what would happen if, people were cut off from benefits?

Originally posted by rubbertramp
i'm not talking about the mentally and physically disabled.
i'm talking about healthy folks who collect a check and food stamps etc...........
would it be a motivating factor that would get them to put down the remote and get a job, even if it is a much lower paying one than they had in the past?
or, would it cause general strife and possibly a revolution of sorts?
i am a true believer that most americans live way beyond their means and need to come back to earth.
i just had this conversation with a friend, who claims an anti-big government stance, yet has been out of work for a year and is recieving benefits.
this seems very contradictory to me. i told him he should just go get a lower paying job and suck it up.
what thinks you?

reply to post by yurichan

any comment, or did you just feel like qouting the op?

reply to post by rubbertramp


Most of them sell drugs and have guns and belong to gangs, I suspect it wouldn't be pretty. However, we outnumber them so let them try, Oh and we have better aim.

Originally posted by flexy123

Originally posted by Manhater
She's 16 now, but when she's 80, she'll still be living in her SIMS world. No way in heck, would she ever be responsible enough to live on her own, drive a car, or take care of a child.

Why is that? She will never be able to drive a car or live on her own .. BECAUSE SHE PLAYS VIDEO GAMES? What?!!!?

Also, I wanted to add, she has been talking about wanting to drive. You know, I don't mind teaching her. In a secluded area.

Just an open road, with no hazards to bump into. She, will either be playing bumper cars with my car, getting into an accident every 5 minutes, or ramming into someone on purpose with her dead abyss eye look.

And when she throws her tantrum, and tries to push my car down a hill on purpose, with a grim face and dead abyss eyes. That right there, tells me, She's not ready to handle, and is not responsible enough, to take on, that much power. She needs to learn the value of a car first. Which, I don't see happening anytime soon.

If you want to teach her, be my guest. Just use your car.

Her mother and I, Have to hide our keys. And it's a pain in the butt to look for them when you can't remember where you hid them, especially, when you're in rush and have to be somewhere. lol

Sorry, back on topic now, just wanted to respond to the driving question.

reply to post by AzureSky


The point of getting work at a lower paying job is to gain experience so later in life you can be more qualified to get higher paying jobs. Many older people now 60 ish started out with low paying jobs and then worked their way up the chain. The harder you work the further you get. (usually) You are going to get nowhere sitting doing nothing.

Originally posted by rubbertramp

Originally posted by illuminatislave
You do realize that there are people that work and still have to collect benefits to feed their families?

I suppose that the 'working poor' is a myth to you?

i'll assume this was directed at me.
if you'd read the thread you'll see where i stated that i am not entirely against benifits in all situations.
but, i'd need to know more about the individual, instead of making a blanket statement like you just did.
did the working poor buy their kid a new x-box for christmas?
are they living in a place that costs more than 25% of their income?
are they eating junk food and not budgeting their expenses?
there are many questions i'd need to know the answers too in order to address your comment.
generally speaking, i'd say the working poor are in the position because they spend to much on non-essentials.
instead of benefits, maybe the government should pay for somebody to help people budget their income and live within their means?

Lets take the average working poors weekly income of $500.

Rent- $125(good luck finding a place for that price)
Food- $140 ($20 a day isn't unreasonable for breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Petrol- $50
Water, Gas, Electricity, Phone- $50

$135 left over for the week on a very very tight budget, so say you managed to save that $135 every year for 20 years you would have $129,000. That sounds like living the dream........

Maybe you should wake up, i'm sick of the "live within your means argument" its a crock.

reply to post by SethGecko


What world are you living in where you can get electricity, water, phone, and heat for $50?

I'm trading places with you.

Lets see my phone bill runs about 200 and all my utilities are about 200.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Really? If you work in a cafe or supermarket here in Oz then you can afford a place to live (house not room) and something to eat. I understand you can't quite do that in the UK and US, so why bust a gut whilst being under valued....such a work ethic is insane.

People will not starve to death quietly. When they lose their homes they'll start looting and rioting-the people not dependent on benefits will have to fight off gangs of desperate people trying to survive. It won't be pretty.

The PROBLEM is actually the individual greed.

Since for a typical American, there is nothing worse than the thought that he might need to have pay more taxes.

This is naive, children-like thinking and the politicians are actually playing this game very well because "Tax Cuts" or "No Tax Cuts" are always and have always been a major element in ANY political campaign.

"Yes, let's stop benefits for our poor" because it might result in a dollar or two more left in YOUR pocket per month...while ignoring the dire consequences this might have in the long run for EVERYONE.

