California is the top welfare state: 33% of welfare recipients live in CA (Congress, salary)

[wutitiz]

liberalism doesn't work. California is living proof.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

But it's skewed. CA has 1/8 of the US population but 1/3 of US welfare recipients.
The article said it was because of their generous benefits.

I know. I'm talking in statistical terms - because CA has X percent of recipients nationally doesn't necessarily mean the state is in any particular standing in comparison to other states. In laymans terms, X does not necessarily mean Y.

In this case (after reading into it), I learned it does.

[gwynedd1]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

This is not good for California. Their total population is 1/8 of the nations total yet they have 33% of the nations welfare recipients living there.

There's lots of cuts going on but the welfare in CA is just too attractive even with the cuts.

Nation's largest welfare state makes deep cuts (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/28/state/n103700S74.DTL&type=politics - broken link)
Advocates of welfare reform in California often cite one, eye-popping statistic as they have pressed for cuts and changes to the program in recent years: The state has one-eighth of the nation's population but one-third of all welfare recipients.
..
The main reason California has such a high percentage of the nation's welfare cases is because it is one of the few states that continue to provide welfare checks for children once their parents are no longer eligible.
About three-quarters of California's welfare recipients are children age 18 and younger.
..
California's relatively high cost of living and its large number of low-wage jobs make it difficult for residents to make ends meet, she said. By 2009, California saw 1.3 million apply for state assistance, and the number has continued to climb.

Jobs only appear in certain places, like where land is cheap. Welfare can be collected anywhere so why collect it in bad weather?

The only way to make make money in California was in real estate anyway. Now that the subsistence wage cannot even sustain a pickle on your plate, that's over and California is a negative equity, financial rentier created hell hole.

[gwynedd1]

Originally Posted by wutitiz

liberalism doesn't work. California is living proof.

Crony capitalism doesn't work because it creates welfare states like this. That preceeds bleeding heart liberalism every time. You can make fun of doctors using a jar of leaches( or bus loads of them from states with bad weather and no beaches) , but it doesn't mean you cured the disease either.

Its easy to predict that places like California will always devolve into this because the wealth comes from the land. Nebraska will not have these disparities because land values are low and land rents do not create both the wealthy classes or the have-nots. You can't sit back and collect high rent selling the good weather. Its not hard to understand. In California you have to compete with people there for the weather and beaches and these access charges are high. Work seeks cheap land. The more one has who doesn't produce what he has, like wealthy California land owners who collect rent and enjoy subsidized water for instant millionaire farms, the less someone else will have. It doesn't raise all boats because they are not even driving the merchant ship. The cheapest way to stop the revolts is with basic welfare. So you get wealthy entreshed classes who are gentry charging access and welfare. Its more profitable to take as much money from the producers as you can, and then payout welfare. What's new?

So one of the richest lands on the planet is bankrupt. Go figure.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by h0tmess

This is why I truly, truly, truly believe that all programs need to be left up to the states. If California wants to be a state that just throws money around and to everyone regardless of how much money they steal from people.. then that's great!

But the federal government shouldn't be giving money to the states, at all.

CA probably is so high up there with the welfare nonsense because of all of the illegals living there. Once again, I say.. that's fine. Allow the states to do whatever. But we should never bail them out. What will they learn??? Nothing.

Welfare is huge business. There are places where Medicaid and food stamps and WIC plus federal housing assistance are making the economy. That's big money pouring in.

California would be in a bad way if the big federal dollars stopped pouring in to support it's large and growing welfare class.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by afoigrokerkok

The situation in California is only going to get worse. A slew of pro-illegal immigration laws go into effect with the start of the new year. I posted about it on our illegal immigration forum.

While I don't believe the new laws expand welfare eligibility for illegals, they do expand other taxpayer-funded benefits for illegals and will clearly attract more illegals to the state, indirectly resulting in an increase in the number of illegals receiving welfare.

It's also going to get much worse because Jerry Brown and his cohorts are working on another tax increase for those who work for a living and pay taxes. But he has promised more financial aid to those who get there illegally and don't want to pay for college themselves.

I think other states would be smart to send their welfare recipients to California, California is the place to be if you want the easy welfare life.

[Taratova]

It is all that liberal legislation that protects the illegals and brings more of them there . California will implode eventually with all those handouts.

[kevinm]

Originally Posted by malamute

California once boasted of a diverse economy, it has the huge Hollywood money, the tourism, all kinds of farming.

You can understand a state like Michigan or Ohio having problems because their economies were always based on manufacturing but California does not have any similar excuse. They didn't stop making movies, they didn't stop having tourism and beaches, they didn't stop growing crops.

California is simply a very very inviting state for the welfare mobs.

Ahhhh.... the grapes of wrath!!

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by malamute

Welfare is huge business. There are places where Medicaid and food stamps and WIC plus federal housing assistance are making the economy. That's big money pouring in.

California would be in a bad way if the big federal dollars stopped pouring in to support it's large and growing welfare class.

With debit cards now being used, JPM and BofA are making money with each transaction as well.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Taratova

It is all that liberal legislation that protects the illegals and brings more of them there . California will implode eventually with all those handouts.

States like Utah, Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona that are trying to fix their problems should start quietly offering the illegals a one way ticket to California. The illegals would make a whole lot more money in Medicaid, food stamps, college financial aid in California and the politicians in California act desperate to have more illegals.