The Glade 4.0

I see this in a lot of arguments around here...talking about people sitting on their bums and collecting "Welfare."
I would like to know exactly what this "welfare" is. Years and years ago, welfare (I was told) was a check that people got from the government to pay their bills and their rent. To the best of my knowledge, that no longer exists.
When I was in college (not too long ago) there was no welfare. If you had children, you could apply for foodstamps. If your children did not have ANY contact with their father (seeing the father once a month was considered contact and you didn't qualify) then you could apply for TANF and receive the Maximum of approximately $120 a month.
That was the ONLY government financial assistance available except for disability (impossible to get here unless you are on your death bed and even then its only $700 a month) and subsidized housing but the waiting list is 2-3 years and you will not get accepted if you are not a minority.

So, I'd like to know where people are getting the idea that its possible for all these people to sit around and "collect a welfare check" because as far as I know, no such thing exists. There is no program where you can walk in, say I'm too poor and have no job and some government agency gives you a check every month to pay your rent and utilities.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

It'll probably be very different for the US. Over here if you have a child you can collect a once off cheque of $5000 for each child to help you with perceived missed work. There is also a $120 per fortnight called milk fund for each child. If you have more than 3 children and can thus claim to be a full timer carer, you're given an extra amount of $300-400 a week to help you look after these children. A lot of immigrants here actually just end up having lots of kids cause it pays better than work.

On the unemployment front, you get $300ish per week if you rent from a place, and less if you are in a government housing. You can claim this indefinantly if you can not work, or will be forced to go to interviews if you can. You are also entitled to free education from public colleges.

Disability help is usually given to people who were born with a disability and depending on the need, it covers most of your medical bills and at the age of 18, the child can have their own income of around $300-400 a week. Most people who have had accidents while working which have resulted in permanent injury are covered by work insurance and not the government.

The elderly gets (on top of super) some suppliments if their super was not sufficient to meet the minimum living standard. They also get almost free public transportation, health care, and heavily discounted tickets to most places.

Fornight? Mr. Ruffles is ruffled by that word.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

Mr. Ruffles, it is a time period of two weeks.

It varies greatly from State to State. Here is the How to Apply page for California, including a fair amount on how much you can get.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5205565_apply-w ... ornia.html

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Mississippi Housing Authority

I do not know about Mississippi; but in Nevada section 8 and public housing is low cost or no cost housing for the low income, and depending on the income level and dependents level the government can actually end up giving the resident free electricity and utilities, and a monthly stipend to be used on any other household expenses.(independent of food stamps and medicare/medicaid or WIC)

Urban Institute

They have more information at this link

Mississippi Department of Human Services

The page linked is the main page for Mississippi SNAPS program.

The Food Stamps programs will vary from state to state, but once you get food stamps it is easy to manipulate the system to continue getting more and more aid.

Food Stamps will not cover everything and quite often (here in vegas) people will trade their food stamps cards for cash. And use the cash for whatever else they need (such as smokes, gas for cars, laundromat use, sadly some will also use the cash for drugs and alchohol)

It is when these things are combined that the abuse begins. People will choose not to work, they will choose to continue having more dependents, take in elderly family members, etc. to maximize the money that they receive from the government.

*I used information for Mississippi for all of my links because I know you help people who need it, and maybe the local information will be of assistance to you in this endeavor... besides, it always helps to understand a concept when you see it in your area as opposed to "out there"

**edit**

Also here in Vegas, many people will grow some sort of sense of entitlement when they begin collecting these government resources. They feel that because they are being given aid.. the government owes them the aid from then on, even if they have done nothing to contribute to the system.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

Thanks for the links, darksiege.
SNAP is the new food stamp program and Section 8 is the housing program I was referring to...I tried applying for it when my son and I were homeless when he was a baby 8 years ago. It was a joke then, but maybe things have changed...all I know is I was white and I wasn't getting in. The waiting list was 2 years. The Mississippi Housing Authority can either put you in subsidized housing or pay a portion of your regular rent somewhere else. Either way, you still don't get a check from the government.
There are lots of resources available to help poor people, but there still is not somewhere that I know of where you can get your utilities or phone or other things paid...so, still no "welfare check."
But yes, I completely agree that these resources are misused, its just that the argument about "getting a welfare check" used in political debate is about 12 years old and no longer valid. Need to change the verbage there.
Lydiaa....wow, it pays more to sit on your butt over there than to work here full-time for minimum wage! Wow!

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

LadyKate:

Actually, some states still send out checks to individuals. That said, the best thing Bill Clinton ever did was put ALL of it back on the States. Congress should have left it that way.

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Khross: Which states and what are they sending?

