The Welfare Issue.......YET AGAIN

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  1. gmwilliams profile image84
    gmwilliamsposted 8 years ago

    http://usercontent1.hubimg.com/11905066.jpg
    The "Great" Society which was instituted in the 1960s led to the current welfare state & the massive socioeconomic malaise associated with it.  Many people on welfare are able-bodied people who CAN but WON'T work.  Also, much of welfare is generational.   There is a suggestion to this:  Dismantle the current welfare system & institute STRINGENT, MANDATORY work fare programs.  If welfare was cut by at least 85%, American society would be functioning much better.   Our tax dollars can go into MORE CONSTRUCTIVE programs which would benefit all of American society, instead of DRAINING it!  Your thoughts?

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    1. Credence2 profile image79
      Credence2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Grace,  a lot of that is just so much rightwing claptrap. The right has an agenda exaggerating Welfare and related social services costs to the economy. I think that you are being taken in by the GOP and its propaganda, I can also say I spend too much money in padding subsidies for the rich and affluent, between the two, who do you think I rather see get help more urgently?

      There is no justification for lazy people but if listen to the GOP debate they are say that taxes are too high and wages are too high. That certainly addresses the problem and they are that problem. There are plenty of people that work and can't make enough to live, so I subsidize the greedy private sector with my taxes to make the difference between living and poverty for these people?

      I have no mercy nor consideration for the GOP or its agenda. They are the bougeoisie and we all know what their fate must be.

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    2. profile image0
      promisemposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I hope we can agree that some people abuse the system and some people need help.

      I do volunteer work with an agency that helps people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and substance abuse.

      Some of them can barely dress themselves.

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      1. gmwilliams profile image84
        gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

        We aren't addressing the physically, emotionally, intellectually, mentally & psychologically challenged people.  It is OBVIOUS that they need assistance.  We are addressing able-bodied, mentally capable people who CAN but WON'T work, instead they maintain that society or the man owes them a decent standard of life w/o effort on their part.

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        1. profile image0
          promisemposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          I'm glad to hear it. In my experience, most people who oppose welfare oppose ALL welfare.

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  2. MrNock profile image69
    MrNockposted 8 years ago

    I am surprised that America has what they call welfare states which, from what I can understand from your thought, is inhabited by a bunch of 'some' lazy people! I believe these able bodied persons live on government hand outs or to put it more appropriately, on the sweat of others ( e.g. Tax Payers). Little wonder, the influx of emigrants from other countries into the US just to take up rejected jobs and pay heavy tax that will sustain the lazy able bodied persons who are not interested in these jobs.

    I live in Nigeria where survival is for the fittest. 'No food for lazy man!' This is a popular adage in my country. There's nothing like welfare here. We have the aged of 80 yrs+ who go to the farm in order to survive and those that are too weak to work, resort to street begging. We are very hard working people living under terrible governments.

    I want to believe that America is like Paradise! Drop any of those lazy ones from the welfare states in my country, they wont last two days! But we're used to it. That's why some of our compatriots who migrated to the west to do menial jobs return home to be millionaires in their rights.

    May God save us all.






    http://usercontent1.hubimg.com/12740892_f1024.jpg

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    1. GA Anderson profile image89
      GA Andersonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      MrNok, for  folks like yourself, America is paradise. And I am glad it is so. In our society security has devolved to the point of "everybody deserves" whatever. We have advanced beyond the need for daily subsistence, and in the process forgotten the personal responsibility needed to advance the individual to a level of personal achievement.

      You life experiences of "survival of the fittest" is the foundation of human evolution, but unfortunately too many progressive folks, so comfortable in their daily security, view the need to do what it takes to "survive" as a passe' issue.

      I can only hope they take the time to look at 3rd world daily life survival  to see if their progressive agenda is realistic.

      GA

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      1. gmwilliams profile image84
        gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

        GA,  the extreme liberals & extreme left in America believe that everything should be free.  They advocate free housing, medical care, food, & other necessities.  They purport that no one should have to pay for these things.  That is why they believe in the welfare state & distribution of income to "eliminate" poverty.  That is why they are vehemently against the wealthy & highly successful.  They contend that no one has the right to be wealthy while others are poor.  They are the ones against "the evils" of capitalism & for "the good" of socialism. 

