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By Staff Report | 11.16.11

I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]

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Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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Foster children would be allowed to get clothing only from second hand stores

By Todd A. Heywood | 04.22.11 | 11:40 am

Under a new budget proposal from State Sen. Bruce Casswell, children in the state’s foster care system would be allowed to purchase clothing only in used clothing stores.

Casswell, a Republican representing Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee and St. Joseph counties, made the proposal this week, reports Michigan Public Radio.

His explanation?

“I never had anything new,” Caswell says. “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.”

Under his plan, foster children would receive gift cards that could only be used at places like the Salvation Army, Goodwill and other second hand clothing stores.

The plan was knocked by the Michigan League for Human Services. Gilda Jacobs, executive director of the group, had this to say:

“Honestly, I was flabbergasted,” Jacobs says. “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.”

Casswell says the plan will save the state money, though it isn’t clear how much the state spends on clothing for foster children or how much could be saved this way.

Comments

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OMYR6AT4QXR2F4IYVLRUDLTTZY David

    Hey, Lets make those foster kids work…you know like our trade-’partners’ CHINA. We can put them in all those clothing factories in America. oh yeah…nothing is made in America anymore….

    • http://www.facebook.com/patty.macdonell Patty MacDonell

      We could get a factory here if foster kids run it as long as we pay them “international” factory wages. We’d have to change those inconvenient child labor laws but I hear Republican politicians are working on that one. It would be just like the good old days.

  • http://profiles.google.com/rjones106 Ricky Jones

    seems to me all the bleeding hearts should just become foster parents or adopt. i’m sure they are already involved in big-brother programs and volunteer at the local schools to mentor these underprivilaged kids….if i give $100 of my own $$$ to the poor then i am generous. if i take $100 of your money under threat of prison (don’t pay your taxes and see what the IRS does) am give it to the poor am i still generous?

    • http://profiles.google.com/kramedawg John Kramer

      and your point is…

  • http://profiles.google.com/rjones106 Ricky Jones

    i am not from michigan (go buckyes) so i don’t know how the foster system works but it is my understanding that the foster parents buy clothes for the children and can buy them from anywhere they choose. foster parents also get a stipend per child to provide the basic needs…the clothing allowance in question from this article is something different – an “extra”. it is not as if these kids are wearing rags all day long with no other clothing options.

    anywho, npr has reported that Casswell has changed his mind and is trying to work with retailers to get discounts and have the kids buy clothes with their annual allowance from a wider selection of stores. i’m sure this will also cause a problem b/c walmart has non-union employees and blah, blah, blah…but here is the link for those who care.
    http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/04/25/135705928/lawmaker-drops-idea-about-second-hand-clothes-critics-dont-notice

    • Anonymous

      Not surprised that he would have revised the idea. The libs go hysterical at the idea of actually saving other people’s money which they love to throw away. You see if in every institution they control, from school to social services to …..ad infinitium. For all the babbling about recycling, NYC schools do not recyle and toss away millions of tons of paper that could be recycled. Private organizations who have to make do or do without, find innovative ways to get what they need and raise money—and many of these are fun events that bring in many people from the community to support them. Doing that inspires innovation and helps people develop talents they would have otherwise.

      I just saw something about people near Dover AFB putting up a box in stores near there where people can buy and donate items for our military. Every one of these libs could go to a couple stores and get them to set up something similar for foster kids. They could work with the families and social workers to get a list of specific things needed and wanted. Many many people would contribute in such a situation, when they can do it easily and don’t have to figure out what to get or how to get it to the right people.

      But setting that up would be work, and more productive than just villifying other people.

      Haven’t seen one yet that actually went down and contributed. You are correct, the voucher was in addition to, not the sole source on money for clothes.

      • Dakotahgeo

        Tasha22……put a cork in it!!!

