Its ok, so long as the person really can't go out to work, but for those lazy parasites who simply can't be bothered to get up in the morning, or worse still, the ones doing a cash in hand job and still claiming, no way.
How do you feel about people on government assistence?
by free2beme 53 Replies latest jw friends
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sammielee24
How many or what is the real percentage of people at any given time that are on welfare? How many of those are classified as disabled? How many of those are classified as elderly and unable? How many are homeless? I think the rate of able bodied persons actually using the system is far less than people think.
Lets also bear in mind that selfishness is not a character found only in those who use the welfare systems at any level..(selfishness meaning those who think that people holding out their hands for a few hundred bucks a month are selfish)...selfishness exists at all levels above that. Anyone working in finance/budgets at any level can attest to the amount of paper shuffling that goes on when it comes to dollars in any sector. When a government, usually in an election season, makes welfare the nasty vote counter, people rear up demanding that those budgets get cut - make those sloths work for that dollar. All that is not without reason of course however, what do you think happens to the windfall at the top? When an agency can save 21 million dollars by cutting funding to the poorest, that money has to be spent in the department or often it is forfeited back to the coffers and subsequent budget amounts reduced. So the people at the bottom of the list receive less while those at the top receive substantial bonuses and/or new office furniture of thousands of dollars, increased benefits and so on. When you look at those in front of you using the money, just remember that one of them might be paid in one year what one top administration official is receiving in 1 or 2 months. No system is perfect but maybe things like raising the allowable limits on the amount you can earn while receiving assistance might help, retraining, personal finance courses, charitable work and so on might improve the system in some way. I have no answers but I've seen enough to recognize that these are more complex issues than they might appear. Just my HO. sammieswife.
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Virgogirl
There is a big problem with meth in my city, and you see methheads roaming the streets. Panhandlers harass tourists and shoppers downtown for money, and hold up signs asking for donations to buy beer. The children of these people suffer, and probably are used to qualify for welfare. Those are the high visibility people. I imagine there are many others who deserve help and go about their lives quietly and unseen. I remember as a kid, some of the studies in the projects used to give away extra blocks of "welfare cheese" or sacks of beans or rice to friends at the Hall. This was dishonest, in my opinion. It burns me as a working adult today to see the welfare moms crank out a baby every year, like clockwork, and their healthcare, diapers. formula, etc. comes out of working American's paychecks. Those are the ones who know better, but are too lazy to take responsibility for their own lives. SOme of them come to the Post Office lobby cursing and ranting if their check isn't delivered on time. The window clerk, who may be working a 12 hour day, has to take abuse from these people, who sometimes come in drunk or high.Like I said, these are the ones we see.... many more do their best to take pride in themselves and pull themselves up. Alright, I'm done ranting!
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sammielee24
Good point Virgo..I knew a shop once that had orders on hold for the first of each month - cartons of cigarettes. The routine was - check + taxi + beer store + smokes and then back home, but I must say for every person that used their funds that way, there were probably another 50 who did not. I knew one woman in my sisters apartment building who was recieving about 1200.00 a month for welfare and lived in a subsidized building so she paid about 200.00 for rent. Her boyfriend lived there and her ex was over there a lot - she bragged about how much money she had. Then there was another woman in the same place but who had no boyfriend, no extra money coming in but who went out and got a student loan, spent 2 years back in school and is now self supporting. I don't know what the answer is. We seem to have lost common sense somewhere along the line sometimes. What is the answer?
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LDH
Children live in families which receive social assistance, and in 1998 37.1% of social assistance recipients were children. http://www.ccsd.ca/factsheets/sadis98.htm
I will read the rest of this thread later, I just had to comment on this one. I believe it is true. However, in our congregation was a 'marginal' JW who BOUGHT the food stamps for 50 cents on the dollar on the street.
YEP you heard it right. Women would get $500 a month in food stamps and turn around and sell it to him for $250. They needed their drinking and smoking money, don't cha know? In exchange, he was feeding his family for 50% of a normal food budget, and he had no shame.
It's always the kids that get screwed!
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John Doe
Don't think recipients have a monopoly on lying. The average government wellfare worker is trained to misrepresent the truth from the get go. The system is geared to where nearly the only ones who get assistence are dishonest or willing to bitch and complain. It's a broken program all the way around. The nice applicants are turned away.
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Virgogirl
Some of the ones we get at the Post Office who are frantic to get hold of their check are desperate to get to their dealer. When I was a mail carrier, back when we used to deliver welfare checks, the carriers dreaded "check day" on the routes in bad neighborhoods. They would be gathered on the sidewalk waiting for the carrier, who is not allowed to pass out mail on the street, but must deliver it as addressed. It could get ugly! I had a strung out woman crying and cursing and she threw herself across the hood of my truck, which slopes, so she slid off onto the street. I had to drive like hell to another street to get away from her. She then went down to the Post Office and made a huge scene in the lobby. I was later told by the clerks, that she repeated the same routine every month. It's a shame many of them spend the money on booze, drugs and cigarettes, and make those honest ones in genuine need take the looks and comments, when working people sometimes paint all folks on assistance with the same brush.
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walkaway
sorry mbut national minumum wage is EUR 8 and those that are making just the minimum wage don't pay any taxes+council housing etc. there is no excuse for unemployment here. that is unless you are a carer etc.The fact is that we have to import another 150000 eastern european workers for the labour force this year to keep the economy growing as it is. The service industry is ever growing here (have you walked down some streets in Dublin or Cork recently). If you want to work you can. according to the latest figures 4.2 % of the 18-65 are unemployed, this includes all on disability etc.
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sixsixsixtynine
national minumum wage is EUR 8
Interesting. That converts to $9.69 US.
By comparison, the federal (individual states may be higher) minimum wage in the US is $5.15
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avishai
And walkaway? Even those here in the US that make minimum still pay taxes, SS, etc.