Generous Welfare
I’ve been reading all the Conservative/Republican/Libertarian/Heartless blogs on here of late regarding Social Security, Disability, Welfare, etc. and I’ve reached the point that I’ve just got to say some things. Not that I think any of you will seriously read this and comment, if you open it at all. I would have posted this on your blogs, but I didn’t want to change your subjects, insult you in any way, post a TL;DR, or break some rule I forgot to pay attention to. So, I’m posting this in my yard and you’re all welcome to come and tell me where I’m wrong. The only rules I have are that you keep it civil and somewhat of human intelligence.
I’ll give it to you that there are frauds and cheats in our Country, but they are within whatever system you want to discuss, private or public. Fraud and cheating are profoundly rampant in our war, corporate, banking, insurance and medical systems. I understand though that as far as any truly righteous conservative is concerned those are the things that cannot be blasphemed and need to be protected at all costs. After all, why bitch about millions/billions of dollars of documented fraud/waste when you can complain about thousands of dollars of possible fraud/waste.
What I need to find out is do any of you really know what the hell you are talking about when it comes to these programs? You all claim to be healthy, wealthy (as opposed to those on these programs), and wise so I doubt that you have ever had recent first-hand experience with them. Do you know anybody who is actually on any of these programs that wouldn’t or doesn’t lie to you? Oh, that’s right, people always tell the truth when they talk about themselves and their situation in life. Especially to people they just meet somewhere out in public.
I would truly like you to tell me what States you all live in or what States you are referring to in your blogs that provide these overly generous benefits you keep going on about? Each State has basic federal guidelines to follow, but then they can make their own additional rules, I suppose. It must be those States’ additional rules that provide these astounding lifetime benefits. I need this information so that I can direct one of my down and out friends there so she can take advantage of this massive gravy train you keep talking about. It sure would improve her and her children’s lives immensely.
See she’s single with 2 kids because her man didn’t want to stick around when he got her pregnant with the second child. She’s unemployed because our area currently has a 12% unemployment rate and she devoted her life to family and her man so she wasn’t trained for any high paying career. She receives no child support because frankly you can’t get blood out of a turnip. Needless to say she is now a dreaded and despised “Welfare Mom”.
She collects all of $380.00 a month in TANF (Welfare) and an additional $400.00 a month in food stamps. Welfare also provides her with a monthly bus pass ($65.00) since she doesn’t own a car. Her children are on Medicaid. Not her, just her children. She rents a (as in one for her and the kids) room from her grandmother for $100.00 a month because the list for housing assistance is just too long. Besides, grandma’s house is safe. She pays for her own cell phone which is about six years old. She could get a cell phone through Welfare, but it is just a disposable cell phone that can only make voice calls and she does like to text (grandma’s hard of hearing), which is free and unlimited under her cell phone plan that costs her $20.00 a month.
So, let’s see, she collects $845.00 in assistance from which she pays out $120.00 in expenses, for a net total of $725.00. Wow, that’s a whopping $241.00 per person, per month, most of which is food stamps that can only be spent on food. Hey, I’m sure with that remaining $325.00 cash a month she’s just living it up even with the monetary demands of two growing kids.
The basic rules of this high living assistance are as follows:
1. She must spend 20 hours a week looking for a job or be enrolled full time in some type of schooling that will lead to a job;
2. She must provide time sheets, with telephone confirmation of each entry by her case worker, proving her hours;
3. She must attend her monthly meetings with the program office;
4. She must document her need for assistance every six months;
5. Her benefits expire after two years, but she can seek additional benefits after one year off, if necessary. The total lifetime benefit available is five years overall; and
6. If and when her jackass man should pay her any child support, she must give most of it up to the Welfare Department until such time as they are repaid for giving her this assistance.
Now, to me, the amount of assistance she collects and the rules under which she collects it, don’t sound anything like what you all keep ragging on about. It must be my State, I tell you. Cheap ass bastards!
