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Old 06-03-2017, 09:12 AM
 
Location: Austin TX
11,027 posts, read 6,483,682 times
Reputation: 13259

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Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould View Post
"This month, reality was a $600 electricity bill that included late payments. An additional $350 for the mortgage, $45 for water, $300 for cellphones. Then $98 for cable television, $35 for Internet service, $315 for furniture bought on credit, $35 for car insurance and $60 for life insurance.

Kathy sat with a notepad that said “Live Like Your Life Depends On It” and did the math. Their monthly checks totaled $2,005 — $1,128 less than when the twins received benefits — and bills would consume all of it except $167. There wouldn’t be enough to whittle down her payday loans. Or to settle up with the school for her granddaughter’s cheerleading. Or to pay her lawyer for a divorce from her fourth husband."

One family. Four generations of disability benefits. Will it continue?The number of homes with multiple recipients has risen, especially among the poor. | The Washington Post

$300/month for cell phones plus another $133/month for cable TV and internet, and $315/month to pay off the furniture, then there are the payday loans. Almost half their monthly checks are gone and they've not paid the mortgage, utilities, or bought any food yet. No wonder they are $600 behind on the electricity.
It's descriptions like this that cause people to grow a cold shoulder toward the cries of the "poor".

Poor people with multiple cell phones, internet, cable television and furniture bought on credit that carries a monthly payment of just $35.00 LESS than the mortgage shouldn't be called "poor", they should be called "low income, with terrible budgetary skills".
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:19 AM
 
Location: Austin TX
11,027 posts, read 6,483,682 times
Reputation: 13259
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould View Post
So what's the solution?
I think a proper start would be mandatory life skills education for people like this. In exchange for those monthly checks, you will attend classroom study intended to improve life skills (nutrition, household budgeting, health, and basic home maintenance skills). And instead of cash handouts, maybe social workers need to direct-pay monthly bills for these folks so they are left with only a small stipend of cash, and only AFTER all their necessary monthly obligations are met. A house full of fresh healthful food and the skills to prepare it are a MUCH more necessary part of life than a trailer full of rent-to-own furniture.
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:24 AM
 
Location: My beloved Bluegrass
20,112 posts, read 16,089,167 times
Reputation: 28292
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroWord View Post
One family. Four generations of disability benefits. Will it continue?The number of homes with multiple recipients has risen, especially among the poor. | The Washington Post

It sounds to me like they we're hoping for the boys to be disabled.

How on earth can society stop this pattern from keep repeating from one generation to the next?
Cruel as it sounds, start taking their children from them at infancy. Another option is to start requiring sterilization of those incapable of taking care of themselves, let alone children. A third option would be to make disability payments far more limited, therefore letting them sink or swim. We won't do any of those, of course, but those would all decrease this multigenerational safety net dependency. It is what it is.

However, we really do need to do some serious relooking at disability checks for disabled children and start implementing requirements for their caretakers to receive the funding. I had students whose parents encouraged them to do poorly in school so they could keep their checks. Another thing we need to stop is paying relatives for things like 'cleaning assistance'. Those pictures showed a house that not only wasn't clean, it was bad enough that social services should have been in there discussing taking the children for neglect, yet some relative is receiving money to clean it.
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:25 AM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,912,897 times
Reputation: 33164
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroWord View Post
One family. Four generations of disability benefits. Will it continue?The number of homes with multiple recipients has risen, especially among the poor. | The Washington Post

It sounds to me like they we're hoping for the boys to be disabled.

How on earth can society stop this pattern from keep repeating from one generation to the next?
Increasing the minimum wage would be a good start.
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:29 AM
 
Location: Dallas
31,290 posts, read 20,690,103 times
Reputation: 9324
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor Cal Wahine View Post
They can't afford wholesome food, but gave the children a puppy ...
Actually, they can. Wholesome food is cheaper than junk food.
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:32 AM
 
Location: 500 miles from home
33,942 posts, read 22,461,411 times
Reputation: 25806
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould View Post
So what's the solution?
Always the 60,000 question.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor Cal Wahine View Post
I think a proper start would be mandatory life skills education for people like this. In exchange for those monthly checks, you will attend classroom study intended to improve life skills (nutrition, household budgeting, health, and basic home maintenance skills). And instead of cash handouts, maybe social workers need to direct-pay monthly bills for these folks so they are left with only a small stipend of cash, and only AFTER all their necessary monthly obligations are met. A house full of fresh healthful food and the skills to prepare it are a MUCH more necessary part of life than a trailer full of rent-to-own furniture.
Sounds like a good plan to me. Obviously these folks are unable to care for themselves and certainly not able to raise a child in a good home.

Every one of them in this article needs to GET OFF the pain clinic merry-go-round and get a job. They are perfectly capable of working a retail or fast food job.

Problem is - they would get less money doing that and so they resist.

Living on SSI is a way of life but it's not a GOOD life. I never saw one HH that was a lifetime disability collector that looked like a life I would want to live. I'd rather work 3 jobs and try and give my kid some normalcy.
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:36 AM
 
Location: Warrior Country
4,573 posts, read 6,763,951 times
Reputation: 3978
Quote:
Originally Posted by CSD610 View Post
The same as every other human who actually has the choice to do so if they want without permission from anyone. Do you believe limiting those who can have children to one specific group? I believe that has been attempted before. Are you going to be choosing those who can have children? What happens when a few of those children are less than perfect or does not meet your required standards?

