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To some people, "the poor" are destitute, living in Sec 8 housing with no kitchens and barely hanging on to life with a thread if it weren't for the entitlement programs.
I would say the "norm" is quite the opposite.
Folks, you can take those vouchers and go anywhere - IN THE COUNTRY. You don't have to stay in the projects.
We have folks moving to Charlotte with very fat vouchers - from places like NYC - and they are able to get really nice condos, apartments or houses in this region.
I find this disturbing . . . as the vouchers should be based on the COL in whatever area you are using them. Of course, they are gonna be higher in NYC than in Charlotte, NC. THey should be reduced if folks go to an area w/ lower cost of living.
You got it. I see it, too. And I know of these cases firsthand. And it is NOT a racial issue - blacks, whites, hispanics and illegals are all part of this lifestyle. I am not saying EVERYONE is gaming the system but I am definitely saying a big portion are! I am not referring to the elderly, infirm, disabled.
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Originally Posted by HappyTexan
I wouldn't say "gaming". The system is broken and they are just taking advantage of it. Who wouldn't want something for free for just showing up at an office and filling in a form ?
The government relies on the public to report fraud in the entitlement programs. They do little to no oversight and do not produce reports.
The welfare programs in America is like the black hole we just keep pouring more money into.
I was doing some research on the issue, I've been searching for years for the abuse rate of welfare, and I had finally found a report on it. Unforuntaley, I had closed the tab, but I continue to search dillegently for it. The report found two interesting conclusions.
Overall, the vast majority of people that have ever used welfare have left it within a period of months. The longer welfare goes, the more people that will benefit as the system chews them up and spits them out the other side a bit better off.
At any given time, 70% of the people on welfare have been on it for longer than two years. However, it's often the same people on it. Despite the millions that go through it shortly and leave, a select number remain on it. As a result, long-term welfare use by a small overall percentage of people makes others think that welfare is abused more than it really is. Of that small percentage, some are genuinely disdavantaged to a point where getting ahead is tremendously difficult. They require more assistance to get them ahead. Others in this minority are those "gaming" the system. The difference between long-term recipients who are gaming the system and those who actually need it, or need more, is a subject of much needed research.
But to throw out all of the welfare program, which has been shown to help people leave poverty, because of abuses, is irresponsible. Insert every cliche known to man about "a few bad apples" or "baby and the bathwater.
Welfare itself has a 5 year max unless states let it go longer.
This thread is about your average, modern day, government classified "poor" who pretty much have the same trappings as some middle class families.
I don't think they were talking about the abuse rate of welfare. I'm not even sure what you mean by that phrase, "abuse rate."
"abuse rate" is how many people use welfare as a means to living instead of as a stepping stone to leave poverty and welfare.
Their complaint is that those on welfare are "living to well." You can only make that claim if people are on welfare for longs periods of time, and the only people who can game the system would have to be on welfare for long periods of time, but those on it for long-periods are not necessarily gaming the system.
Any other claims about recipients living too well is lost down the drain by the fact that most of them are on it for a short period, which means they make their own money, pay their taxes, and simply use welfare because they've hit a hard-time. They have an Xbox because they bought it when they were doing better.
Wrong. The obese think it's cheaper to buy a $5 bag of potato chips when it's much cheaper to buy a $3 bag of raw potatoes. And carrots are not more expensive than candy bars. Water is not more expensive than soft drinks.
It's actually cheaper to eat healthy because you aren't wasting your money on empty calories. Processed foods with all that corn syrup added are a lot more expensive than actual food.
It might cost less to buy the raw ingredients, but a problem with a lot of working-class families is that they don't have time to prepare and cook food. It can take 1-2 hours to prepare a proper meal for six. When you have families working 40 to 60 hours a week, with no or little benefits, no vacation time--you don't have the time or energy to cook dinner. Instead, fast foods and processed foods are a smart alternative to the family that's always moving.
You can eat fast-food and be healthy, you just need to, I don't know, move around a little.
It might cost less to buy the raw ingredients, but a problem with a lot of working-class families is that they don't have time to prepare and cook food. It can take 1-2 hours to prepare a proper meal for six.
No it doesn't.
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When you have families working 40 to 60 hours a week, with no or little benefits, no vacation time--you don't have the time or energy to cook dinner.
Yes they do,they CHOOSE to not have time.
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Instead, fast foods and processed foods are a smart alternative to the family that's always moving.
No,it is an EASIER choice,especially when you aren't paying for the food.
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You can eat fast-food and be healthy, you just need to, I don't know, move around a little.
Then why are so many poor people fat?
If they are working 40-60 hours,you would think their being obese would not occur....quick search and almost 34% of adults who earn less than $15,000 a year are obese...
It might cost less to buy the raw ingredients, but a problem with a lot of working-class families is that they don't have time to prepare and cook food. It can take 1-2 hours to prepare a proper meal for six. When you have families working 40 to 60 hours a week, with no or little benefits, no vacation time--you don't have the time or energy to cook dinner. Instead, fast foods and processed foods are a smart alternative to the family that's always moving.
You can eat fast-food and be healthy, you just need to, I don't know, move around a little.
That is an excuse and it's also untrue. As someone who has been scratch cooking for years, I have a huge repertoire of meals that take very little time to prepare. Working full time? Ever hear of a crockpot?
It is a myth that processed food costs more than real food. There is no getting around that. I linked the blog b/c it proves that it can be done, but anecdotally, I also do it myself and have for years, even when I was working two jobs. I spend an average of $60/week for my family of two, and we eat very, very well. Though I have a yard, I grow veggies in pots, but it's not like I'm supplementing an entire produce stand. This year I have tomatoes, basil and hot peppers.
"abuse rate" is how many people use welfare as a means to living instead of as a stepping stone to leave poverty and welfare.
Their complaint is that those on welfare are "living to well." You can only make that claim if people are on welfare for longs periods of time
This looks like a leap in logic to me.
But either way, how are you defining "welfare"? Do you include disability social security, Medicaid, Section 8, EITC, WIC, unemployment food stamps, in addition to state-level and local-level programs? I don't think all of those programs are temporary.
And when you say "abuse", are you including able-bodied people who are on disability? People who game the earned income tax credit? Things like that?
I get the impression that I define the terms "welfare" and "abuse" far more broadly than you do.
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Originally Posted by Konraden
It can take 1-2 hours to prepare a proper meal for six.
Instead, fast foods and processed foods are a smart alternative to the family that's always moving.
I work 40 hours per week and cook from scratch 6 out of 7 nights.
I even have time for a garden and some backyard chickens.
And take care of 6 acres.
Stop making excuses ....
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