(I hope this is a case of politics being sufficiently related to Mormonism.)
So, righteous (as opposed to sensible) married BYU students heed their priesthood leaders' counsel by having kids early and often. Many of them use food stamps and Medicaid to scrape by. Meanwhile, the Republican congress (and Mormons love Republicans) wants to severely restrict food stamps and Medicaid. Will married BYU students suffer, or will the Mormons in congress have the new regulations written in such a way that their special constituents can still have their dubious procreative choices subsidized by the rest of us?
Several years ago, I worked with a young married BYU student - her husband was also a student - both working part-time. They followed the Mormon way and had three children before either one had finished school. I had two small children at the time and knew what it cost to have kids. I wondered aloud how they could afford it? She told me that BYU has a counselor whose job is to help the young marrieds w/kids apply for all the state and federal aid available to them.
Starting out as a young college student (and LDS,) in the 80's, we didn't dream of asking for help from the church. Especially singles.
My parents didn't support me through college. I had to scrimp by on my own by working and paying my way with a combination of student grants and loans, and p/t jobs. The most church support I received was some canned food only because I worked as a volunteer for the stake farm and that was what they sent me home with for the day just because it was surplus.
The church teaches its young returned missionaries to get married first, have children next. Then worry about education and careers. Many Mormon couples are just ill equipped to handle that kind of economic pressure so young and just starting out, without a toehold in the job market. What worked for their parents during the Great Depression and the 1950's doesn't work anymore for married couples. Stay at home moms is nice if their husbands can afford to so they don't have to work.
By and large most families are pressured into it. I don't see the church providing support to these young marrieds. I'm very surprised to hear there is an office on campus at BYU to help them sign up for public assistance. I would have to see it to believe it. That is not the Mormon church I remember.
Mormons who qualify for public assistance on the other hand; why should they be treated any differently or disparagingly from anyone else? "Bleeding the beast" is a FLDS term for polygamous families who receive public assistance. Instead of it going to the women and children who it was intended, goes to the leaders in the group while the children and women are given next to nothing to live on.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2017 10:48PM by Amyjo.
No matter what happens. ... you can guarantee that the church will not give them a dime and still counsel that they pay tithing on the gross before food, rent, utilities, bills or medical needs.
Of course a living prophet trumps a dead god. "It were better for him to have a mill stone hung around his neck and thrown into the sea than that he should offend one of these little ones." Luke 17:2.
How is it not offensive to the little kids that they be deprived of food, shelter, medical care and a loving parent?
This is so different from how my nevermo friends and I were raised. We were raised to get our education and credentials, get a job, and *then* get married and start a family. We would not have dreamed of starting a family before we had a reasonable chance of fully supporting ourselves. Most of my friends did not get married until their late 20s. We would have considered starting a family before you could support yourself to be irresponsible.
The Mormon church obviously has a different point of view. But it is a point of view that often leans heavily on government assistance.
I'm guessing that the state representatives look at the whole picture, and mormons are only a sliver of the actual problem. Salt Lake is/was a sanctuary city (before trump) which means that the doo-gooder Catholics and the current mayor (which I wonder about) have been welcoming poverty into the valley for quite a while. It's basically immaculate suffering for penitence and self loathing in the name of our holy lady that Catholics are so good at. Which is fine with me if they want to suffer, but to drag tax payers and republicans into this is appalling.
Anyone who can afford to make charitable cash donations to their church certainly doesn't need to receive government benefits in order to survive. The forms that you fill out to get government assistance should ask about any money that you have donated to charities or that you intend to donate while on government benefits, and then deduct the amount of the donations from the benefits that you gave or intend to give. Have everyone sign under penalties of purgery. Prosecute those who break their word on that. Otherwise, the effect is that the church benefits financially from free money that came from the government.
I have several Nieces and nephews who are the children of Doctors. They've gone to BYU and onto graduate school all on the tax payers dime. Oh yes, did I mention that the spouse has a degree that could earn at least 100k a year, but chose to be shucking out babies at lightening speed instead???
The whole thing pisses me off. My own kids had to have mucho help from their parents because they did the 'right' thing and delayed marriage and children until they were through college. No help for the kids of the blue collar worker because the govt. decided the BCW made too much money to help the kids through college. Shame on those kids for going to college before they were 25!
Meanwhile, Dr's kids are on foodstamps, wic, housing bennies, etc. etc. etc. The mom drives her kids around in a BMW while dad is at school. Her degree was a total waste of time and money. The whole thing makes me sick.
This wasn't just a one time event. This was how the DR. got several of his kids through college. Their excuse was that they deserve it because they pay so much in taxes. They learned how to manipulate the government money pit while they were at BYU.
It's a gigantic rip off of the tax payers, and it needs to change. The government is just as much at fault as the people who take advantage of them.