Louisiana Bans Use of Welfare Benefits for Tatts, etc.

Halfswede
reply to post by Skyfloating

 

Agree 100%. I would be 100% in favor of spending even more on the programs if I could guarantee they were getting these things. I would happily pay more taxes for a van to go door to door three times a day delivering healthy meals than pay what I do to see the guy next to me in line buying a damn steak with his EBT that I can't (choose not to so I don't live paycheck to paycheck) afford. I would happily pay more to have a welfare store that only carries real and healthy food and clothing, and they can just come take it for free. It isn't about the money, it is about what we are teaching people with this system and what is truly "good" for people in need.

interesting you say steak, i used to buy roasts to cut into steaks, and even steaks, pork chops etc on sale since it was cheaper or about the same price, as stuff like ground beef and chicken.

while i do like your idea of providing them with "real and healthy food". why should they eat better than someone working hard? seems like that alone would cause a lot more people to go on welfare, i know i would be tempted. being able eat properly and well, not to mention having the time to spend making "healthy meals", would be one hell of an incentive to go on welfare.

reply to post by generik

Do the same people who support or want "laws" banning people from buying soda and chips with EBT cards also make fun of the first lady for promoting healthy diets?

Just wondering if this is something we can finally agree on? Even though I still don't think we need laws.
_________________________
Also, back in the day, soda and chips used to be on the list of things grocery stores did not allow you to buy with food stamps. When exactly did that change? With the onset ofEBT cards? Is this a state-by-state thing?

Some stores looked the other way, but most didn't or they didn't get reimbursed. Maybe it is a case of them moving to the EBT cards without thinking through all the ramifications. Not sure exactly how they work, but if they work like cash.... Then again, there would still be ways of tracking. And finally, that still doesn't preclude the barter system for turning goods into cash. But again that's creative.

reply to post by Cancerwarrior


Yeah, my niece has a tattoo business in W Virginia and she has never encountered this. I called and asked her when I read this. She said most pay in cash.

reply to post by Snarl


This should be done nationally and I can't believe congress hasn't even tried to stop the rampant amount of welfare abuse.
I would add a list of other changes...

-No food stamp purchases of soda pop, candy or other junk food. No fast food purchases. Purchases are for necessities not for a free lunch. In it's place, allow hygiene and toiletries to be purchased with food stamps.

-Any additional births during the time a family is receiving welfare benefits, is not eligible for increased welfare benefits.

-Welfare recipients must put in an 5 hour day with the local municipalities cleaning up parks, landscaping, cleaning restrooms and painting interior office spaces in return for their welfare checks. Checks are not free.

-They also have to prove they are actively looking for work by supplying a weekly account of businesses they've contacted for work.

-Any recipient found to be purchasing drugs or fails a drug test, will immediately lose their welfare benefits.

-Welfare recipients must pay a set amount toward school taxes.

-Recipients are limited to receiving welfare benefits for up to 2 years.


...We have entire generations that have grown-up knowing nothing but how to live on welfare. Welfare is a life line, not a way of life. Maybe if welfare recipients can feel what it's like doing without, it would give them more motivation to get out, find a job and stop them from milking the system.

Every store chain uses computerized cash registers. I do not understand why they cannot be programmed to disallow purchases of improper items when using a SNAP card.

As to the other end of welfare namely the corporate variety, we need to make lobbying of our elected officials a capitol crime and we also need to make it a capitol crime for an elected official to let himself be lobbied. Then we need to so something about elected officials holding stock in companies who are affected by legislation they enact. Maybe not go so far as to make them liquidate their portfolios, but make it so they cannot vote on issues that will favorably affect companies whose stock they hold. They should also have to blow a breathalyzer before casting any vote. Just to make sure they are not legislating while impaired.

We also need to make corporations pay tax. End the endless loopholes that allow corporations like GE and the NFL to pay no tax whatsoever.

reply to post by WeRpeons


Provision should also be made that single women applying for welfare give up the identities of their babies daddies. And when they are found, charge them the cost of supporting their progeny.

Also condoms should be free to all on welfare and if a birth occurs, then it should not be allowed to increase their welfare benefit.

Halfswede

SprocketUK
reply to post by Halfswede

 

You want to punish these poor folks but it will do you zero good in the end. They'll still have rubbish lives, yours won't be any better and your taxes won't go down.
Instead, if you take the tax that's owed by the rich, you might get free education and health care for everyone. That would improve your life.

How is this punishing? How? Please specifically tell me how not allowing them to spend their welfare benefits on tattoos is "punishment". And yes, taking that money that could be used for someone who truly needs it to eat and spending it on tattoos is "Stealing", just like taking food from the food bank when you don't need it is stealing regardless if you "qualify" for it.

Take some responsibility for yourself instead of whining about big corporations keeping you down. Somehow millions of people who actually work hard and live conservatively (fiscally) wind up making better lives for themselves in spite of your nonsensical comment claiming otherwise. There are people out there in wheelchairs and missing limbs for crying out loud making a living by working. Welfare has a purpose and it is not to provide the good life. It is to help those who literally cannot get by, feed, clothe and shelter themselves and their families.

