The Great Welfare Empire Conspiracy - Page 04

The Government Plan to "Remove the Game from the Marketplace"

APWA first sent its plan to ban the welfare game on November 19th, 1980 to the welfare "CEO's of states" [their term] in the form of an "action alert," then to all members of the APWA, about 10,000 in number, including all state and local welfare agencies from the Virgin Islands to Alaska and from Maine to Hawaii, in its December, 1980 newsletter, Washington Report. This is what it said:

An Open Letter to All APWA Members from Executive Director Edward T. Weaver

I am writing this letter to alert you to a new board game entitled, "Public Assistance-Why Bother Working for a Living?" This game is described in the accompanying article.

I agree with Secretary Harris, the NAACP, and the National Organization for Women that the game is callous, racist, sexist, and a "vicious brand of stereotyping." We, who are part of the reality of public welfare, understand the myths that surround the work we do and the people we serve. This game, however, plays out the basest forms of this mythology; we must not let it go unchallenged. I encourage you, as concerned APWA members, to take the following course of action:

1. Do an informal survey to see if the game is being sold in your area. If it is not, keep a watchful eye and initiate the actions in No. 2 below if it appears. You may be able to join with others to contact store owners/managers to discourage buying.

2. If the game is available in your area:
a. Don't buy it yourself. Let your friends know that it is not a "cute" holiday gift.
b. Spread the word to other interested groups (welfare rights advocates, civil rights groups, and women's groups).
c. Either alone or in combination with the groups identified in "b" contact the store owner manager and/or buyer to explain why the game is offensive and should not be carried.
d. Keep us informed of your efforts

As executive director of the American Public Welfare Association, I feel an obligation to you and to the mission we commonly serve to alert you to the "Public Assistance" game and to suggest the course of action I have outlined. If there are any questions that I, or APWA staff, can answer for you or information that we can share, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We at APWA headquarters will be doing what we can, in conjunction with our Washington colleagues, to remove the game from the marketplace.

It was a brilliant, government-directed, publicly-financed plan, utilizing all of the intimidating power of the political left. In practice, the plan was designed to go like this: first, the local welfare empire official calls or writes to the store president or owner and expresses "concern" that the game just might not be in good taste or in the best interests of poor people. Next, representatives of the NAACP call or drop by unannounced and demand to know how the store can conceivably consider carrying a "racist" game. They threaten the store with a boycott and negative publicity. If the store has not caved in by this time, representatives of NOW pay a visit and demand to know how the store could consider carrying such a "racist" and "sexist" item. They threaten endless phone calls and picketing, and noise in the street at the store entrance.

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