Really nothing new for our welfare state Michigan. If you walked around you will see people with a thousand dollard worth of cloths on to beg for more to waste. The welfare must stop if America is to survive

Originally posted by mikellmikellThe welfare must stop if America is to survive

Normally, I would agree. Welfare should be limited to only the most desperate in need and given sparingly.

However, those hardest hit in Detroit and Flint have no one else to help them. There simply aren't enough jobs, and as more and more businesses leave those areas or shut down entirely, the problem is only getting worse.

Granted, their leaders need better long-term strategies to help the jobless and homeless in those areas, who once comprised the Working Class of Detroit and Flint. They need to find solutions to stop the mass Exodus of business from those areas and find a way to entice new businesses to come to their cities.

In the meanwhile, winter is coming, and it is reputed to be potentially the worst winter we have on record. Someone has to take care of the Detroit's homeless and jobless for the winter months. It might as well be the Nanny Government and it's Agencies.

The alternatives are unfathomable.

If there were jobs available for those people, then it would be easy to turn a blind eye to their plight, knowing that those people could bail themselves out if they wanted to. However, in Detroit and Flint, there are no jobs available, and bailing themselves out is not an option for a good many.

I stopped believing welfare was a good thing when I lived in New York City. The poorest congressional district in the country at the time was the south Bronx. A local station did a report on the welfare recipients. Funny, they couldn't get jobs but they all had cable television, DVD players, cell phones and they were all incredibly overweight. That's also when I stopped believing the hype about the starving in America.

The people in Detroit should be taught skills (how hard is it to paint a wall to get rid of graffiti for that welfare check?) and given lessons in personal responsibility and self-reliance. 4 generations of welfare and government reliance has been a horrible thing. And yes, I know there is no work for lots of people right now....but, maybe they could sacrifice some luxuries like cell phones and DVD players to pay their bills....maybe, just maybe?

I had a brilliant idea when I lived in New York (my liberal friend told me I was a Nazi, heh)...suppose everyone that received a welfare check had to give something back to the community? Perhaps running a day care so others could work....perhaps pushing a broom to make the city a better place? Or, my best idea: set up a warehouse with exercise bikes....hook the bikes up to generators....in order to get a welfare check, each person must ride the bike for an hour....that way, they help the community by generating some electricity and lose weight at the same time! (that was the idea that had my friend screaming at me that I was a Nazi...god forbid anyone should have to do something for money)....

With my idea, Detroit could be a shining example to the rest of the country!

I do notice it is mostly unorginized chaos during these "give aways." People were actually expecting money that day which is a joke. These inner cities are a real waste of space.

I agree with the previous post about making them work for their money. Then we would see how many actually are in "need."

I go through the want ads and see all kinds of jobs and these people will not apply. They want a free ride.

Once upon a time ...
In a rich and busy country, finding a job was just a matter of wanting it.
So, there was no welfare for the jobless : the jobless were the lazzy ones.
So, the workers could buy what they wanted with credit cards : loosing one's job was not falling bankrupted. To-morrow, they'd have another job.

Let's face it : there is NO social protection for the workers in America, cause "one upon a time", America was a rich and busy Nation.

It isn't no more the case, and the lack of social protection is becoming a nightmare for more and more Americans.

Beeing poor and jobless in America, is much more a tough ride in America than ... let's say : Africa : they have never been rich, neither busy ...
The American dream is dying.
Maybe it's already dead.
Amen.

Why don't they sell half cooked animal parts and charcoal on the side of the road? Maybe have the welfare dig for gold, diamonds and other gems.


I like the bicycle electricity idea best though!

I've got to chime in on this. Almost all of the statements made in reply for this topic, minus a few made by folks like fraterormus or orkson(OP) are nothing but your typical stereotypes of the poor and those that need aid.

I mean wow, i bet most of the people that had something negative to say don't even know how or why welfare was started. It would be different if they backed up their opinions with, let's say FACTS or TRUTH but most of them are nothing but slanted personal opinions.

I am scared.

It does not take a genius to put two and two together and then soon people begin to get irrrational and crazy.

We need to brace for the coming storm.

While not fond of the idea of welfare I don't see anyone in that crowd that looks like they are wearing a thousand dollar wardrobe. If all the people in line were white you would say that it was black friday shopping at walmart.
People should have to do SOMETHING for any kind of benfits unless they are disabled. I'm sure there will be plenty of snow that will need shoveling in Detroit this winter. people everywhere need help if they can't find any jobs. Our economy has been gutted for the benefit of a few of the ownership class if you're wondering who's responsiblity this whole mess is.

Originally posted by KSPigpen
Thank you for posting this, my friend. I thought I would save a click for a couple folks that were too lazy.....but,

You guys should read the article. Sounds like dangerously poor planning on the part of the leaders of Detroit and it sounds like a lot of desperate people...They were providing 5000 APPLICATIONS for assistance....and ran out...

Not good.

