As presented by: Larry T. Pretlow II July 31, 2017 audio excerpt available
I’m a customer service professional and I know what it’s like working and living paycheck-to-paycheck and then with the added stresses of personal life and sometimes even family hardships. Like you, a working American, I too want to help others the best I can. Although we do things for others all the time, for nothing in return, it would feel rewarding if someone did something for us for once.
We saw hope come and go but now its time for PROACTION.
We will achieve better wages, affordable day care, affordable housing, real-life PTO & real-living benefits:
- Taking away the millions of dollars in unearned bonuses that corporate executives should be reinvesting back into their employees so that they earn living & savings wages with real living benefits;
- Eliminating tons of duplicate social welfare programs and efforts that don’t really reduce dependency.
Big corporations have to pay up because it’s not fair that they are better off than the retail worker, the overnight stock clerk, the factory worker and the truck driver who pull those companies up over their heads and on their backs each day.
I’m there with you, we’re sitting in traffic, going bus-to-us, walking in the rain and trying to balance our responsibilities, day-to-day, struggling to make the best of our time while working for others who pay us nothing and then bonus off our hard work. Enough of that.
The non-profit, local, and state social welfare programs of America – are not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a great thing that we can help individuals and families who struggle. But, we all have to do our fair share. We each have to participate in the human responsibility to help ourselves so that we may help those who need help helping themselves. When help is given to us, we must do our best to make every effort to need less help as we go and make room so that others may be helped.
We each have to participate in the human responsibility to help ourselves so that we may help those who need help helping themselves. When help is given to us, we must do our best to make every effort to need less help as we go on and make room so that others may be helped.
ROUGH FRAMEWORK: A Universal Social & Welfare Program regulated by the Federal government but funded and operated by the local and state governments.
That is why I am envisioning a pioneering universal social welfare program that would provide supplemental assistance while requiring participants to help themselves. This to an extent already exists, but not this way.
At the same time, there will be jobs to provide living and savings wages with real living benefits – so that participants can help themselves to an independent livelihood.
- We get to this by taking away those millions of dollars in executive bonuses through a federal mandate that requires retailers and other big corporate employers to reinvestment into employee payroll and benefits accounts. With that, we would move to one federally regulated universal social welfare program that would provide needy individuals and families with supplemental assistance and benefits in a check-point system with a graduation from eligibility date and the requirement to recertify on a regular basis.
- To ensure that the right employees are realizing living and savings wages and real living benefits, we will use a tier system that would constitute which level of employees these employers must make reinvestments (for example, hourly employees, in the lowest pay scales would see reinvestment first).
It is a disgrace that executives bonus millions of dollars while the lowest paid wage in their company is under $11.50.
Currently, there are lots of social welfare programs or efforts out there receiving local, state and federal grants, in most cases, some of these programs keep participants in need of assistance so the organizations can continue receiving the grants. That doesn’t sit well with me or most Americans.
We have a clutter of efforts for all the same causes, getting grant money, and while these organizations do represent jobs – it’s ultimately a disservice to taxpayers and those participants who remain dependent on social welfare benefits.
- As local and state governments do already – funding for social welfare programs will be allocated in their budgets and that funding with other local and state governments nationwide would help create funding for the universal social welfare program. This local and state collaborative funding with federally regulated new benefits amounts would already be enough to provide assistance and benefits to those in need across the nation.
Currently, some benefit amounts provide some individuals or family sizes with more than enough.
The universal social welfare program will provide cash and food assistance as well as other supplemental welfare benefits that currently exist – including continuing education and work skill training requirements.
- Participants will be required to be employed and employers will make extended efforts to help participant employees retain their employment as long as the participant is making reasonable efforts to do so.
- Participants must be drug-free and free of substance abuse.
- The program will also provide supplemental income-based rent assistance as well – which requires that participants be employed. So, therefore, we will have to ensure affordable day care to support working participant parents.
In some states daycare providers charge extremely too much for the regular care and capitalize off of working parents who arrive late – while parents should be on time, such fees should be regulated outside the provider’s control.
- Federal regulations will set graduation from eligibility deadlines and the states will be allowed to design their own checkpoint systems that progress their participants to graduation from eligibility.
- If it is determined that additional time is needed for any individual or family then some exceptions will be allowed only while the participant(s) are actively eligible in the program.
- However, once graduation is achieved, returning participants will require further consideration and be subjected to different program regulations since the goal is to reduce dependency.
- Participants will be managed on a case by case basis and work with a body of caseworkers as opposed to one caseworker – to help ensure integrity.
- Participants will be held accountable by living and social behavior expectations as set by their local and state providers. (especially living in supplemental housing)
- The universal social welfare program would include free health benefits and assistance for victims of domestic violence.
While my goal is to see the reduction of welfare and social program dependency, I also want to make sure that individuals and families who need help, get help.
I believe in a smaller government which to me means adequate government. There should be federal regulations in America but no more than what is needed. Welfare and Social programs should be one federally regulated, local & state funded operated universal social welfare program that carries families across the finish line.
Conclusion
America needs a social welfare program that promotes an independent livelihood and an understanding that it is each our own responsibility to make every effort to help ourselves so that others who truly need help can get the help they may need
- The elimination of grant money being given away to duplicate social and welfare programs with no real reduction in dependency is a service, not a disservice. This will help free up funding for those who want to help themselves.
- Taking away the big bonuses from executives will help reinvest into wages and benefits that will help support independent livelihoods and reduce dependency on social welfare programs.
When you take the corporate bonuses away, you see that real working people live in real America – and those who need help helping themselves can get that help and move forward without prejudice.
MARYLAND FORWARD 
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