I started with nothing, worked hard, paid for my own university, and now make a modest middle income as an engineer because I work hard, don't waste, and don't sit around and wait for someone to hand me life.

Good thing you have the attitude you do. Maybe you can pass that " You'll never get ahead cause the man keeps you down" attitude on to you children. That's what a good parent does, right? You are as much the problem as greedy business and can't even see it.

golly gee aren't you great?
so because I don't agree with a plan to either further impoverish or constrain the poorest in society, you decide I'm some sort of scumbag parent?
I shouldn't be surprised, that idiocy goes hand in hand with the "I'm all right Jack" attitude.

I've worked damn hard all my life, paid my taxes and not broken any laws. Just so you know, my kids are hard working, respectful and well able to stand up for themselves. They also have empathy for people less lucky than themselves. My 13yr old boy would be well able to see the fallacy of this "control what they buy or give them lessu" mentality.

I find it abhorrent that you'd begrudge someone on welfare anything but the bare minimum of survival. I really do. No birthday cards, Christmas presents, new football boots, dental work or proper medical care (not just the minimum to keep someone alive) etc. for their kids ever. While they can read about how some people that have never worked a 16hr shift in their life sit on a billion bucks. ...Years ago a working class man could earn a wage that paid all the bills and provided extra for treats without his wife having to earn. There were a couple of billionaires in the world. Now working class couples both work longer and harder, barely cover their bills and there are thousands of billionaires. That is the real problem, not whether Joe Bloggs wastes a few bucks out of his meagre income having his kids names tattooed on his arm.

WeRpeons

-Any additional births during the time a family is receiving welfare benefits, is not eligible for increased welfare benefits.

If you have stupid parents this can end up hurting the new baby, who is not to blame for having terrible parents.

-Welfare recipients must put in an 5 hour day with the local municipalities cleaning up parks, landscaping, cleaning restrooms and painting interior office spaces in return for their welfare checks. Checks are not free.

Then it's a job and just pay them cash for their work. At this point I don't think you can really tell them how or where to spend it.

-Any recipient found to be purchasing drugs or fails a drug test, will immediately lose their welfare benefits.

Who pays for the drug tests? They are on welfare and so now the state (my taxes) pay for millions of drug tests.

-Welfare recipients must pay a set amount toward school taxes.

So we give them money that they must then give back in special poor taxes. It seems like that is just a way to take back the money we gave them.

I think it's a difficult problem, but I guess I don't think most poor people want to be living that way. Making tons of rules to cut off the aid seems like it could leave a lot of people hungry and desperate (and I guess I don't think that is the solution to poverty).

ketsuko

Cancerwarrior

So ... now. After how many years? They finally figured out the difference between right and wrong? They're finally going to protect the taxpayer ... or their hands have finally reached the very bottoms of our pockets?

Yep, people buying lingerie with their welfare is what's wrong with this country alright.

And so it poor people buying lobster with their food stamps. I saw something about it on Fox news. That's the whole reason America is doomed........

It's not the whole reason, but it's a start.

If you're running a budget that's in the red at every level, why are you letting that money bleed off into things that are unnecessary?

Poverty shouldn't be comfortable. If it were less comfortable, people might be more motivated to get out of it. But let them waste that money on tattoos, booze, cigarettes and gambling, and not only do they then not have what they need to live on so they complain they don't have enough (even though they do), but they have the little luxuries that make their existence just enough to keep them from getting inspired to try independence.

Absolutely.... And this is the goal of the Democratic Party.

Not only have they created a shield of Political Correctness where you cannot criticize their slaves ( aka constituents), but you better allow them comfort lest you be deemed 'evil'.

~Lucidity
reply to post by thesaneone

 

Sure. Punish them so they suffer even more and will have absolutely no fun or hope or illusion of a better life or for that matter even learn how to budget or make decisions for themselves. That's very smart.

What would be your suggestion? To allow hard-working taxpayers to continue to foot the bill for unreasonable citizens ? Do you really believe that allowing this segment to continue in fiscally irresponsible behavior is going to magically make them productive.

Liberal ideology creates a permanent underclass.

reply to post by QueenofSpades

I gave suggestions.

Yeah...all three hardworking taxpayers that are left after the governments and corporations eroded our tax base to virtutally nil.

And apparently we're heading for just two classes here, with nonsense like this.

reply to post by seeker1963

This whole mad experiment is nothing more than social engineering following the path of Cloward and Piven. Class warfare is a well manipulated strategy to keep those whom created our problems hidden in the shadows while we push the blame on each other. The question is, "What will we do when all of us are getting government handouts OR no handouts at all?"......

One thing I have to say is that there is a Lot of good dialogue in this thread. Somewhere back a ways, I also opined that a national discussion is a requirement ... and my doubts that All of our elected leaders would be willing to express their POV publicly (isn't that what we pay them to do? oh the irony!).

