Welfare System HAS to change (Congress, salary, legal, drugs)

[bizzar721]

Every day I am disgusted as to what I see going on here on Long Island. I am a middle class American citizen. I do not receive any government assistance. I work hard for everything that I have, and I understand the value of a dollar.
Welfare is a means of getting on your feet, not a way of life! Now I am not talking about EVERYONE on welfare. There are many people on public assistance who use it how it is meant to be used - as a hand to help you up when you are down. Unfortunately, the welfare system is flawed and therefore abused.
When I go food shopping I look for items on sale, purchase in bulk, & buy non brand name items to get the most for my money. I have noticed customers with gold chains & these fancy new expensive cell phones on line paying with food stamps. Not only that, their carts are filled with all NAME BRAND items regardless of if they are on sale or not. Steaks, candy, cookies, soda ect without regards to price. Many times I have been approached by a person offering to sell me food stamps for 50% cash. What about the drug addicts that receive all these benefits? They get health care, schooling, all kinds of public assistance, even DENTAL! I see many drug addicts on welfare who use all of that money on drugs, have no food in the house, no clothes for their kids yet nothing is done. After making several phone calls about a family with kids in a very unhealthy environment I asked the State employee about issuing drug tests. I was told that it was too costly to drug test everyone on public assistance and also an INVASION of their PRIVACY!!! Are you kidding me? They are being supported by the taxpayers & we're worried about invasion of privacy?!? What about protecting an investment or looking out for the innocent children being neglected and abused? A neighbors 3 year old child was walking 2 houses down from where they lived. He wanted to be with mommy who walked down the block & no one else in the house was watching him as he ran right out the front door! This was not the first time this has happened and there has been complaints filed yet nothing has changed.
Over the summer, president Obama issued $200 for every child living in a household on welfare. This was in the form of $200 per child being put onto their EBT card. Most kids from families NOT on welfare that DO NOT spend $200 on school supplies. This one family in particular, with 4 eligable children, received a total of $800. The mother then went down to a church where she received a voucher for the thrift store AND school supplies. The youngest of the children received NOTHING. The other 3 children each got $30 to spend, plus a couple of school books. Think back to the end of the summer. I find it kind of ironic that after that money was given, the amount of old tv sets & empty new TV boxes I saw in the trash.
I know of THREE families all on welfare, & all living in the same house. NONE of them work! They live in a very nice house. They receive help from the state with the rent on the house, & they also rent the house out to the 2 other families! All three families are on welfare but the other 2 families use the address of family members which is never investigated or verified. To top it off, all THREE families receive a fuel voucher - yet 2 weeks ago they called asking to borrow money because they were OUT OF FUEL. For TWO days they had no heat or hot water. There are 8 children from the age of 2 - 13 in that house! (Not to mention 6 adults & 3 children over 18). I failed to mention that 8 people in that house smoke cigarettes & 7 have cell phones. One person even has 2 cell phones. Mind you, very nice phones at that.
So you mean to tell me that the children have to suffer with NO HEAT & HOT WATER because they cannot afford oil yet they all have a full pack of smokes & a fancy new phone?!??!?!
Something is seriously wrong with the system. Where is the incentive for these people to go out & get a job?

[Pandamonium]

What was the debate part again?

[DawnSells]

BE need a whistle blowers hotline. I think it needs to be localized so that there is not such a backlog and thinks being swept under the rug. If you call in a fraud and the claim is true then you should receive a cash bonus. The each county that catches the fraud should also receive a monetary award from the state. Yes, the state has to hand out money but it is cheaper than keep these people on welfare for their lifetime. Can I get an Amen?

[bizzar721]

Sorry pandamonium, I guess I somehow switched topic. I originally was viewing U.S. forums > New York > Long Island. Could a MOD please move to correct forum? Thank you.
PS. the debate could be do you think they should stand up & support their family by themselves or should they receive more because they are so unfortunate?

[Por1427]

This is a great debate?

[OhBeeHave]

This should have been allowed to remain on the LI board. It's not a great debate. This is a case of localized abuse of the system.

