The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief

Reading stuff like this irritates me because I wanted kids and maybe I should have said that out loud prior to my marriage going over the deep end. But it all just seems so expensive. I didn't want to end up in a bad situation or end up struggling to survive with dependants counting on me. So in my mind, I was just waiting for that really unknowable point at which I felt financially secure enough to do this. Surprise expenses at birth scare me too and I know that medical debt is like the biggest cause of bankruptcy and how one thing can go wrong and all of a sudden you're 100k plus in the hole.

This 27 year old mother of 3 blew through $10,800 in a matter of months. This money was given to her through a program designed to help struggling low income families and children. She spent it in a 6,000 trip to Miami for her and her children, a 180 dollar haircut for herself so she didn't look like a "working, stressed mom" and 15 brand new outfits for her kids, one for each day of their vacation. Many might say well she was given the money so she can spend it however she wants. She just wanted to have fun, let her because she probably doesn't get much fun in life being a struggling poverty stricken mom.

But how poverty stricken is she? How poverty stricken is anyone, really when these programs have income cut offs which incentivize people to work less and make less money so they won't lose their extra help. Which is not really extra help at all. Just read this,

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Miller opted for the lump sum, and said being accepted onto the program was a slice of luck as she missed the application deadline but submitted her paperwork anyway. 

The stay-at-home mom said her financial struggles worsened when she welcomed her third child in the summer of 2022, but received an array of help including a subsidized two-bedroom apartment in Anacostia. 

Funds through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program also helped cover her $120 monthly rent, while food stamps barely helped reach the end of the month.

'Groceries last us the first three weeks of the month, then it’s trying to figure out the last week of my benefits,' she said. 'It lasts, but it cuts close.'

After pausing her degree in social work to focus on her growing family, Miller was accepted onto the program - a bonus that turned her mind straight to planning a holiday.

So let me break this down. Right off the bat she is so disorganized or doesn't really care that much so she misses the deadline to turn in the paperwork. I mean, it didn't matter because the government rewards disorganization. We can guess she is not independently wealthy so we have student loans for a college program she may or may not finish since she quit it to focus on her newest baby and degrees don't guarantee a job anyway. Section 8 or other public housing program, because her portion of the rent in expensive Anacostia is only 120 a month, which is paid for her by the taxpayers through TANF cash assistance. Total cost of housing to her=0. Food stamps and I dont know how food stamps work or if they are a federal or state program, but here where I live someone in poverty with 3 kids gets about 500 a month in food stamps. Which don't last the month for this lady because the assumption is that someone works so they will have a little cash to supplement these things.

So the government is essentially paying all this lady's bills. The government is us, guys. We are paying this lady's bills for her. But don't fret about the example she is showing her kids, because her luxury Miami getaway included a boat tour of Miami mansions because she "hoped to inspire her children and teach them that if they work hard they too may be able to afford a Miami mansion." ROFLMAO.

She also says that even though she blew through the money in a couple months and now struggles to keep $50 dollars in her bank account, the program taught her a lot about saving money. Again ROFLMAO.

Why do things like this exist? Do we blame Johnson and his Great Society? I do. Before this, divorce rates among blacks were lower. The number of single black mothers was way lower and employment rates of blacks were way higher than after.

nationalcenter.org...

The disastrous effects of the government’s management of anti-poverty initiatives are recognizable across racial lines, but the destruction is particularly evident in the black community. It effectively subsidized the dissolution of the black family by rendering the black man’s role as a husband and a father irrelevant, invisible and — more specifically — disposable. The result has been several generations of blacks born into broken homes and broken communities experiencing social, moral and economic chaos. It fosters an inescapable dependency that primarily, and oftentimes solely, relies on government to sustain livelihoods.”

Roosevelt warned us about this decades before Johnson's ambitions.

The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fibre. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America. Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers. The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief. -Franklin D. Roosevelt

I feel strongly these programs absolutely do not help anyone, what helps people is themselves. The article features the story of another mom who just had the money directly deposited into her daughter's savings account because she knew she wouldn't touch it that way and opted instead of a lump sum for monthly payments. She used this money to pay bills and pay down her debts. Hearing the other woman's story though, she had regrets about not spending more of it on herself.

So this is where we are as a society. Responsibility is not rewarded. Making thoughtful decisions is not rewarded, and if you are a responsible, thoughtful person you end up feeling a little gypped when you learn of the irresponsible actions of others that benefit them. Why, you could have done that too! But you just spent it all on bills and debt. BORING!


You GUYS!

Perhaps not surprisingly All Roads Lead to Rome on this one! I knew it was all just a vast Roman conspiracy hehehe had no idea how deep this all went.

This is legit too much to go into at this particular time but I am invested in this now because lightbulb time just happened so im gonna put a pin in it for now and make a whole different post about this I have never seen this so clearly as when reading about this issue in Rome.

