This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps

[theeedude]

And that is the inherent problem with your thinking. People shouldn't feel entitled to it just because they pay taxes into it. I pay into unemployment -- I am not planning my next few months to sabotage my job and get laid off in order to collect what I put in. SSI is an entitlement that we should get paid on when we retire, no shame in that. Medicare is an entitlement that we should get paid on when we retire, no shame in that. People collecting food stamps should feel enough shame to get back to work.

The problem is that you and your ilk don't want people to feel ashamed. You want them to be so comfortable on welfare and food stamps that they stay on it. If you pay people to not work, guess fucking what -- they won't work. There has to be incentive to get the fuck back to work. I know, it's Bush's fault that there are no jobs and the dumb fuck Republicans are preventing people from getting good jobs. People need to stop making excuses and fix their own problems and stop depending on others so much. But if they do that, then Democrats and Republicans can't buy their votes.

Did her husband sabotage his job so they would collect food stamps?
Sounds like you bought into the whole Republican mantra that poor people want to be poor because it's too good.
There is no shame at all in taking full advantage of social safety net if you fall on hard times. Even if you didn't yet pay taxes into it, but especially if you did.

 

[fleshconsumed]

What are you talking about? Did you actually read the whole article, or are you just projecting your feelings about your brother on to them?

You (and several others) are doing exactly what the article is about. Making poverty into a morality judgment rather than a confluence of choices, circumstances and bad luck.

Are some people endlessly foolish and lazy? Sure. Is that true of everyone who ends up poor? No. But much of the rhetoric is "poor people are poor bc they are greedy and lazy and deserve what's become of them. I am not, so it cannot happen to me."

Point is most of us could have found ourselves in a similar situation if our cards played a different way. Maybe not Zebo, who is thrifty as the Pope, but far less compassionate.

They had savings they burned away trying to ride out unemployment in a dying industry in the worst financial crisis in 70 years. They were young, with one trying to build a new career by taking low pay, but experience valuable jobs. Then they had premie twins on top.

But the husband has condemned his family to destitution and ruin bc he bought and paid for a hotshot car while he was single in his 20s. Gee that's soooo rare. You'd think he was trying to get laid or something...

This. Especially bolded.

I think this discussion has run itself dry. There are two sides to this discussion and they will never agree.

I do think it's sad how some people here lack even the most basic compassion for the fellow human beings who fell into hard times due to circumstances largely beyond their control.

 

[xBiffx]

I do think it's sad how some people here lack even the most basic compassion for the fellow human beings who fell into hard times due to circumstances largely beyond their control.

I think you over sensationalize a bit too much. People on both sides feel compassion. It's just that one side expects these individuals to eventually start going again on their own at some point. To use the resources available to pick themselves back up and stop drawing on public resources at some point. The other side doesn't seem to care about the individuals becoming comfortable with their situation and accepting it as their new way of life.

Basically some feel this should be a very temporary thing while others are ok with it becoming permanent or at least much longer term.

 

[theeedude]

I think you over sensationalize a bit too much. People on both sides feel compassion. It's just that one side expects these individuals to eventually start going again on their own at some point. To use the resources available to pick themselves back up and stop drawing on public resources at some point. The other side doesn't seem to care about the individuals becoming comfortable with their situation and accepting it as their new way of life.

Basically some feel this should be a very temporary thing while others are ok with it becoming permanent or at least much longer term.

Yep, both sides feel compassion, it's just that Republicans act on it by shaming and trying to take away nutrition aid for the children of the people they feel compassion for.

 

[ivwshane]

I think you over sensationalize a bit too much. People on both sides feel compassion. It's just that one side expects these individuals to eventually start going again on their own at some point. To use the resources available to pick themselves back up and stop drawing on public resources at some point. The other side doesn't seem to care about the individuals becoming comfortable with their situation and accepting it as their new way of life.

Basically some feel this should be a very temporary thing while others are ok with it becoming permanent or at least much longer term.

Pulling shit out of your ass again? Seems like it's your hobby now. Show me any poster here or any politician who are ok with assistance becoming permanent or who wish for people to be on assistance for the long term.

In fact only a crazy person would hope no one gets their shit together sooner rather than later.

 

[dmcowen674]

There are two sides to this discussion and they will never agree.

I do think it's sad how some people here lack even the most basic compassion for the fellow human beings who fell into hard times due to circumstances largely beyond their control.

It shows the true hate that the Rich Republicans have for the citizenry of this once mighty Nation.

They have torn it down with their greed and ill will towards mankind that can never be repaired.

Just shows how man never learns, always destined to repeat history even in as little as 100 year span.

Very sad to see.

 

[Zaap]

LOL at the people who emoted to this rather than used their brain (author's intention) and still think it has anything to do with anyone actually in poverty.

 

[fleshconsumed]

I think you over sensationalize a bit too much. People on both sides feel compassion. It's just that one side expects these individuals to eventually start going again on their own at some point. To use the resources available to pick themselves back up and stop drawing on public resources at some point. The other side doesn't seem to care about the individuals becoming comfortable with their situation and accepting it as their new way of life.

Basically some feel this should be a very temporary thing while others are ok with it becoming permanent or at least much longer term.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/longterm-unemployment-recession-charts

This would all be nice if it wasn't for the severity of the crisis we went through. The number of long term unemployed went through the roof. It took 5 years, FIVE YEARS, just to recover all the jobs lost during the great recession, and that is an absolute number that does not account for population growth. Are you really going to blame them for not finding a job quickly enough when it took half a decade to "recover" all the jobs we lost? They were young, they just started a family, they had unexpected twins, premature twins that require a lot of time and money to care for, they lost their jobs due to recession. Theirs is not the example you're looking for when you want to point fingers on somebody to say "hey, that's one irresponsible couple who are in trouble solely because they bought more than they can afford".

 

[xBiffx]

LOL at the people who emoted to this rather than used their brain (author's intention) and still think it has anything to do with anyone actually in poverty.

They're called bleeding heart liberals for a reason.

 

[theeedude]

Except liberals are just saying if the program is there, use it, that's what it's there for.
Conservatives are the ones saying you should feel ashamed about it or some other emo nonsense.

 

[JockoJohnson]

Except liberals are just saying if the program is there, use it, that's what it's there for.
Conservatives are the ones saying you should feel ashamed about it or some other emo nonsense.

I can't speak for conservatives, but I generally agree that if the program is there then people should use it. However, the amount of money that we put into Medicare and SS is not the same as what goes into food stamps/welfare programs. If everyone in the country used it, it would collapse. People should use it if necessary and work to get off of it as quickly as possible. That is not the case in urban areas and probably in the South where everyone likes to point out that rednecks use it too.

As for the other point you responded to of mine, I wasn't specifically referencing this family but in general. I don't think the guy sabotaged his job to get good stamps. But as others have pointed out, piss poor planning put them in this situation...admittedly some bad luck was also involved. I mean who would have known that the newspaper industry would take a bad turn.