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But, again, I just don't think that the executive CEO of a local food bank who services about 120-150 people/families a week should earn a salary of close to $100,000 and need a paid staff of six other "middle class" workers. I think the money would be much better spent if it were used to REALLY improve the lives of 40 or more people/families. But, again, that is just my opinion.
Why would you volunteer for an organization like that
Why would you volunteer for an organization like that
Because I went in without doing any in-depth research first. I wanted something to do that would not take a job away from someone who needed one -- another long story, which is basically not relevant to this thread -- and I truly wanted to help people It was only after I worked there for a while that I became disillusioned with both the food bank staff and the clientele, and I finally quit.
Now, of course, this might very well have been just a "bad fit" between me and that particular food bank, or perhaps that food bank was simply a poor example of food banks, food bank staff and/or food bank clientele in general, but the fact remains that I left with much less compassion for the poor and much less respect for paid "charity workers" than I had when I started; and I am very saddened by that, and also sorry for it.
[However, just to be clear -- the food bank staff were all capable in their jobs and I think at least ONE of the paid staff members truly did care about the clientele to at least some extent, but I think that for most of the staff members, it was just a job. (I base this on the "fact" that, from what I observed, anyway, we volunteers brought in more food from our own pantries and contributed more in the way of other donations, too, than the paid staff members did.) I am not blaming paid staff, though, because I think that working with chronically poor people for years on end would be very draining; and supposedly, from what I have read, the fact that there is a high "burn-out" rate of social workers here in Colorado lends credence to this opinion.]
Last edited by katharsis; 01-22-2016 at 11:02 PM..
Here we go again. It's not the non-producers (generations after generations of welfare recipients) bankrupting us, it's the producers. Give me a break.
Those who support this monstrous albatross always repeat the fable that it's not costing taxpayers money. Really? Let's see...monthly SNAP benefit ("food stamps"), monthly cash benefit (all of which can be allowed to accrue from month to month), monthly daycare allowance, monthly heating and cooling allowance, WIC (not just milk and cheese anymore), coupons for farmers markets produce, monthly housing allowance, transportation to medical appointments, "Baby Love" program, etc., etc., etc. That's what's breaking the bank.
Some people do need assistance. Tighten requirements, chuck the EBT card, and return to stamps. It worked once; it will work again.
Oh, and BTW...Social Security and Medicare are not handouts.Although there are no shortage of socialists at the federal and state level who would like the uninformed to THINK that they are, so that seniors' pockets can continue to be picked to accommodate the welfare bloat.
The RED is WRONG. You haven't been on welfare or SNAP have you? At least in MY state at the time i was medically eligible for welfare, and now, the ONLY accrual allowed was/is from one month to the next. If one got $125 in food stamps {my allotment at the time} in January, one had until FEb. 28 {29th} to use them all or they were removed from the card.....so NO they can not be accrued from month to month endlessly as your post implies. Monthly "cash benefits" were all of $189/month for me. That had to cover rent, electricity, basic phone service and whatever heat I could afford to put in the propane tanks {I kept it at 52F until HEAP came in as that was all I could afford to use at $3 and change per gallon at the time, not cheap like now.} Now my state doesn't send out but about $20 in cash benefits/month for that much needed TP every taxpayer is concerned they are paying for. REASONABLE rents are paid directly to the LL now. Utilities can be put on automatic payment at a discounted rate, or paired to Power Partners charitable contributions.
When 3 years ago, we were surviving on my SSDi and small income, as MOH was out of a job for a year, we did NOT get any extra cash assistance as I had an income for TP, all we got was: SNAP {maximum was $150/month for both of us, mostly the $16/month minimum{{again what does $16 buy?}}} and HEAP {Home Energy Assistance Program} and get a discounted rate on the phone{called LIFELINE services for people like me who have 911 on speed dial and are registered with the Emergency services dept. at my address as a priority call}. i'd hardly call $9k a year "living high on the hog" for the two of us, and that is my SSDI allotment based on my earning history. We are only eligible for HEAP now and we missed it entirely this year as we moved and the timing was awful. Next year we should get it, one reason is I am DISABLED. Have been since 2003. The other is we are below {just} with MOHs two jobs the income limits [and still considered lower middle income for my area}.
