Lawmakers Find $21 a Week Doesn't Buy a Lot of Groceries

[MysticCat]

Interesting article, but please note this post from the administrator of this site, contained in the Welcome to the News and Politics forum thread, which says:

Do not post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or you have permission from the copyright owner. This has been part of the site rules since these forums were started.

If you are posting a news article it is fine to post an excerpt/summary along with a link to the full article on the news publication's website.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Interesting article, but please note this post from the administrator of this site, contained in the Welcome to the News and Politics forum thread, which says:

thanks !!



here is the link !

http://www.newsobserver.com/nation_w...ry/574927.html

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

And Keving you know as well as I do a college education doesn't guarantee you a job to put you in a lifestyle where you wouldn't have to worry.

Nope. But neither should your fellow citizens.

And with the amount of kids graduating now already in debt with staggering student loans, 1/2 of thier paycheck from the first post grad job, may very well have them running out to go get them stamps and stay on that ramen noodle diet for a little longer.

I'm not a response is possible. Are you trying to make a point here? Life is hard? Something like that?

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Nope. But neither should your fellow citizens.



I'm not a response is possible. Are you trying to make a point here? Life is hard? Something like that?

Point: "Go get a job" is not as easy as you make it sounds to get folks off of food stamps.

[squirrely girl]

well at least i'm not alone in the belief that having a job doesn't necessarily prevent you from NEEDING food stamps.

y'all would be DISGUSTED by the number of soldiers and their families that also collect food stamps in order to survive.

- m

[OneTimeSBX]

you know what squirrlygirl, THAT in itself is a damn shame...a soldier needing welfare. is there anything more wrong about that?? i wont even start about the way they are being treated coming home from iraq, different topic for a different thread lol, but yes, when soldiers need that assistance there is something seriously wrong across the board...

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by squirrely girl

well at least i'm not alone in the belief that having a job doesn't necessarily prevent you from NEEDING food stamps.

y'all would be DISGUSTED by the number of soldiers and their families that also collect food stamps in order to survive.

- m

I got a little not so well kept secret LOL...the gov't and medical community is making so much money off of these soldiers it's a crying shame, we all know...no wonder a lot of them aren't so keen on bringing these guys home.What's so bad is how much these folks are making..I work with a review board in MD and part of what we do, is review proposals from ALL facets of the medical community and give approvals over whether or not these docs will get at the least 150k annually to play with for the next 3 to 5 years with vets coming home from the wars and getting them signed up for all these experiments. (that's the most i can tell ya....LOL) but what's interesting is when u look at how much of that money goes into THIER pockets first. *wink*

[Still BLUTANG]

Sometimes people just need to step outside of their comfort zone, or stop to realize that THEIR reality is not everyone else's reality. I applaud these congressmen for even bringing attention to this issue by making it personal.

[OneTimeSBX]

daemon, do not sicken me anymore than i already am lol! my sister is one of those headstrong girls who wants to get the hell out of mom and dads house. so on a whim she up and joined the navy.

besides the fact that the recruiter lied to her, now is not the time to join Bush's military. you think $21 a day for food is bad? its nothing compared to coming home at 20 years old with no legs and one "good" arm. and for what?

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by OneTimeSBX

daemon, do not sicken me anymore than i already am lol! my sister is one of those headstrong girls who wants to get the hell out of mom and dads house. so on a whim she up and joined the navy.

besides the fact that the recruiter lied to her, now is not the time to join Bush's military. you think $21 a day for food is bad? its nothing compared to coming home at 20 years old with no legs and one "good" arm. and for what?

oil and WMDs of course....


I lost one bruh last year

and one of my frat (one of my founders as a matter of fact) did 3 years and lost a lot of his squadmates.

I think he said he can be discharged at the end of the year...he's done almost 15 years I think

[OneTimeSBX]

blutang i agree with you. someone had to do it. and i dont feel it would be addressed correctly over a $150 a plate gourmet meal at a 5 star hotel...the people that make/adjust the rules cant justify a decision either way unless they know first hand.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

Did you notice the part of the article that said There are more working people today getting food stamps than six years ago? What do you suggest those people do?

I would first want to ask what a "working person" is. Democrats often refer to "working people" as anyone who is not rich.

So do I doubt that more people get food stamps now than 6 years ago? Nope. We have a larger population now than 6 years ago.

6 years is a pretty arbitrary figure unless you're trying to somehow show that Bush is the cause for people signing up for welfare benefits (otherwise, I couldn't imagine why 6 years would be relevant unless 7 years ago, there were more people using food stamps than there are today).

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Point: "Go get a job" is not as easy as you make it sounds to get folks off of food stamps.

Get a job, get an education, get a different job.

If folks are able to come across our borders, find work and make decent livings, why can't Americans work as well? The fact that we say that there is "Work Americans won't do" and that there are out of work Americans is insulting to the taxpayers which fund the laziness of those workers who refuse to do that work that "Americans won't do."

If they can subsist on this minimal $21/week, that's good enough for me. In nearly every case I've seen here, soldiers, etc., the $21/week is supplemental to their other income, so saying they're eating on $21/week is misleading at best.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I would first want to ask what a "working person" is. Democrats often refer to "working people" as anyone who is not rich.

So do I doubt that more people get food stamps now than 6 years ago? Nope. We have a larger population now than 6 years ago.

6 years is a pretty arbitrary figure unless you're trying to somehow show that Bush is the cause for people signing up for welfare benefits (otherwise, I couldn't imagine why 6 years would be relevant unless 7 years ago, there were more people using food stamps than there are today).

Ok...let's not make it into a name calling thing...Bush is not a point in this...fact of the matter is, food stamps and the issues arising from it has been a thorn in the side of many a president since it's inception in the late 1930's

Reagan tried to make cutbacks in the 80s and Clinton instituted welfare to work programs in the 90s.

But now, for the few changes and buget increases that they have made, someone is starting to wakeup to the fact that the money the put into this program doesn't help the poor eat an adequate amount and variety of food.

Let's face it, the policy has failed because where it was supposed to work for the better good in emergency situations, it caused more dependency than anything, and yanking the rug from under it would be seen and a drastic and inhuman way to deal with the situation....


damned if you do...damned if you dont.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Get a job, get an education, get a different job.

If folks are able to come across our borders, find work and make decent livings, why can't Americans work as well? The fact that we say that there is "Work Americans won't do" and that there are out of work Americans is insulting to the taxpayers which fund the laziness of those workers who refuse to do that work that "Americans won't do."

If they can subsist on this minimal $21/week, that's good enough for me. In nearly every case I've seen here, soldiers, etc., the $21/week is supplemental to their other income, so saying they're eating on $21/week is misleading at best.

and AVERAGE of 21 dollars a week...either way, these people don't have the means to exist.

And please be mindful a lot of these immigrants (a whole other topic too BTW) work under the table and for what they are getting would make some of them 'kings' as opposed to staying home, but weigh in the other factors...

altho they EARN a decent wage, they have no access to insurance and proper health facilities, they can't LEGALLY open a bank account to save their money and MOST of what they earn goes back home in some cases to help another family member get here legally or even to skimp up enough to get themselves legalized.

I am glad to see the cynicism in the fact that you believe that getting an education will get you a job that will keep you from getting food stamps.


Question, what would you do if you lost your job and home tomorrow and then wound up in a debiliating accident on Monday.....?