  • Anonymous

    Thats freedom! F**k you! You stupid, racist, selfish tea baggers!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XSIR5LMXLJUIJPMWFQMVORIOBA Dwyndle Lee

    The real issue is: “Where is the money going that the good legislator thinks he will be saving?” The bicameral Republican party now consists of the sadistic rich and the masochistic middle class who blindly follow them, with a warmed-over Hooverian trickle-down tax break to the rich as the hidden theory-behind-the-theory of “deprivation as good for the soul.” Foster children’s clothing choices should not be limited by dictata that make starlets’ glam rags affordable.

  • Anonymous

    1. No one is saying that Foster Kids cannot have new cloths. If the foster parents want to buy them new clothes then the foster parents does not get reimbursed for the new cloths.
    2. (SOME not saying ALL) Foster parents are doing foster care for the money. ( In it for the money) They buy the kids second hand clothes anyway, then ask the state for reimbursement for NEW clothes. I.E. A 4 dollars shirt or dress at the Salvation Army and ask the STATE to pay the retail price of 35 dollars price from a Big Box store.
    3. (SOME not saying ALL) Foster parents would not care if the state reimbursed them or not for either new or old cloths. They will love the Foster kids anyway like their own.
    4. (SOME not saying ALL) Foster parents do not deserve to be foster parents. If they do not care for the children the STATE (whom By The Way pays for that service) placed in their care.
    This is just weeding out the BAD foster Parents (NUFF Said)

    • http://twitter.com/ArmedPropaganda A.P. Da Bess

      You can’t spell clothes. Conversation over.

      • Dakotahgeo

        A.P., she did type “clothes” correctly the second time. Ever hear of typos? Mistakes? Dimwit!

  • Anonymous

    I’m a parent to two foster children, and I buy them nice clothes, at the mall, or places like Marshalls, Ross, and TJ Max. Thrift stores sell for as much or sometimes even more than regular stores. In the mall there is sales, and great deals on a daily basis. This lawmaker is an ass clown, these kids already have a stigma, don’t make them defend there poverty. As many of you know school can be a rough place for a kid, not to mention a kid with used faded, and oversized second hand clothing that god knows who wore prior.

    • Anonymous

      Great I’m Happy that you shop at the Malls for the kids, Just don’t complain about not getting enough allowance from the STATE for paying the SALE prices on clothing at the MALL.
      In reply to this “not to mention a kid with used faded, and oversized second hand clothing” See! Now just answer me this. Now just why would you buy the above said items from a “thrift shop” in the first place? Wait a couple of days and there might not be “Faded, Oversized second hand cloths that you “NEED” to buy. As for another part of your comment. Have you looked and seen what kids are wearing to at schools these days? HUMM seems like their wearing “used faded, and oversized second hand clothing” and paying a good pricde for them too. 135 dollars for a pair of jeans with torn knees and “plumbers b–t”. “Mom got them at XX XXX I just had to have them.”

      • Anonymous

        I live in Ct, a state that takes care of the kids in there foster care system, so no complaints about money. If you want another mans garbage to be your kids treasure, be my guest. My kids will drive a used car one day, maybe a used bike, even furniture. However there clothes will be new and in meeting the standerds of our community. I hope you never decide to foster, the kids in the system they don’t need sympathy they deserve respect and human dignity.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1832350615 Bev Burris

        Just to let you know most foster children are not that greedy.. I grew up in foster care and I have no use for pants that cost 135 dollars… Most of us grew up poor and had to wear clothes that were from thrift stores, and had holes in the clothes. Youth in care already feel like outcasts from other children. You probably have no idea what horrors some kids in care have gone through. New clothes help them to build up a self-esteem that they need to survive. Im fairly sure 20 dollars for a pair of jeans is reasonable. Dont you judge something before you actually know what really goes on…

  • Anonymous

    People act like foster parents get paid a huge check every month. The price of living is high in the United States. Grocerys, Gas, Mortgage, Clothing, Internet, Cable, Phone, Insurance, and the list goes on. Most states give a very low reimbursement (exp. the entire God loving south), as were the North East ultra bleeding hearts reimburse the families on a fair scale. If taking the life of a human being and being responsible for there success or failure was an easy job, states wouldn’t be so desperate for foster and adoptive parents.