Misinformation or lack of experience with the system leads to animosity unnecessarily.
Again I say" grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins". and "life is a bed of roses, some are just always caught on the thorns".
I think we should go back to soup lines. I'm serious. If someone needs food, let them go get in line and get food. That way there is no fraud or abuse and people who are truly hungry are getting food. Stop wasting taxpayer money on EBT cards that are sold for 50 cents on the dollar so people can buy alcohol and drugs.
Not practical. Think of elderly people. They have worked their entire lives, probably became poor due to expensive medical problems or they just never had high enough paying jobs. They have to live in subsidized rundown apartment buildings. Once a week a shuttle bus comes to the apartment complex to take them to the grocery store.
So the shuttle bus should now take them to either the Welfare Store or to a place where they can stand (or sit in their wheelchairs) in line?
Same thing applies to disabled people.
The only time I get mad at people on SNAP or welfare is when it's someone who did it intentionally. I know of exactly ONE case, a woman who had a decent job but decided she wanted a baby. So she found some guy to get her pregnant, quit the job and went on welfare! Now that made me mad. But how could a caseworker have known that she PLANNED to go on welfare? She slipped between the cracks. Most people who land on welfare or SNAP didn't plan for it to happen.
I think we should go back to soup lines. I'm serious. If someone needs food, let them go get in line and get food. That way there is no fraud or abuse and people who are truly hungry are getting food. Stop wasting taxpayer money on EBT cards that are sold for 50 cents on the dollar so people can buy alcohol and drugs.
You do realize that the majority of people on food stamps are children, elderly, and those with disabilities.
You want them to stand in soup lines three times a day for nourishment?
There is a strong need for some successful people to punish the poor for being poor. I think this is misplaced envy based on the idea of "if I have to work so do you." Most of the folks on these programs cannot work but hat is ignored by the selfish.
There is a strong need for some successful people to punish the poor for being poor. I think this is misplaced envy based on the idea of "if I have to work so do you." Most of the folks on these programs cannot work but hat is ignored by the selfish.
This is very true!!! & it usually stems from ignorance!
But I'd much rather trim the fat somewhere else, particularly our ridiculous Homeland Security division. Now that's overspending to the Nth degree, as well as overdramatizing the actual threat these terrorists pose (probably to justify the billions/trillions of dollars that have already been spent). Paying taxes to feed needy Americans? I'm not so selfish as to complain about that. We pay taxes for a variety of programs in America. These things aren't free, and they never will be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pkbab5
Please go look at actual spending figures before assuming what things cost!! Don't just make things up!
Here's some figures for you then. We spend $600 billion dollars a year on the military, of which the government admits at least $60 billion, probably closer to $100 billion is spent on counterterrorism. But more than that is spent on counterterrorism because more than that is spent on "classified projects." We spend $74 billion on Food Stamps. And here we OP is are, posting yet another thread complaining about welfare recipients using Food Stamps to feed themselves when the government is spending 8 times more money waging war. I think feeding poor people is more important than starting conflicts, but I'm just funny that way.
There is a strong need for some successful people to punish the poor for being poor. I think this is misplaced envy based on the idea of "if I have to work so do you." Most of the folks on these programs cannot work but hat is ignored by the selfish.
Poor shaming seems to have become the new bloodsport for many conservatives and libertarians most of whom aren't even close to being wealthy or successful
Get rid of all this infantilising and shaming and penalising people for being poor. Give everyone earning below a certain amount enough cash enough to bring their income up to the amount needed to just get by (housing, food, transport, clothing) and let them live as they see fit. You'd probably save so much money in administration, enforcement and compliance costs for stores that it would be revenue neutral.
This is what we do in Australia, and it works very well. The only part of welfare which has extra work associated with it (outside of the simple jobseeking activity test) is rent assistance, where you need to show your lease to make sure they don't give you more than you pay.
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Although there are no shortage of socialists at the federal and state level who would like the uninformed to THINK that they are, so that seniors' pockets can continue to be picked to accommodate the welfare bloat.
