I started this off yesterday with a link to Mr. Bauer's comments. It seems that link brought a lot of people to the blog, but also brought a lot of anger. I love getting comments and seeing things go above 40, but this is too important a discussion to get off on the wrong foot. What was most interesting was to see many of us on the same side of the political fence argue with such ferocity. I think there are a number of reasons for that. The main reason is that this is an emotional issue because we are all affected by it in some way.
We are essentially talking about poverty. Poverty is an emotional issue by itself. Trace many of our families back far enough and we find poverty. The question is how our individual families dealt with the poverty. Beyond that, we come to the ever important question of how we best help adults break the cycle of dependence without having it affect children. Bauer seemed to suggest starving them. I think he was trying to say they would fend for themselves and learn to pick themselves by their bootstraps. If anyone honestly felt I think they should starve then I should call myself a conservative blogger.
My anger (and there is anger) stems from a couple of things. I have worked very hard for what I have. I've put up with a ton of crap, but I still keep going because I want to provide for my family. My wife does the same. We went without for awhile so she could go back to school. We did this so we could eventually provide a better life for our daughter. Some mention was made of some of the luxuries I afford. I afford them. I worked and saved up for them. They weren't given to me. These facts do not make me unique at all. They make me normal and the day they don't make me normal is the day we are in a lot of trouble.
Most of us exist in the middle ground of welfare. I don't want people to suffer and yet I don't want welfare to be a path to luxury either. Herein lies the problem. The government doesn't pay enough to people for them to live in luxury, but some spend what little they have on luxury items. This makes them and their kids worse off. I am a big believer in statistics and yet I have to say should I believe that or my lying eyes? I see it everyday. I see people that buy those luxury items and yet can't afford to take care of their children or their daily basis. It is one thing to criticize people for the luxury items they buy when they pay all their bills. When those basic needs aren't being met in lieu of luxury items then we have a problem.
This brings us to the fundamental questions of poverty and welfare. First, how do we break people of a dependence on welfare? That was Bauer's question even it was phrased in a very offensive way. This is a question we need to try to answer. As progressives we must always remain vigilant as opponents of poverty. Ultimately, what I want is people to earn their own money so they can live the life they want. When people struggle I want their to be support for them, but I don't want it to be for a lifetime. I want there to be targeted help to get them back on their feet. Maybe that means job training. Maybe that means money for college. Maybe that means money for childcare until they can afford it on their own. Heck, maybe that means another look at the minimum wage.
The second question is how we are able to do this without negatively affecting kids. I think 95 percent of people agree that the kids shouldn't suffer. However, we need to define what suffering is. What it all comes down to is the fact that many of us had to do without certain things when we grew up. Our parents probably did without more than we did when they grew up. A part of the American dream is to provide a better life for our kids than what we had. Somewhere along the way, we forgot a lot of the lessons they knew innately. Primarily, they didn't buy anything until they had the cash to buy it. So, kids shouldn't do without warm clothes, food, and school supplies. However, I'm not sure the Wii or Playstation is a necessary item. Maybe if we do what we can to make sure they get what they need and save for what they want then they will learn to do the same as adults.
Finally, we get to the question of time limits. Should there be any? Most of the people I know are capable of working and choose not to for whatever reason. This is where we need to find out why. Is it a point of them not finding childcare? Is it a point of minimum wage being less than what they are currently getting? Is it a point of lack of education? Is it being too lazy to get off the damn couch? I think all are correct. We need to fix all of these if we can and then empower people to earn their own way.
A few quick points:
The term "pick themselves up by their bootstraps" is a bit misleading. It implies that people have boots. People often use the term while simultaneously advocating for the removal of people's boots. Public assistance only provides a floor, that, if removed, would make it even more difficult for people to "pick themselves up by their bootstrap". You mentioned that you worked hard for everything that you have. But, at some point in time, you had boots. Whether they be good parents, good schools, strong community, or a strong church community, most of us have had a support system which have allowed us prosper.