  • Anonymous

    To be honest to the person that has a comment about my post, I respect your position. I just dont agree with it, I never once complained about the prices, the ass clown rep in Michigan is complaining. And just so your up on the times the kids are starting to wear there clothing tight. The new trends are more 80′s themed at this time so no oversized clothing is not in style. Secondly I know about hand me downs, I grew up poor and my clothing was hand me downs. I spent more time in the office, then in class cause I was to busy defending being poor all the time. I am happy and proud to buy my foster kids good quality merchandise so they can worry about actual school work rather than dealing with some punk kid who preys on the weak and poor.

  • http://profiles.google.com/rodbender Rod Bender

    Before I even got to where it said this douche was a republican, I knew he had to be. I shop at thrift stores for clothes at times, but not for underwear and socks. But orphans deserve less from the republican standpoint. I’m surprised this jerk doesn’t try to kill them off so we don’t have to pay anything at all to help them. Because we all know, yes we ALL know, republicans HATE poor people. Don’t even try to deny it.

  • Gary Day

    What shall be the punishment for foster parents who purchase new clothing for the children? Is it ok for welfare children to buy new clothing and give it to foster children? Do you know what a foster child is and how it is different from a welfare child?

  • Anonymous

    Why don’t we cut this idiot’s salary instead? Then he can go back to having nothing new…Jerk. I was a foster child. The few hundred dollars per year clothing allowance was the only thing we ever got besides food and shelter. He’s not talking about cutting the money, only restricting where foster kids can buy their clothes. This will NOT balance the state’s budget. Lest we forget…the majority of prison inmates were once foster children. Do we really want to further disenfranchise them?

    • Anonymous

      How long ago was that? Even working, i’ve never been able to spend a few hundred dolars a year on clothes.

      Where is your source for the statement that the majority of prison inmantes were foster children? Does that apply to your state only or to others?

      No one is suggesting that the budget will be balanced and note, they’re not even cutting the amount of the voucher, which is in addition to money the foster parents receive. The idea has been abandoned for a better one — the point being to enable people to get more for the same amount of money.

  • http://www.merchantloans.com Business Loans

    That is one of the most stupid ideas I have heard. Foster children are already having problems then lets make them feel less worthy by making all of their clothes come from thrift stores. I hope that is where he and his family shop for their clothes.

  • Anonymous

    First off, these are foster kids. That means they have already been taken away from their ne’er-do-well parents. The foster parents I’ve met deserve sainthood. It’s the foster parents who spend the money, not the kids. I assure you that FPs pinch every penny until it screams.
    Caswell doesn’t even say there is a problem! Do 20% of foster families shop at Saks? lol. I’m sure that some one, some time, that was in a foster family bought some thing from Saks. But 99.99999% of the time they are trying to figure out how to afford food rather than a Luis Vuitton bags.
    So, there’s no evidence of any problem, no evidence that anyone is cheating the system, so why do this?
    The only reason I can think of is to rub the kids noses in their predicament. He’s a bully.

    • Gary Day

      I guess it depends on how warped you think the guy really is. It doesnt exactly take a genius to figure out that some of those used clothes are going to have bed bugs in them. Bed bugs would spread profusely in a poor foster child setting. They are extremely expensive to eradicate. Anyone sponsoring a bill should be presumed to have put at least enough research into it to know that. So I think this guys warped end game is somewhere in that arena.

  • http://twitter.com/ArmedPropaganda A.P. Da Bess

    I’m trying to figure out why the state is even involved with clothing children in the first place. If the foster parents get money, isn’t THAT what’s supposed to be clothing the kids? I know vouchers and extra funds come in to play on some rare occasions, but it isn’t often enough that it should be hurting or helping the state’s budget. This is just another case of politicians blaming the poor and calling them greedy for wanting the same thing others have.

