Most would see this as an opportunity instead of a penalty.

or work them virtually for 'free' in a society that still does not want to hire those who are not already working,,,,

what Igor was saying was right on, as much 'abuse' as people whinge about from those receiving aide, there is plenty of potential for ABUSE when we start making all these mandates for people to receive just the basics of survival

it is almost like a gun to your head, 'do as much as we want for as little as we want to pay,, or starve/die'


I dream of a day when we figure out a way that the economy allows for both employers and employees to have a fighting chance at having needs met,,,,

oh christ ya know I really hate these kind of threads
the haves b*tchin about the have-nots


see the thing of it is...
whose is gonna do it?

in a perfect society
in a perfect world
on a perfect planet

each family would take care of their own
each would contribute in some way to the family
and aged and retired parents would be taken care of by their grown kids
if a family member was born with some kind of mental or physical issue
then they were not sent away but taken care of and watched over by the family

in a perfect world..but in this one? this seldom happens

so we have senior citizens that are widowed and living on very little
we have developmentally disabled adults that are not severe enough to be intitutionalized but live in assisted living
we have the homeless which are often times people dealing with substance abuse and mental illness
we have single parents with minor children
and women that have fled due to domestic violence
we have teenage runaways

and what pray tell should we do with them?

Its all about Greed.

We have the technology to provide for our citizens.

We have the ability to Shelter everyone.
We have the ability to Feed evryone.
We have the ability to Cloth everyone.
We have enough doctors and medicine to provide basic Health care for everyone.

It all boils down to the Green God of the masses.

Why does milk cost $4 a gallon?
Why is a loaf of bread $2?
Why is a two bedroom apartment $600 @ month rent?
Why is cold medicine $14 a bottle?
Why does a Dr visit cost $160?
Why does an education cost so much?

GREED

I say drop minimum wage to $1 per hour and see just how the prices drop. Its a greed spiral that keeps just getting worse while we feed it.
What is the solution?

welfare in and of itself is not evil
it was created for a reason
back in the depression
but it was created as a temporary solution
temporary being the operative word

the problem is when it has become generational
parents are teaching their children how to milk the system so to speak
or people are figuring out ways to stay on it indefinitely..
an example being: having a baby every year or so in order to still qualify

I have NO issues with encouraging others to find gainful employment if they are able to do so
but welfare excludes any who decide to get vocational training or enroll in college
are we helping them find a decent place to live?
assistance with finding and maintaining a vehicle?
or with a city bus pass for work
are we helping them find medical or dental care they can afford?
assistance with substance abuse groups?
help with finding work clothes at a local thrift shop?
food pantries? I think are fantastic! many are operated by local churches

but the current system is flawed and encourages failure
and dependency..anyone that runs out to get a minimum wage job
at Micky D's knows this as they watch their food stamps and state aid being cut..figure out rather quickly they were better off before finding a job