How did people in need get help before Welfare?

Before Welfare there were many organizations that helped those in need. Those more fortunate gave to these organizations to help those less fortunate. This included food/medical/financial aid. It worked well. ( the Great Depression was not a good time for anyone) Hospitals frequently performed surgery for free or were paid by donor organizations. There was also a network of non-profit organizations that you could pay into (a very small amount) to get needed help if ever you needed it. It worked very very well. Our government decided that it would take it over and do a better job of it. Big mistake. There are still a few of these organizations left. AA is one. It still does great caring work for free through donations. If America goes bankrupt we will need these programs restarted. The amount of waste having our government handle it is far too excessive. I think America has a lot more caring people than is generally thought. I know many that would take up the challenge if needed and happily so. I know many on ATS do not like church's but they may save us all if America fails. We need to be ready to help those in need if it comes to that.

Most didn't get help. Here is a link to a Library of Congress link to just one work on the period of the 1890's and what life was like for the poor.

It is tempting for us, today, to look back at history and see it through a certain lens. But it isn't an accurate one. The fact is that there were many, many disenfranchised, sick, orphaned, and dying people before our modern age. But it was considered improper to speak of them - thus they have inadequate representation or mention in the historical record.

European countries did slightly better during these periods. But, by no means was life in, say, Ireland or the UK itself anything near humane for the poor.

~Heff

Interesting article

Simple, They did what Dr. Ron Paul encouraged. Local community help.

Originally posted by JrDavis
Simple, They did what Dr. Ron Paul encouraged. Local community help.

Yes people helped their fellow man more back then. But we had debtors' prisons also.

reply to post by jimmiec


Yes.. some helped. But then again, it is also estimated that 12 MILLION American's died due to starvation.

And this is why I am not against programs like SNAP and Welfare for those who really need it. I am currently out of work. I have been applying to jobs non-stop for months. I have an 11-year old son and I am on SNAP. Without it, I don't know how I would feed my son. For people like me, its a life saver. Without it, so many would end up a statistic.

Imagine the Great Depression today, under the same standards as back then. That 12 million would probably be more like a 100 million.

I'm from the u.k. but I sense all the unemployment is by design, it's funny how they have to keep cutting government jobs but have plenty of money to spend on controlling peoples lives or to waste on other stuff. Companies are not exactly taking many people on at the moment, some businesses are struggling to do so, but then you get companies posting record profits and in the U.K. many jobs that are going go to immigrants because there is a image of the British worker not wanting to do the dirty low paid jobs.

I reckon they already have a plan to look after the unemployed, they just need to back them into a corner and make it seem like a choice, either join the army (young people) or work for your benefits = free labour.
people will still be able to eat just about or will be stationed overseas fighting wars.

I could be wrong but with the way things are at the moment i think they are the only two main things people can do right now to work, other than constantly sending C.V.'s and getting no replies and no work experience to add to the C.V.

Therefore I don't think they will need to do what they did in the past, maybe for those in extreme cases, the rest will be used in other ways that mean they can still eat but will benefit TPTB by providing free labour and soldiers

reply to post by jimmiec

Today is much different than back then. Today we have a very large percentage of our society that doesn't just need help, we also have a large section of society that thinks everything should just be handed to them. They are used to not doing for themselves, so will be angry if what they are used to, stops. That is one of the biggest problems I see facing us as a whole.

Yes, there will be those with compassion who'll step up to the plate in offering a helping hand...but the hands reaching for help, will far outnumber the hands that are giving. I don't know how this monumental problem will be dealt with. I blame it on our own government in creating this mess to begin with. They certainly haven't done anything to fix it, and it just keeps getting worse.

Des

Back in the 1940's my grandmother left my 7 year old mother at home to watch her 5 year old brother. While she worked as a secretary. Since she had to leave for work before school started my grandmother depended on my mother to get herself and her brother to school. My mother and uncle rarely made it to school. Neither one ever got a higher than a 6th grade education. Today My grandmother would have lost her kids in an effort to try and hold down a job and support them.

She was treated as an outcast by any churches or charities because she was an divorced single mother in a time when that was taboo.

In the past people had large extended families that were tight nit that helped each other out. Very few people have that anymore. I see the lose of extended families to be on of the major causes of increased poverty and welfare dependence.

This is a great question.

Besides the Government funded assistance and programs, many Church's do have "Angel Food" ministries or "Isiah 58" programs, and some local volunteer groups still do "Meals on Wheels" type programs for free, or low cost.

I agree it will be local communities who help each other in times of crisis that pull us out of any dire situation.

Here is an example:
A little over a year ago, a town about 2 hours away from me was hit with a DAY of tornadoes. The tornadoes literally ripped entire streets to shreds. Trees were destroyed, Houses were picked up, moved and demolished, cars were found blocks away. It was a disaster.

There were an astronomical amount of people that were in need. I had family who were devastatingly affected by this. So, I bought supplies, filled gas cans up with gas and collected donations for them.

