employed and receiving food stamps, unemployment, child support but is capible of working. This person used to work at a job that was of good pay and an established company and now with her having a second child with her boyfriend not working makes me angry that there are people like this taking advantage. I have a hard time with those people. Both parents are capible of working and have some education to suceed and not be on welfare but because it is easier for them, they choose not to look for work. And unfortunetly the father is a drug dealer to make that quick easy cash so that they can live in a nice house. For a long time I resented people on welfare but honestly every person has a different situation and some people work the system and some people need the system to survive. I guess all this time I was looking for an answer as to why people take advantage and realize that the government is there to help you out and some people think it is an easy way out, or laziness. In the end I agree with Saccombe intentions and I think that she makes points that really make the reader think about situations and understand that everything and everyone has their own sitaution and to really never judge unless you know the whole story and are willing to help make a differnce.