How does public assistance (welfare) work?
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Anonymous
I have no idea why you quoted my post then ranted at the OP. If you were angry about my post, you have poor reading comprehension or poor anger management. I am not against welfare. Many people are on welfare because of the poor economy or because of circumstance - my point was that those who are not on welfare because of circumstance but are instead on welfare generationally are those that struggle more with budgeting their money. I was speaking to the OP's point of trying to understand why some people spend their money on gifts / in a generous and giving way when they have other needs. |
Anonymous
The OP said:
People don't normally call financial help from family members (not the parent of the child) child support. |
twentysomethingmom
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Nursing has a long wait and is hard to get into, and dental hygiene has a long wait (usually two years). PTA and OTA usually has fall-only admission, so that can be a problem for those who are in need now. The rest of the programs are NOT closed, and even if they are, you can take the pre-reqs now as a degree-seeking student (making yourself eligible for the Pell Grant and getting access to career services) and wait until the fall to start the core classes. Believe me, I've researched over 50% of the state universities and many, many community colleges in my frantic state of need earlier in 2011. Calling each program individually can be expensive if the individual has limited phone minutes (as I did), but it only takes a few seconds to copy and paste "Hello, I was wondering if this program is still offering admission X semester?" into email format and email them to tons of colleges. Then, once you get in, use your university email address to apply for jobs.
I'm puzzled by why this is so hard to believe around here. I'm not a troll, and I'm not some psycho conservative person who wants to end all welfare programs. The only explanation I can think of is that maybe people are very, very rich in this area vs. very, very poor, and that those at the higher end don't understand how normal people do this. Most people I know from my hometown are totally unskilled, have tons of kids, and manage go to community college/work crap jobs while staying off welfare. It's not that hard (unless you live in a place with literally NO internet/access to community college). It may sound like an obscenely hard life to some, but this is kinda how the rest of the country lives...
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twentysomethingmom
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| re: the OP's original statement -- I can think of worse ways to spend welfare money (unfortunately, I have personal experience with this thanks to many irresponsible members of my family when I was growing up). At least the person in question spends it on gifts for *other people.* |
Anonymous
Many people live like that here, as well, but most of them will say that they are lucky to have a job at all. It's harder in the big city, and harder when people aren't "twentysomething" any more. If, that is, you're not trolling. |
twentysomethingmom
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Um, most people are grateful to have a job anywhere.... No one is disputing that. My point is that signing up for community college/re-training/volunteering to get new skills is a PART OF LIFE and not some absurd, unfair expectation in most of the country. How the h*** is that trolling? Do you just declare anyone you disagree with a "troll?"
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Anonymous
| Why work at mcdonalds when welfare pays you the same or more |
Anonymous
Maybe you have not heard, but McDonald's have more applications than available jobs. College grads are applying to flip the burgers in this economy. |
Anonymous
Because you can't stay on welfare without a job. That's how it is designed. |
Anonymous
Then why is unemployment so high |
Anonymous
NP here. I've worked for most of the last 22 years in a local soup kitchen. I can say from experience that you can always tell when welfare checks come out. The attendance at the soup kitchen drops sharply. Over the next 2-4 weeks, the attendance will increase steadily as people use up their welfare checks. As has been pointed out, many of them do not have basic life skills for taking care of themselves and budgeting. They really don't understand that spending $5 on groceries will last them longer and they will be able to save more money for other things, than spending $5 on a quick meal at McDonald's. Some of them live in the local dive motel for 1-2 weeks and then they go and live under the bridge for the last couple of weeks of the month (during warm weather) or they go to the shelter for the rest of the month. Some shack up together. It is not unusual to have 8-10 guys sharing a motel room for the night. Although there are many like this, there are also many who are the ones that the system was set up for. I knew one guy who worked as a mechanics assistant. He worked at three shops, but they only gave him a few hours each. He would work anywhere from 8 hours to 24 hours per week at these shops. when he worked 20 or more hours, he would be able to catch up on his meager rent and feed himself for a few days. When he worked less, he would be in the soup kitchen. I always loved shifts when this guy didn't show up...it usually meant he was working more. As for those who ask why some people stay on unemployment or welfare instead of getting a job? There are many jobs out there that pay less than these people get from unemployment or welfare benefit checks. If you can get a minimum wage job, but it only gives you 24 hours per week of work, you probably get less take-home pay than your welfare/unemployment check. If that's the case, then you stay on welfare/unemployment as long as you can and you only worry about trying to find a job when the benefits dry up. The system is great for those who it was designed for. For the chronic unemployed, it needs a major overhaul. |
Anonymous
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My mom thought I wouldn't have a grocery bill since I receive WIC benefits. She was shocked to see what it really provides. I appreciate it, for sure, but it's basically only milk, cheese (16oz), eggs (2 cartons), cereal (2 boxes), bread (2loaves), juice, a small jar of peanut butter, and a small allotment for fruit and veg ($6). I don't have my checks in front of me, but this sounds right. I still have to put a lot (for me) of money towards groceries. I've heard that food stamps are better because there's more latitude in what you can get. On WIC, you can only get the specific things listed. I wish, for example, that I could get yogurt or more cheese instead of all of the milk I'm offered through WIC. Evidently, you can't transfer the $$ to a similar food. |
Anonymous
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"If by the 3rd or 4th of the month you have nothing left, how do you live for the rest of the month?" I've heard comfortably middle class friends say the same thing, that their paycheck comes in and goes out within days----especially those saddled with enormous student loan debt. |
Anonymous
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Unemployment is high because there aren't enough jobs available.
"Welfare" does not send you a check for decades on end. Cash assistance is only available for a few years to each person and it's very difficult to qualify for. I wish everyone here talking about "welfare checks" would invest a few minutes to learn about how these programs actually work. If you're happy to be fed inaccurate information from places like Fox News, then carry on in your ignorance and stupidity. But, please, don't try to join a conversation without having even the most basic understanding. |
Anonymous
Because the jobs are not there. Everyone is competing for the same jobs. Your question is odd. |