    • Anonymous

      What is it called when you want what others have? Covetousness, envy…,that is not a justification for forcing someone else to pay for it. Anyone who is concerned should be writing a check right now to the local organizations to provide for the kids–and another next month and the month after. End of story. Someone actually gets to benefit and you prove that you really do care enough to do what needs to be done.

      Even in that brief article no where does it say anyone called anyone else greedy. We’d all like to have a lot of things and many of us work far too much — to pay for other people’s stuff. Some of us would like the vacations bo takes every other week and the multiple hairdressers and makeup artists, and assistants that Michelle has, but we will never have because there are too many taxes on everything, especially if you life in a blue state.

      Some of us cannot afford to adopt because the taxes are so high, some of us pay three or four income taxes and do without things we are providing for other people.

      The problem is, every one of you can contribute directly to local foster organizations and local foster families. Adopt one and make a contribution every month. That actually gets the money to the person you claim to care about.

    • http://www.facebook.com/samantha.corkery Samantha Devereux Corkery

      These children are in state’s custody, So the state is “in effect” the child’s parent. The monthly reimbursement for foster parents ($372) has to cover everything for the child except medical.

      Kids that come into care usually have a backpack & the clothes on their back. They are considered emergency placement & often move onto whatever level of care they need within 3-30 days. It’s pretty presumptuous to think a foster family can afford to buy a complete wardrobe, school supplies, toiletries, ect for a child that could be staying only 3 days….that equals a reimbursement of $66 in my state & also has to include room, board, transport & actual fun kid stuff.

  • Anonymous

    Time to start recalling more than just the governor……..

  • http://orsotheysay.mp/ or so they say

    So do you think his pastor over Wheatland Congregational Church is keen on Casswell’s idea or finds him as much as an embarrassment to Christianity as most of us here seem to?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581794391 Walt Bakes

    Here’s a suggestion: have the state follow suit with their purchasing.

    1. Only buy used cars for police and state vehicles.
    2. Have the cops buy second-hand uniforms — I’m sure NYC has quite a good used uniform selection.
    3. Have the state only purchase used office furniture.
    4. Buy only used computers.
    5. Have state politicians travel by Trailways or Greyhound.

    You get the idea. If hand-me-downs work for one part of government, why not every part of government?

    • http://dbcooper.livejournal.com P.F. Bruns

      Drat. I didn’t see your comment before posting my suggestion. Good call, though!

    • Anonymous

      Well, many of our politicians have already jumped the gun…with second-hand spouses! I like your idea of officials using second hand items and buses and trains!

  • Anonymous

    Hey guys look:

    Caswell backpedals on secondhand clothing issue

    Article is in the americanmessenger (can connect on this site)!

  • Anonymous

    I wonder if he would like each of these children to wear a symbol on the clothing marking them as a foster child or that they are poor. Reminds me of the Jews in Germany wearing a “Star of David” in the 1930s so you could tell who is Jewish. Remember where that led! Get the gas chambers ready!!!….

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1051704114 Liz Dorsey

    Typical government micro-management, the foster parents manage to clothe themselves, I am sure they can clothe the kids. Just cut the budget, man up and say you are sorry there isn’t any more money. Give the foster parents MORE flexibility instead of less. When was the last time you bought clothes for a child anyway. Idiot.

  • http://dbcooper.livejournal.com P.F. Bruns

    Hey, since Sen. Casswell takes public money, clearly he won’t mind going back to secondhand clothes. Someone get this man’s wardrobe to a thrift store stat!

  • http://www.facebook.com/kevin.m.cline Kevin Cline

    as a former foster child who spent from age 6 to 17 in the foster care system in washington state i can unequivocally state that this senator never spent a day in foster care so he can take his “pull your selfs up by your boot straps, i lived a hard scrabble life so u must too” baloney and shove it up his derriere.

