Submitted by Jen Jones on Mon, 09/26/2011 - 3:27pm
Poverty is now a common (and growing) problem for America’s single moms as jobs, and social safety nets fade as quickly as the economy tanked, according to a new article from The Huffington Post.
“In 2010, the first full calendar year after the Great Recession, nearly 41 percent of the nation's single mothers with children under age 18, like Williams, lived on incomes below the federal poverty line. (Federal poverty measures differ according to family size.) New data released by the Census Bureau on Tuesday shows that few Americans fared well in 2010. About 46 million remained in or fell into poverty. The nation's median income dropped to levels unseen since the mid 1990s. But the percentage of single mothers with children under the age of 18 who are poor outstripped that of almost every other group.
"We have a long history of distinguishing between the 'deserving poor' and the 'undeserving poor' in this country,” said Joan Entmacher, vice president for family economic security at the National Women's Law Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank and advocacy group. "For a lot of people, single mothers are so far outside their idea of the deserving poor that they can hardly think straight about what might be done to help these mothers or the millions of children that live with them."
The primary reason that so many single women are poor right now is the large number of jobs cut in female-dominated sectors, including government, Entmacher said. In fact, since the recession ended in 2009, women have lost more jobs than men shed while the economy was still contracting.”
To add insult to this financial injury, just as a growing number of Americans like single mothers find themselves in need of help, the social safety net has grown weaker. “States have trimmed their welfare rolls, cut back the amount of time that a family can receive cash welfare assistance and even scaled back spending on child support enforcement and collections activity.”
Gender discrimination in the job market also continues to play a role in the ability for women, including single moms, to find work. Add to that the fact that incarceration rates are on the rise for men in the African-American and Latino communities, more and more women of all races who remain married are feeling the painful pinch without second incomes.
This dismantling of “the American dream,” specifically for single-parent families is forcing many to seek different options other than “fairness in hiring” when it comes to salvaging family budgets and moving forward to a better financial future. In recent years, female debtors have, like so many other of their male counterparts, turned in record numbers to the secure debt discharge of a personal bankruptcy such as Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
The reason is simple: bankruptcy provides a gender-neutral solution to those running in the red.
So, are you an unemployed (or underemployed) woman who’s looking for additional financial support, but aren’t sure where to look? It’s important to understand, that now, more than ever, knowing a qualified bankruptcy attorney with a handle on all aspects of the bankruptcy process can help you dispense with debt and bounce back from the current economic crisis. The bankruptcy professionals at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt offer a totally FREE debt consultation and now, more than ever, it’s time to take them up on their offer. Just call toll free to +1-833-627-0115, or during the off hours, you can make your own appointment right online at www.billsbills.com. Simply click on the yellow “FREE Consultation Now” button.
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