Anyway, she tried to get a job during the first six months, but as I said with 12-14% unemployment, that was impossible. So she decided to go to school. She applied for a PELL grant and a student loan. She is scheduled to graduate in December and hopefully she will obtain gainful employment shortly after because she will have reached her two year limit and will then have a student loan payment to pay in addition to losing her grand benefits. See what I mean, Welfare here wouldn’t even pay for her school supplies, let alone her tuition.
So, since your States (or the States of your blogs) must have a much more generous Welfare system than my State, please tell me which ones they are. That way, if her gamble on education doesn’t pay off we can help her with a car wash or possibly a bake sale (before she runs out of her food stamps, of course) to raise the money to move her there so she can take advantage of the train of unbridled delights of which you all so often speak.
OK I agree but,and it is a small but America has choosen the American Dream. A dream that has been shown as a a total failure.
Lets look at dead beat dads, and Americas failure to tax them. Lets look at your high income people/ companies who don’t pay tax ?
Then lets look at your fucking insane republicans.
Most folks that I’ve know on any public assistance brought in less than $1000 per month in total (for families of three or more). Anything they couldn’t pay for usually got donated by family members or local charity organizations. They definitely weren’t living it up like some would lead us to believe.
I always get a chuckle out of people describing these things who have never had to deal with them firsthand. Like anyone who’s never been through a disability screening process. They act as if Rev. Al Sharpton or somebody is going from town to town handing out handicapped placards on silver platters.
When Bush ushered in the Tax Cuts for the Rich, the Corporations began outsourcing jobs and closing factories here. So instead of creating new jobs, those tax cuts resulted in there being fewer jobs.
Social Welfare programs are a much smaller part of the budget, than the Military. As a matter of fact, every time we’ve done a major push building up our Military, we’ve ended up with more people seeking Welfare.
All true… If anyone tells you what state has the luxury living clause let me know.
Yes. They need to walk in the shoes of those they claim are living so good. I’m sure you can become a millionaire living on welfare/disability.
Well put.
I concur that welfare living, for those that can get it, is low brow.
One current recipient told me that (s)he makes more working a minimum wage job, which is being looked for now. But in a sparsely populated area, and not being able to buy car to extend the job reach, it’s Catch-22. And with an absent spouse that lost their job due to drunkenness, there is no help there.
On the other hand, this person has to feed their multiple kids, multiple cats, multiple dogs, & sometimes other animals. This person also has a (roll your own) nicotine habit, & leaves the window open for the declawed cat 24/7, even in the winter with the heater on. Pays for internet, & until recently paid for cable T.V.: these things despite poverty and needing to frequently borrow money.
A person on disability I knew got it due to being disabled – as a drunkard and/or addict. He was physically threatening toward me, and cost me additional funds damaging things while he was under the influence.
So many who collect welfare do make poor choices that cost taxpayers. I prefer some type of balance in view & in benefits.
Welfare is not an unlimited kind of thing like some people like to make it out to be. There are requirements and if those requirements aren’t meet then people can’t receive them. It’s not a get rich scheme by no means. I think you laid it out nicely.
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What an absolutely heart breaking read SPK. I don’t care what side of the issue anyone is on but the thought of a Mum with two kids trying to live on that sort of money is very sobering indeed. The thought of making erroneous cuts to such bare bones programs is heartless in the extreme IMO.
I wish it were possible for tax payers to be able to choose which government programs their contributions supported. War or welfare? I’d much rather help them at home, than kill them overseas.
Great write.
My own stint at unemployment taught me much….I didn’t “qualify” for welfare, in fact I qualified for jack shit support, and at a time when this country was experiencing what our erstwhile Treasurer claimed to be really low unemployment…and because I wasn’t on welfare, I wasn’t even a statistic, in the scheme of things I simply didn’t exist! I found lots of people like me……the hidden unemployed, living precariously on the good grace and love of friends and family. Whenever I read or hear “official” unemployment figures, I always keep that in mind..
Where ever this mythical Shangrila of luxuriant welfare exists, I certainly didn’t find it.
Excellent blog. As I pointed out to friends on Facebook, since the only channels we get after having to drop satellite TV are a few 24/7 infomercial channels, I look for the one where she is showing the bikini area and how to remove the hair. Luckily, we are among the easily entertained.