So what happens if YOU are becoming unemployed...or you are unemployed and a medical emergency comes up? Or you are unemployed and don't have the $ to even drive around to apply for jobs...or you need training and new skills for a better job with better chances of getting hired but you cannot afford the training?

Because whatever "benefits" there were to tie you over (food, housing etc.).is now totally gone - now you are facing to become homeless, you also don't know what to eat tomorrow....you might have a condition and need meds but you cannot afford a doctor or the meds?

Oh wait! It's not that bad..because the lucky people who HAVE a job saved a few dollars because they don't have to pay that many taxes?

So you are seriously thinking that a "solution" would be to even further widen the gap between poor/unemployed people and give the people who have money/jobs tax cuts?

It's just ridiculous how some of your politicians lure you into believing this and how many people actually buy that!

Originally posted by rubbertramp
reply to post by Amaterasu

 

the other problem i have, even after they bagan issueing the cards instead of stamps is people selling them.
i don't know how many times i've been approached by somebody,
'hey, dude, i'll sell you 100 dollars in stamps for 50 bucks.'
it's almost tempting, but i've never done it.
obviously those trying want alcohol or drugs.

Not necessarily. You can't get deodorant, toilet paper, shower supplies, feminine products or medicines with food stamps. People still need that stuff and if you only get food and not cash, you can only borrow tp from a neighbor so many times. I've known plenty in that situation, believe me. I like how you assume 100% of those wanting to trade food stamps for money are druggies and alcoholics. Humans shouldn't have to wipe their butts on their shirts cuz they probably have to go to the laundromat and that costs money too which, if you can't afford tp or deodorant or toothpaste, etc., you surely can't afford the laundromat.

Have some thinking before typing. A higher percentage no doubt wants the cash for alcohol or drugs. Not the entire percentile.

reply to post by Manhater


I was saying $50 a week over a month for a single person that's roughly $200 and i was being VERY conservative with that figure, mealy trying to state how hard it is for somebody on $500 a week to actually live. I earn considerably more than the working poor wage, i do overspend and can save but i don't take the high ride when talking about people who put in hard yards and earn nothing, it disgusts me.

I once saw a 57+ year old female who couldn't afford to put petrol in her car at the service station once and was crying at the attendant when she realised money wasn't in her account all for $10 of petrol which is basically 5L, what kind of society do we live in where somebody who has worked 3/4 of there life cannot put $10 of petrol in there car.... something is wrong.

I volunteer at a homeless drop in centre for young people in my town. All of them receive some type of benefit, housing or unemployment benefit some on both. Now I believe that some of these youngsters are actually capable of working, many just dont want to or are ill prepared to. However, there are some , who have mental illness and serious depression whom if you removed their benefits they would be sleeping cold on the streets and probably dead within months.

The majority of these young people have been kicked out of their families or have run away from abusive families. They do not have anyone to turn to. No support from any family members and no idea of how to live.

I believe that people should be expected to do something in return for their benefits. I'm not talking about slave labour, but being made to do some voluntary work in the community. It's not healthy for people to be sitting in their homes all day not interacting with other people and not taking on any responsibilities in their lives. It will also prepare people for work in the future.

reply to post by Manhater


Is she in a program for autistic kids that will help her learn to live independently? There are good programs for that

reply to post by SethGecko



Oh, okay. My bad. I misunderstood.

reply to post by aprilc1


Honestly, I don't think my sister wants to part with her child. I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to part with my child either, if I ever had one. Hmm, I just asked her to look and why she didn't do that before is beyond me. It's like doh. She also said the closet place was 2 hours away for autistic schooling. But, I think she would do better in an Autistic living facility. She needs to be around children like her, where she can make friends, rather then imaginary friends, or stuck on SIMS all day.

Originally posted by SethGecko

Originally posted by rubbertramp

Originally posted by illuminatislave
You do realize that there are people that work and still have to collect benefits to feed their families?

I suppose that the 'working poor' is a myth to you?

i'll assume this was directed at me.
if you'd read the thread you'll see where i stated that i am not entirely against benifits in all situations.
but, i'd need to know more about the individual, instead of making a blanket statement like you just did.
did the working poor buy their kid a new x-box for christmas?
are they living in a place that costs more than 25% of their income?
are they eating junk food and not budgeting their expenses?
there are many questions i'd need to know the answers too in order to address your comment.
generally speaking, i'd say the working poor are in the position because they spend to much on non-essentials.
instead of benefits, maybe the government should pay for somebody to help people budget their income and live within their means?

Lets take the average working poors weekly income of $500.