        The poor in America are the socioeconomic straits that they are because of a passive, fatalistic, & negative mindset.  They have a negative attitude towards success & achievement.  They hate their lives, wanting the good life but are unwilling to take the necessary steps to achieve their goals.  They would rather have others give them the life they feel that they "deserve", responsibility is too onerous for them to consider.   In college, I remember studying all night for an exam which I aced.  My poorer aunt indicated that she could not do that, that was TOO HARD.   My aunt wanted the easy life; she did not believe in exerting any effort to achieve anything socioeconomically.  She hated her impoverishment, her job &.........her life but SIMPLY REFUSED to anything about it.   She lived free & of others for most of her life.   People in America do not have to poor/impoverished/on welfare if they do not want to.   Everything is a CHOICE!

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        1. profile image0
          promisemposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          I have never met anyone who thinks everything should be free. And I have met a lot of people in my life.

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          1. wilderness profile image96
            wildernessposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Never met a single person living off the welfare rolls without working?  You lead a very sheltered life.

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            1. profile image0
              promisemposted 8 years agoin reply to this

              I'm surprised at how much you misread my statement. I didn't say that I haven't met a person on welfare who wasn't working. I said I haven't met anyone who thinks everything should be free.

              And I'm confident my life has been much less sheltered than yours. Otherwise, you wouldn't say such a thing.

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              1. wilderness profile image96
                wildernessposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                I'm confused.  If a person is living off welfare, without contributing anything to the country, aren't they saying that everything should be free?  Housing, food, phones, clothing, utilities, etc.? 

                I guess not a yacht or 747, but everything in their life is free and they continually want more.

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                1. profile image0
                  promisemposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  I think you would see things differently if you visited a local facility that provides day help or permanent help for intellectually and physically disabled people.

                  In some cases, they are confined to a wheelchair, incapable of speaking, simply looking at the ground. Others talk but are not understandable except by trained care givers.

                  They contribute nothing and get everything for free. But they are so disabled that they are barely aware of their surroundings.

                  I have seen plenty of examples of perfectly able people who abuse the system, and it makes me just as mad as anyone else. But there are plenty of others who need help, and a lot of it.

                  Veterans severely wounded in war fit into that category too. My uncle lost most of the use of one arm and one leg in Vietnam.

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                2. Credence2 profile image79
                  Credence2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  But, Wilderness, maybe that person on welfare is trying to find a job, and does not prefer to be on the dole.

                  There are a lot indignities associated with being on these programs, there are more than a few people that would rather work than be at the bottom of everybody's shoe.

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                  1. wilderness profile image96
                    wildernessposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                    Maybe they are.  But it's kind of doubtful in second or third generation women all living their entire life off welfare.  It DOES happen, you know, and not that infrequently however much the left doesn't like to admit it.  (Shades of your post that all right leaning folks exaggerate the other way!)

                    No, there are few indignities associated with the programs, not to people that have spent years on them.  Just indignation that they don't get more - one of my relatives, for example, is incensed that her free phone has no data and she can't surf the web on it while sitting on the couch in front of the TV.  "They should DO something about that!"

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                3. Credence2 profile image79
                  Credence2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  To share an account, my sister was diagnosed as bipolar and was receiving benefits, SSDI and support from the state for a housing subsidy.

                  she lived in a second floor apartment, it happened that there was a sewage backup on the upper floor that spilled into the tub and was soaking the floor and the carpet. When this disaster was brought to the attention of the apartment manager, he basically gave her a mop and provided a wet-vac and told her she had to clean it.

                  That would not have even been spoken about to a tenant that was paying the full rent, without subsidy.

                  The endless standing in lines at the state offices,  the probing and prodding into your personal life in return for a pittance, subsistence as it were in most states.

                  Sis walked away bipolar and all to take a chance with the job market to regain some of her dignity as a human being.

                  Those that are of mindset to catagorizing people on welfare and public assistance as hopeless slugs contribute to the quiet bigotry of low expectations.

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                  1. wilderness profile image96
                    wildernessposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                    But here's the problem with your story; why was she ever on the dole when she was quite capable of supporting herself?  It isn't even called fraud anymore as she followed all the rules!