[SLCPUNK]

Originally Posted by bizzar721

Every day I am disgusted as to what I see going on here on Long Island. I am a middle class American citizen. I do not receive any government assistance. I work hard for everything that I have, and I understand the value of a dollar.
Welfare is a means of getting on your feet, not a way of life! Now I am not talking about EVERYONE on welfare. There are many people on public assistance who use it how it is meant to be used - as a hand to help you up when you are down. Unfortunately, the welfare system is flawed and therefore abused.
When I go food shopping I look for items on sale, purchase in bulk, & buy non brand name items to get the most for my money. I have noticed customers with gold chains & these fancy new expensive cell phones on line paying with food stamps. Not only that, their carts are filled with all NAME BRAND items regardless of if they are on sale or not. Steaks, candy, cookies, soda ect without regards to price. Many times I have been approached by a person offering to sell me food stamps for 50% cash. What about the drug addicts that receive all these benefits? They get health care, schooling, all kinds of public assistance, even DENTAL! I see many drug addicts on welfare who use all of that money on drugs, have no food in the house, no clothes for their kids yet nothing is done. After making several phone calls about a family with kids in a very unhealthy environment I asked the State employee about issuing drug tests. I was told that it was too costly to drug test everyone on public assistance and also an INVASION of their PRIVACY!!! Are you kidding me? They are being supported by the taxpayers & we're worried about invasion of privacy?!? What about protecting an investment or looking out for the innocent children being neglected and abused? A neighbors 3 year old child was walking 2 houses down from where they lived. He wanted to be with mommy who walked down the block & no one else in the house was watching him as he ran right out the front door! This was not the first time this has happened and there has been complaints filed yet nothing has changed.
Over the summer, president Obama issued $200 for every child living in a household on welfare. This was in the form of $200 per child being put onto their EBT card. Most kids from families NOT on welfare that DO NOT spend $200 on school supplies. This one family in particular, with 4 eligable children, received a total of $800. The mother then went down to a church where she received a voucher for the thrift store AND school supplies. The youngest of the children received NOTHING. The other 3 children each got $30 to spend, plus a couple of school books. Think back to the end of the summer. I find it kind of ironic that after that money was given, the amount of old tv sets & empty new TV boxes I saw in the trash.
I know of THREE families all on welfare, & all living in the same house. NONE of them work! They live in a very nice house. They receive help from the state with the rent on the house, & they also rent the house out to the 2 other families! All three families are on welfare but the other 2 families use the address of family members which is never investigated or verified. To top it off, all THREE families receive a fuel voucher - yet 2 weeks ago they called asking to borrow money because they were OUT OF FUEL. For TWO days they had no heat or hot water. There are 8 children from the age of 2 - 13 in that house! (Not to mention 6 adults & 3 children over 18). I failed to mention that 8 people in that house smoke cigarettes & 7 have cell phones. One person even has 2 cell phones. Mind you, very nice phones at that.
So you mean to tell me that the children have to suffer with NO HEAT & HOT WATER because they cannot afford oil yet they all have a full pack of smokes & a fancy new phone?!??!?!
Something is seriously wrong with the system. Where is the incentive for these people to go out & get a job?

Corporate welfare puts any welfare momma you're upset about to shame. Your anger is misdirected.

[jetgraphics]

Welfare, as part of the entitlement program, instituted by FICA / Social Security Act of 1935, is entirely at the discretion of government. And the legal obligation to pay for it is 100% voluntary.

There is no law compelling participation, nor punishing Americans who do not.
Do not believe me. Please write a polite letter to your Senators and Congressman, and ask for a copy of the LAW that compels all AMERICANS in the U.S.A. (not U.S.) to enroll and participate before they can work in their own country.

Remember, involuntary servitude is unconstitutional. If you were misled to assume that you had to get "the number" before working in America, that's tragic, but the law is the law... and voluntary servitude is voluntary servitude.

Of course, when you ask government for the official procedure to cease volunteering, you will not get an answer.

(Faint strains of "Hotel California" playing in the background...)

