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I'm in a similar situation, ReturningWest. I'm 47, in an urban environment, and have been working since I was 17. college degree, with honors. All I've been able to get was a part time retail job in October. No benefits. It doesn't pay the bills, my parents pay for most of them, including health insurance. I moved back home a year ago. I've been selling off belongings since before the layoff and there isn't much left. I was just approved for a small amount in food stamps to help keep staples in the pantry. I'll also apply for medicaid, but with the cuts, I don't know if I'll get it. At least 1/4 of my coworkers are in the same predicament. We are not lazy. We are hard working people, many very educated. There simply are not enough jobs to go around.
What really, really scares me is that I don't see things changing for a long time. How is country going to survive with so many people working part-time, minimum wage jobs? Not long.
First off, you have refused to recognize I'm a 60 year old WOMAN, who at my age can not physically do heavy lifting or other physically demanding jobs...
Another city person
I'm a 60 year old woman who can no longer do hard physical labor
mowing cardiologists lawns...give me a break...
My point about paying for gas on a wild goose chase to Florida, is I don't have those kinds of funds -
Again you obviously had start up funds for your jewlery and teddy bear venture, I have excatly 36.25 to my name at the moment,
Everyone comes up with these "start your own business" things that cost money I don't have. And many don't. And any venture is risky.
And finally what makes you thing I've been "sitting around for three years" That's a lot of assuming and you haven't bothered to read any of my posts in the employment forums.
I didn't have startup capitol. I filed bankruptcy on borrowed money. At one point $36 would have been 36x what I had. I couldn't even pay the lawyers parking fees of $56.
I went from doing nothing but manual labor to selling through the internet, starting with my own belongings. As I said, I don't hold any animosity towards you, don't wish you to starve, didn't say you weren't doing anything and just tried to show you there are people in as bad a situation who used a different means to getting out of it. I'm not sure what living in a city has to do with it because I could do what I've done from a telephone poll in the panhandle. My wifes family came from Oklamhoma and worked a walnut farm in Visalia, so I do know what rural living is about. Being broke in the boonies is no different than being broke in the city. If anything the city is more expensive to live in, making it harder.
The point is, you shouldn't shoot the messenger or lay into someone for simply trying to encourage you. But I guess your situation is far worse than anyone elses and even if they should try to say different, they're just ignorant city folk.
And then theres ovcatto who said:
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Originally Posted by ovcatto
I think that we should come up with an equivalent to Godwin's Law based not on the logical fallacy of using Hitler as a false analogy but rather socialism. Maybe we can call it Catto's Law?
But I digress...
Apparently you recognize a need to take care of those who can not care for themselves then the question becomes who are those individuals; children born to parents who can neither feed or cloth them; people with disabilities that make them unable to function in society much less the workplace, seniors citizens, or those displaced by the ebb and flow of economic fortune then who perchance do you speak?
I recognize the need for people to take responsibility for their own lives. Only when there are no options left should social aide be used. It used to be that people were ashamed to take handouts, now they fight, riot and demand them. You'd have to be a moron not to see what's going on, and even more so if you prefer the later. I think your educated bliss would be better served authoring history books, I'm positive you'd make an excellent revisionist.
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This is one of the most marvelously confounding and ludicrous rationalizations put forth by capitalist apologist ever! Well of course capitalism has been "hijacked" by capitalist! who else would control such an economic system the Workers! That is the very nature of capitalism! It is the inherent nature of the thing! Even Adam Smith knew that and warned those who actually have read Wealth of Nations that this is precisely what would happen!
In your eagerness to make your point you failed to realize I was differentiating between a Capitalist and the power hungry madmen who have hijacked it. Sorros would be a good example of someone who doesn't care if he ruins a country to make a profit. Anyone can take a few people and rationalize that all of them are bad. Castro, Lennon, and Mao are perfect examples of why ALL SOCIALISTS are bad? That's exactly the logic you use to make your case against Capitalism.
Fact: It doesn't matter what the religion, political view, race, creed or color, the one common attribute is for a select few powerful individuals to be evil. That was my point.
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There are long two checks against unbridled economic and political power that go hand in hand with the accumulation of great wealth which is inevitable in a capitalist society, labor unions with government playing the role of mediator, or simply government alone. Personally I prefer the former and not the latter for there needs to be checks and balances on the power of all three. But since in recent years both government and capital have done everything to destroy or inhibit unions (both nationally and internationally) the task has been left to only one party, government which in my humble opinion has failed miserably at the task.
So what should I do the next time I'm at the grocery for a pack of smokes, step up to the ATM machine and wait until it disgorges a bag full of goal?
Nice, I say the government needs to stop printing money, devaluing the dollar and you take it that I literally meant stop printing paper money. Really?
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Of course the government must operate within the means of a society now what that has to do with my previous statements is a mystery to me. Unless of course the canard is that spending on those who can do the least for themselves is the cause of the current economic crisis or more accurately the scapegoat.
Funny, this is one of the few things I actually agreed with and it was a sidetracked thought, go figure.
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Which brings us back to your opening statement; "It's one thing to care for those who can no longer care for themselves." Who are these people who don't want to pull their weight, what percentage of the population do they represent. If we can identify who they are, we can certainly adjust those programs for those truly in need without shiit canning the entire system of supports just to weed out the miscreants. I am full square in favor of the former, but I'll be damned if I will ever support the latter.
You are correct. I fully agree that the sytem would be better fixed than gutted. Wow, we actually agreed again, this is scary. The politicians would use a complete revamp to exploit and skim the cream for their benefit. We have to fix the systems we have and sift out the generational and perpetual abusers.
