How should welfare be handled, other than just handing out money, food stamps, g

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   LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years ago

   How should welfare be handled, other than just handing out money, food stamps, gifts, homes, etc?
   
   I work in a low income housing complex of over 200 apartments.  People there get the apartments for at least $50, every thing included, up to $1200 in food stamps, up to $800 in allowance, WIC, free phones and everything that they get from Salvation Army and Goodwill.  Why should they just hang around, sleep/smoke/drink/take drugs all day, while someone else is footing the bill?  Most of these people are fully able bodied people, just working the system.  Some of these have been in this system for over 25 years, milking the system. Would any POLITICIAN get involved with this ?

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   lifelovemysteryposted 11 years ago

   I think that keeping people dependent on the government must have a payoff for government but I can't figure out what it is. We need to end life-time welfare benefits.
   It is supposed to be a short-term hand up, not a generational hand out.

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      LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      lifelovemystery, In this housing complex, there is one person that has been in the welfare system for 40 years, with his children and his grandchildren in the same complex.  There is something wrong with this! I would not believe this but I work here

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You said it yourself--200 units, and ONE PERSON's family being the sort of "example" that feeds the media frenzy.    It is not that common.

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   RTalloniposted 11 years ago

   Glad to see someone working in the arena where they see the day-to-day activities speaking up.  The scale and scope of the problem is stunning. 
   
   Local taxpayers should be the ones to keep those who get living expenses paid for accountable for their behavior.   As well, the offices who give the funds away have no real local accountability--their directives come from outside the communities they supposedly serve.  Local taxpayers could serve their own communities by giving the needed oversight far better than the federal government.
   
   Books you might like to read on the topic include:
   
   Never Enough
   A Nation of Takers
   The Dependency Agenda
   Ending Welfare as We Know It
   Transformation of the American Democratic Republic

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      LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Just one of the puzzling things that happens in the complex is why people obtain apartments, then do not live there, but still have addresses there?  fraud? scam? Could someone tell me why?  Tax payers are footing the bill for them NOT living there.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      "Fraudsters" often do not live at the address they give, & never did, & have no right to the property.  It happened to us--a person in another state opened a store account in our name at our address!!! They NEVER lived here--& we don't kn

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      RTalloniposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like that should be investigated.  I just read of how the DHHS inspector general is investigating why very young children in the medicaid system have extremely high rates of antipsychotic drugs prescribed to them. Much more could be probed...

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   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   "Low income housing complexes" draw these type of people; therefore, you're going to see a disproportionate number of people "working the system."
   
   Unfortunately, it is not that simple or clear cut.  In point of fact, it has been shown in many studies (much to the annoyance and dismay of the right-wing politicians) that such are in the small minority.  The majority of people on food stamps are families with children who simply cannot make it on the salaries for the work they can find.  WalMart employees are a notorious example--they are paid such low wages that they cannot support their families, and a high percentage of them are also on some form of public assistance.  This is not "gaming the system;"  it's just trying to survive.
   
   Likewise, many food stamp recipients are senior citizens whose retirement and social security proved inadequate after numerous hits from inflation and the economic crash.  Many of them lost their savings in the stock swindles.  My husband and I retired with nearly a million bucks--after his health went south, and while he tried to get his disability approved (it took THREE YEARS!!), our money all went to health care premiums, which kept going up every year until it was over $500/month.
   So yes, we are now dependent upon his disability, my social security (drawn against his, as I did not have enough "quarters" in, having been the last of the generation of 'stay-at-home-moms.')  So, yes, we get Medicare, state medical assistance (Medi-Cal--California's program), and a small stipend of food stamps. 
   We barely survive.  YOU try living on $1400 a month, with only $58 bucks in food stamps, and then see if you think you're a 'welfare queen.'  It is NOT easy street.
   
   In my opinion, the REAL welfare queens are the politicians themselves, whose salaries are paid for by "we the people," and who instead serve their own political agendas to see that they remain in office, where they pander to giant corporations who fill the legislator's pockets with multi-million dollar "donations"  (translation--bribes) to be sure that laws are passed to benefit corporations instead of the populace at large.
   
   The 'low income housing' does draw undesirable elements, which is why we fought with city hall to keep just such a complex from being built across the street from us.   But again, you must remember, you are seeing a skewed picture, and that is not truly representative of folks receiving aid.  Believe me, if we could make it without, we'd rather do so!

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      Justsilvieposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      So well said. I think we often forget the real picture because people only hear about the abuses from Media Scumbags and politicians who want to make you believe "they are just like us".

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   Justsilvieposted 11 years ago

   Low income housing projects are the problem that everything else feeds off.  It is segregation of the worst kind because it brings together feeling of hopelessness and despair, draws a criminal element because poverty promotes crime and gives a horrible example to a growing child so they wind following in the parents footsteps. Chances are if you are the kid of a Doctor you may have all the opportunities to become a doctor … A kid of a Lifetime Welfare Recipient sees the same opportunities of following in a parent’s footstep if no one intervenes.
   
   We can all get angry and put on our “off to work I go someone on welfare needs me” T-shirt or start looking for real solutions
   
   A large portion of Welfare recipients are children unless we as a people make sure all children are given an opportunity to improve their life nothing will change.

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      LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Truthfully, the government pays more for more children, thus more children are being produced in the welfare system. Why reward welfare people for being a tax burden by paying them to have more welfare children?

