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

[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*

[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 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

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.....?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

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

Which is wrong. These people do exist. They do it on $21/week as a supplement to their other income. Show me ONE person who has starved to death due to welfare not providing enough, then you have a case.

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...

So? They work. That's my point. That means that there's a demand for labor that lazy Americans are not meeting. The fact that Mexican can find work and that there are able bodied Americans who do not do that work already shows to me that these Americans are lazy.

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.

Actually many banks invite their business. I believe Bank of America has accounts specifically set up for illegals. They make use of our emergency rooms just like all the other uninsured people. I think you exaggerate a wee bit. The point remains that these people work by doing jobs that Americans are too lazy to do.

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.

It will. Do some educated people use food stamps from time to time as a security blanket? Sure. Do they land on their feet aftwerwards? Yep. That is what these programs were designed for -- as a safety net, not a way of life.

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

I'm currently a law student. I'm part time right now and work in the day. I'd probably move to a cheaper apartment (maybe on campus), I'd go full time, start drafting some major student loans. The debilitating accident wouldn't be a big deal. I might miss summer school, but in the end, I'd have better parking anyhow

The type of work I'll be doing won't really be physically demanding. If, however, the injuries left me unable to work, I'd qualify for social security and disability benefits, so naturally, I'd apply.

[AlphaFrog]

Kevin, you're showing your ass.

FYI.

[DaemonSeid]

[QUOTE=Kevin;1450289]Which is wrong. These people do exist. They do it on $21/week as a supplement to their other income. Show me ONE person who has starved to death due to welfare not providing enough, then you have a case.


Kevin...If I knew you better, I would let you call my mom who has worked with the Dept of Social Services in MD for the past 30 years.....she would show you tons and telll you where they are buried....


I am glad to know that u think u are bullet proof enough to avoid whatever curveball life will throw at you....

the Book of Job can do wonders with people with that attitude.

[James]

I always kind of look of looked at civil servants as welfare recipients also . . but thats just me.

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?

[preciousjeni]

When you don't have the means to get an education, you have to do your best. Many people out there have to drop out of high school to work and provide for their families and they often don't have the time to get a GED or finish high school.

I was just talking with a coworker yesterday about poverty. She started out on welfare and was raising three children on her own. She didn't have enough money or time to get educated and had to make do with a low paying job and little funding from the government. She and those like her who have little education often make poor life decisions because they don't know what is available to them. It becomes oppressive and breeds hopelessness. So many people in poverty are either depressed or angry. The angry ones sometimes resort to criminal activity to take what they need. The depressed ones fall further and further away from any chance of a better life as they settle into what they believe is all the only life they can achieve.

The coworker I was talking with is one of the few from the circle of people she grew up with who now has a decent job and good benefits for her family. She told me that she came to a realization that everything is a choice and she was making bad ones. How did she know this? Because she enrolled in the Welfare-to-Work program when it was still going strong. Through that program she began to realize how she could mold herself into the person she wanted to be, despite the hand that life had dealt her.

Today, there is a federal program that attempts to create possibilities for people who are traditionally in need of government assistance. It's called the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and it provides significant tax savings for employers who hire targeted job seekers from the following populations:

Qualified TANF Recepients
Qualified Food Stamp Recipients
Qualified Empowerment Zone Residents
Qualified High Risk and Summer Youth
Qualified Veterans
Qualified Ex-Felons
Qualified SSI Recipients

[see: http://www.uses.doleta.gov/wotcdata.cfm - The site needs to be updated however]

But, programs like this are successful only if people know about them. Many large companies have entire departments responsible for maximizing tax incentives. But, smaller companies often don't know.

If we're going to blame people on government assistance, we need to make sure we've done our part to educate them on their options as well as tend to their emotional needs.