With regards to luxury items that people buy even if they can't afford it. Awhile back, I read an interesting study which chronicled why some poor people buy items they can't afford while others didn't. It turned out that the difference between the two was that people who bought items they couldn't afford lived in areas of concentrated poverty, so it was easy for them to attempt to "keep up with the Joneses" because they could afford what the Joneses had. Whereas poor people who lived in areas where the poverty was concentrated never attempted to "keep up with the Joneses" because the Joneses were making purchases that were out of their price range.
Now, on to solutions. I think that breaking up areas of concentrated poverty, improving our educational system, and giving businesses incentive to invest in poor areas are the keys to reducing poverty.
1) Whenever we have areas of concentrated poverty, it makes it easy to discriminate against the poor. It's easy to spend less $ on schools, roads, parks, etc. etc. in poor neighborhoods. Poorer people are also easier to exploit. There are also studies which show that kids aspire to be things that are tangible(i.e. what they see in their everyday lives). There are also more job opportunities in middle and upper income neighborhoods.
2)I've been keeping up with a lot of the reform efforts that the administration has been making in terms of education reform and to me it seems like they're long overdue. While I understand that kids from financially disadvantaged backgrounds have greater challenges when it comes to education, that shouldn't be used as an excuse for accepting failing schools. I think that promoting high expectations and accountability, and then rewarding states/districts that make those changes are a step in the right direction.
3)Lastly, people need jobs. Poorer parts of the country receive less investment by businesses. Whether it be through TIRZ's, block grants, or other incentives, we need to have businesses investing in neighborhoods.
well it would make more sense for a healthy economy and healthy america for home ownership to be more accessible. i've never understood how someone like myself could rent a tiny apt over a 12yr period for $700 to $900 and have NOTHING to show for it! i have never been late on my rent in all these years, but also have never been able to afford to save up for a house. why can't borrowers just pick a cheaper house and include the down payment and closing fees in the amortization? do we realize how much slum lord apartment owners are taking off the people who can least afford to be taken advantage of? if a mortgage should run someone about 30 to 35% of income, how is is right that my rent runs 50% or more per month of our fixed income yet i can claim no tax benefit? people have to have some place to live, but so many people in large cities are relegated to "apartmentland" like the one we call home. seems like such a second class citizenry we are perpetuating, and now that the housing bubble has burst it will be years before any more affordable programs will be brought back.
And just as unequivocal is my inability to spell accumulate. Oh well, can't win 'em all.
Clearlake,
Definitely, I believe that...That occurred to me once upon a time. It is a shame.
You know, really the bottom line is that "accummulation of wealth" is what keeps generations of non-poor, well, non-poor. The lack of accummulation results in the generational poor.
What is the history of accummulation of wealth in the United States? It's an unequivocal truth that we can start by looking at 300 years of wealth amassing for mainstream America versus 300 years of slavery for those fingered as "generational dependents".
I had a 5th grade teacher at Vanguard River Oaks Elem, a black woman, very sharp who told us: The reason you see nice vehicles around housing projects or in other poor areas is because the people save and save and save, but if you dont make much money and have a family, it doesnt amount to much. So after saving all you can, and its still not enough to make a down payment on a house, you go and get a car-its human nature to want a reward for sacrificial behavior, its human nature to have SOMETHING nice to show pride in...I still agree that there are those who take advantage...and some who will think this financial strategy/philosophy flawed, but where do you get that knowledge? School will give you basic math skills, but investment, retirement? I guess from family or friends-i dont know because i didnt get any-
Bobo,
Hey, I really like that idea and outcome...
A couple more thoughts about generational poverty:
Because my parents had a house, they were able to become entrepreneurs at an age when most people would be thinking of retirement.
They converted the garage to a mom-and-pop store. Income from this store changed their financial situation for the better. And they had a couple of employees.
Instead of scrimping by on social security, they lived pretty well.
