"Live within your means": a loaded phrase that seems to be biased in the favor of those more well-off? (donations, underwriting)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think the only way to stop the cycle is to shut down the system all together.
It isn't a "cycle", it's a fact of life. You were turned down because your offer couldn't even compete with the ****ty situation she was in. What were the exact nature and terms of your offer?
If you got rid of welfare our descent into a 3rd world socio-economic structure would be swift. We are already closer to it than any developed country! You are looking in the opposite direction of where you should be if you actually want to solve the problem.
I want to get rid of the welfare system alltogether. I look at is as a system that tells people, "You are too stupid to figure out how to make any money so we are going to feed, clothe, and house you."
People are much smarter than that. We can make much more money on our own than with the scraps the government hands out. I could make more money on my own than with any assistance that I could get from the Government. All people could do that. I tried offering a job that paid close to $15 an hour to someone making $8 an hour. She would not take it because she didn't want to lose what she had now. If she made more money she would lose part of her benefits. Why bother with that when it is guarenteed for her. I think the only way to stop the cycle is to shut down the system all together.
Say you dropped out of 11th grade, are 25 years old, and have one set of clothes with holes, no place to shower or sleep, horrible credit, no job, no car, and are malnourished and weak but still able to do light everyday tasks such as getting dressed. You will be given $25.00 in cash at sunrise on Day 1. Explain, step-by-step, how a person in this situation is supposed to "bootstrap" their way into the middle class, and give an estimate of how long you think the process will take.
I want to get rid of the welfare system alltogether. I look at is as a system that tells people, "You are too stupid to figure out how to make any money so we are going to feed, clothe, and house you."
People are much smarter than that. We can make much more money on our own than with the scraps the government hands out. I could make more money on my own than with any assistance that I could get from the Government. All people could do that. I tried offering a job that paid close to $15 an hour to someone making $8 an hour. She would not take it because she didn't want to lose what she had now. If she made more money she would lose part of her benefits. Why bother with that when it is guarenteed for her. I think the only way to stop the cycle is to shut down the system all together.
The countries without social welfare systems are all horrible.
Actually we don't have to look far. Mexico has a very basic system of welfare - they will essentially give corn to people in danger of starving, although they're working on expanding that. There's not much else. What that causes is a system where it's almost impossible to get out of poverty, so the best bet is to have a family member get a job in the U.S. and send money back.
Say you dropped out of 11th grade, are 25 years old, and have one set of clothes with holes, no place to shower or sleep, horrible credit, no job, no car, and are malnourished and weak but still able to do light everyday tasks such as getting dressed. You will be given $25.00 in cash at sunrise on Day 1. Explain, step-by-step, how a person in this situation is supposed to "bootstrap" their way into the middle class, and give an estimate of how long you think the process will take.
Assuming the person is male, nobody is going to give him $25. He's on his own.
He can pick up free meals and a shower at the local homeless shelter, and will be given free donated clothes and maybe even a place to sleep.
He can make $20/hour panhandling on a street corner with a cardboard sign. He can claim to be a veteran, which will up the donation rate from the patriotic. After one day he has $100 in his pocket, so he can buy a prepaid cell phone, a razor and a haircut. After 3 days he can buy a decent pair of shoes and hit a commercial resale shop for better quality business togs. After 3 days of free meals at the shelter he's no longer weak from malnourishment. Being prayed over an hour a day doesn't hurt him any either.
Meanwhile he has a contact phone and can start a serious job search. Even a week at minimum wage will give him enough cash for a one room flop in somebody's basement. With an address he can get food stamps.
I think you get the idea. Most bums will just spend the first day's take on burgers, booze and drugs. The shelter will throw him out because they don't take drunks or druggies. Somebody will roll him for his remaining cash while he is passed out, and the next day he will have the same thing to do all over again. You will never save the truly inferior, but anyone of quality can pull themselves out of the gutter in short order.
Assuming the person is male, nobody is going to give him $25. He's on his own.
He can pick up free meals and a shower at the local homeless shelter, and will be given free donated clothes and maybe even a place to sleep.
He can make $20/hour panhandling on a street corner with a cardboard sign. He can claim to be a veteran, which will up the donation rate from the patriotic. After one day he has $100 in his pocket, so he can buy a prepaid cell phone, a razor and a haircut. After 3 days he can buy a decent pair of shoes and hit a commercial resale shop for better quality business togs. After 3 days of free meals at the shelter he's no longer weak from malnourishment. Being prayed over an hour a day doesn't hurt him any either.
