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No one said they should. You seem to think that everyone that receives assistance, even if it is for a brief period of time, all live beyond their means, and all live with luxury. This is not always the case.
Just because someone "has" something does not mean *they* are paying for it or even that they chose to have it.
I had dish TV in my room which I did not ask for or (directly) pay for - it was included in the rent I paid.
Y'all sure have to make up some twisted and convoluted excuses to explain away that the 'poor' in the USA live pretty well....especially when so many of the 'poor' are also taking from others.
there are no actual benefits to a gaming system or cable TV....except to while away your time....
As to the small amount you would make selling/going without,at least you wouldn't be leeching that amount off others.
of course there are benefits, especially to someone who has children, but like I said you don't think the poor are worthy of anything so I'm sure that it wouldn't seem like much of a benefit to you.
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Originally Posted by oz in SC
The horror.....you actually bought your own groceries AND had to make a sacrifice,I can see where the incredibly self centered see no benefit to this...
yeah okay so lets see I paid $199 for my Wii...my son likes to play some Simon Says type of game, which keeps him active (not just sitting there watching TV) and keeps him busy while I'm doing other things, it also helps on those days when he can't go out to play due to weather. I'd imagine in "poor neighborhoods" this might be even more important because it may not always be safe to go outside. PBS is only on a few hours a day with my cable provider, usually while my son is at school so I love going to the library and getting the PBS DVD's (free). Best one I've gotten from the library is a set called Have Fun Teaching...it teaches the alphabet, counting, days of the week, etc to catchy music that kids like to dance to...reminds me a bit of Schoolhouse Rock, which I will probably try as he gets older. We don't have a DVD player...guess I could go buy one but you would probably be against poor people having a DVD player and we already know you don't want them to have cable so any type of entertainment, even educational, isn't a benefit for you but in my household having a gaming system is a benefit for me and even if I needed assistance tomorrow I wouldn't pawn it (for far less than what I paid for it) because I believe the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term benefit of a week (or a month at your fanatical grocery store) of food.
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How do poor people have free time anyway?As to enjoyment in life,well to be honest,if you leech off of others,no....you should be doing EVERYTHING in your power to stop being a leech.
I'm sorry I thought we were talking about a family...which I thought included children...laws prevent them from working.
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A few hundred dollars....enough to feed yourself for a few weeks to a month.
I HAVE to know what you're buying that can feed a family of 4 for a month for $100....I'm guessing ramen noodles. Unless you're one of those extreme coupon people...I tried that most I saved so far was around $20.
My issue with you is you're trying to paint everyone as these welfare leeches who just take govt money and then run out and buy expensive things. While there is no argument that those type of people exist, I don't believe that is the majority. But if you really think the poor are getting over on you, join the ranks and live the good life tax free. At least you won't be so unhappy all the time.
There will always be a bit of natural selection at work. Funny how these same never seem to have any problems reproducing in great numbers, thus making their situation even worse while adding to the burden of those who *are* paying taxes and supporting them.
I'm providing direct support to a poor family overseas. Yes, they are family. I make sure there's enough to keep the lights lit and the flat warm in the winter, the phone operational, and food on the table. I also pay the tuition to send my nephew to school, keep clothes on his back, and school supplies in his backpack. He has enough to spend a few hours a week at an Internet cafe to keep in touch with me that way. I do not pay for a cell phone, satellite TV nor a gaming system. I have paid directly for several operations for family members when the 'normal' options for them to obtain healthcare were life-threatening.
I was not asking you this I was asking you this I was asking someone else
And I pay taxes here at home that send children to the local public school while at the same time am spending $20K this year to send my own child to a private elementary school.
What have you done?
I have volunteered
And what happened before people had cell phones? Perhaps you're too young to remember a time when no one had a phone at their side 24/7. To me, they're still a relatively new thing, albeit a very handy convenience. I'm not advocating a return to the stone age, or to a time when phones included a crank on the side, but again there's a difference between "need" and "want", between "necessity" and "luxury".
You can get minutes for cell phones so you only have to buy how many minutes you need. It really is not that expensive.
I grew up in a 100 year old house that had no A/C where summer temps often were in that range. No one in the neighborhood had A/C. We survived. I was a teenager before I was even in a house with central A/C and was amazed at it. I was over 20 before I had an apartment with A/C.
Many apartments/housing already have a/c in them. So only the rich are allowed new technology in housing? I guess the poor should not use microwaves, vacuum cleaners, lamps, electric stoves since their was a time people survived without them. People are not poor because they a/c get real.
My point here is to show it's quite possible to live without conveniences, not to tell "Well, in *my* day..." stories. We survived quite well, although by no means as comfortable as we might have otherwise. And it motivated me to better my lot in life...
See above
So even you admit that fans are perfectly capable of being used to cool down, eh?
Fans still use a good bit of electricity if you keep them running for a while.
TV and computers *are* luxuries. Necessities include food, shelter, running water, basic healthcare. Not cigarettes, beer, and lottery tickets. What do you get with cable/DirecTV that you do not get from OTA broadcasts? More entertainment options is hardly a necessity. That $24 each month could be put to better use if it replaces $24 not received in an entitlement check.
Of course they are yet you have yet to realize that you do not know how the poor got these things. So what do you want people to do for entertainment twiddle their thumbs?How do you know that $24 could be better use you do not know their situation. We live in one of the richest nations in the world. Why are we satisfied with our poorbarely making it while our rich make millions? It just shows where our priorities in this country are.
Y'all sure have to make up some twisted and convoluted excuses to explain away that the 'poor' in the USA live pretty well....especially when so many of the 'poor' are also taking from others.
The chart showed that poor people have some items. It did not show that having these things were making the poor poor. Still waiting for that connection to be made. Since when does having a TV or a/c mean that you are well off? You can have all that and still not be doing well.
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I was over 20 before I had an apartment with A/C.
