April 15, 2011: Michigan State Senator: Foster Children Should Only Buy Clothes at Thrift Stores

Bruce Caswell. [Source: Hillsdale County GOP]Michigan State Senator Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale) suggests legislation that would force foster children to use their state-funded clothing allowance only in thrift stores. Caswell says that foster children should get “gift cards” to be used only at Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other thrift stores. He explains: “I never had anything new. I got all the hand-me-downs. And my dad, he did a lot of shopping at the Salvation Army, and his comment was—and quite frankly it’s true—once you’re out of the store and you walk down the street, nobody knows where you bought your clothes.” Gilda Jacobs of the Michigan League for Human Services says, “Honestly, I was flabbergasted” to hear of Caswell’s proposal. “I really couldn’t believe this. Because I think, gosh, is this where we’ve gone in this state? I think that there’s the whole issue of dignity. You’re saying to somebody, you don’t deserve to go in and buy a new pair of gym shoes. You know, for a lot of foster kids, they already have so much stacked against them.” Caswell initially admits his proposal would not save Michigan any money, but later says that the proposal would save money. He insists he has no interest in stigmatizing foster children. [Hillsdale County GOP, 2011; Michigan Radio 91.7 FM, 4/15/2011; Michigan Messenger, 4/22/2011] Jessica Pieklo of the humanitarian organization Care2 writes that the proposal is another example of what she calls “the single-focused attack on the poor and politically powerless” being carried out by Michigan’s Republican leadership. “Reasonable checks and transparency in the administration of public benefits is one thing, but Caswell’s proposal is hardly that. It is a pronouncement on the value of these kids, poor and almost homeless usually through no fault their own.” [Care2 (.org), 4/24/2011] In a post on Twitter, MSNBC talk show host Rachel Maddow says: “This is cartoon evil, right? This can’t be real. This cannot be a real thing. Gotta be performance art.” [Talksy, 4/24/2011]