And here's the generational part: at key junctures in the lives of their children, they were able to contribute money that enabled each of their kids to become a home owner.
So it seems to me that the upside of getting people out of poverty is potentially huge.
One other note: neither of my parents graduated from high school, but both spoke mostly grammatical English. They sounded smart. I wonder what role that played in the opportunities provided them.
It would be prudent for the wealthy to remember that without the "poor", THEY would just be middle class.
I know I'm a little late on this discussion but I wanted to add a thought.
I struggle with what my eyes tell me, also. And I fight with might to not accept the apparent evident perception. What is a luxury item? I don't find a twelve pack of beer a luxury, I find it a necessity as any self-respecting Texan male should. Yes, children need milk, baby food, socks, underwear coats...but their parents need TV's, radios, and magazines. I wouldn't let my child starve but I damn sure garranteee you I will not do without my DirecTV. I'll eat ramen noodles (as noted earlier) before my Netflix fades into cyberspace. These are things that working folks AND non-working folks alike view in our culture as necessities.
Or is it just me?
magic, the scope of your situation overwhelms me. I don't know how you do it.
One detail strikes me: the size of your water bill is twice mine and I live in a house with flower beds that I water.
I'm an artist, too, and I'll be at UHD starting in 2011. I hope we meet.
well the $85 is just the tip of the iceberg. when we moved into our apartments there was a program that was basically rent control for people on fixed income and seniors, because HUD subsidized the rent based upon sliding scale annual income. this was in 2005 after katrina and the greedy owners wanted to take advantage of dhap (disaster housing assistance program) yet were unable to discriminate against low income people already living in houston on the HUD waiting list. so the owner went onto the bond program and the $750 rent was capped at $650 and included water. in 2007 the owner dis-enrolled from the bond program in order to sell the property, and the new owner made the crappy property a "market" property meaning whatever they like to charge, or whatever the local area will bear. they decided my 2bd apt, 1000 sq ft was now worth $929 per month, like it or spike it. at the time i had a hospital bed in the living room and my son had started another chemo as his cancer spread to his stomach. so moving was out of the question, as well as my younger son had a school placement which was essential to his special educational needs at the time. i was receiving unemployment as the apt office fired me for blowing the whistle on them to HUD and my son had just started getting his SSI check for $674 which is the max. so we made around $1300 per month and rent and lights took away all but about $200 so we needed the food card. the food card brought in $320 but we never had enough each month because of the $5 meds at md anderson for things medicaid wont cover and many OTC items. my youngest needed money put on his metro card weekly to get to school and sometimes needed supplies. i was able to get clothes from second blessing, a charity place and besides my kids and i are such hippies we barter clothes in a "recycle, repurpose" group we belong to. my sister subsidizes our cats with food and litter as a kindness because otherwise we'd have to give them up after 8 yrs. then all of a sudden, the apt manager says we now will pay water and trash for around $35 to $40 per month and despite paying my rent like clockwork for five years, her funny new accounting system will make our rent late or unapid. if i have a water bill due for the prior month, she'll first apply all money to past due charges so the rent check will be short-this means a $50 late fee applied and $10 per day add'l late charges until extras reach $190. when the max late charges are accrued they can change my locks and keep my stuff, take me to eviction court and i'm out. i'm planning on tanking the lease but wanted to wait until the end of may when my son graduates, because he actually has a 3.90 gpa and some promise of going to college should he be able to finish his year out. its just so stressful, even the cost of living would have been an extra $25 monthly toward the water or metro. i cannot take any work right now as i had hand surgery jan 4th and unfortunately my mom is has been diagnosed with metastic stage 4 breast cancer on new years eve. i'm with her at st lukes for a week now and tomorrow she's going home on hospice. but she needs my care, even one handed with a cast care because her medicare does not give her much home health care until the hospice people get on board. my food card lapsed, couldn't get down there to sit a day due to my surgery and they do not care, besides that, they are taking up to 6 months to process a case right now so we're living off love, in the form of friends and family and well wishers of my