How does public assistance (welfare) work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[


Also while the "welfare person" is out picking up these items perhaps she could also pick up a job application.

Could she pick up some experience and some references at the deli? Or maybe a contact with a hiring manager? If you're ever out of a job and down on your luck, don't count on buying one at the sandwich counter.

We all have to start somewhere, don't we? We've all had a first job, maybe one we really hated and the pay sucked but we did what we had to do. Do you realize immigrants come to this country from all over the world, without speaking a lick of english, find themselves in the middle of a completely different culture and are able to work through it all, openning thriving businesses, work two jobs and go to school? Nothing was handed to me and I started from the very bottom. I never believed it was someone else's job to take care of me, my bills, my kids and to feed us, give us housing, free cable, cell phone, free school lunch, free healthcare.........

It's the real world and it's tough. Pull up your big girl panties and stop whining and make something of yourselves, generational welfare recipients.

Most poor people HAVE jobs. You can't skate forever on public assistance. For example, with food stamps you have to get a job or you get kicked off. So this idea that there are career welfare queens is pretty much a myth - except for those committing fraud.

[Anonymous]

I cannot believe this thread
Why is no-one complaining about the bailout for rich bankers, the war-of-choice, etc
A welfare mom buying something healthy for her kids??

[Anonymous]

Is the OP going to come back to explain how she went from having a baby daddy who rarely pays child support to having a husband who died of cancer?

[Anonymous]

NP here. I've read a lot of these "welfare' posts, and I find the responses to be ridiculous.

Common Response #1: How do you know this about them? Are you a stalker/frenemy?

Um, unless you live in a cave, you probably know at least one family like this. You probably know them because your kids is friends w/ their kid, or they are maybe even in your own family, or they are friends of a family member.

I've met many, many irresponsible welfare families because I grew up in a town where the median income was around 26K, and because my own father was a welfare bum.


Common Response #2: Don't be judgmental.

That's funny, because as someone else pointed out, the majority of these posters are EXTREMELY judgmental about the poor student who loans 80K to go to school ("WTF were you thinking?"), or the middle-class family who is supporting elderly parents ("time to cut them off and focus on your OWN family, idiot,"), and a whole host of other things. Apparently welfare (something THE PUBLIC pays for) = the only thing you can't be judgmental about, but everything else is fair game.

Common Response #3: MYOB.

This makes no sense, since taxpayers pay for welfare, and it IS hurting us financially (esp. in a recession, when there are people who are genuinely desperate, and the government is short on funding for programs that our society desperately needs). If we had lots of money left over, then fine, it'd be stingy to get on these people's cases. But we don't. The economy sucks, the federal AND local governments are out of money, and when things are like this, you do kind of have to question where every cent is spent.

Just my $.02,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I've read a lot of these "welfare' posts, and I find the responses to be ridiculous.

Common Response #1: How do you know this about them? Are you a stalker/frenemy?

Um, unless you live in a cave, you probably know at least one family like this. You probably know them because your kids is friends w/ their kid, or they are maybe even in your own family, or they are friends of a family member.

I've met many, many irresponsible welfare families because I grew up in a town where the median income was around 26K, and because my own father was a welfare bum.


Common Response #2: Don't be judgmental.

That's funny, because as someone else pointed out, the majority of these posters are EXTREMELY judgmental about the poor student who loans 80K to go to school ("WTF were you thinking?"), or the middle-class family who is supporting elderly parents ("time to cut them off and focus on your OWN family, idiot,"), and a whole host of other things. Apparently welfare (something THE PUBLIC pays for) = the only thing you can't be judgmental about, but everything else is fair game.

Common Response #3: MYOB.

This makes no sense, since taxpayers pay for welfare, and it IS hurting us financially (esp. in a recession, when there are people who are genuinely desperate, and the government is short on funding for programs that our society desperately needs). If we had lots of money left over, then fine, it'd be stingy to get on these people's cases. But we don't. The economy sucks, the federal AND local governments are out of money, and when things are like this, you do kind of have to question where every cent is spent.

Just my $.02,


THIS!

[Anonymous]

How easy do you think it is to go from welfare to a job that lets you support your children in the middle of the great recession? Try it sometime -- go somewhere new, where no one knows you, and go from business to business looking for a job. Tell anyone who doesn't brush you off immediately that you have four or five children and are on welfare.

Let us know what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How easy do you think it is to go from welfare to a job that lets you support your children in the middle of the great recession? Try it sometime -- go somewhere new, where no one knows you, and go from business to business looking for a job. Tell anyone who doesn't brush you off immediately that you have four or five children and are on welfare.

Let us know what happens.

