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Except that the number is seriously skewed. I say that because what is considered poor in this nation is not poor by any stretch. When people own cell phones, televisions, dvrs and numerous other non-essential items, and add to that cable and internet connection...then the people are not truly poor. They may make less than others do but they are not poor.
You consider the above meaningful standards of what is or is not poverty?
I have a (pre-paid) cell phone (no landline). The phone cost me $20 and I pay $20 every three months to add minutes. (I use it primarily for incoming calls, as I have other opportunities to make outgoing calls without charge).
No television currently, but I once owned a used TV for which I paid $25. No DVR since I don't need one without a TV. No cable, but I do have an internet connection and (gasp) two used laptops. (I paid $70 for one laptop and $68 for the other.)
Why would I *not* pay for an internet connection? I use mine to make money so it would make no sense to get rid of it to save money.
I think a home (or mobile) internet connection is a great tool poor people can use to make some extra money.
Craigslist and eBay are your friends, there is money to be made there.
Honestly, I'm not sure enough to answer your question, Calibro. But in any event..she most definitely shouldn't be spending her food stamps on a hobby, on nothing but desserts to give to other people. I was of the impression that the food stamps were for oneself and family.
Anyway, just to be straight up here, I for one don't hate the poor. Heck, I AM poor. But it IS upsetting when you are a single person who doesn't matter or count in this life unless you have kids under 18, especially when you've paid taxes your whole life and now you need it. I'm a starving college student essentially (graduated culinary school recently, but still on externship IE working for FREE) and I could use a little help. But I get the shaft. Yeh, it's a wee-bit upsetting. Just being truthful here, no intent to offend.
And I do think the government has every right to limit you to the number of children you can have on welfare and food stamps. Helping those who have fallen on hard times is one thing. But continuing to subsidize successive children shouldn't be a burden put on the taxpayer who ALSO NEEDS TO LIVE AND EAT. I don't get what is so hard about that to understand.
The only reason why I posted that is because of two reasons. I went through a brief period where my friends and I were on food stamps.
I actually tried getting a janitorial job and was told I was over qualified. I tried getting a job as an ABA therapist supervisor (which under normal conditions I would qualified for...I was told I was competing with Phds...the pay was 30k a year).
I went to Paris several times. My cousins live there. Avant, mon Francais etais bien (before, my French was good). I went to Switzerland...and then I was on food stamps. It was rough. I came out of it (Seoul making good money). I did things to lessen the depression of not even getting hired at McDonalds because I had a bachelors degree...and not getting hired for entry level professional positions since I did not have my masters or higher. I lived, very rarely, bits of my college days. It kept me sane and mentally healthy. A little starbucks was good as a treat every once in a while.
Not only that, but my mom's friend was extremely poor. She would lie and say that she wasn't. She would "buy" clothes only to return it the next day. She would splurge on treats every once in a while. She would make stories up of visiting Vienna and Copenhagen. My mom knew the truth, but never said a word to others since it was her (the lady's) defense mechanism.
So each anecdote has a back story. It's hard to know a lot of times why people do the things they do. Is is to keep mental spirits high and a reward mechanism (if I do blank I get blank)? Is it a defense mechanism (I will put this facade as to keep friends and turn away enemies)?
Also, you do realize that the government doesn't give lavishly to large families. It still costs more raise a kid than pop a kid on welfare. So getting more kids is generally economically worse.
The average number of people in a TANF family was 2.3...the average number of kids is 1.8...that's not a whole lot of kids.
TANF 8th Annual Report to Congress - Characteristics and Financial Circumstances of TANF Recipients (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/annualreport8/chapter10/chap10.htm#4 - broken link)
So you don't care about military families?
What would you do cut off their stamps while they are deployed in Afghanistan?
Why not worry about the billions GE got while paying no taxes?
I do care about military families the same way I care about your family. Like I said, you are using emotional appeals in order to side step a serious issue. If you'd like to show me that 41 million people on food stamps is somehow reasonable, I'd love to listen, but "YOU HATE THE MILITARY IF YOU DON'T GIVE THEM FOOD STAMPS" isn't a good arguement, it's just an emotional appeal; you sound like a Huffington Post headline.
