re: Results coming in from DC’s Strong Families, Strong Future DC Program (2022)

I sometimes wonder if journalists re-read what they write...

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“In what she called a rare moment of self-indulgence, Miller spent $180 ahead of the vacation to get her own hair and nails done,”

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Yet earlier in the article...

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One recipient – Canethia Miller – told The Post that she took the money and spent most of it on a lavish trip to Miami.

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How the writer separated the trip from being another example of Miller's "rare moment of self-indulgence" is either purposeful in creating a certain perception or incredibly ignorant.

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Miller seemed to share a similar sentiment when she told The Post, “A lot of communities in my area don’t know the financial gain of credit, saving for your kids; that’s why we’re broke, that’s why we don’t have nothing to pass down or no house to give down. I’m trying to get to the level where I’m passing something down that really matters, so I can be set and my kids can be set, and they don’t need to push so hard like I’m doing now.” Altogether, Miller saved $50 from the program. “She opened up a savings account, aiming to keep at least $50 in it.

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So is it that she didn't see her decision to spend over half the money on a fricking vacation as a sterling example of "why we're broke" or is it that she now sees it and regrets her trip? The latter would be an excellent point for the article.

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She used the remaining $4,000 or so from the pilot in a matter of months, mostly on bills and a used car,” The Washington Post reported.

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That is the only positive piece from this article. The grand takeaway though is "poor people generally stay poor because they make poor financial decisions," thus just giving them money is not a true remedy to poverty.