                    Along the same lines, a lady I knew was on disability - a full ride from SS and getting more than I do as an early retiree.  Nevertheless, she wanted more and was going to back to work...but she had to be real careful not to earn too much or they would start taking away the disability.  Well, if she can earn more (not too disabled to do so) then why in the world are we supporting her for the full ride?

                    Another one - a friend is a veteran and therefore partially disabled to the tune of $800 per month (nearly every vet is disabled - they work very hard to find anything wrong).  She joined the reserves to supplement her full time job and was astounded a year later when her disability was cut because she obviously wasn't too disabled to be in the Navy after all!  So quit the reserves so she could have the same money without working for it. 

                    These things aren't illegal at all, any more than your sister was, but they aren't right.  It isn't reasonable to charge the rest of us because some don't want to work what they can.

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        2. MrNock profile image69
          MrNockposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          Williams
          I can't agree with you more!

          Some blame the authorities when choices they make don't favor them. The system in the USA is sure to breed laziness as it provides the grounds for it. I believe that every body should quit the blame game and work hard and make the best out of life, which is short.

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          1. gmwilliams profile image84
            gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            EXACTLY!

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  3. Michaela Osiecki profile image67
    Michaela Osieckiposted 8 years ago

    Hi there, I just want to add my two cents on this topic. You see, I grew up on welfare....so I know the system pretty well inside and out. Here's the deal:

    Most people on welfare are not getting cash from the government. Welfare refers to a whole host of programs designed to help people get back on their feet or pay for outrageous medical expenses. So you have state and county programs that help people find affordable medical insurance - which typically requires updated paperwork every six months and proof of job situations and bank statements. Same goes for SNAP benefits and food stamps - you get a small amount of money to spend on food based on your income and family size, and in order to even qualify for food stamps you have to work so many hours a week at your job (more than 20 but less than 30)...

    Most people who get welfare are those who suffer from debilitating mental illness and disorders who can't hold down a solid job very well and need help with medical bills for treatments and government assisted housing. Some of them are single moms who were doing just fine until one of the family providers up and leaves, making it hard to make ends meet AND raise kids.

    Very few are drug users or "lazy" people, outside of medical help and food stamps, most types of welfare assistance (like unemployment) are temporary and a one-time only kind of assistance. Once you've taken advantage of it you can't get it again, so this myth about the "Welfare Queen" picking up checks from the government for years is just that, a freaking myth.

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    1. Credence2 profile image79
      Credence2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank You!

      And of whose agenda do you think that it is to continue to spread these exaggerations, distortions and lies about normal people working to survive?

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      1. GA Anderson profile image89
        GA Andersonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

        We have all heard the old adage that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." Could that be the case here? Does the minority that abuses the welfare system represent barometer that the rest of our society judges the whole by?

        I say yes. There is plenty of welfare abuse, but that does not diminish the issue that tax payers see as a problem.

        We are no longer a nation that reveres personal responsibility. We have become a nation of victims. And I put that responsibility firmly on the Leftists that want to promote "equality for all." Bullhockey! If you want equality - work for it!

        GA

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        1. gmwilliams profile image84
          gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          GA, you are of GREAT MIND, +1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!  American society has devolved to a culture of entitlement, victimology, dependency, & rescue/save me.  The American mantra has retrogressed to "what you can do for your country" to "what your country can do for YOU." 

          It is the extreme liberals & extreme leftists who contend that poor people in America are victims of their circumstances & life.  They even go as far to lament that the American poor are oppressed by "the man".  They proclaim that it is not the fault of the poor that they are in their dire socioeconomic condition.  They castigate those people(like me) who point out that many times the American poor have a consciousness, mindset, mentality, philosophy, & psychology which imbue poverty. 

          Yes, it is these same people who deify the American poor as saints, even martyrs because they have to endure "the injustices" of a "greedy" society & culture.  They even demonize the wealthy because in their eyes, the wealthy are "oppressing" & "exploiting" the poor.  They assert that it is the wealthy & even highly successful who are "wrong, bad, ......evil".  They contend that it is the wealthy who is THE PROBLEM in this county, NEVER the poor.   GA, try discussing how the poor are poor because of their negative life choices with them?  It is an exercise in utter futility!

