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How long was your mom on welfare? Did she do any of these things (work 2 jobs or go back to school)? I can't imagine what your life would have been like had these programs not been available since your mom used them instead of doing whatever the alternative was. Maybe you would have starved, become sickly ended up in foster care....
She was on welfare about 20 years.
She stayed on while we were young. I don't remember her having a job until I was 16.
I think if these programs didn't exist,maybe my life would have been better,because she would have been forced to actually do something.
Catch 22, it is cheap but you need to have a internet connection first and getting that can be expensive or iffy(where I live if you pay for rent the land lord control if you will have cable and what cable company it will be).
She was on welfare about 20 years.
She stayed on while we were young. I don't remember her having a job until I was 16.
I think if these programs didn't exist,maybe my life would have been better,because she would have been forced to actually do something.
Not necessarily. She may have lived on the streets with you guys or given you up. She may have gone into depression and committed suicide. She may have become a beggar. Do you think about who would have cared for you as she worked multiple jobs? Would you have been left home alone as a two year old to fend for yourself or could she afford to pay for rent, food, utilities, clothes, medical care, and a babysitter? I'm sure she made the best decision she could at the time given her circumstances. And after reading some more of your posts it seems that the perfect people to ask the questions that you have are the people in your family you believe have abused the system.
From the looks of it you have skills in construction, was not disabled, old or too burdened with Childcare (i.e. single parent). Had about $20K cash available (or at least enough to buy the house as no bank will give a loan on such a house). You could inspect the house and determine that it was fixable (no major structural damage as to cause it to collapse) and risk losing your 5k (i.e. investment). You also could pay property tax (where I live it would be about $2k a year on such property). You also could afford to rent a place while you got this house habitable. Those are things that do not apply to most poor people and frankly not many working people. You sound more likely a smart blue collar guy (i.e. Some of them esp. the ones that work in the construction trade tend to buy houses and rent them out…makes a good investment).
I do agree that people really should look at cheaper housing but I don’t think your situation applies to most people. I have live in a rough area and trust me most people on food stamps would have trouble getting 5k up and run into even more trouble should they exceed a certain amount in the bank (loose benefits).
Thank you for the compliment...
No disabilities, in the prime of life at 22, no dependants and plenty of desire with 15k in life savings to work with.
No hands on construction experience and no construction talent in the family... I did have a lot of theoretical knowledge gained from my study of Engineering.
Home turned out to be worse than I had imagined... became evident after clearing away 40 yards of trash.
The saving grace is basic construction materials are relatively inexpensive for a 700 square foot cottage. Concrete, Comp Shingles, Roofing Felt, 2x4 studs, Drywall, etc.
Part of what I failed to convey is this home became my sink or swim moment... I owned it and now it was up to me to redeem myself and in the process I was able to learn valuable skills both in home repair and people skills. I would have missed a great opportunity not buying it.
It also provided immense satisfaction, a roof over my head that led to foothold in the rental property business.
There were old-timers in the neighborhood that were very skeptical when I introduced myself... slowly they started to come around and later, they were actually encouraging me with advice and praise.
Simply clearing out all the trash, cutting down the weeds, and fixing the broken windows went miles to show I was serious...
One of my neighbors would say... it's like eating an Elephant... one bite at a time.
In my naivete... I thought crime would not be a problem and it was. Putting up window bars with a the required permit was a concession I made.
My family was in shock when they first viewed my home... my step Grandfather didn't have the heart to tell me I would be smart to call it day and walk away... Later, I asked him why he never told me and he said I was so enthusiastic and determined... he just couldn't take that away from me.
Don't think I could of or would have undertaken it if at 22 I had children to look after...
My friends did it with one child...
The book the Millionaire Nest Door makes some interesting points...
One I found to be most telling is that the majority of successful people the author interviewed had one thing in common... that is a "Good First Marriage" not that I was married.
Another thing was always living below their means a saving for when opportunity presents itself.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 12-01-2012 at 10:50 PM..
If being poor is so great, you were pretty stupid to waste your time going to nursing school and working double shifts. The single mom is not going to make the same mistake you did and lose out on her golden parachute of government benefits.
Maybe. The way I see it,they are living the same lifestyle I am,with less stress.
The thing is,if the goverment were to cut welfare,Sec 8,and medicaid off tomorrow,I might fare a little better than her.
That's always on my mind,which is why I decided to work.
BUT,I notice everything is different depending on the state.
In Nj,the middle class and working poor are similar,because the upper middle class have priced out both groups.
the mistake a lot of people are making is trying to compare well paying jobs with sitting on your ass collecting welfare.
the real comparison should be ****ty jobs to sitting on your ass collecting welfare.
if your options are work some ****ty 10 dollar an hour job and pay taxes on it or do nothing, get free rent and govt benefits financially it will come out to around the same thing and you arent breaking your back working. additionally you can then also work jobs off the books and still keep your benefits.
It's not like these people are turning down jobs as neurosurgeons to collect welfare.
The fact of the matter is if you're single with no children and make a good middle class salary (lets say around 60k) you get completely boned tax wise. You pay a lot in taxes and get next to nothing in govt services.If you're single with a couple of kids (or married with only one income) working some dead end job making 15-20 k a year you will pay no taxes, probably get money back from the irs because of credits for having children, and qualify for lots of govt assistance. Additionally your kids will go to school for free which costs the tax payers another 5k a year or so depending on where you live. The end result of what each one nets financially in a year is about the same,possibly even more for the person with kids when you factor in the free schooling.Raising kids is ****ing expensive as hell. So of course the person with no kids lives a better lifestyle. If you eliminated taxes and govt assistance and gave these same 2 people 40k a year to live off of obviously the person who doesn't have kids has a better lifestyle. That doesnt mean they don't make the same amount of money.
Like I said earlier in this thread it really is a catch 22. I don't want to pay for people to make bad decisions or pay their bills. I also don't want kids starving- they didnt ask to be born.But there is something seriously wrong with the fact people are incentivized to have children and penalized for not having them.
Sometimes your possessions start owning you. You buy a big house and so need a staff to look after it. You want to go on a nice cruise, so you need luggage, and cruise clothing and a place to store that and all the trinkets you bring home.
luggage isnt that expensive
its not like you're gonna use it once and chuck it overboard
cruise clothing? wear normal clothes. and how much junk can you really buy on a cruise?
I didn't have the energy to go back to school either,but I did it.
To be honest,I don't think many people would actually be in school if they could help it,but because they know it will bring finanacial rewards,they do it.
There is didtance learning,and schools that are internet only.
If you have a husband,it should be even easier for you to attend school.
I do not have a husband and I have my children with me 100% of the time. It takes everything I have to work full time and take care of the kids and house.
She was on welfare about 20 years.
She stayed on while we were young. I don't remember her having a job until I was 16.
I think if these programs didn't exist,maybe my life would have been better,because she would have been forced to actually do something.
The few people I know getting assistance, including myself work full time. I am not sure where this generalization that assistance equals sitting on your ass. Truth me told I work harder at home all day then going to work and collecting a paycheck. I am currently on unemployment but will be back to work full time as soon as I find a job.
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