I've been on many interviews and no one has ever asked me how many children I have. Also why would it come up that you are on welfare? I think you are going in to an interview with the wrong attitude and immediately disclose that you are on welfare and have 5 kids. Are you looking for sympathy? I'm not sure that's going to work. Try going in with the attitude that, "I can do it all and I will impress you with my work ethic. I may not no it all or have the experience but I am willing do to whatever it takes....."

Now try that and let us know what happens.

[Anonymous]

14:43 here. That's certainly a better argument than "MYOB" or "you know so much about them; you must be a frenemy." However, the issue isn't whether it's possible to get off welfare; the prevailing issue in all of these threads is whether it's right for people to abuse welfare.

I am all for food stamps, WIC, housing assistance, etc. for the genuinely poor and those who are truly unable to work. I simply do not think it is inappropriate or nosy to watch where the government's money is going IN THE RECESSION. I felt this way even when Bush took us to war in Iraq (and we weren't in a recession yet), and I think it's especially relevant today.

For the record, I actually have been in a dire situation (though I never applied for welfare), and I've actually posted about it on this forum. I'm guessing you were one of those highly judgmental posters who slammed me for my lack of work experience, student loans, having kids I couldn't afford, etc. (but are now crying "don't judge" re: welfare moms).

P.S. I did get a job in the end in a completely random city. It was rough the first month because we had to find the one apartment that would accept $300 in deposit, but it was done. I now post on City-Data's unemployment boards trying to help others in my situation, and I'm trying to get involved in non-profits that assist under-skilled moms with going back to work. I only clicked on these welfare threads out of curiosity/to see what people were suggesting. I do not think your "don't judge" attitude helps people at all; there are so many things that people ARE able to do (even in this recession), and it's important that they believe that and seek out those options.

Anonymous wrote:How easy do you think it is to go from welfare to a job that lets you support your children in the middle of the great recession? Try it sometime -- go somewhere new, where no one knows you, and go from business to business looking for a job. Tell anyone who doesn't brush you off immediately that you have four or five children and are on welfare.

Let us know what happens.

[Anonymous]

PP again. In case you think I'm bullshitting, I will outline the *exact* steps that these people can do to get a job:

Step #1: Sign up for classes at the local community college (or enroll in one of the low-cost distance learning programs at our country's many state universities) and learn a useful skill. Before you say that's not an option for the poor, I'd like to point out that Pell Grants cover ALL of tuition at 99% of community colleges (and a good chunk at state universities, too).

Step #2: Utilize CareerLink (or whatever program the school's career services has) and get every paid internship available. Tell the internship people you can only work between 9 and 3 (but do NOT tell them it's because your kid's in school during those hours). I alluded to "being in school" the rest of the time and made up some excuse about beating the commute.

Step #3: Work your ass off at the internship and learn everything you can during those school hours; consistently keep up with human resources & your supervisors re: full-time opportunities.

Obviously, if you have a baby instead of a school-aged child, that becomes much more difficult, but if you're on welfare, you probably have subsidized daycare anyway....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I've been on many interviews and no one has ever asked me how many children I have. Also why would it come up that you are on welfare? I

I don't believe that you've never been asked about your current employment or lack of it. If you apply to a major corporation with an HR department you won't be asked about children. Not so in the case of small business, especially if you're talking to the owner.

[Anonymous]

Not the PP you're responding to (I'm 14:43), but that's why they need to go back to community college or start volunteering in a professional-sounding position ASAP if there's a gap in the resume (do welfare moms even HAVE resumes? my welfare dad didn't...).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the OP going to come back to explain how she went from having a baby daddy who rarely pays child support to having a husband who died of cancer?

OP? You gonna answer or are you somewhere stewing over welfare moms?

[Anonymous]

I'm not the OP, but I thought she said she had little financial support, not court-ordered child support? (i.e. could be from grandparents or something) Maybe I read incorrectly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the PP you're responding to (I'm 14:43), but that's why they need to go back to community college or start volunteering in a professional-sounding position ASAP if there's a gap in the resume (do welfare moms even HAVE resumes? my welfare dad didn't...).

Both of these are good ideas. Now, however, times are hard, and community colleges overcrowded, especially the most desirable programs and classes. Even volunteer opportunities can be hard to come by because there are so too many recent graduates and people who've lost middle-class jobs. If you have a specific volunteer organization that could use untrained help, most counties around here have volunteer coordinators who would love to hear from you.

[Anonymous]

Hey 14.43 good for you for paying it forward. My problem isnt with holding those who need assistance accountable, its with those who sit and judge and loudly decree the system without trying to figure out a way to get them off of it and back to self sufficency.

OP is big on the judgement and the disgust and the pity for her so called friend, but she shows very little compassion or caring for this woman.