Meanwhile he has a contact phone and can start a serious job search. Even a week at minimum wage will give him enough cash for a one room flop in somebody's basement. With an address he can get food stamps.
I think you get the idea. Most bums will just spend the first day's take on burgers, booze and drugs. The shelter will throw him out because they don't take drunks or druggies. Somebody will roll him for his remaining cash while he is passed out, and the next day he will have the same thing to do all over again. You will never save the truly inferior, but anyone of quality can pull themselves out of the gutter in short order.
You have him using public assistance at least twice - the homeless shelter and the food stamps. If you look back, my comment was in response to a poster arguing for total abolition of all public assistance. The remark I made is to be understood as asking how one would do it without any welfare, food stamps, shelters, etc.
He's probably a Subsidy Kid, getting money from parents or maybe financial aid for school.
There are millions of people getting unreported money from any number of sources - gifts are taxable to the giver, not to the recipient, and only if they are above a fairly substantial amount, i.e. most of these people are receiving non-taxable gifts. This creates a huge loophole which allows many people to abuse assistance programs.
Eh, these kids usually come from families which pay far more in taxes then the kid takes out in benefits, and usually in a few years time are off benefits and paying far more in net taxes than the benefits they were taking out; and they don't qualify for much either; it's usually only food-stamps and then a relatively smaller allotment. I dunno, I know a few people who did this and it isn't a big deal because they don't persist on the program, and both their families at that exact moment and they within a few years are putting a lot more in and net contributors. If anything they are doing right by themselves and their folks by reducing the net drain the system has on them and their families over time -- I didn't do this myself when I could have, but in retrospect should have done so.
Does bring up an interesting point though that living within one's means doesn't always apply to individuals but to families as well. I certainly did live beyond "my" means in and for a couple years after college, but in the end it'll just end up being paid forward to the next generation, same as it was in the previous one.
You are being scammed by your insurance company. Shop around for a better quote. $25 a month for registration isn't going to break your budget.
The budget I posted included an amortized purchase cost, which is the same as a replacement cost. Buy a $12,000 vehicle and drive it for 10 years. Your purchase cost is $100/month, if you have enough discipline to put that $100 in a car fund and not spend it. If you finance it, your purchase cost will be more like $300/month, because you will have to carry collision insurance and pay interest.
Now that credit underwriting is the norm in auto insurance, there are probably a lot of people today paying astronomical insurance premiums.
12 years ago I was paying $30 per month for car insurance, before I landed in hospital and lost my income for a spell. I came out of that with trashed credit I can't fix on a poverty level income, so I can easily see car insurance cost an arm and leg if I wanted to get back on the road.
Assuming the person is male, nobody is going to give him $25. He's on his own.
He can pick up free meals and a shower at the local homeless shelter, and will be given free donated clothes and maybe even a place to sleep.
He can make $20/hour panhandling on a street corner with a cardboard sign. He can claim to be a veteran, which will up the donation rate from the patriotic. After one day he has $100 in his pocket, so he can buy a prepaid cell phone, a razor and a haircut. After 3 days he can buy a decent pair of shoes and hit a commercial resale shop for better quality business togs. After 3 days of free meals at the shelter he's no longer weak from malnourishment. Being prayed over an hour a day doesn't hurt him any either.
Meanwhile he has a contact phone and can start a serious job search. Even a week at minimum wage will give him enough cash for a one room flop in somebody's basement. With an address he can get food stamps.
I think you get the idea. Most bums will just spend the first day's take on burgers, booze and drugs. The shelter will throw him out because they don't take drunks or druggies. Somebody will roll him for his remaining cash while he is passed out, and the next day he will have the same thing to do all over again. You will never save the truly inferior, but anyone of quality can pull themselves out of the gutter in short order.
If I can make $20 an hour panhandling, please, sign me up. Somehow I doubt that panhandlers are making $38,000 a year. Some states pay their teachers less than that.
If I can make $20 an hour panhandling, please, sign me up. Somehow I doubt that panhandlers are making $38,000 a year. Some states pay their teachers less than that.
That article was based on a 2.5 hour experiment. I doubt that pace could be maintained.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