Wouldn't it be amazing if the membership of this site were able to reach consensus on What To Do?

God bless the Republicans with their "less goverment intrusions".

reply to post by MOMof3

Yeah, my niece has a tattoo business in W Virginia and she has never encountered this. I called and asked her when I read this. She said most pay in cash.

Funny isn't it? It seems like your niece and my sister (seeing as how she works in the same state where this law is passed) should have encountered this problem if it is as widespread as Fox wants you to believe.

Yet to hear the pretty people on TV you would think this is why there is a 17 trillion dollar national debt.

Its all because of those lazy bums who just love to stay in poverty and get welfare.

ketsuko
[

It's not the whole reason, but it's a start.

Best way is always to start at the stop and work your way down,

Otherwise your just sorting the symptoms not the disease.

~Lucidity
reply to post by generik

 

Also, back in the day, soda and chips used to be on the list of things grocery stores did not allow you to buy with food stamps. When exactly did that change? With the onset ofEBT cards? Is this a state-by-state thing?

Some stores looked the other way, but most didn't or they didn't get reimbursed. Maybe it is a case of them moving to the EBT cards without thinking through all the ramifications. Not sure exactly how they work, but if they work like cash.... Then again, there would still be ways of tracking. And finally, that still doesn't preclude the barter system for turning goods into cash. But again that's creative.

edit on 3/23/2014 by ~Lucidity because: (no reason given)

I get food stamps so I can tell you. You essentially get an EBT card which is a debit card, every month it has a certain amount credited to it. As far as I'm aware there's no maximum (I get about $150/month and have $500 on mine because I'm quite frugal and try to save where I can). You scan all your items at the register and then pay, items that aren't covered like toothpaste, toilet paper, mouthwash, alcohol, and so on won't be paid for and remain on the register with a new total. That has to be paid for with cash, a debit card, or whatever else.

In general food, including junk food is covered. Alcohol is not, and while prepared foods like a sandwich from the supermarkets deli are covered no prepared hot foods are covered. This varies from state to state though. In some states you can get hot foods.

reply to post by opethPA

Yes a thread in which you said all you see are posts against the lower class.

Yes, and what is this thread topic? Aren't we discussing the fact that poor people on welfare are not spending their welfare correctly because they are buying lingerie and tattoos with it?

Yet you say all you see is posts railing against the 1 percent of people who are "successful" because they worked hard all their life. Unlike these welfare bums.

Pot meet kettle.

reply to post by Cancerwarrior


No matter how news spins it, it is completely illogical to believe that beggars could bring down the american economy.

We americans cannot accept that we destroyed our treasure with continual wars.

We know, the working poor and the poor know. We will have to help the rich get through this.

I think people are confusing welfare (checks or atm cards in most places), with food stamps which are much more controllable as to what can be purchased. One is basically cash that can easily be used to buy tattoos or whatever.

Just as an example: Pot bought with welfare in CO

Halfswede

SprocketUK
Funny how someone getting by on welfare isn't allowed to buy a tattoo or some nice underwear for a present. So they're only allowed to survive, not live.

When are all the bankers and stuff going to be prevented from spending their billions of taxpayers money on crystal, coke and prossies?

Hardly seems fair to exempt them. ..

Just because something else is also wrong, doesn't make stealing on a small scale wrong either. If you are using someone else's money you should not be allowed to buy a tattoo with it. The very fact that you can't see that is the problem. The reason I have money (to some degree) is because I don't buy smokes, tattoos, liquor, twinkies, premium cable etc. These are all "Luxuries". Why should I give my money to help those in need and they get these "luxuries" when I go without. You do not need a smart phone to live comfortably. If a tattoo and lacy underwear is some requirement for a happy life, then you are clearly missing the boat. Taking someone else's hard-EARNED money and shamelessly spending it on tattoos and cigarettes IS WRONG.

When I was broke, I ate cold baked beans out of the can. I cooked potatoes. I didn't have TV. I didn't get those things because I couldn't AFFORD it.

You couldn't afford these things when you were unemployed yet you believe others in the same situation can afford them? Your experience alone should tell you that these stories of poor folk living in luxury is just hate-filled propaganda.

The little guy stealing IS what is wrong with the world. Changing the leaders, bankers etc. isn't going to fix anything. The little guy across the board needs to change and the whole picture will change since the little guy becomes the big guy. Why do you think those corporate thieves think it is ok? It is because they are raised in a society where it is encouraged from birth to get money by any means necessary. Think about it. Stealing is stealing regardless of amount. The fact that you don't see that is the very problem.

edit on 23-3-2014 by Halfswede because: (no reason given)

The little guy steals a little because he needs it to survive. The big guy steals MOST of it, and even though he has plenty he always wants more, and for no other reason other than that he doesn't want the little guy getting any.

The big guy's greed is the reason the little guy is in poverty and has to steal.