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I see this **** all the time. I knew a girl who worked part time at the post office I used to work at who kept spitting out kids and trying to get less and less hours and government aid while all the other part-timers were trying to get more hours, because she just wanted to sit on her *** at home with her kids and not work.

Why the hell don't our wonderful politicians reform this system that's riddled with loopholes, and why do they persist with this antiquated notion of social engineering via incentivizing childbearing?

In Ohio and several other states you get a debit card.
https://www.eppicard.com/eppicard/ohcard/index.jsp#
http://jfs.ohio.gov/owf/prc/

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Kate,

Nevada gives a debit card for Food Stamps and they also will pay an actual cash monthly stipend on top of giving out free rent to section 8 renters who qualify.

My mother works for the CCHA (Clark County Housing Authority); she recently had to disqualify someone who was trying to milk the system.

The couple claimed zero income to get free rent, free utilities, food stamps, medicare/medicaid and a monthly payout of $500+ a month for living. Then they suddenly applied to the program for "self employed benefits" which would have doubled their monthly benefits. Sad thing about that is that they failed to fill out their taxes which is required for the self employed program.

When they began to argue about the situation, it was found that their business was in an area you do not pay taxes on the income from.... (as in not legal, by their admittance). So since they were violating the no criminal behavior in the program rule, they became disqualified to remain within the CCHA program. Unless they could provide their tax paperwork showing their income was legitimate and legal, in which case they needed to pay rent on the home ($300 was all that was being asked, they still got free utilities and food stamps and medical care) because they no longer qualified for the zero income.

But for someone who is not doing illegal ****... it is difficult to kick someone who is abusing the system out of it.

***EDIT***

Here in Vegas also, I have a former partner who worked in payroll. She saw quite often welfare requests coming in for people who mysteriously seemed to have the same SSN, but worked in different areas of the country. And it was her companies policy that she was not allowed to bring attention to the use of a single SSN by multiple people, even if they worked for multiple clients.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

In CA there are multiple programs like food stamps and General Assistance/General relief:
Cash in CA

ATM's + Strip Clubs/Casinos = Welfare Cash

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

No one else has mentioned this particular aspect, but the qualifications for obtaining medical disability payments are not nearly as strict as you portrayed, and a large source of fraud. More so if you consider that some of the conditions that qualify for medical disability are self inflicted.

My son's grandmother has severe back problems and has been in a legal fight to get on disability for 4 years...she finally won her case last month. I have heard a lot of stories like this in my state, but I know its different elsewhere. My younger brother, for example, has Aspergers and when he was living in Oregon his disability payments were like $1400 a month.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

And? That's about half what I make gross. If you combine those payments with other assistance such as Medicaid, food stamps, etc. that really is no small number, considering I assume he's unproductive in exchange for that money.

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“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine

Echoing DK, that's not much under what I make after taxes, and is your younger brother trying to support a family off of it?

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Oh I was always astounded at how much money he got for his disability....especially considering that he somehow always wound up with lots of drugs and no food...my mother (before she died) had hired someone to manage the money for him so that wouldn't happen. In my little brother's defense, he had absolutely no mental defenses against anyone who wanted to take advantage of him...part of his mental illness. He was very vulnerable. (Still is....currently worried about him as no one has been able to find him since he got out of jail after mom died last year.)
But no, we don't have anything like that in Mississippi really...when I was in college I knew a guy who had emphysema and was on disability, waiting to die, and he only got $700 a month.
I always thought gee wouldn't it be nice to have some "mild mental disorder" and sit on my butt and make more money than I was working my jobs as a single parent to get through college.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

So whatever happened to Sean?

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Holy shitsnacks!

Huh?

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

He's still around, just lost interest in us.

One of the Glade regulars. Disappeared a while ago.

Did almost exactly that.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Lucky guy.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Yeah, real lucky. Maybe if you like having a crippling social anxiety and you can barely even leave the house for any sort of function outside of family.

Except he went to several Fan Faires.

Not all that crippling if you ask me.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Sorry, have to say something. Asperger's syndrome is *not* a mild mental condition. It's on the autism spectrum, and people who suffer from the condition have very difficult lives. Imagine going through your day and never actually know what someone meant when they said something. Imagine not being able to truly comprehend body language or the millions of other social queues that make up a huge portion of our communication.

It's a bit like being blind. You cannot "see" what everyone else sees. However, since you are high functioning, everyone "sees" you as normal. It costs you jobs, causes depression, and can lend a hand to all sorts of problems.

So please, don't minimize the condition. A lot of people do, and it's really unfair to folks who suffer from it. Thanks.

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It feels like all the people who want limited government really just want government limited to Republicans.
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