moms church. i am really pissed that culberson my congressman holds his town hall meetings in hunters creek, a gated community where metro is not even allowed so i cannot confront him and i cannot get him to call me. my mom told me that social security old people and those on SSI might get a $250 stimulus to offset the lost cost of living money so i wanted culberson to look into this. we've been up and down before, we volunteer because we cannot work - my son at md anderson and myself as a special education advocate. i believe people on the "entitlement" system (i call safety net programs) should give back all they should in service and we do. my younger son volunteers with a facility taking care of autistic teens so they can have some mainstream encounters with general population students. i'm proud of my kids, as well as the fact they can both fill out fafsa's and get into hcc or uhd next august and make more of their lives than i've been able to provide. i've planned on going to uhd to take a masters in urban social work but have to postpone due to mom, as my dad has dementia. social work is the biggest thing missing in the lives of people on social programs like housing, welfare, food or medicaid. nobody would sink so low to need these programs without needing a social worker, case manager and a counselor, yet perry cuts social programs to the bone and mental health services are non existent. so like i said, the programs alone might breed some corruption into the system, but with proper oversight and case management this should not be the case. i just feel like internet,cable tv and cell phones are so taken for granted by people with them, especially lawmakers who assume everyone has these "necessities". when you don't you feel cut off unless you walk somewhere and buy a paper, then all you get is the chronical which is a joke. we're trying to move to my mom's after school lets out, we will overpopulate her small frame house, grow a vegetable garden and produce some fine art work while we listen to kpft, our new source of the outside world. but i still want to write a book about it or at least go to a town hall meeting and have my say!
I am glad you brought Bauer into the discussion. He is a prime example of a rightwing ideologue hell bent on destroying people who are not like him. He thinks it somehow nostalgic to reiterate his ignorant mom's brutal tactics for dealing with the poor.
Funny how some think we can come up with smart legislation to deal with the underprivileged, yet we can't seem to figure out how to deal with warmongers and Wall Street criminals.
Whining about welfare abusers is just another way to distract from the bigger criminals...
You have no argument from me there. If I had a do over I wouldn't have even brought Bauer into the discussion.
If you were in a bad relationship, and sought help from a counselor, that counselor would likely quiz you about not only your relationship, but also your parents' relationship and your grandparents' relationship.
And you would learn that aspects of these relationships that you thought were normal were not normal, they were merely familiar.
I think the same thing might be true of generational poverty. If you've never experienced a different existence, it seems normal. So some kind of mentoring must be needed to help a person out of generational poverty.
But I don't discount the impact of poverty on family function and dysfunction.
A family counselor in Dallas once said to me that he thought the problems of many families that he saw could be solved if the government would just send helicopters that tossed out money over the poor neighborhoods.
My dad was a WWII vet. When he got home from the war, a lot of vets were looking for jobs. He was lucky to be hired as a mechanic at a local garage.
But he didn't make much money. There was no medical insurance. The look on my mom's face when one of us got sick remains with me to this day. What if a doctor was needed and there was no money?
The only reason we made it, looking back, is because in lieu of rent, my parents, on behalf of my mom's siblings, cared for my mom's parents in our house.
The house was provided at no cost to us by a brother-in-law who had a good factory job in Indiana. (Has the world changed or what.)
When my dad's local employer died and his business was closed, garage owners from around the county came to court my dad. He'd been loyal and under paid for years.
But with his new job came a higher salary and health insurance. The mood change in our house was palpable. It felt like freedom.
I don't know what the answer is. But I'm pretty sure it's not vilifying the poor.
I think everyone should have a job, even if a government supplies it, because you learn a lot about yourself when you have a job. You learn your strengths and your weaknesses and just what you'll put up with to have income.
Scott, thanks for posting this topic.
I am just sensitive about fascist douche bags like Mr. Bauer infecting the discourse with totalitarian ideology aimed at killing off the weak. Sorry I am just sensitive that way.
