In the article "Making Ends Meet-How Single Mothers Survive Welfare
             and Low-Wage Work" by Christopher Jencks, both sides of the welfare for
             working mothers issue are addressed. From the effects of new government
             policies, to issues of childcare and health expenses, as well as a look
             into the future consequences of changes that may affect the current
             programs, the article looks closely at the economic hardships of single
             mothers in the world today (Jencks, 199.
             Jencks discussion begins with an explanation of why low-income
             statistics are generally incorrect, and his explanation makes sense to me.
             According to Edin and Lein (1997), the Census information collected only
             relates to wages earned, and does not take into account the added costs of
             employment, such as daycare and transportation. To me, we could improve in
             this area. If the Census information can be drawn for wages earned, there
             should be corresponding data to show the total net earnings of individuals.
             In this way, we could better see a representation of the poor.
             Jencks also discusses the inabilities of single mothers to live on
             their federally supplied monthly income. According to the article, families
             with incomes below $5,000 a year somehow also spent $1,100 a month. This
             is because these women also take non-reportable work and rely on family,
             friends and the fathers of their children to help support their family
             (Jencks, 1997). While many may see this as taking advantage of the system,
             I see it as a necessity. If the federal government is providing so little
             income to these mothers, they absolutely have to find other sources of
             income, in order to obtain necessities. In addition, I feel that this is
             one way that mothers consider themselves responsible for providing family
             Jencks also points out the flaws of a new program called "Temporary
             Assistance for Needy Families" (TANF) that replaces...