Motherwork Is Work: A Welfare Warrior Speaks.

Eventually, she and I started a welfare rights group in Milwaukee among professionals working in anti-poverty jobs. The Reagan administration had just destroyed all work incentives: the $30 plus one third of our work income was no longer allowed to remain clear of the deductions to the welfare check resulting from earned income. In the job search class, I would sneak to the blackboard and use it as an opportunity to teach moms why part-time and/or low-paid employment was a waste of time since all income earned reduced the welfare check dollar for dollar, leaving mothers with a welfare income despite being employed. [Extracted from the article]