Originally posted by larphillips
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.

Garbage, it's the American way friend. How can you blame anyone for taking advantage of yet another stupid program that cost a tiny 15 million or so?

They OFFERED IT!

I have to live in this tax rich/benefits poor nation the same as the rest of you until we can tear down the walls in Washington and replace it with some sanity. BUT, until then I live here and watch as they take food out of my children's mouth to give to another (quite a bit to others not even in this country) and you think I will stand by and watch?

Please, you can stand on your moral high ground all you want, but this government and current system is idiocy and it warrants being taken advantage of at all turns and should be thwarted as much as possible (i.e. taking all I can and give as little to the GOVERNMENT as possible).

Again, simple as that.

Michigan.

Didn't it vote for Obama in the Presidential elections? The same one who's doing everything possible to tank the economy?

Isn't Michigan a big union state? The same ones who bled their employers dry?

Well, well.

There IS a God in Heaven.

Originally posted by AnnieNakki
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!

Around here cell phones are often cheaper than landlines. How is someone supposed to get a job without a phone for the potential employer to call them in for an interview?? Hardly a luxury these days.

When I was on welfare, I did not have cable tv, etc. I couldn't afford it. Sometimes I didn't even know whether or not I'd be able to pay my electric bill.

[edit on 10/9/2009 by Jessicamsa]

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
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.

Indeed, most of these people "wearing a thousand dollar wardrobe" are pulling one over on the previous poster. They're actually paying Wal-Mart prices for fake designer clothing.

There's a thriving black-market for fake-designer clothing and apparel. There are people who go around to various high-traffic markets and sell what looks like a $700 designer-brand purse for $30, tax-free.

The fact that anybody actually believes that people are dressed in $1000 wardrobes while living on welfare...it proves how convincing these fakes really are and makes me wonder why anybody would pay $700 for a purse that they could essentially get for $30 in a ghetto Beauty Salon. It also makes me wonder why anybody would buy the crap that they sell at Wal-Mart, when they could just buy "designer" crap on the black-market.

In some ways, I actually view the black-market as capitalism in it's purest form.

Originally posted by cenpuppie
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.

Indeed, in the UK the welfare system was started due to immense poverty and unemployment. This was before the economic boom, and long before materialistic mentality became prevalent.

I think a lot of people here are simply stating what they "think" and what they read in trash news, rather than actual knowledge of the situation.

I have been on benefits, and I assure you I wasn't going out buying designer labels. I know a woman claiming disability benefit due to M.E. and she doesn't have Internet, a phone line or satellite TV, she certainly doesn't wear designer clothes.

Instead of people repeating what you "think" is true about these people, try learning from your perceptions and seeing it from their perspective.
Maybe their designer brand clothing was bought before they lost their job?
Maybe they're fat because your stupid educational system neglected to teach them how to eat properly?
Maybe they have mobile phones because they are cheaper to have than a land line (you just try getting a job without any phone at all!)

It's not as black and white as many here seem to think. You're just making generalisations about an entire group of people without considering the facts and without knowing anything about them.

But, having said that, there needs to be an entirely different approach to this scenario. People need educating on self-sustainability and priorities. I've no doubt there are people out there still spending money on useless crap, but rather than deny an entire section of society any help whatsoever the minority who are idiots need to be taught how to prioritise.

It's a bad situation for many, but making general assumptions about millions of people is easy when you have a job, access to food, a roof above you...
And most of you posting look extremely arrogant and ignorant for your short-sightedness and accusatory finger wagging.

Originally posted by detachedindividual
But, having said that, there needs to be an entirely different approach to this scenario. People need educating on self-sustainability and priorities. I've no doubt there are people out there still spending money on useless crap, but rather than deny an entire section of society any help whatsoever the minority who are idiots need to be taught how to prioritize.

While I'm sure I'm not one of the ones you are talking about, I don't feel the need to spend one red cent to educate anyone about anything.

I don't trust practically any government body or level to handle education, and I really wouldn't mind if it wasn't free. One of the very few things I support the local governments doing is free public libraries.

People need to want to learn, and poor education isn't simply an affliction of the poor.

It's a bad situation for many, but making general assumptions about millions of people is easy when you have a job, access to food, a roof above you...
And most of you posting look extremely arrogant and ignorant for your short-sightedness and accusatory finger wagging.

Well, like I said before, I don't care if they take something given. My issue is not with the people on the receiving end of things, but rather the ones that made the choice to do it to begin with.

Same with Immigration. Why be mad at the immigrants? I'd sneak over the border with my kids if I was from South of the Border.

Most here would too. They should be angry at government for pissing away trillions of dollars every year.