You know the effect these rightwing fanatics have is far far more destructive than any poor person can do. Don't recall a poor person lying to a nation to invade a country for oil, killing a million people, and costing hundreds of billions of dollars. Way more money than the poor receive or will receive for decades.
These are the "people" who oppose birth control, yet want to kill people through starvation to control population. This is not about forcing people to "help themselves". This is about control and the rationalization of killing someone weaker than you. To even entertain the thought is reprehensible.
Why is it I feel that there are so few sane people left in the world.
Carguy, you forgot Dick Cheney the kindly gentleman.
Scott: "Dick Cheney, American Patriot and Statesman", tomorrow, right???????
FL wrote: I am dismissive because this argument is stupid. To suggest that the poor will some how become rich if we stop assistance is lame. Mr. Bauer and people like him are the problem not the 'Final Solution'...
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I don't think anybody HERE suggested anything like that. I am pretty sure that there are no "Mr. Bauers" at the Hurricane. Obviously this issue touches you. This is just a discussion and I think you may have misinterpreted things.
I thought that's where you were going yesterday.
Let's see, welfare reform. How do we help the people that NEED help, motivate the people that NEED motivation, make sure that everybody has adequate housing, guarantee that children have a safe place to live and enough food to eat, and yet NOT provide an environment that allows people to become DEPENDENT on social welfare.
We have any number of contributors herE at the Hurricane that, if I were king, I'd appoint them to take care of this.
Excellent contributions today. Good, good people on your blog yesterday and today. Why can't we get people like that in Washington???
To quote my FAVORITE KING...."IT'S A PUZZLEMENT!"
Just exactly whose horse is higher? Remember Scott YOU are the one who has endorsed this:
"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce."
You seem to wish you had owned a house, yet you defend your own foolish expenditures that keep you from owning one, all the while, passing judgment on buying decisions of others. btw, I received a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure for Mother's Day last year. If I show up for a meeting with you sporting a new manicure, will you silently pass judgment on my frivolous "expenditure" or will you at least give me a chance to explain?
Perhaps you should explain to everyone why you have identified the poor as a problem needing to be fixed? Why you're at it, could you also explain why, in the face of two wars, 45000 people dying each year due to no access to health care, myriad scandals of corruption at the highest levels of government, banking, wall street, defense contractors, insurance companies - the fact that the number of people on welfare, since the revisions kicking people off ASAP took effect in 1999, has fallen by SIXTY-EIGHT PER CENT yet you think this is a problems that needs to be addressed!
You've bought, hook line and sinker what Reagan sold - the myth of the welfare queens. What is so nasty, is that you are perpetuating it.
You need to learn some economics - particularly Milton Friedman - who won the Nobel Prize in economics for discovering the "natural rate of unemployment" - (around 5-6%). When it gets too far below that 6%, inflation heats up (rapidly)- so the economy is manipulated, constantly - by the Fed who tightens the money supply to ensure it doesn't. Damn those poor!
Yes, there is an underclass. It is constant, and meant to be constant. However, it is not always the same people - different people cycle in and out. With your education surely you will understand that there are individual exceptions. However, the republicans and "conservatives" have deemed that even those people should be limited to, I believe it is, a 5 year lifetime welfare benefit. So much for "compassion".
btw, in Dec 2007, there were less than 130,000 people in the state of Texas receiving TANF. The state of Texas has more children than any other state though, living below the poverty line.
I'm hoping Scott that you will take the opportunity to educate yourself and judge your own attitude and statements in a new light.
The facts don't add up to most being on assistance. Only 1.5% of the country are on assistance. And half of those are children. Maybe that is why it appears "most" are on assistance because you deal with children all day.
I feel I was pretty specific. More than 80% of the country are richer than half the world. Hell most of our poor earn more than half the world...
By the same argument the elderly are receiving WAY MORE assistance than the poor ever will. Don't see people suggesting we starve them to death. Apparently only the poor deserve to die from starvation.
