This evening as I was sitting around small tables in the media center (library) of the local school where I participate in community organizing we were eating gorditas. These small round culinary bombs had been prepared by some of the mothers and there was a bowl of lovely green sauce I liberally applied to the top of mine. At the first bite, my eyes nearly left my head. As the tears poured down my face, I assured them that yes, I really like things hot!
My task this evening was to help with a drama program for kids and moms. They were in the early stages of producing a play about barnyard animals, complete with singing and dancing. The moms were there to practice English. They were supposed to be paying attention to the Rosetta Stone computer program for English while their kids rehearsed with their drama coach, a lovely young man who teaches third grade. But the moms took this opportunity to have a 'girls' night out' and they chatted and giggled in the background. Everyone was having a great time, talking about their kids and recipes. Just a lovely simple evening activity for everyone there. The kids were happy. No one was discussing the economy or taxes. These Hispanic farm worker families have major problems in getting through life issues sometimes. It takes years to get these families to have enough trust to be able to come to these events.
Spending time with this part of my community is a great corrective for me. Who are those people who won't have t.v. when the digital signal goes into effect? They are here in this little desperately poor town.
We have become so embedded in the bureaucratic web, nothing seems easy - especially to people on the margin. They do not regard the internet as the most important advance in their lifetimes, they do not fill their leisure time fooling around with this new computer application or that program. And they certainly do not have the stretch to master the intricacies of all the forms that one must hurdle, especially if one is poor.
When Tom Daschle got into his tax problems, I was not very sympathetic. Ditto for the many others. However, as I spent a whole morning filling out the federal tax forms, Florida unemployment tax, and W-2 for a woman who cleans our house once a week, I had more heart. There are manuals as thick as my thumb and they require constant flipping back and forth and trying to decipher the meanings of what in hell to put in Box 5A? And of course, one has to keep records of all that is paid out and when. I think every year as I do these things that I should apply for a job as translator for tax bulletins. The difference between me and the ilk of Tom Daschle is that I believe in paying taxes; it's the responsible thing for a citizen to do. Not paying taxes for the people who care for you or your family is criminal, unethical, and inhumane. No excuses for this.
That said, it's hard to be on the right side. It's just easier not to pay because the paperwork is so tedious and hard to understand. Why can't this be a LOT easier??
I cannot even imagine how hard it would be to apply for unemployment benefits, food stamps, SChip or Kidcare. I cannot imagine how someone who had lost their house to foreclosure could wend their way through the new stimulus money to maybe get a decent place to live.
There is a disconnect between the goal and the process and so many get lost in it. Getting there has got to be easier!
So, when my husband severely cut his hand on a band saw a few days ago, we went to the local emergency room. Here was a guy bleeding and in pain and they needed to interview him (for the paperwork!) as he held his hand in a bloody rag. In this country we have the capacity to deal with incredible things! Obama's desire to digitize the health system could have helped here. Just tend to the presenting problem and then, when the name of the patient pops up on the computer, the complete record from wherever comes up. I asked the interviewer if she could access Andy's primary care doctor. Of course not. We have a Medicare Plan, and no doubt we will be billed in dribs and drabs over the months to come.
But what about those moms and kids at Lacoochee Community? Will they have done the voluminous paperwork to be enrolled in a program for health insurance for their kids. Will they even know about it?
All I am saying is that in all these wonderful programs I hope will be forthcoming, they need to be understandable and doable.
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