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  4. Credence2 profile image79
    Credence2posted 8 years ago

    Now hear this, let me make this as clear as crystal.

    Grace, now you know that I have never displayed a great deal of sympathy for lazy people in the system.

    GA, did I strike a nerve? Obviously, I did. When I look at your virtual face, I don’t see purple, but crimson red.

    I think that we are talking past each other. My problem is that the GOP in the latest debates seem to indicate that Welfare fraud is a major component of what needs to be corrected to “get the economy back on track’. While the article I provided is from the left leaning Salon publication, I saw enough of the debate to see the rhetoric from the candidates and the direction in which it is leading. It the same old gargle they have been using for years, and let’s face it, their mouthwash still ain’t making it.

    http://www.salon.com/2015/11/11/fact_ch … r_economy/


    When you look at the components of welfare, who receives it and get past the racist and class bias of Reagan’s ‘Welfare Queen’ analogy, the truth is another story. GA, maybe that is one of the reasons that I don’t consider Reagan to be a hero. I say that the GOP are a bunch of disingenuous liars who exaggerate the magnitude of welfare fraud, while the major entitlements that their constituencies support( Medicare-Social Security) are untouchable. But, of course, the poor have no advocates.

    Large programs are always subject to abuse, it is cost of doing business. What about that corporate welfare and billions wasted by the DOD just in Iraq, for example? I don’t have any obligation to give my money to plutocrats or have it disappear in a desert with no one being held accountable. Being a progressive, I put people and their needs first.

    So, guys do I need to dredge up more? I not disagreeing with what either you, GA, or Grace are saying in principle. I am attacking the GOP and how they present the problem as so terribly earth shattering to defy belief.

    And, yes, GA, it is a ‘clown car’.

    Thank you for your attention...

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    1. GA Anderson profile image89
      GA Andersonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I hope you aren't expecting this "crimson red" face to defend the GOP, or the rhetoric that comes from the debate stage.

      I do think the GOP does it more than the Dems, but both sides are using the debates to tell voters what they think they want to hear, whether it is correct, realistic, or in some cases, even believable.

      I am sure you remember that the sacred cows of Medicare and SS are Dem-originated programs, and neither side will touch them, not just the GOP.

      But... I still say it is the Leftists and Progressives that have fostered what I see as the trend of entitlement expectations and lack of personal responsibility in too many Americans.

      Often it seems that discussions on these topics argue over the nuances of the differences between shades of gray, but a much more clear picture of the point can be discussed when you include the perceptions of someone like MrNock.

      GA

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      1. wilderness profile image96
        wildernessposted 8 years agoin reply to this

        "...both sides are using the debates to tell voters what they think they want to hear"

        Has a single politician said anything at all that wasn't straight from the party line?  Except maybe Trump and his tirades for attention?

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        1. GA Anderson profile image89
          GA Andersonposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          It is their expansion of the party positions that is getting worse.

          GA

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          1. wilderness profile image96
            wildernessposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Well, you're probably right.  I take most of what they say as a group to be a party line, but you're right that some is expansion.

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      2. Credence2 profile image79
        Credence2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

        I hear you, GA

        The only reality in life is that all things are relative, and the fact that the GOP engages in this misdirection more often and frequently makes them worse.

        I understand your position concerning entitlements and lack of personal responsibility as leftist and progressive

        But I blame the culture of increasing inequity, crony capitalism, military largesse and waste as the tendency of the right and conservatives.

        It is just a matter of which of these you find more distasteful.

        That is why roses are red and violets are blue?

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  5. colorfulone profile image77
    colorfuloneposted 8 years ago

    I like reading about the states that are enforcing laws for food stamp recipients to have to work so many hours or attend training for employment.  Of course that is required of only able bodied individuals.  People drop like flies from the food stamp programs because they do not want to do anything to receive the benefits. 

    Then, there are the states that are now requiring drug testing for welfare recipients with life-time bans from the program for those who test dirty. 

    I hope more states will enforce their laws which got ignored during and since the last recession,  and add drug testing requirements.  Its working well for the states that are doing it from what I have read.

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