Unemployment is down, but why did America set a record 47.8 million on food stamps?

by moshe 70 Replies latest social current

• 

  moshe

  Thanks for the details, wasblind. My deceased former father in law, was raised near Hertford, NC on a farm- back in the 1920-30's. When he retired in 1980 from a refinery job, he went back to the old homestead with 40 acres of woods- the heirs had sold off the farmland. most of the farmers in the area were now black farmers- with big 4wd tractors and hundreds and hundreds of acres of land. Most of the wihite kids all left the farms after WW2 for high pay city jobs. The black farmers and their kids stayed put and they took over the farming of the area. A lot of folks don't know about successful black farming operations. Do you know that before they had refrigerated trucks to ship seafood it was very cheap? He told me his family used to trade a bushel of corn for a bushel of oysters- shucked them out and with their own fresh milk and butter had a poor man's Sunday supper of oyster stew. Moshe loves oyster stew- it's not cheap today, though.

  We had it for our Sunday supper, too, until about 1960 when oysters got too expensive,
• 

  Tater-T

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM
• 

  wasblind

  I didn't know that Moshe

  My grandfather still had a mule until the late sixties or very early seventies around 70-71 I think

  Hey Moshe I sent you a PM on a favorite place of mine
• 

  ruderedhead

  There was an article in the paper about SNAP benefits the other day. The gov't. has relaxed some of the rules people need to qualify for the program, so some who would not have previously been qualified for benefits, now are. It is the only way some people can keep food on the table every day, and is helping some to slowly pull themselves up.
• 

  BizzyBee

  If the job-creators were fulfilling their mandate in proportion to their incentives, we'd have genuinely low unemployment. But they just take the money and run.

  The term "Job-Creators" has become a mockery - a euphemism for "Blood-sucking Greedy Bastards."

  Interesting chart, Tater. Disturbing.
• 

  Deputy Dog

  Unemployment is down? Says who?

  Wages are down. That's a fact.

  The only good thing I see in this mess is, the fed is printing money like crazy to pay China, which is causing their wages to go up as ours go down. In the short term at least, we are starting to manufacture things at home again.
• 

  soontobe

  Unemployment is down, but why did America set a record 47.8 million on food stamps?

  SS disability is bringing the unemployment rate down. Once someone goes on SSDI, they are no longer counted as unemployed. People are far more likely to go on SS disability when they become unemployed than otherwise.

  http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/disability-insurance-americas-124-billion-secret-welfare-program/274302/

  Disability Insurance: America's $124 Billion Secret Welfare Program

  The number of former workers enrolled in the Social Security disability program has more than doubled in the last two decades, and the reasons why have little to do with the health of our workforce.

  

  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-03/disabled-americans-shrink-size-of-u-s-labor-force.html

  Once people get on, they never get off.

  We reformed welfare, so these people are going on disability instead. The states prefer it. They have to fund welfare in part themselves, but disability funding comes from the Federal level. The state doesn't have to pay.

  Furthermore, the reasons given for going on disability have changed radically over the past couple of decades.

  http://apps.npr.org/unfit-for-work/

  

  For a false claim, pain and mental illness is harder to disprove than heart disease and stroke, isn't it?

  Disability recipients are also encouraging their children to not take work or excel in school. There are truly perverse incentives built into the system.

  http://apps.npr.org/unfit-for-work/

  As I got further into this story, I started hearing about another group of people on disability: kids. People in Hale County told me that what you want is a kid who can "pull a check." Many people mentioned this, but I basically ignored it. It seemed like one of those things that maybe happened once or twice, got written up in the paper and became conversational fact among neighbors.

  Then I looked at the numbers. I found that the number of kids on a program called Supplemental Security Income -- a program for children and adults who are both poor and disabled -- is almost seven times larger than it was 30 years ago.

  Jahleel is a kid you can imagine doing very well for himself. He is delayed. But given the right circumstances and support, it's easy to believe that over the course of his schooling Jahleel could catch up.

  Let's imagine that happens. Jahleel starts doing better in school, overcomes some of his disabilities. He doesn't need the disability program anymore. That would seem to be great for everyone, except for one thing: It would threaten his family's livelihood. Jahleel's family primarily survives off the monthly $700 check they get for his disability.[4]

  Jahleel's mom wants him to do well in school. That is absolutely clear. But her livelihood depends on Jahleel struggling in school. This tension only increases as kids get older. One mother told me her teenage son wanted to work, but she didn't want him to get a job because if he did, the family would lose its disability check.

  SS disability is the new Welfare.
• 

  moshe

  For a false claim, pain and mental illness is harder to disprove than heart disease and stroke, isn't it?

  I wonder if forum member Lars is drawing his disability check?

  we hear of stories of parents who have their kids act out fake mental illness, so the family can get a government check- it's not hard to find lawyers who can help coach you into how to get disability- they get you over the hump and jump through the hoops. Some judges are on record as approving over 90% of their applications. BETTER MOVE TO HIS JURISDICTION

  By DAMIAN PALETTA

  HUNTINGTON, W.Va.-Americans seeking Social Security disability benefits will often appeal to one of 1,500 judges who help administer the program, where the odds of winning are slightly better than even. Unless, that is, they come in front of David B. Daugherty.
  The Herald-Dispatch

  

  In the fiscal year that ended in September, the administrative law judge, who sits in the impoverished intersection of West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, decided 1,284 cases and awarded benefits in all but four. For the first six months of fiscal 2011, Mr. Daugherty approved payments in every one of his 729 decisions, according to the Social Security Administration.

  The judge has maintained his near-perfect record despite years of complaints from other judges and staff members. They say he awards benefits too generously and takes cases from other judges without their permission.

  Staffers in the Huntington office say he hears a disproportionate number of cases filed by one area attorney. Mr. Daugherty has been known to hold hearings for as many as 20 of this lawyer's clients spaced 15 minutes apart---

  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704681904576319163605918524.html
• 

  wasblind

  There will always be people who think Social security

  and anything else backed by the govenment is the work of the Devil

  And that we'd be better off if more folks than now could return to the soup kitchens

  and bread lines in full force

  Ahhhhh the 1930's , how some long for the good ol' days
• 

  mrsjones5

  Disability recipients are also encouraging their children to not take work or excel in school. There are truly perverse incentives built into the system.

  SS disability is the new Welfare. Do you know how long it takes on average to finally get SSDI? Three to five years. Do you know if someone is truely sick and cannot work that most who apply eventually go on welfare because they also don't qualify for unemployment? That happened to us. I had to work part time at night so I could take care if my husband and autistic son during the day but eventually all of our savings were exhausted. We had to go on food stamps to feed my kids and welfare to keep a roof over my kids' heads. My husband is on SSDI. He does not encourage our children not to excel in school. If anything he encourages them to do their best. Neither my husband or I want our children to be on government assistance for the rest of their lives. We want better for them. It's is not a career option. I was told recently that my oldest might qualify for SSI or SSDI because he has ADD. Never crossed my mind and I'm sure my son has never thought of it because height one of us think of his ADD as a disability. Now my youngest son with autism, he would qualify but at this time no. I want him to keep improving and hopefully he won't need it when he becomes an adult. My 12 year old son and my 15 year old daughter made honor roll...again!