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Yada, yada, yada! Bromides and homilies are wonderful for those handknitted dollies that granny used hang off the back of granddad's rocker but the fact is all parents aren't good and so we as a society have a responsibility and more importantly self-interest in dealing with the results, however, folks like yourself a abjectly bereft of the merest suggestion of how to proceed outside of some 19th century Dickinsoneque solution, as a result, putting this nation at risk of the very social movements that you now decry, socialism or worse.
And we were doing so well until you reverted to this nonsense. But hey, it gave you a chance to use Dickensonesque in a sentence, and that just doesn't come around much these days.
I'm on SNAPS or as you call them food stamps and without them I would starve.
I've been unemployed since 05/08, when my unemployment ran out, SNAPS is the only thing I have available to me so I can at least eat. Up untill '08 I had worked for 40 years until my lay off, I do every thing possible to find work, any kind of work.
Only last week, Lowes had an add for 1 seasonal job over 500 people showed up to apply, I got my email rejection within 24 hours. Every job I apply for there are 100's of applicants, in the last 3 weeks I've gotten 3 interviews and still no job. At 60, I still have plenty of up to date skills and last year spent the last of my savings on a phlebotomy course and got nationally certified and still no job. There are phlebotomy jobs in my area and I do get interviews sometimes, but again, I'm competing against 100's of people for 1 job.
The reason why food stamps have continued to go up is, in many areas of the country there is still no recovery, I live in NE GA, the state still is at over 10% unemployment and my area is at 11%. Many of those who have found work are under employed working for minimum wages and or part time work, thus more people are on food stamps and many like myself have run out of unemployment benefits and now qualify. While I was getting my unemployment benefits I didn't qualify, but after they ran out I do. There are also the elderly who are on a fixed income and qualify for food stamps.
The few churches in my area that have food banks are turning away people because there is still such a need. They have fewer donations and more people than they can help.
I'd much rather have a job than be on food stamps as most of the MILLIONS of people who are still unemployed. At 60 I never thought I'd be in this position of horrific poverty and it's frustrating knowing your doing everything possible to find work.
The number of people on food stamps will continue to rise as people fall off unemployment rolls and have been unable to find work and until there are more jobs...just a reminder statistically there are still 5 people for every 1 job. In my state companies are still bleeding jobs and some are closing their doors. In my town and the town next door most shops have closed, the grocery stores in strip malls that have additional shops are vacant. Many like myself have run through our savings trying to stay afloat, we have nothing left.
Pretty offensive you would begrudge those of us who have lost everything and are still looking for work to have food on the table...you'd rather have us starve. For the 40 years I worked and payed my taxes, I never begrudged anyone who'd fallen on hard times and needed the help of food stamps, we were once a great nation of compassion for those who needed some help, but now it's all about greed and a growing hatred towards the poor.
If someone qualifies for food stamps what difference does it make who helps them sign up. The article link no where mentioned "brown shirts" and I find the title offensive - the inference of a Nazis is beyond offensive...more hatred of the poor.
The problem is much deeper than that. What causes the state of being in such poverty, where individuals and families have to resort to government dependency in the first place, is the real problem. That money should be put out so that people can open up businesses and employing the poor, afford to go back to school, pay off burdensome debts, afford gas, etc. Why keep supporting the problem by giving milk instead of the cow and not resolving the cause?
The problem isn't that we don't have enough new domestic businesses. The problem is we are not creating wealth. The two ways wealth is created is by developing natural resources and manufacturing products we export. We do precious little of both and therefore become poorer and poorer as time goes by. Flipping each other's hamburgers will not solve our problem. What will is creating products and raw materials to sell to the world.
The problem isn't that we don't have enough new domestic businesses. The problem is we are not creating wealth. The two ways wealth is created is by developing natural resources and manufacturing products we export. We do precious little of both and therefore become poorer and poorer as time goes by. Flipping each other's hamburgers will not solve our problem. What will is creating products and raw materials to sell to the world.
Service and consumption does not generate wealth.
You are correct.
Production and sales generate wealth.
But we have given the wealth generation industries and jobs away in favor of consumption. But to drive consumption requires debt because you are not producing to generate revenue.
Our debt is maxed out..the consumption has been cut back.
I'm in a similar situation, ReturningWest. I'm 47, in an urban environment, and have been working since I was 17. college degree, with honors. All I've been able to get was a part time retail job in October. No benefits. It doesn't pay the bills, my parents pay for most of them, including health insurance. I moved back home a year ago. I've been selling off belongings since before the layoff and there isn't much left. I was just approved for a small amount in food stamps to help keep staples in the pantry. I'll also apply for medicaid, but with the cuts, I don't know if I'll get it. At least 1/4 of my coworkers are in the same predicament. We are not lazy. We are hard working people, many very educated. There simply are not enough jobs to go around.
What really, really scares me is that I don't see things changing for a long time. How is country going to survive with so many people working part-time, minimum wage jobs? Not long.
Thanks for your support, I wish I did have family to turn to. I don't qualify for medicaid or any other services except food stamps that some seem to think is not deserved.
I think many would perfer us to just starve. There are millions of us who've lost just about everything and I agree there's not much hope in site.
Poor and unemployed like me for the most part, a few have helped out some when they can. But everyone I know is hurting. We all used to be hard working people, and want to be again. Do you not get that there are millions just like me?
This is one of the most ridiculous questions I see, repeatedly, on boards.
What do you expect friends to do? They aren't going to take you in. They are not going to pay your bills. They might invite you to dinner or coffee. They may help you with job leads. That's about it.
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That's a lot of assuming and you haven't bothered to read any of my posts in the employment forums.
. For the 40 years I worked and payed my taxes, I never begrudged anyone who'd fallen on hard times and needed the help of food stamps, we were once a great nation of compassion for those who needed some help, but now it's all about greed and a growing hatred towards the poor.
