Is California the welfare capital? (Los Angeles, Alhambra: foreclosures, rentals, mover)

[mover79]

Is California the welfare capital? | UTSanDiego.com

I believe in some kind of safety net for the poor, kids and disabled. But is the system broken? I have sided with Democrats on a lot of issues but I am starting to be swayed by Republican arguments. Republicans have their their version of corporate welfare as well. Both parties are in it for votes, Dems want unions, lawyers and the poor to vote for them and Republicans work for the rich corporations. The average voter continues to get dumber on issues by corporate media. Opinion passes as news.

I have seen people on welfare driving nice cars with fancy purses and iphones. They give you attitude when things don't go their way or when their "benefits" don't buy what they want. There is no humility and shame anymore. People plan on staying on this system by having multiple kids even though they cannot provide the best for the existing ones. What happened to taking some responsibility? The housing bubble was not only caused by banks lending money to people who couldn't afford it, it was also the fault of people who don't know how to manage their finances. So now are in this mess, stuck with properties that have been devalued even if you the right thing and bought within your means. Collectively screwed.

The middle class have it worse. Our wages have been stagnant for last few decades while corporate profits continue to increase. All those gains in productivity due to technology continue to swell the wealth of the Forbes 400. Isn't 80% of the stock market owned by 20%? Now these same people will buy up properties for pennies on the dollar and there will be further concentration of wealth. I would hate to see the The American dream become a dream.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by mover79

Is California the welfare capital? | UTSanDiego.com

I believe in some kind of safety net for the poor, kids and disabled. But is the system broken? I have sided with Democrats on a lot of issues but I am starting to be swayed by Republican arguments. Republicans have their their version of corporate welfare as well. Both parties are in it for votes, Dems want unions, lawyers and the poor to vote for them and Republicans work for the rich corporations. The average voter continues to get dumber on issues by corporate media. Opinion passes as news.

I have seen people on welfare driving nice cars with fancy purses and iphones. They give you attitude when things don't go their way or when their "benefits" don't buy what they want. There is no humility and shame anymore. People plan on staying on this system by having multiple kids even though they cannot provide the best for the existing ones. What happened to taking some responsibility? The housing bubble was not only caused by banks lending money to people who couldn't afford it, it was also the fault of people who don't know how to manage their finances. So now are in this mess, stuck with properties that have been devalued even if you the right thing and bought within your means. Collectively screwed.

The middle class have it worse. Our wages have been stagnant for last few decades while corporate profits continue to increase. All those gains in productivity due to technology continue to swell the wealth of the Forbes 400. Isn't 80% of the stock market owned by 20%? Now these same people will buy up properties for pennies on the dollar and there will be further concentration of wealth. I would hate to see the The American dream become a dream.

believe it or not, the welfare state isn't new: I can remember, back in the mid 1950s I was a camp councilor one year and had a little 10 year girl in my cabin, she was able to attend camp because her mom and 3 siblings were on welfare and the county paid for it: when we returned to the YMCA in Alhambra and the camp session was over, there was mom to pick her up: mom had a brand new Chevy.

It is worse now, for sure and Ca is toward the top of the list, but it has always existed. As for the middle class, I don't think the stock market is any indicator that the middle class is fading. As a young person, we were upper mobile, raising kids and none of us even understood the stock market. It wasn't til much later we even thought of stock. My in-laws and my husbands family were middle class, hard workers, saved every penny, mostly uneducated but still successful because they were frugal, none of them had stock in anything. The biggest problem right now is the 0 interest on savings.

BTW, though salaries are not increasing at the rate they did 20 years ago and some haven't seen any increase in the past 5 years or so, they have not remained stagnant for decades.

Nita

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by nmnita

BTW, though salaries are not increasing at the rate they did 20 years ago and some haven't seen any increase in the past 5 years or so, they have not remained stagnant for decades.

Nita

In real terms they've been stagnant since the '80s.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by mover79

Is California the welfare capital? | UTSanDiego.com

I believe in some kind of safety net for the poor, kids and disabled. But is the system broken? I have sided with Democrats on a lot of issues but I am starting to be swayed by Republican arguments. Republicans have their their version of corporate welfare as well. Both parties are in it for votes, Dems want unions, lawyers and the poor to vote for them and Republicans work for the rich corporations. The average voter continues to get dumber on issues by corporate media. Opinion passes as news.