If you'd like to show me that 41 million people on food stamps is somehow reasonable, I'd love to listen...
According to the Census, 15.7% of Americans are living below the poverty line.
There are ~300 million Americans.
15.7% of 300 million Americans is 47 million Americans.
47 million Americans in poverty > 41 million Americans on food stamps.
Craigslist and eBay are your friends, there is money to be made there.
Try telling that to someone who doesn't know anything about the internet. I have been online with the internet since the "80s and used to run a BBS. Oh yeah, I make more money by running my own stores, as opposed to selling on Craigslist or eBay. Sorry, but you have proven nothing with the above statement you made.
The fact of the matter is that the standard of living for Americans is in a decline and we are fighting tooth and nail to keep the "status quo" with Federal programs.
You cannot keep living the high life when your card is maxed out and no one will give you a new blank card to keep that fantasy going on for a while longer.
I do care about military families the same way I care about your family. Like I said, you are using emotional appeals in order to side step a serious issue. If you'd like to show me that 41 million people on food stamps is somehow reasonable, I'd love to listen, but "YOU HATE THE MILITARY IF YOU DON'T GIVE THEM FOOD STAMPS" isn't a good arguement, it's just an emotional appeal; you sound like a Huffington Post headline.
You haven't given me an answer as to what you woould do about the military dependents who depend on Food Stamps while their sponsors are overseas?
You say you care but you would take them anyway.
There are plenty of working poor who need food stamps, 43% of the children of WALMART employees get their Health Cre from the government. I imagine the same is true about McDonalds or any other minimum wage employer. What would you do about them.
The fact is that the RICH have stolen 40 cents of every dollar in the economy and what used to be the middle class is fighting the poor for the scraps. The rich are driving us into the third world not the poor
It’s no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. That response would be misguided. While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous—12 percent in the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decades—and more—has gone to those at the top. In terms of income equality, America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran. While many of the old centers of inequality in Latin America, such as Brazil, have been striving in recent years, rather successfully, to improve the plight of the poor and reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality to grow.
Another hate filled thread about the poor, we seem to have these at least once a week.
Does anyone wonder WHY there are so many on food stamps right now...Hmmmm lets see, well since about 2008 the USA has been in a depression, MILLIONS of people have lost their jobs, MILLIONS of people have been unable to find work and are still unemployed, MILLIONS of people have run out of unemployment benefits and no longer have any income and qualify for food stamps. Those lucky enough to find a job in this crap economy have often had to take jobs that don't pay enough to put food on the table or their bills and need help.
Stats show that finding work is still difficult...5 people for every 1 job and that's just the average, in many areas of the USA it is worse - upwards of 6-7 people for every 1 job.
Once this was a great country, one that had compassion for those who have fallen on hard times, but no more, as this thread shows...I don't understand what drives this hatred of the poor.
Until you can prove to me that every one of those folks on food stamps falls into that category, you're just playing the typical leftwing game of generalizing to scare people. I have compassion. What I don't have is sympathy for lazy bums that would rather stay on unemployment and food stamps than work for a job that they feel is beneath them. It's not hatred of the poor. It's expecting people to work to support themselves.
I don't understand the hatred of the taxpayer, that the poor and under-employed are perfectly willing to steal from them.
Yes, finding work is difficult. I was unemployed for months, but managed to find a job. And never went on food stamps.
At least you're truthful in your timeline - admitting that this all started with the reign of the Loser-in-chief.
Many military families get Food stamps and WIC, where is your pride paying them so little that they qualify
Blame the Left. They want to cut military spending.
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...Hmmmm lets see, well since about 2008 the USA has been in a depression, MILLIONS of people have lost their jobs, MILLIONS of people have been unable to find work and are still unemployed, MILLIONS of people have run out of unemployment benefits and no longer have any income and qualify for food stamps. Those lucky enough to find a job in this crap economy have often had to take jobs that don't pay enough to put food on the table or their bills and need help.
