In Response to Keiley's Blog "WIC"

I am writing this commentary in response to Kailey’s blog entitled “WIC.” This subject is of particular interest to me having been a part of the program a couple of years ago. WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children and provides basic necessities for pregnant women, newborn babies, and children of low income families. Members of the program must apply and meet certain eligibility requirements. Once part of the program you receive and electronic card that enables you to purchase items such as milk, eggs, cheese, formula, beans, juice, cereal, and peanut butter free of charge.

I agree with Kailey that these types of programs are taken advantage of. I like how she makes a point to say that these programs are designed to help people get back on their feet and promote self reliance. She illustrates this well by explaining that her Mother used this assistance with her sister as a “stepping stone” in order to get back on track. That is exactly what I did when I had my daughter. I used the assistance when I needed it and declined assistance when I could manage on my own. However, the main problem is that most people don’t use the program this way.

I have seen first hand what Kailey is talking about when she explains that Texas (more so than other states) accommodates Spanish speakers. One of the main reasons for this is obviously the fact that Texas borders Mexico which results in a larger number of Spanish speaking immigrants. Because of the ever-growing population of Spanish speakers it becomes troublesome to ignore the fact that there are also growing numbers of non-English speakers. I do disagree with Kailey that the same benefits should not be made available to non-English speakers. Just because someone doesn’t speak English does not mean that they are not citizens. On the same note, if an illegal immigrant comes to Texas and gives birth to a child on U.S. soil, that child is automatically a citizen regardless of their parent’s legal status. This, in my opinion, is not so fair. I can testify to waiting in the WIC office and being the only white English speaker in sight. I can almost guarantee that next to none of the parents that I saw were legal. This is where the problem is. Where do we draw the line? The child didn’t ask to be put in this position; however, the parents know that even though they are not citizens that their child is entitled to government benefits. This is where I completely agree with Kailey. These parents are non-taxpaying illegal immigrants that are not contributing to the system but through a loophole are able to reap the benefits with out paying so much as a dime.

Overall I enjoyed the blog and was able to relate to this issue. Something needs to be done, but what? This issue is somewhat of a snowball effect that keeps getting larger and moving faster as time goes on. There are small technicalities that need to be addressed and loopholes that should be closed without having starving children on the street. Perhaps tax Mexico for these instances? Who knows?