Rent- $125(good luck finding a place for that price)
Food- $140 ($20 a day isn't unreasonable for breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Petrol- $50
Water, Gas, Electricity, Phone- $50

$135 left over for the week on a very very tight budget, so say you managed to save that $135 every year for 20 years you would have $129,000. That sounds like living the dream........

Maybe you should wake up, i'm sick of the "live within your means argument" its a crock.

500 A WEEK? omg that is rich!
When I do work, I've always been min wage (fast food and other cashier jobs. Almost 39 years old but I'm in school now working on my first degree of Bachelors for Web and Graphic Design.) and I'd bring home once taxes were out around 350 every two weeks. Maybe 400 if I claimed 2 or so. You learn to claim more gives you more in your check.

I'd not know what to do with 500 dollars a week. My /god/. I'd have SO much money saved up. It'd be ridiculous. I could finally take vacations, I could actually show my son other States (he's just turned 17. Sadly can't afford vacations or anything like that, but that's real life for you). but man. My jaw hit the ground about 500 a week being working poor. Downgrade that by 100 to 150 less and that's more realistic. Though our min wage here in Illinois is awesome: 8.50 an hour.

I'm hoping to get a job at a factory another town over and I'm hoping they pay 10 an hour. I've never made that much money in my life. I'm so hyped and truly hope I'll get it. It means I'll finally be considered lower middle class with that amount and I'm so excited. Finally I can actually buy cool unnecessary things. Seriously. I'm praying so hard I get this job. Been without work since November of 2010. Too many interviews, never hired. Hard when 50 people go for the one job opening. Couldn't get hired at Mcdonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Walmart, nothing. I still refuse to give up and hopefully this factory will be my golden ticket to no more money problems. (My rent for my two bedroom apt is only 300 a month. I live in the poorest county in Illinois so right now even 300 a week is equivalent to 800 a week. When I lived in the Chicago Burbs, rent for a two bedroom was about 840/mth back in 2009. I needed a room mate and everything to get by and was lucky to have 50 dollars to my name after the month. So down here, IF they pay 10 an hour, that's 400 a week. I'll have about 800 to do with as I want once the phone bill and electric and net is paid since those are only like 345 dollars. 150 for the phone, 150 for electric and 45 for the net. (College is through Devry online so net is a required need).

Just adding, in my county, if you pay OVER 450 to 500 a month for any house or apartment, you're being horribly ripped off. Usually a 3 bedroom house with basement etc is about 475 a month. Houses sell for about 30k to 55k as well. My town has pretty much negative crime also, which we're proud of. You can leave your laptop in your car with your droid on top of it, the keys in the ignition, windows down and go in to grocery shop for an hour, come back out and everything is still sitting there. People leave their doors to their houses unlocked. We have one cop for the day and one cop for the night and that's our police force. They're SO cute.

But yeah. It's pretty much Utopia here. Even Winter goes around us. Every other town gets feet of snow while we're in the 50's to 60's. I love my little Heaven on Earth. My little Twilight Zone. I love living here. Moving from the chicago burbs was the BEST decision ever. It's so slow paced here.

Sorry to hear about your current and what seems like a long bad situation sarra, where im from $550 is minimum wage, and generally rent for a 3 bedroom place is around $1550 a month(which is just basic 1970's built home). You cannot rent a place solo here and even a 2 bedroom apartment your looking for around the same price as a 3 bedroom house. Anything under $230 a week is like a student apartment 1 room, no toilet/shower.

$350 a fortnight is ridiculous, slave labour and its plain wrong... i bet the bosses of those factories/companies have quite a nice car for themselves and a few houses along with it, yet they pay $8.50 an hour because "they can".

Originally posted by AzureSky
I would not see the point in getting a lower paying job if it ends up being less then the benefits you receive, why work to be just as broke when you weren't.

And not all people are lazy, lots of people just cant find work. and need food stamps because things are always rising in price.

BINGO !!!!

Folks, we have a winner! This is the problem with the world.

"I" WOULD TAKE A LOWER PAYING JOB (and have).

I felt better taking care of my family by working than just sitting home and getting food stamps and letting a government agency pay for everything through other peoples tax dollars.

No work ethic or sense of personal responsibility anymore. Most people want to get the most out of life with the least amount of effort.

I personally would rather work full time and make $175 a week than sit on my ass at home and make $200 a week.

I don't expect most people to understand because those that will are hard to find now days. I am older than a lot of you and was was raised in a different time. "welfare" used to be a dirty word and it was embarrassing to have to go and spend food stamps.....now it's the norm.