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I am always amazed by the perspective that feeding hungry people is a poor use of our nation's resources.
We spend taxes on the strangest stuff. I have yet to understand why we invaded Iraq and we are still not finished paying for it. Oil companies are still getting tax breaks. I'm not kidding. In fact there are corporations making major money in our country, using our nation's infrastructure, our educated work force to sell goods and services to our citizens and yet they do not pay taxes. In fact, some actually get rebates. No, I'm not kidding.
There are deeper social and political issues issues underlying employment, wages, and even food availability and pricing that go far beyond whether someone receiving SNAP buys a bag of Doritos. People are reacting to the symptoms and not the underlying pathology.
The flat screen TV is a non-sequitur since we are talking about food assistance, so let's talk about the chips. If bag of chips costs $1.00 and bunch of bunch of broccoli costs $3.00, for many people it's a non-choice - especially if your kids feel just as full after eating the chips. However, instead of asking why the healthy foods are so exponentially more expensive than the junk food, people react to other people buying chips in the checkout line.
The way food is priced and available in most of the US, it's the broccoli that's the real luxury item, not the Doritos. It's much cheaper, actually, to keep poor people on SNAP eating Doritos and soda than to encourage them to purchase more expensive items like fresh produce or non-processed items.
Okay, I see your point, I'll give you the Doritos. I still say that a living wage job is not a right though. It is a limited resource for which you compete. And if you don't get one, you don't get the product of one for free either.
I know virtually nothing about Nevada, but I have never seen a family actually sleeping in the streets in Denver.
A group that I worked with in Nevada tried to find housing for welfare moms with kids. The cash grant for a family of 3 in Nevada is $383. If mom gets child support from dad, that money is deducted from the $383. As I said, the cheapest housing option is a weekly for about $125-$150 a week. There are no available sources of subsidized housing or vouchers, the wait is 5 or 6 years for a section 8 voucher. The women we worked with were not drug addicts or alcoholics but most were very young, often under 22 with 2 babies. If they didn't sell food stamps to pay rent, then they would try to find friends who would allow them to sleep on their sofa and alternate that with motel rooms when they could afford it. Most were anxious to work but there were few resources for subsidized day care and child care for two costs just about as much as you earn from a minimum wage job. It's an ugly situation, these women would sit in public parks most of the day, they didn't beg or steal, they just spent their days trying to figure out where they could sleep that night. Some were victims of domestic violence, others had never lived with the baby daddy or he had bailed on mom and the kids.
Our goal was to find living situations for them with the elderly who might allow them to stay in their homes in exchange for housekeeping and companionship, but we were only to place one of them. One of our volunteers was married to a Doctor, he found work in his clinic and at a local hospital for three of the women. Unfortunately we were unable to do anything except donate food, clothing and kids toys to the remaining 10-12 women.
A group that I worked with in Nevada tried to find housing for welfare moms with kids. The cash grant for a family of 3 in Nevada is $383. If mom gets child support from dad, that money is deducted from the $383. As I said, the cheapest housing option is a weekly for about $125-$150 a week. There are no available sources of subsidized housing or vouchers, the wait is 5 or 6 years for a section 8 voucher. The women we worked with were not drug addicts or alcoholics but most were very young, often under 22 with 2 babies. If they didn't sell food stamps to pay rent, then they would try to find friends who would allow them to sleep on their sofa and alternate that with motel rooms when they could afford it. Most were anxious to work but there were few resources for subsidized day care and child care for two costs just about as much as you earn from a minimum wage job. It's an ugly situation, these women would sit in public parks most of the day, they didn't beg or steal, they just spent their days trying to figure out where they could sleep that night. Some were victims of domestic violence, others had never lived with the baby daddy or he had bailed on mom and the kids.
Our goal was to find living situations for them with the elderly who might allow them to stay in their homes in exchange for housekeeping and companionship, but we were only to place one of them. One of our volunteers was married to a Doctor, he found work in his clinic and at a local hospital for three of the women. Unfortunately we were unable to do anything except donate food, clothing and kids toys to the remaining 10-12 women.
Why couldn't they all band together and split the cost of an apartment/motel room or two? 4 of them watch all the kids while the other six go work to pay rent??
Why couldn't they all band together and split the cost of an apartment/motel room or two? 4 of them watch all the kids while the other six go work to pay rent??
They didn't all know each other, it's not like homeless young women are some kind of homogeneous group in a relatively large metro area, and I'm not sure who would rent a motel room or apartment to 10 women and 10-20 kids. That would have been a great idea, but only the County would have had the resources to acquire the property and put a program like that into effect, and quite frankly they didn't give a crap
so it's a lie that some military families receive SNAP benefits?
No it's not a lie. It's also my understanding that it's generally the folks who have just started, have not put any real time in yet, and have chosen to not live on base and instead fend for themselves off base. That's what I was told by someone currently in the military, I have not verified it.
Regardless, I have no problem paying more to veterans. But it's also my understanding that veterans benefits is categorized under Department of Defense spending, and NOT "social safety net" spending. So the fact that in the past couple of years Department of Defense spending (including veterans benefits) has had huge cuts, while the rest of social safety net spending has grown, has made me rather sour on the subject.
They didn't all know each other, it's not like homeless young women are some kind of homogeneous group in a relatively large metro area, and I'm not sure who would rent a motel room or apartment to 10 women and 10-20 kids. That would have been a great idea, but only the County would have had the resources to acquire the property and put a program like that into effect, and quite frankly they didn't give a crap
But you were working with them, trying to help them, right? Why didn't you get them together so they could help each other?
Awful lot of people in this thread claiming they totally understand not everyone on welfare is scum while simultaneously comparing poor people to children, leeches, etc.
The worst are the people who were homeless for a couple weeks in college and think they know everything about institutional poverty. I don't know what's worse, that these people have such a "I suffered and so should everyone else" attitude or just that they think they know what's best for everyone because they had a bad day.
Again, spare me. You know nothing. AGAIN, instead of sucking my thumb in a corner and begging people for hand outs, I got up off of my ass and did something about it. Have you been homeless? How long? Did you have anyone to help you out? Huh? Tell me your experience with being poor.
It's not about "I suffered and so should everyone else" it's about, "I found myself in that situation, and got the hell out, and it IS possible to do staring with ZERO and no assistance", so again, spare me the sniveling. I have, repeatedly, stated that I know "some" people genuinely need the help, but a LOT of them, almost half, are perfectly capable of getting up off their own asses and finding a job. And before you try to cite the mantra that "people on welfare are working", might I remind you of the link that I provided that showed that 70% had NO earned income. None.
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