Perhaps someone has wondered why you were allowed to have children and they felt you and your groomed children share a miserable existence and are infuriated by your tragic miserable existence.
Then you write the 2-3 Disability checks (for this family) each month & you can write the check each month for Section 8 (or welfare or food stamps etc).

If someone wants to breed.....great! But if someone wants to breed who is on public assistance, they should lose all Federal Assistance. They can get an abortion for free (those are tax dollars well spent).....or they can have the kid and lose ALL federal benefits. Their choice.

Having a kid isn't a right. Heck, it isn't even a privilege....it's a responsibility.
.

Last edited by hound 109; 06-03-2017 at 09:51 AM..
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Warrior Country
4,573 posts, read 6,763,951 times
Reputation: 3978
Quote:
Originally Posted by freemkt View Post


How do people living on disability get a mortgage?
Disability is perceived as income (per government guidelines). Plus there are still -0- down programs for homes (also subsidized by the government). It's nuts.

Related issue.... if & when the economy tanks again.....-0- down loans are WAY more likely to go into foreclosure (or be modified) than loans where the person has put 10-20% down. (aka skin in the game). One of several reasons our Federal Debt went from 8 Trillion to 20 Trillion the past 9 years.
.

Last edited by hound 109; 06-03-2017 at 09:49 AM..
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Free From The Oppressive State
30,224 posts, read 23,643,056 times
Reputation: 38580
Quote:
Originally Posted by CSD610 View Post
The same as every other human who actually has the choice to do so if they want without permission from anyone. Do you believe limiting those who can have children to one specific group? I believe that has
been attempted before. Are you going to be choosing those who can have children? What happens when
a few of those children are less than perfect or does not meet your required standards?


Perhaps someone has wondered why you were allowed to have children and they felt you and your groomed children share a miserable existence and are infuriated by your tragic miserable existence.
Oh JC get a grip. The poster stated they only thought about it, not that they went on some nationwide crusade to prevent certain people from procreating.

Instead of going after someone for a thought that they had, how about you come up with a solution to the problem that the article illustrated: Leeching off of the government.

Would that make you have to admit that we have leechers, including those who get disability? I know that the left all thought this was protected, but you were wrong. Any time that we said "except those with a disability" we didn't mean everyone who gets disability, we meant everyone who is legit disabled.

Quote:
This month, reality was a $600 electricity bill that included late payments. An additional $350 for the mortgage, $45 for water, $300 for cellphones. Then $98 for cable television, $35 for Internet service, $315 for furniture bought on credit, $35 for car insurance and $60 for life insurance.
They have a $300 cell phone bill, $98 for cable tv, $35 for internet, $315 for furniture...$748 in BS that they don't need, all paid for by the taxpayer while this family claims it's beyond poor, and are trying to prove that their 2 sons are actually "disabled".

And you don't see a problem with this to the point that instead of addressing the article, you wrote some spiel about someone's thoughts? That's all you have to offer in this thread?

LOOK AT THE PROBLEM. It's right there in front of you. People are abusing the system. Go to the doctor...they will find something wrong with you even if you're normal. Been having a rough couple of months? Feeling kicked and as down as you'll get? Go to the doctor, they'll label you 'bi-polar' and want to start you on 'treatment'! Kid won't sit still? Acting up in class? Not doing their work? Go to the doctor, they'll label the the kid ADHD and want to start them on 'treatment'. Kid is a loner? Likes order, can't think if things aren't in order? Doesn't have good social skills? Go to the doctor, they'll label the kid 'autistic' or 'on the autistic spectrum' and want to start the kid on 'treatment'. Hurray for drugs! Let's drug all of the peoples! Yay!

What should be considered mental illness is called "being brave" and "showing courage" today, and what is normal is called "mental illness". And people are abusing the hell out of this because you walk a fine line when you say a thing to anyone about anything. With so many doctors trying to prove just how many victims there are in this society, it's not hard at all to get yourself diagnosed with something regardless of how normal and perfectly health you are.

Wait until your dog dies and your car breaks down in the same week. Go visit a psychologist when you're at your worst feeling and they will label you with something. Then you, too, can board that "disability"train all the way to a monthly government check.

Quote:
Originally Posted by skins_fan82 View Post
There are people in both parties that abuse the gov't assistance programs. Millions of democrats and millions of republicans.

Once we can all agree and get past that part, we could actually attempt to fix the problem.
This is correct...although I'd guess that a lot of them don't even bother to vote.
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Old 06-03-2017, 09:44 AM
 
Location: My beloved Bluegrass
20,112 posts, read 16,089,167 times
Reputation: 28292
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks View Post
Increasing the minimum wage would be a good start.
If they are allegedly incapable of working, which is supposed to be a requirement of SSI, how would that change multigenerational disability payments?
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.Moderator - Diabetes and Kentucky (including Lexington & Louisville)
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