Real-life Welfare Quotations
The following are taken from actual letters received by the Welfare Department in applications for support.
– I am forwarding my marriage certificate and 6 children. I had seven but one died which was baptised on a half sheet of paper.
– I am writing the welfare department to say that my baby was born two years old. When do I get my money?
– Mrs. Jones has not had any clothes for two years and has been visited regularly by the clergy.
– I am glad to report that my husband who is missing is dead.
– This is my eighth child. What are you going to do about it.
– Please find for certain if my husband is dead. The man I am now living with can’t do anything until he knows.
– I am very much annoyed to find out that you have branded my son illiterate. This is a dirty lie as I was married a week before he was born.
– I am forwarding my marriage certificate and my 3 children one of which is a mistake as you can see.
-Unless I get my husband’s money pretty soon, I will be forced to lead an immortal life.
– I want money as quick as I can get it. I have been in bed with the doctor for two weeks and he doesn’t do me any good. If things don’t improve, I will have to send for another doctor.
Thought this was funny!
I’m sorry I have been trying not to butt into this blog and to just let things go as they will, but I have to say I find this post offensive. These quotes are making fun of the literacy skills of people who apply for welfare. In pretty much all of them you can tell what the person was trying to express, and none of those things are funny at all. if anything, this just shows how poor education makes the lives of people who need state assistance that much more difficult, as their ability to advocate on their own behalf is severely limited by the skills they were (not) taught by a failed educational system. Imagine, for instance, if you were trying to communicate to the state in a language you did not have mastery of — it wouldn’t be too difficult to imagine some miswordings or slightly off sentences.
I have to agree that these comments, where-ever they came from are sad to me, is this all that exist for welfare recipents. I’m glad that you posted these sentences/comments from welfare recipents, but to actually see how the system has fail us, is shocking. Even though a small portion of our life is control by the decisions we make, another portion comes from the system not providing an environment that would support us all equally in achieveing what we expire to be and that is even more shocking. Coming from all back grounds, a truely equal society would allow any and all possible chances, and not just base on what family your from, skin color, or wealth. IT JUST SO SAD……………
profesor i didnt see it from ur view..
i just thought. “hey this is funny”..
assuming that people just made errors not relatedto their education levelsor anything..
which were seen as humorous…
i wasnt trying to offened anyone!
I think its a mockery of people’s literacy level. I agree with Teresa, its sad that someone could’ve have made these private letters public for all to see, and for all to make fun of.
Roshni