    The deck really is stacked against kids in foster care and often times the clothing vouchers you get to get new clothes is the only bright spot in an other wise bleak existence and when i say bleak existence, I really mean that in the strongest sense because there isnt much else to look forward.

    so i guess if this senator figures foster kids dont deserve better or can make do with less than i deduce that we can all make do with one less horses arse politician.

    republicans see issues of social services and welfare in black and white money first terms and sadly many dont see the ramifications of nit picking smaller budget line items like clothing vouchers for new clothes. Something like this if it gains traction is really going to sting the already fragile phyche of foster kids so i will frame this in terms of law and order and dollars and SENSE which seems to get the attention of the average law and order republican: statistics show that a large portion of foster kids leave the system unprepared and many end up turning to crime and drug use to get by. What makes SENSE is to do what we can to make life as easy as possible for these kids and give them the best chance to succeed. i think we owe them that. if we do our best and do better to prepare these kids, then maybe they wont break into your multi million dollar homes to make a get away with your prada and gucci…

    kevin, the former foster kid from washington state.

    • Anonymous

      Thank you for turning this back to the real issue of foster children and their simple needs to have a spot of sunshine in their already dreary days. My heart goes out to you, and I am so sorry you had to experience such pain.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bob-Newman/100000474483812 Bob Newman

    What a pathetic excuse for a human being is Casswell.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bob-Newman/100000474483812 Bob Newman

    Casswell is one sorry excuse for a human being!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=760559073 Melanie Mausi Stevens Keezheek

    That is B.S., just like him he needs to be removed, and now.. he is a bully,selfish bigot, it is not the childrens fault they are were they are, and it is not thier fualt the state is were it is, HOW ABOUT HE CUTS HIS PAY AND BENIFITS TO MINIMUM WAGE …..That will help the states bill.

  • Anonymous

    I cannot believe the callous stupidity of this man. We have shopped at good will by choice, but I would NEVER EVER EVER tell a foster child they are not good enough for new clothes… or new shoes! Are they supposed to get used bras and underwear? How demeaning can he be! I am the parent of 4 adopted little girls. They have been in orphanages and the U.S. Foster Care system. I PROMISE YOU this kind of legislation would be so bad/sad for the children in Michigan.
    What a bully, jerk!

  • Anonymous

    I am going to end my input with what I originally wrote 4 days ago. I have concluded there are wonderful people out there who care deeply for children, and a few who think they are money pits, which disturbs me..but I think we are all experiencing hard times, and are trying to figure out how to make it through all this. I firmly believe everyone needs to pay taxes, and the bigger you are (i.e. corporation), the accepted norm should be the more taxes you pay. When I earn more I expect that I will have increased taxes. Large companies will not falter when they start paying their taxes, it is just the most fair, and frankly most law abiding thing to do. Not any one group should be burdened, and not any one person should be expected to constantly work 1, 2 sometimes 3 jobs to make up for what the larger companies are not paying.

    My original posting as follows:

    ‘Its funny but what the current economic situation didn’t do to make us feel like we are re-visiting the Great Depression this Governor is hell bent to take up the slack if not by dehumanizing entire townships then by demoralizing children.
    Starving kids, outfitting them in other peoples discards, taking away their support for programs, whats next, newspapers in their shoes for warmth ?
    I am all for the concept of used clothing as a resource of recycling in its greatest form, but I am adult, not a child placed in foster care because their parents have already demoralized and dehumanized them enough to have lost their parental rights. Children, by the time they have been placed in the state care system have already been abused, neglected, tossed off, and forgotten. I raised several foster kids and their stories and simple needs still make me cry. A new toy was a revelation, new shoes a joy. And that bastard would strip even those things from these innocent kids!!!!
    This man has overthrown your state, installed a dictatorship in one of your towns, clearly plans on taking more cities/towns over bit by bit, etc. Isn’t there some way to get the US Attorney General in there for the apparent racketeering going on? Each one of these crazy Republican Governors should be tried for treason against the United States for eliminating the rights of the people, upturning democracy , and setting up their own private Syria and Libya.
    I am from Oregon and have been inspired by the demonstrations and outrage you citizens from Michigan have displayed. Thank you for showing us all across the nation there remains kind, compassionate fighters out there. Thank you. The novel/movie ‘The Hand Maids Tale’, by Margaret Atwood is getting eerily close to these current times. ‘

    Thank you for all the insights, and wishing you all the best.

