Generalizations Can Get Out Of Hand Letter Of The Week: From Nov. 27, 1997

Re: L. Jim Shamp’s Street Level column (“Real poverty war is fought and won by individuals,” Nov. 2) and Nov. 24 letter (“Damage of system, abusers plain to see”).

It’s always dangerous to generalize your own personal experiences to an entire population.

I have spent 18 years alternating between welfare and minimum wage. Finding adequate and affordable housing was impossible; I could tell horror stories about the substandard housing and vengeful landlords my children and I experienced.

After 18 years, I could generalize my experiences, just as Shamp has, to include all landlords who rent to welfare recipients. Obviously, that would be grossly inaccurate. Shamp is viewing the issue through emotion, not facts - much as I tended to view most landlords.

The facts are that the majority of welfare recipients in Washington state are there because of domestic violence or divorce, not lack of ambition. The average stay on welfare for a family in Washington is 2.5 years, not a lifetime. The typical job available for a welfare recipient in the Spokane area is a service industry position at minimum wage, with no medical benefits.

I challenge Shamp to raise his family on less than $900 per month while providing a home, food and child care, and then pay medical expenses as well.

If Shamp still has a job opening for a welfare recipient, does it include a livable wage and medical benefits?

We should all beware of making sweeping generalizations about any group of people; our own life experiences do not always reflect the facts. And, Shamp: Like many others, I’m a former welfare recipient who put myself through college and became a successful professional! Debra Greenwood Spokane

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