[rory00]

Those with children get welfare and some states have more available assistance than others. Some states will pay for housing, fuel, food and basically all needs. But you are assuming it's that way everywhere which is not true. Even those on rent vouchers have to find work within a certain time and pay rent according to their salary. If someone gets money for fuel, that's not going to be a monthly allowance unless your state is different. these are all temporary assistance. as for children getting shafted, even working parents do that if they are bad parents.

This is like the assumption or stereotype that there are so many government loans, free money or grants for businesses or minorities. This is not even true at all than what people spread through hearsay or from a certain case they heard of etc. there are more programs for native americans though across the board.

[1751texan]

Originally Posted by bizzar721

Every day I am disgusted as to what I see going on here on Long Island. I am a middle class American citizen. I do not receive any government assistance. I work hard for everything that I have, and I understand the value of a dollar.
Welfare is a means of getting on your feet, not a way of life! Now I am not talking about EVERYONE on welfare. There are many people on public assistance who use it how it is meant to be used - as a hand to help you up when you are down. Unfortunately, the welfare system is flawed and therefore abused.
When I go food shopping I look for items on sale, purchase in bulk, & buy non brand name items to get the most for my money. I have noticed customers with gold chains & these fancy new expensive cell phones on line paying with food stamps. Not only that, their carts are filled with all NAME BRAND items regardless of if they are on sale or not. Steaks, candy, cookies, soda ect without regards to price. Many times I have been approached by a person offering to sell me food stamps for 50% cash. What about the drug addicts that receive all these benefits? They get health care, schooling, all kinds of public assistance, even DENTAL! I see many drug addicts on welfare who use all of that money on drugs, have no food in the house, no clothes for their kids yet nothing is done. After making several phone calls about a family with kids in a very unhealthy environment I asked the State employee about issuing drug tests. I was told that it was too costly to drug test everyone on public assistance and also an INVASION of their PRIVACY!!! Are you kidding me? They are being supported by the taxpayers & we're worried about invasion of privacy?!? What about protecting an investment or looking out for the innocent children being neglected and abused? A neighbors 3 year old child was walking 2 houses down from where they lived. He wanted to be with mommy who walked down the block & no one else in the house was watching him as he ran right out the front door! This was not the first time this has happened and there has been complaints filed yet nothing has changed.
Over the summer, president Obama issued $200 for every child living in a household on welfare. This was in the form of $200 per child being put onto their EBT card. Most kids from families NOT on welfare that DO NOT spend $200 on school supplies. This one family in particular, with 4 eligable children, received a total of $800. The mother then went down to a church where she received a voucher for the thrift store AND school supplies. The youngest of the children received NOTHING. The other 3 children each got $30 to spend, plus a couple of school books. Think back to the end of the summer. I find it kind of ironic that after that money was given, the amount of old tv sets & empty new TV boxes I saw in the trash.
I know of THREE families all on welfare, & all living in the same house. NONE of them work! They live in a very nice house. They receive help from the state with the rent on the house, & they also rent the house out to the 2 other families! All three families are on welfare but the other 2 families use the address of family members which is never investigated or verified. To top it off, all THREE families receive a fuel voucher - yet 2 weeks ago they called asking to borrow money because they were OUT OF FUEL. For TWO days they had no heat or hot water. There are 8 children from the age of 2 - 13 in that house! (Not to mention 6 adults & 3 children over 18). I failed to mention that 8 people in that house smoke cigarettes & 7 have cell phones. One person even has 2 cell phones. Mind you, very nice phones at that.
So you mean to tell me that the children have to suffer with NO HEAT & HOT WATER because they cannot afford oil yet they all have a full pack of smokes & a fancy new phone?!??!?!
Something is seriously wrong with the system. Where is the incentive for these people to go out & get a job?

You seem to have Intimate details of these families...why not pass them on to the proper autorities. What state are you in? and city? That is where it seems to be the problem area. Why change the entire Walfare system, which has already been done. It seems that this "Family" and your city needs to be cleaned up.

Maybe it would be better to go to your city forum to rally the troops to effect change. Maybe people in your city have the same stories and can help in your cause.