Friday, May 16, 2014

This Day In Snookland...The Real Faces Of The Clawed Back.

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A really good follow-up piece, by Andrew McLeod in The Tyee, on the disabled Mom whose $187 per month in child support is being clawed back so that our Premier can save up to fund her next Bogus Bollywood Bonanza in the spring of 2017:

Jessica Sothcott could work and earn as much as $9,600 a year without it affecting the amount she receives in disability payments, but every dollar she receives in child support from her daughter's father is deducted in full from what the government will provide.

"I was shocked," said the mother of two who was at the British Columbia legislature with her 14-year-old daughter Rosalie on Wednesday to draw attention to the issue.

Sothcott said she raised the matter with the office that administers the province's Person With Disability benefits. "When I finally got on PWD, I went there and I said, 'Why are you taking my child support off my cheque still, because I'm allowed to earn $800 a month?' And they said, 'Oh, you don't earn that money.'

"I walked away," she said. "I didn't know what to say. I'm like, well, I'm pretty sure I do."...



And what does the Minister responsible, the man who loses his train of thought every time the wind blows, have to say about it all:

...B.C.'s Social Development Minister Don McRae told The Tyee that while he's sympathetic, the government can't afford the roughly $17 million it would cost to allow parents receiving government benefits to keep child support payments.

"You know what, I would like to continue to reform income assistance opportunities or programs in the province," he said. “One of the things I'd like to do is grow the economy so we can make these choices. There's lots of good ideas out there, by all means."

Asked why child support payments are clawed back while money from earned income is not, McRae said, "That was a policy decision based before my time."

He added, "Income assistance is income of last resort. The first responsibility is for the parents to pay for the children's needs. That's what we want to happen in British Columbia."...


Gosh Mr. McRae.

That was some dog whistle.

Why not just come right out and call these Moms, some of whom receive a mere $945 a month, 'Welfare Queens'?

Or will that be the 'Ol Turdstormer's job come Monday in the house?

Sheesh.


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What's it all about Alfie?.....This.

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6 comments:

North Van's Grumps said...

One liners like "... income of last resort", honestly? Minister McRae have you ever read this Made in BC June 2013 report:

In March 2009, our office issued Last Resort: Improving Fairness and Accountability in British Columbia’s Income Assistance Program. This report included 28 recommendations to what was the Ministry of Housing and Social Development, with timelines for implementation. The ministry accepted and agreed to implement all the recommendations, except Recommendation 23, which proposed that the ministry compensate people adversely affected by the ministry’s delay in initiating a regulatory amendment.

The office of the Ombudsperson

Our recommendations addressed four areas: applying for income assistance, persons with persistent multiple barriers to employment (PPMB), medical and other documentation requirements, and implementation of previous commitments.

NOW THERE ARE FIVE BARRIERS: mcrae

Anonymous said...

This is how, Christy Clark puts her families first. She gives them a loony and claws back a toony.

Christy Clark is just another Gordon Campbell wearing a skirt. Campbell was the slimiest Premier, in the recorded history of BC. Campbell refused to raise, the $8.00 per hour minimum wage.

The Campbell/Clark BC Liberals, work for Harper and his gang of thugs. Harper rewarded Campbell the post as, High Commissioner to the U.K. Campbell did and still does, a lot of dirty work for Harper. Christy Clark is merely Harper's mouthpiece. Harper also cancelled, the National Child Care Program.

Harper has Canada, a foul cesspool of corruption. BC has always been the most corrupt province in Canada especially since, Gordon Campbell's reign of terror. Christy Clark has carried on with, Campbell's vile legacy.

Eleanor Gregory said...

Seems to me that if an amount equivalent to child support payments is going to be clawed back, then a whole lot of non-custodial parents are going to be able to rationalize not making the child support payments that they have been ordered by the Courts to make.

Anonymous said...

Good point Eleanor, you got me thinking -- has someone, somewhere started a class-action suit against other Provincial governments who are denying children the financial contribution of the non-custodial parent towards their care and well-being?

Another "real" face of the claw back: Rachel Goodine, a single BC mother on a disability states:

"I recently found this article talking about a Winnipeg mother who was suing the province of Manitoba for the right for all children of parents on assistance in that province to be able to keep their child support. She had been part of a class action lawsuit to return all child support paid to Manitoban children as well as to keep future support payments by the paying parent. Unfortunately, Miss Miyai dropped her involvement in the suit after receiving massive amounts hate online from people who believe that single mothers on assistance, as well as their children, don’t deserve to live in dignity. Fortunately, her lawyer, Norman Rosenbaum, is continuing with the class action suit, substituting Miyai’s name with another custodial parent. I want this to happen in BC. - See more at:"
http://politicsrespun.org/2013/10/bcs-child-support-clawback-hurts-kids/#sthash.bkvRpXKU.o18vGDdM.dpbs

This class action lawsuit is intended to have monies contributed by the non-custodial parent put into a trust until the child is eighteen -- my guess is, that if the suit is successful, it would likely set a precedent about the right of a non-custodial parent to contribute to their child, and that child's right to benefit from it.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/gimli-mother-leaves-lawsuit-amid-online-uproar-145886455.html

Anonymous said...

SH @ 6:10

Anonymous said...

SH

Anyone catch Baldrey on the illedge say that the public wasn't interested in the stories they were "covering"? Ha.