Stereotypes About Not Working

This Sacramento (CA) story on the state budget issues intersect disability services came to my attention mostly because of its coverage of the protests last week. But it was another topic embedded in the article that actually grabbed my attention.

They [officials and advocates for the poor] also tried to dispel the stereotype that welfare recipients are not trying to find full-time work.

In a recent opinion piece he wrote for the Los Angeles Times, Schwarzenegger said only 22 percent of the 525,000 families receiving temporary financial and employment assistance are meeting the minimum work requirements.

"That means 78 percent aren't trying to get on their feet at all," the governor wrote. "They're not working, not looking for work, not seeking job training, not performing community service and not pursuing an education."

Advocates said the governor's measurement was flawed because it does not count part-time work and ignores the reality that low-wage earners don't have control over their hours. They said the governor was only perpetuating the stereotype that recipients are lazy.

There is an additional flaw in the assumption that those who actually are not looking for work are by default not doing so because they are lazy. There are a number of other reasons why people may not be looking for work, just for quick and incomplete example:

1. Financial, health, or safety disincentives like losing medicaid benefits that are necessary for survival; i.e. issues with the system.

2. Being unable to both manage basic life activities and work at the same time; i.e. not an issue, just a fact for some.

3. Being so discouraged by the process of job seeking that one gives up; i.e. issues with discrimination and lack of access.

Stereotypes are not just bad because they are personally damaging to people. Stereotypes are bad because perpetuating them ensures that real change to fix problems is never achieved.