Medical coverage is receiving the Mr. Bauer Final Solution. Still see tens of thousands dying every year. Apparently the "God helps those who help themselves" stratum isn't working in that regard.
To bitch about the poor and say they need to die off, while corporations receive welfare in the trillions, is evil pure and simple.
I am dismissive because this argument is stupid. To suggest that the poor will some how become rich if we stop assistance is lame. Mr. Bauer and people like him are the problem not the 'Final Solution'...
When you use phrases like "whatever" in a dismissive way or call some people "privaledged" and presumably out of touch please feel free to be specific. I don't doubt your interactions with the poor, but I interact with the poor on a daily basis through my job and most are ON some level of assistance with most in some state of what I would call abuse. Most of the time it is at the expense of their kids whom I feel my sympathy for. So, if you are calling me ignorant then you can right down off your high horse because I dare say I encounter it more often than most. If you are referring to our conservative friends then I say preach on.
"Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen."
http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
I know some of you are thinking "Hey! I am not privileged!" However, if you woke up with food in your pantry and clothes on your back you are rich compared to half the world...
Whatever. Are some of you actually defending a system designed to exploit the weak and systematically repress those who don't receive a proper education or opportunity?
This is the root of the problem. Privileged people who couldn't fathom the things the poor have to go through.
I see some of you are lucky to have had both parents growing up.
If any of you care to do a little research you would find that less than 20% of the country are living below the poverty line, AND only 1.5% or so are actually on welfare. HALF of those are children!!
If you notice the majority live in rural areas. i.e. less funded areas...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Poverty_Rates.svg
The problem isn't "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" or "God helps those who help themselves". The problem is out of touch morons who think their status in society gives them the right to pass judgment on something they know absolutely nothing about. Most of the poor I have ever met work and don't receive welfare.
Welfare Exploitation is just another LIE created by the rightwing fascists in this country who don't bother learning the truth. Some may exploit the system, HOWEVER, they are a very tiny part of those below the poverty line. Compare to the rest of the world we are far above the standard as far as personal income. If you have $1500 you are richer than half the world. Get a grip people and learn some facts.
FYI - the amount of money Bush handed the banks with absolutely no accountability would cover welfare expenditures for the next 66 years. Now that is REAL welfare, money given outright with no stipulations...
To bitch about the people on welfare in this country is absurd. Try taking a look at the world around you and learn that billions are living in poverty!!
OPEN YOUR EYES
"Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names."
http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
If we're looking at a macro level at waste and fraud, do you think welfare fraud is that large share of the pie versus say fraud (and backroom sweetheart dealing) in military procurement, fraud in government procurement, inefficiencies in both, and most recently, piss poor management in financial and automotive industries resulting in massive corporate welfare (that has thankfully been mostly paid back but it wasn't a given when they were disbursed)?
You bring up a good point Scott. Both sides are railing at "those not like us". Those more affluent, former poor, and their supporters with the same mindset demonizing the poor, and those struggling or formerly poor and their supporters of same mindset decrying the "free ride" and free reign of the power brokers to get rich, screw up, get their corporate welfare from the government to repeat that endless cycle. Guess you know which side I'm on. ;-)
And Scott I hope you don't mind but I am going to reprint a comment of yours from another forum because the debate has become quite heated (and I am guilty of being party to that if not instigating it) and I think this comment is worth repeating as this is the Scott we all know and love here (in addition to everything else already discussed here):
"I was asked what I would do:
1) I would revamp our educational system to focus about half our energy on trades. Right now we may focus five percent of our man power and resources at best.
2) raise the minimum wage to at least ten dollars an hour and install a permanent COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) clause in the bill.
3) Offer retraining programs, interviewing skills, financial planning programs, and childcare services for people on assistance. As long as people are making a good faith effort to right the ship they should continue to get that assistance. If someone isn't making a good faith effort then they are cut off.
4) all students get free breakfast and lunch at school whether they are on assistance or not.