  • http://profiles.google.com/iheal.blog Elhonna Amakiir

    Just set a standard price based on the price of clothing found at thrift stores and let them have it. They should be allowed to budget it themselves, with the help of adults. I don’t know why we have to decide where they spend it. If they want to blow all their money on one pair of pants, it should be their choice. If they are smart, they will go to thrift stores and KMart/Target for things the thrift stores don’t carry. I don’t even think it has to be a moral argument, things like shoes and underwear are hard to find at thrift stores – they need to have the option to go elsewhere. Just keep it based on logic and we can ignore the stupid political mouth breathers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/patty.macdonell Patty MacDonell

    I don’t think the point here is to take anything away from foster children that they actually have. What Caswell is doing here is political. By saying this nonsense out loud he is crafting a fantasy in which foster children are guilty of stealing something from taxpayers that they do not need. It’s the same as politicians who want to force people receiving unemployment benefits to take drug tests. It isn’t that there are rampant drug problems among the recently unemployed. Nor would such programs save money. The purpose of such suggestions are to create this idea that the poor and underprivileged are criminal or want to take from the rest of us what they do not need.

    Keep in mind, politicians are doing this in an economy where many are not getting what they actually need. Politicians are adept at encouraging the public to blame the victims rather than the politicians themselves as well as the people on Wall Street who got us into this mess.

    • Anonymous

      If your getting asistants from the state in the form of “bridge card” I feel you should be drug tested, not if your getting unemployment.  Your right about the political stance.  everything is based on politics.  Instead of decreasing government, they decrease the amount going to schools per student.  The lotto money was supposed to go to the schools.  This was put on the ballot and we all voted for it because it was supposed to go to the schools.  Instead it went into the general fund where any department failing can draw from it.  We should demand the lotto money go to the schools where it was intended from the beginning to go.

  • http://www.facebook.com/patty.macdonell Patty MacDonell

    I don’t think the point here is to take anything away from foster children that they actually have. What Caswell is doing here is political. By saying this nonsense out loud he is crafting a fantasy in which foster children are guilty of stealing something from taxpayers that they do not need. It’s the same as politicians who want to force people receiving unemployment benefits to take drug tests. It isn’t that there are rampant drug problems among the recently unemployed. Nor would such programs save money. The purpose of such suggestions are to create this idea that the poor and underprivileged are criminal or want to take from the rest of us what they do not need.

    Keep in mind, politicians are doing this in an economy where many are not getting what they actually need. Politicians are adept at encouraging the public to blame the victims rather than the politicians themselves as well as the people on Wall Street who got us into this mess.

  • Anonymous

    So what is wrong with getting clothes from thrift stores?  The Salvation Army store in Ann Arbor is one of the best ones I have ever been to.  Who cares where you get your clothes $20.00 in Salvation army would clothe you for school with a months worth of clothes compared to a department store where a pair of jeans would cost you that much.  Wish I would have had a thrift store when I was a kid.  I got hand-me-downs from a cousin that I had to make do. Pride goith before a fall.  As fast as I grow out of clothes I can buy more and take back what don’t fit anymore. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/julian.d.wright Julian David Wright

    I have to add i came from a single parent family of 4 brothers and we had difficulty in affording to buy new clothing.With us all being Middle aged adults with children ourselves we all agreed  that we all as a teenager had psychological issues about turning up for school knowing you look poor.Surely clothing is manufactured and retailed at such a low cost these days kids should have a right to be clothed in new.I will add i do buy vintage second hand used clothing but that is by choice not by force.

  • http://twitter.com/gazzettadello maik lellos