Michigan protests hit welfare cuts

‘Resurrection march’ Oct. 6 in Detroit says NO to welfare cutoffs. WW photo: Kris Hamel

On Oct. 4, a federal judge in Detroit ordered the state of Michigan to stop implementing the elimination of welfare to an estimated 40,000 people receiving cash assistance. The Center for Civil Justice in Saginaw, Mich., had filed a lawsuit seeking a restraining order based on violations of due process and improper notification for those about to be cut off. Families were given less than three weeks’ notice that their benefits were ceasing. Judge Paul Borman agreed with the suit and ordered the Department of Human Services to properly notify recipients by mail according to federal rules.

The cutoff of cash assistance went into effect Oct. 1 and will have a devastating impact on 11,162 families or about 40,000 people, two-thirds of whom are children or youth. (Detroit Free Press, Oct. 5) Welfare benefits in the state are now limited to 48 months during a person’s lifetime, a year less than allowed by federal law, because of a bill signed by former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Michigan’s official unemployment rate remained unchanged in September at 11.2 percent.

Protesters continue their presence on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. outside the State of Michigan building in Detroit at weekly “resurrection marches” called by the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization. On Oct. 6, hundreds massed to demand a permanent halt to the cuts, chanting, “Tax the rich, not the poor!” and “No justice, no peace!” A short rally included speakers the Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr., the Rev. Ed Rowe of Central United Methodist Church and Maureen Taylor of MWRO.