When I arrived to their house, it was amazing at the amount of people who had volunteered to help clean up the mess. But supplies were coming in by the truck loads. Local organizations were showing up to provide food for everyone on site. Neighbors were banding together to help rectify the mess.

In a crisis, we depend on our communities and neighbors to help us all through hard times. If our economy was to collapse, these are the same communities and neighbors that will be here lending that Helping Hand.

I live in the south, so it is not common at all to help a stranger, without expecting something in return.

These acts of random kindness and assistance are going to be what saves us in the end.

reply to post by NaeBabii


Exactly! People care. Bureaucracies don't. They just want to get through the day and collect their pay. The system needs to be jump started again. People will give if they know where their money is going. Maybe a National Coop could do great works.

Government-run facility, called a "Poor House", "Poor Farm" , " Workhouse"- More here.

This video and description gives a good run down of what was in place for assistance programs(and prior to the 1930s),

A Huge Secret History---The Poor Farm

A poor house may be something you've heard people mention as if it were a metaphor...actually, poor house or poor farms as they may have been called were facilities to house to poor, mentally ill, elderly, homeless people. Sometimes, even orphaned children were dropped off there. cont...

This system was in place prior to the Social Security program and other government backed programs such as "welfare", "section-8", "food stamps", etc. Too many people were being left homeless as they either lost their homes and jobs or because of age; the counties had to do something to handle their local issues.
-(spelled checked)From the video discription

... much more.

This form of assistance, lasted until the 1970s.

I can answer with a simple sentence

Before it was called welfare, it was called charity...

My great grandpa was dirt poor, I remember one time hearing him talk about how it was "back then". Sometimes when the soup kitchens ran out of food tbey would search the dumpsters behind restaurants, when things were extremely tough they would even look for roadkill.

reply to post by jimmiec


They didn't, they died of hunger.

That is why they came up with welfare.

You see, there were reasons things like welfare, social security, and unemployment came about, it was because they were needed. It wasn't just decided, "hey, even though we don't have a problem, let's come up with a solution".

Originally posted by DerekJR321
reply to post by jimmiec

 

Yes.. some helped. But then again, it is also estimated that 12 MILLION American's died due to starvation.

And this is why I am not against programs like SNAP and Welfare for those who really need it. I am currently out of work. I have been applying to jobs non-stop for months. I have an 11-year old son and I am on SNAP. Without it, I don't know how I would feed my son. For people like me, its a life saver. Without it, so many would end up a statistic.

Imagine the Great Depression today, under the same standards as back then. That 12 million would probably be more like a 100 million.

Derek, we are all praying for people like you, I hope you and yours find a really awesome jobs soon, hang
in there

Its really disturbing how the neo cons, want to transform America into a even worse Feudalistic society.

If you've got nothing to eat...you better hope mr. ceo is in a giving mood..or else you're going to bed hungry!
if you need clothes...well you better hope Mr. CEO is having a good day!

and while we're at it we should lower their taxes so they can make more money so they can give the poor more charity!

I believe since the advent of the federal reserve the value of labor has continually been leveraged as inflation to print money. Wages have not come up enough to account for this inflation because of free trade and many other anti-middle class policies over the years. This has led to a large decrease in savings as well as diminished funds given to local charities that would normally have help available to those in need. I am certainly not suggesting that all were helped, but help was available. In today's world half of zero is zero. Without savings how can one help another. So many people are a few checks away from being homeless

There are not enough people with good ethics that have the money today. As most of the money is simply stolen value to begin with.

I am a firm believer that if nice guys finished first in this economy, the poor would be taken care of well. And it's doctor Ron Paul that has the best idea to give the economy back to people who have a decent sense to help feed the hungry, or the hungry end up eating you.

For those who entertain the notion that charity was there to help, and would be again. Sure, there are plenty or small charities that help ( SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FOOD BANK - I hate spamming that in these threads, but it is a necessary message ). But as for the big one?

Until the industrial revolution the major charity was the Catholic Church. During it's reign of "being a charity" it raked in untold profits and became the largest land holding entity in the world. Even now, nearly half a milennia after the age of enlightenment ( people actually being able to say "no" to the church, and wanting to do so ) and the Great Schism, the Pope is still listed as the third largest private land holder in the world.

The point? If you think welfare fraud is rampant - research charity fraud. It's one of the biggest money making schemes in the world. This "let charity handle it" is simply another rung in the corporate takeover of civilization and a furthering of the transfer of wealth into the hands of the few.

~Heff

Originally posted by HostileApostle
reply to post by jimmiec

 

They didn't, they died of hunger.

That is why they came up with welfare.

You see, there were reasons things like welfare, social security, and unemployment came about, it was because they were needed. It wasn't just decided, "hey, even though we don't have a problem, let's come up with a solution".

Welfare was came up to "buy" votes from the poor..

Thats what it is a paid for vote nothing so nice and the government tries to make it.