Spot on, how much support is going out. Is it going to be one month of electric bills for somebody or paying half on rent etc. etc., it doesn't have an amount just a limit of short duration. California and alot of other states and cities are in the same predicament, but they have been able to push off the day of reckoning another quarter. The midwest and rust belt is getting hit the hardest because most of their jobs where in manufacturing and much of that is gone or going overseas, and what was taking it's place was service jobs that serviced people who had money to buy things and services. But since the spigot of money from refinancing and credit cards has dried up, there is no need for these service individuals (everything from a food preparer to an accountant), so they get laid off. You know what is funny is that people may think its a black thing or whatever because it's in detroit, it's not.

From two weeks ago a poster posted pictures of people going through a persons stuff that was evicted, most of them was white. The person evicted was a very old woman that couldn't afford her place anymore. Soon we may start to see not just blacks in distress like this but all sorts of people and colors fighting for this or that just like the chaos in detroit. Everybody is hiding in their house or apt. or condo trying to keep what they have and hide behind the facade of everything is fine to their friends. I've seen on youtube the long lines at job fairs and such and I see the faces, the faces tell you everything. I remember one man in his 50's in line with people of different races (man was white) and sexes waiting to get in to look for a job dressed well. His eyes was darting back and forth and his posture was one of drooped upper back and lowered head. In that instance I could tell he must have felt ashamed, ashamed at something that may not be his fault, ashamed that he may or may have looked down at people in situations like this, ashamed that he is a man in his 50's having to start over again.

What is happening is americans are slowly getting the delusional world that was made for us and we made for ourselves pulled away from our eyes (our manifest destiny to be right and on top). And what we are seeing and should deduce is that we are no different from the rest of humanity out their. We can be just as dirt poor as the poorest on this planet, the problem is that we have been lying to ourselves and letting our leaders lie and cheat and manipulate this lie in order for them to stay on top and get rich.

Welcome, welcome to the sunny shores and white beaches of the Banana

Banana Republic of United States of Americ.

America. Whats wrong with my keyboard.

I just want to say that not all people who receive "welfare" are "freeloaders". But like in most situations, the bad apples spoil it for the whole bunch.

Coming from my single mother who worked her ass off at a cheap minimum wage job and still couldn't afford I can attest to that. The last thing we had at my house growing up was luxuries.

Just 2 years ago the minimum wage in my state was 5.15 an hour. Figure that up.

Me and my now ex worked long and hard at our cheap minimum wage jobs to provide for our 2 children. The only "luxury" we didn't go with out was a phone. You need a phone, especially when you have children and it becomes a necessity and not a commodity. We had no car, no cable, no designer clothes bar a random nike shirt here and there.

People can turn around and point the finger at us and our choices, thats just an easy way out.

We had our first child when I was 20. We both discussed every option we had, although one was only really ever considered. Raising our child the best we could with what we had to work with. I (like MANY others) was ashamed that I couldn't provide for my family on my own and had to ask for help. I felt like a fool everytime I pulled out WiC at the supermarket, everytime I swiped my food stamp card to put milk on my son's cereal.

As time went on, job markets change as does the economy. Jobs hire less/more, cut hours and ask you to work overtime. For awhile we were able to remove ourselves from the system, and it felt good to be able to provide for our family and not need someone elses help. At this point in the economy, jobs are shrinking, many of the ones that are hiring are hiring for limited shifts/hours. Finding one job is hard enough, let alone a second. And 1 person shouldn't need 2 jobs just to provide basics for his family.

Not everyone is a greedy welfare recipient sitting at home on their blackberry watching maury while their kids run around the yard with a diaper on.

I agree a better system needs to be put in place to stop abuse. But if the country isn't strong enough economically to support its citizens, then who/what will?

Small potatoes. Small potatoes.

We are talking about economic and political theory, applied to a small instance and it doesn't work.

Truth is, there are lazy people and motivated people, greedy and frugal, etc, etc and none of the "bicycle" ideas or "work is strength" talk helps. Not trying to get personal, but I don't see it's helpful.

Anyway, I don't care about these small bits of money, but as for the people in this story, I don't blame them.

I would take every red cent I could get from the government and give it as little as I can get away with.

Pretty simple in my mind.

Originally posted by KrazyJethro
I would take every red cent I could get from the government and give it as little as I can get away with.

Pretty simple in my mind.

It's that attitude that gets this country in trouble in the first place. Keep in mind, it's not the government's money. It's our money. You're not taking a single red cent from the government... you're taking it from us. The government isn't handing out anything other than every dollar we pay in taxes.

Originally posted by larphillips

Originally posted by KrazyJethro
I would take every red cent I could get from the government and give it as little as I can get away with.

Pretty simple in my mind.

It's that attitude that gets this country in trouble in the first place. Keep in mind, it's not the government's money. It's our money. You're not taking a single red cent from the government... you're taking it from us. The government isn't handing out anything other than every dollar we pay in taxes.

I tend to believe that the Income Tax is unconstitutional

thanks to Aaron Russo's movie.