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      Lee Teaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This line of thinking is just all wrong.  Nobody's having kids for a paycheck.  A welfare life is not a reward.  If you want to alleviate the tax burden, quit funding pre-emptive wars.  We are all innocent, just trying to make it.  Quit hating.

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   taburkettposted 11 years ago

   Welfare slavery has been around for more than 50 years.  It began as a statutory support program to elevate individuals and families from street living to comfortable environments where they could strive to gain a better position in life.  When run by the local politicians, it soon expanded into concentrated domains where lackluster existence became the norm.  Through each generation, this lackluster environment exploded with further welfare slavery and spread into violent atmosphere where gangland style society flourishes.
   Perpetual drug dependency begins with each generation bearing children who are drug dependent when born.  This demonic structure then leads to further degradation of the lackluster environment through despondent propensity enflamed by further drug use.  Within the psychedelic atmosphere each pandering individual learns to cope as a welfare slave driven by a society of complacent leaders.
   Much like a grandparent spoiling their grandchild, the government has taken a sidestep approach to the needs of these individuals.  Many politicians would rather just pay more and keep the welfare slaves huddled in their ghetto clans rather than fix the problem.
   The government leadership would rather build more welfare slave units than establish a positive educational system that would eliminate these boundaries.  The sour society continues to thrash about in welfare save assemblies rather than confront the able-bodied with a work requirement.
   The latest venture by politicians is to drive divisive propaganda on the air waves proclaiming a fairness doctrine that will only drive more individuals and families into the welfare slavery roles.  What we need is a program sponsoring aspirations not exasperations.  What we need is individual accountability for themselves and their offspring.
   What we do not need is more ghettos where the politicians banter their fame while spreading unchartered blame.  The gaming will only stop when the corrupting politicians are replaced with someone who will install a WFW (work-for-wage) welfare program.  When they earn it, then they deserve it.

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      LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Another idea is to test the welfare people for drugs.  If they are positive, then they are kicked off the assistance program.  With about 57% of the people in this state receiving entitlements, politicians will not touch this or assistance programs

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      There was a recent news item about out a state that had done this--and they wasted a ton of money on these drug tests...and found less than two dozen users among all the recipients...It's not he poorest doing the most drug usage--drugs cost too much!

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      LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      In the complex that I work at, I could be drug tested positive by just entering the apartments, breathing this stuff!!!  Believe me, there are more than half the people doing drugs at this complex !!!  The drug problem is worse than people know !

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   Lee Teaposted 11 years ago

   Can they find work? Can they get to work? Can you find something for them all to do there in the complex that would pay them a living wage?  Might be a start.
   
   I think needing money for survival is the main issue at hand.  We need to be able to feed ourselves, clothe ourselves and have suitable shelter without laws preventing us from doing otherwise.  Can't have chickens and goats in the city.  Can't hunt enough to feed a family for a year.  Can't catch enough untainted fish from the lake to eat it healthily.  Can't build without a permit.  We don't need money or handouts, we need land.  And there's more of that than we're led to believe - take a drive through the American west.  But I suspect most of that has been bought up by corporations, so we need to pay them for the crappy food they provide.  Breaking up the monopoly our huge corporations have on our land and redistributing it to the people would allow us to truly provide a living, or die if we can't.  Now that's fair system everyone, poor or wealthy, would have an equal chance to succeed at. Game on.
   
   A ghetto apartment, food stamps for crummy food, Goodwill clothes and a cell phone don't make a desirable, quality life.  How can you make their situation out as one to be envied and despise these people in the same breath? Want to truly help these people? Start a community garden for the apartment complex.  And if you're really worried about who's footing the bill to feed the hungry in our country, think about who's footing the bill to bomb other countries - killing innocent civilian men, women, and children - and where your money is really going.  You're not feeding the hungry, you're feeding the war machine.  The piddly amount of our tax dollars that truly go towards welfare is just a scapegoat.
   
   How should welfare be handled? Let food stamps buy hunting and fishing licenses. It'd be a step in the right direction towards reinstating quality living in America.  And stop the nursing homes from taking each family's legacy - homes, property, and every last cent - for enrolling an elderly in their care.  Our ability to even be able to care for ourselves on our own is intentionally becoming impossible.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Well said!  Stop feeding the war machine!  "Food" stamps should also be amended to be able to purchase personal hygiene necessities, and the use of food stamps to purchase junk food--candy, chips, cake, etc. should be eliminated.

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      Lee Teaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Nice touch. Good point - food stamps should be alloted to the purchase of healthy food, if they gave a damn about the people eating it.  I do like that they can be used at many farmer's markets. That's a win/win to me.

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      LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My thoughts on this, is to supply work for money.  HUH? Novel Idea!!  Other countries are processing garbage, containing usable metals, plastics, paper, cardboard and other materials for usable products.  Why can't the government provide work ?

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      Lee Teaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You want them to stop handing out food stamps and start handing out jobs.  I want to cut our dependency on them for survival altogether.  The gov't is not our life source.  They should only assure that what we need to live is untainted and obtainable

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      LAURENS WRIGHTposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My comment on processing garbage is a money making process, not a hand-me money.  There are millions of tons of garbage produced each day, which, when separated, can produce a sizable profit. Precious metals, paper, cardboard and plastics can be sold

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      Lee Teaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not a bad idea, sounds like a business opportunity.  Hop on it!  Not the government's job to make jobs, but as it should be their place to make sure we have enough untainted resources to survive, waste management should be up to them, and improved.

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