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.
The crime & despair in America is a direct result of not providing adequate support systems. We are, once again, eons behind the times comparing the huge difference in crime between the U.S. & Europe.
I've worked w/ homeless men coming out of prison. They're still in shock from what happened to them while locked up [post-traumatic-stress-syndrome - same mental illness displayed in many soldiers returning from Iraq.
A person can go crazy just being in prison. American prisons provide no rehabilitation\psychiatric care. In comparison to Europe our prison system is 50 yrs behind. America has more prisons than any other nation, on earth & yet a much higher murder rate than any other "Western-1st world country. Anyway, these guys are walking time bombs.
It's ludicrous to speak of eliminating a growing cancer by ignoring it. We need to grow-up & take responsibility for dealing w/ serious social problems. And that starts in early childhood. All kids need total medical coverage. The U.S. is an embarrassment & more 3rd world in avoiding responsibility [Cuba has a more comprehensive\ accessible health care than the U.S
We get what we pay for. Republicans would rather fund an insane war in Iraq than take care of their own grandmothers [what kind of person is that?
Government programs should be more targeted and specific. The physically and mentally disabled should be helped, if local and community support are not available or sufficient, then government programs should ensure that these people are taken care of properly. Unemployment benefits should exist for those who are actively pursuing jobs and the benefits should be given for specific time periods, I think that 3-6 months is fairly generous. For the chronicly unemployed, general welfare checks need to focus on those who are in some sort of job training or college classes, if you do not want to better yourself so that you can get a job, then I think you have forfeighted your right to receive government welfare. For the underemployed, again, this should be a temporary state, unfortunately I know it is not for many and often times this is not because people are not hard workers, but maybe they had too many kids at a young age and were never able to find a job that made more than $9-$10/hour. I think that every effort should be made to encourage these people to advance themselves by more job training and adult education. Food stamps should be administered to families with children when local food banks are not able to accomodate their needs, I don't think there should be a time limit put on food stamps when there are children involved, but there should be strict limits on what can be bought with food stamps. I don't know if there are many people without children who use food stamps, but I think that is only valid in extreme conditions. Section 8 housing seems to be a hot button issue right now as well, those who are given housing subsidies should be highly scrutinized. Overall, government help often falls short and should be overhauled and used in a much more specific fashion, communities and charities should be the first resort, followed by governement assistance as a safety net.
"For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul." If I must be called a socialist (which I'm not) in order to follow the teachings of the One that I love, then so be it.
"For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul." If I must be called a socialist (which I'm not) in order to follow the teachings of the One that I love, then so be it.
*Groan* If you want to feel warm and fuzzy then just donate your time and money instead of lobbying to support broken systems.
I'm sure plenty of rural people could move to areas with more opportunity, work and go to school at the same time, work two jobs. Some do need the help, but plenty of others could help themselves, if they really wanted to.
So...where do the moving and school funds materialize from (assuming you are suggesting the individual come up with such funds) when one has no disposable income?
I'm itching to discover where your perfect world is located. Can I Google it?
I think the problem is cyclic and several issues play upon one another.
I'm 43 years old and am retired Navy. While I was active duty and stationed in Hawaii as an E-6 (upper-mid level enlisted), I went to WIC for assistance for my two youngest children. My job was intelligence-related and at the time I held what could be considered a high clearance. Of course, the WIC social-worker who hands out the voucher couldn't have known any of that about me.. but one time when I went in to claim my vouchers (as humbling as that was), I was insulted when she questioned whether I had already received my allowance - inferring that I had already done so and was trying to get more; and, from that point on, I never went back for the subsidies. I needed help, not accusations.
That brings me to the point of my opinion (non-fact based, I'll admit) that the problem with social programs lies not with the programs, but the monitoring or execution of them. When people can collect welfare and NEVER search for a job, that's a problem. No one should be collecting welfare as long as there is a "Help Wanted" sign (as long as they are physically or mentally capable of working, of course). Maybe a fix is subsidizing. Currently I don't know how much Welfare pays.... but it must be good if people aren't even going to try for available jobs. Therefore, I must assume welfare pays more than minimum wage on an average. But if we get people back into the workforce, they could be subsidized the difference. For example, if an individual's welfare check amounts to basically $7.00/hr, then force them to take the minimum wage jobs, but subsidize the difference. Right now, there is no reason for anyone just sitting around (male or female) popping out kids to get a job when food stamps, WIC, welfare, and other programs enable them.
Problem is, if we make it so that if they don't take the offered jobs by the city and cut off the welfare, we just increase the already overburdened justice system by possibly an increase in crime. But, of course, it wouldn't be overburdened by repeat offenders if we didn't have a social population that would rather try to rehabilitate murderers or perpitrators of heinous crimes (repeat offenders for the most percentage), than to re-invoke corporal punishments.
Paraphrased from Cesare Bonesana Marchese de Beccaria (1738-1794): Punishment must be a certainty and should be inflicted quickly... the punishment should not be administered to set an example and should not be concerned with reforming the offender.
Fine. What WAS the premise, then? Precisely WHOSE irresponsibility are you referring to?
The premise I inferred was a single mother. The irresponsibility is that of the father who is not supporting his kids. A father must stay with the family, be a responsible, honest, hard-working dutiful toiler for the family. Anything less is irresponsible.
So...where do the moving and school funds materialize from (assuming you are suggesting the individual come up with such funds) when one has no disposable income?
I'm itching to discover where your perfect world is located. Can I Google it?
If I must be called a socialist (which I'm not) in order to follow the teachings of the One that I love, then so be it.
If you support the programs you stated previously, then you are a Socialist. You might not have come to terms with this, but you are nonetheless. You might as well just face it.
Again, the typical Socialist mantra: unless you have a nanny-state government, you don't have a society and you are not "social-minded". What is true is the exact opposite. Socialism is de-humanizing and evil. The best way to give to society is through personal giving and through individual effort, not through a impersonal, wasteful, de-humanizing bureaucracy.
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.
