north minneapolis

[Miley Cyrus]

Originally Posted by StPaulEastSider

Many young women do this, often because they don't see themselves as being successful at anything other than being a good mom. Often these young women have worked a series of menial "jobs" but never had a "career".

I believe we need to put more money into our educational system, it's the best opportunity we have to inspire young people and help them to break the curse of "generational poverty".

Careful, we don't want Minnesota to become the land of 10,001 taxes.

[MRNorthSide]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

And it's not like many Americans don't benefit from government assistance/ subsidies of some form or another (if not the majority- federal student loans, social security, persons w/ disabled children, etc.), so it's unfair to target single mothers or the poorest of families and misleading to try and add up any potential benefit that they might receive to illustrate your point.

It is also unfair to compare the government benefits of those who are disabled, or who are trying to better themselves through higher education with those on welfare.

I agree, the welfare IS getting out of control in this state - we need to start banning EBT spending out of state, and NOT exceeding the benefits of migrant benefeciaries (at least for a period of residency). But at least we're not giving away free cars+insurance+AAA like Mass...

Free cars for poor fuel road rage - BostonHerald.com

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by MRNorthSide

It is also unfair to compare the government benefits of those who are disabled, or who are trying to better themselves through higher education with those on welfare.

I agree, the welfare IS getting out of control in this state - we need to start banning EBT spending out of state, and NOT exceeding the benefits of migrant benefeciaries (at least for a period of residency). But at least we're not giving away free cars+insurance+AAA like Mass...

Free cars for poor fuel road rage - BostonHerald.com

My point was basically to say that if we looked at the average American, and the benefits the average American receives from subsidies provided by federal/ state monies, you could easily come up with a high amount of money/ incentives provided by the government for the majority of Americans.

I'm not going to say that there aren't very uneducated/ low-skilled or persons with other severe barriers to employment out there that aren't having a child (or more) as a way to get help from the state, but a lot of people think that this is the norm which it most definitely is not and arguably more of an exception. Also, the amount families get keeps them well below poverty level, so no one's living a comfortable existence on welfare by the farthest stretch of the imagination.

And for the persons out there advocating for reductions in benefits to persons on welfare (of which I am not one of those), I would hope that you would at least simultaneously advocate for more efforts (and funding) to be devoted to education, training, and job placement services for the generally very low-educated/ unskilled single mothers that make up the largest demographic (although that ratio is changing rapidly in the current economy).

Also, if we're going to keep up this discussion, it needs to be moved to another thread. This off-topic discussion of welfare benefits has gone on way too long, is in no way related to the original post and is far too broad to be on a "north minneapolis" thread.

[erin2882]

My disclaimer is that I live in South Minneapolis, but I think North Minneapolis has its plusses and minuses, much like any other area. I think the crime there is overstated and there are probably racist undertones to its reporting, but it certainly isn't known for its safety. There are some great deals to be had on houses in that area compared to the one I live in though, and to think just 30 years ago all the homes on Lake Calhoun were being auctioned off for dirt cheap for the same reasons...those were smart investors. If enough commerce were to move to Camden/ Near-North and the glut of houses to move, Im sure the crime would move too. And even still, if its random crime you are worried about, you will find that everywhere. Admittedly I don't have much to contribute in terms of personal experience because I haven't lived there specifically, but I have lived in many places in Minnie and St. Paul, including the warehouse district where I would often shop and eat in near-north, and I don't think it deserves the rap.