I have seen people on welfare driving nice cars with fancy purses and iphones. They give you attitude when things don't go their way or when their "benefits" don't buy what they want. There is no humility and shame anymore. People plan on staying on this system by having multiple kids even though they cannot provide the best for the existing ones. What happened to taking some responsibility? The housing bubble was not only caused by banks lending money to people who couldn't afford it, it was also the fault of people who don't know how to manage their finances. So now are in this mess, stuck with properties that have been devalued even if you the right thing and bought within your means. Collectively screwed.

The middle class have it worse. Our wages have been stagnant for last few decades while corporate profits continue to increase. All those gains in productivity due to technology continue to swell the wealth of the Forbes 400. Isn't 80% of the stock market owned by 20%? Now these same people will buy up properties for pennies on the dollar and there will be further concentration of wealth. I would hate to see the The American dream become a dream.

Some of your observations are approximately correct -- such as stagnation of wages and "gains" of productivity due to technology. Most of what you generalize, however, is stereotyped regurgitation of what is fed the public by economically and politically driven propaganda -- and by media that feeds on specious, sensationalist examples of systemic abuses -- that are mostly pretty damn minor when viewed statistically, but aggravating when seen individually.

What you "have seen people" doing here and there is virtually meaningless in the big picture. Your impressions of welfare abuse and culture, and the realities behind the housing bubble consumer abuses, are, like most peoples', way off -- formed by propaganda and fear-based urban legends.

You want an actual education? Here are a handful of articles and reports to make your way through with regard to some welfare issues. They only scrape the surface of what are the realities of the welfare "culture". Learn about things before you preach -- or wallow with the crowd. Whatever.

5 Myths About Welfare | MLA Welfare Challenge
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...Dhn61iXkIm_dKA
Welfare Reform: An Overview of Effects to Date | Brookings Institution
An Analysis of Out-Of-Wedlock Births in the United States | Brookings Institution
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...xCutJ-krtag9ZA
Welfare gives mothers an economic incentive to have more children
LIVING ON WELFARE: A CLOCK IS TICKING - New York Times
Welfare Debate Driven by Half-Truths, Distortions : Poverty: After 20 years of haphazard 'reforms,' the system mainly serves single mothers and children. - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times
Ban on Payments for Welfare Mothers' New Babies Delayed - Los Angeles Times
Civic Report 35 | Gaining Ground, Moving Up: The Change in the Economic Status of Single Mothers Under Welfare Reform
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...Mw4jIl2vE1Jggg
US Welfare System - Help for US Citizens



but most thought-provoking of all:
Before you judge others or claim any absolute trut | High Existence

[Garden gal]

Nullgeo, the first link you posted is about welfare in British Columbia, so not as applicipable to California. I don't have a comment really about the OP, but am interested in issues of poverty as so many of my students are living in multi-generational poverty. I am just reading along here.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by mover79

The housing bubble was not only caused by banks lending money to people who couldn't afford it, it was also the fault of people who don't know how to manage their finances.

really. and when the value of that house dropped $100k and the job market fell out so they can't sell and move, it's about managing their finances? i'm guessing you haven't purchased a home in the last few years.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Garden gal

Nullgeo, the first link you posted is about welfare in British Columbia, so not as applicipable to California. I don't have a comment really about the OP, but am interested in issues of poverty as so many of my students are living in multi-generational poverty. I am just reading along here.

Right. It is from B.C., not California. The theory and relationships are pretty close, however. I had a list of related info sites -- which included several Canadian. I just grabbed about a dozen and threw them onto the post as a relative gesture. The point being: a person can learn a lot by a little searching and reading -- as you are taking the time to do, it seems. Most don't bother. They'd rather just knee-jerk and stereotype for their amusement.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by 5thgenSF

really. and when the value of that house dropped $100k and the job market fell out so they can't sell and move, it's about managing their finances? i'm guessing you haven't purchased a home in the last few years.

Nailed it ...

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by mover79

Is California the welfare capital? | UTSanDiego.com

isn't 80% of the stock market owned by 20%? Now these same people will buy up properties for pennies on the dollar and there will be further concentration of wealth. I would hate to see the The American dream become a dream.

i agree with this part though. was watching a video on the web last night about investors buying up all the foreclosures for rentals. this will not be good!

[mayorhaggar]