I say this realizing two things:
1) there are some that cannot ever make it on their own. When I say the above I say meaning able bodied and mind. Someone that is physically, mentally, or psychologically challenged are in a whole other category.
2) someone has to make the call on who is making a good faith effort. I understand that and appreciate it is a hard judgment call. I am looking out for obvious areas of waste."
Honestly I see it as a two-way street. Republicans railings against personal welfare wouldn't ring so hollow if they didn't support corporate welfare. However, you cannot rail against the banking system and turn a blind eye to people that knowingly spent more on a mortgage than they could afford. I'm not talking about tragicmagic here or anyone else specifically. In a general sense, people need to be smarter with their money. That coupled with smart regulation will keep us out of this mess again. If I can't afford a house I shouldn't buy one. If I can't afford a car I shouldn't buy one. If I can't afford a new tv I shouldn't buy one. I really don't judge regular people and what they choose to spend their money on. Yet, when they are spending my money I think I have the right to be judgmental. If we couple personal responsibility with shared sacrifice (meaning higher taxes on rich, less military spending, more regulation) then you have your answer. The problem is that both sides seem to preach one at the exclusion of the other.
Scott,
This book, written in the late 80s identified social programs that worked, got people off welfare, improved adults' management of their children, etc.:
Within Our Reach: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage, by Lisbeth B. Schorr
If I had the resources, I'd look at all the programs mentioned in the book to see if 1) they were still in existence, 2) if not, why not, 3) if yes, were they still successful.
Why doesn't this country pursue programs that work? Because you get more votes if you're tough on crime, if you spout phrases like personal accountability like you mean it, maybe even live it, and let them work or die, like Mr. Ethics Bauer.
Before the current financial crisis, less than 2% of Americans were on welfare. But in terms of public vilification, they sure occupied a lot of bandwidth.
The loudest voices in the country like to spend money on war and give little thought to ending poverty and its effect on children.
We love to say how generous we are. Look at how we've responded to Haiti.
But tell me, please, in caring, compassionate American, how an $85 increase in monthly expenses can cause someone like tragicmagic to become homeless?
As a voting populace, I think we are moral cowards.
well the "food stamp" program is now called "snap" which is supplemental nutritional assistance program". major change is the govt is up front about it being a supplement and that it is not intended to feed you. anyone whose ever been on food stamps knew this painfully, although you can stay alive on it as a minimalist and if you learn to incorporate some aspects of hunger and deprivation into your life. meaning your health suffers and vitamins are not covered. neither is toilet paper, soap or bandaids, so a person on lone star might have to barter some of their benefits to get things like this that most people take for granted. cspan had an author on last week discussing food stamps and so many people called in judging and talking shit. it is amazing how many people say they notice "everything" in someone else's basket and watch the car they leave in. my sister drives me to the store in her fine car for the record. people on fixed income like myself did not receive a cost of living increase this year, yet my rent went up $50 and my apts started charging $35 for water, an $85 increase! between OTC meds for my son and $5 scripts for meds not covered by medicaid we are quickly falling through the cracks. as far as entitlements, they are so strictly limited already i do not see how anyone losing a job or going through foreclosure can make it without safety net programs. yet we bail out banks and send people to eviction court, as our homeless population swells. a person on entitlements pays taxes like me through sales and my apartment rent has property taxes passed along, yet all my "income" is non taxed so i no longer even can file income taxes. no head of household exemption, no deductions, no earned income, nothing paid in nothing paid back. when i worked at HCC there were many grants for childcare, bus tokens and textbooks so i used to recruit students from welfare offices because support services were in place. now job training is a joke without these vital support roles, when people cannot even afford to ride metro. many people do not have cell phones, cable tv or internet access which i lost and only have infrequently, which basically can leave a person cut off from society. so i get all my news from kpft on the radio now. i'm sure to someone like yourself my world is foreign, but i am college educated and could soon be homeless. there's food for thought.