Here's one link about the "welfare" system in Rome. I am going to the library later on today so I am going to see if there are any good books about this or the Roman economy at that time in general. Now I'm interested in this.

fee.org...

a reply to: Shoshanna

Two words:
CLOWARD-PIVEN.

They don't make it easy for people to take care of themselves, in fact, they make it hard.

I had two jobs last year, both incomes didn't put me over the poverty line much. I did my income taxes and the government kept more than half of my withholding. When I get that back most of it will be used to pay my property taxes, I'll be lucky to have $200 left for a proper vacation. Yeah right, that will cover one electric bill or a week of groceries for the two of us.

a reply to: Shoshanna

Good post.

Dr. Phil was recently talking about this.

If you look at the bottom 20% and compare them to the middle 20% of the distribution, the difference, the bottom 20%, only 5% work full-time, the middle 20%, 95%, 5% work full-time. The difference in their income is single-digit thousands because of all the entitlement programs for the bottom 5%, food stamps, unemployment, rent subsidies. There are 100 programs. When you get all of that money that they get for free, the difference between them and these work 95% of the time is single-digit thousands. How crazy is that?

Our government incentivies being lazy and wasting money.

Incentivises or exemplifies?


👍

a reply to: watchitburn

As I have posted before, welfare is supposed to be a Hand UP, not a Hand Out.

There are many things offered, that are not monetary, that help you help yourself. Or there used to be. Computer classes, GED classes, Childcare classes.

You just had to ask.

But you continually give someone something for nothing, and they will just learn to expect it.

And I would have never spent that money, on a trip to Florida. So many other things you could do, to help get yourself off welfare.

a reply to: Shoshanna

Excelent thread, Shoshanna!

Back in the late 1960's they started building low-income housing and I saw the writing on the wall. One day soon the majority of working class people will be so dependant on government subsidies for any quality of life that we will all be endentured servants. You don't bite the hand that feeds you...

I found this really interesting from your link:

the dole became an integral part of the whole complex of eco­nomic causes that brought the eventual collapse of Roman civili­zation. It undermined the old Roman virtues of self-reliance. It schooled people to expect some­thing for nothing. "The creation of new cities," writes Rostovtzeff, "meant the creation of new hives of drones." The necessity of feed­ing the soldiers and the idlers in the cities led to strangling and de­structive taxation. Because of the lethargy of slaves and undernour­ished free workmen, industrial progress ceased.

The comparrison is too obvious. Then there's this:

Production was everywhere dis­couraged and in some places brought to a halt.

It brings to mind all of the US manufacturing now outsourced to other countries.

a reply to: Shoshanna

Briefly about your apprehension to having kids:

I can relate to that apprehension and for me, it's a matter of never really being settled enough to take on certain high ticket items or situations. To a realist like myself, it's completely warranted. I have no regrets living within my means.

I've been laid off so many times in my life that owning a home has been impossible. It still is! Life conditions currently are definitely not favorable nor conducive to facilitate reproduction or debt accumulation. It's survival mode now. Some aren't quite there yet, but a lot of us certainly are. Might be selfish, but at least I'm not ADDING to the problem or creating victims before they're even born. Think about it.

It's the reason I have yet to own a home. The liability is just too damn high. It seems I made the right choices over time because I would have lost that investment in short order, guaranteed.

As it stands now, I have a very low student loan outstanding but aside from that I'm fairly debt free. I do feel a bit inadequate as it pertains to home ownership, but just about everyone I know that owns is sweating some serious bullets right now. Just about everything they have is tied up in their houses. You lose the house AND just about everything tied to the house to facilitate the recovery of money owed should you default.

So you don't just lose the house, you lose anything of value that can be used to service the debt. That prospect has never appealed to me, so I religiously rent instead. Worst case, I lose the apartment, so what, at least my life isn't wiped out because I'm anchored to hill of debt.

originally posted by: Dalamax
Incentivises or exemplifies?


👍

a reply to: watchitburn

Stupid giveaways with no rules or conditions …… smells a lot like reparations BAMN.

Also the get out of jail free card, for capital crimes.

Free no-fault murder, rape, kidnapping, shooting, diddling ! Cuz stuff that happened 200 years ago.

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: Shoshanna

Excelent thread, Shoshanna!

Back in the late 1960's they started building low-income housing and I saw the writing on the wall. One day soon the majority of working class people will be so dependant on government subsidies for any quality of life that we will all be endentured servants. You don't bite the hand that feeds you...

I found this really interesting from your link:

the dole became an integral part of the whole complex of eco­nomic causes that brought the eventual collapse of Roman civili­zation. It undermined the old Roman virtues of self-reliance. It schooled people to expect some­thing for nothing. "The creation of new cities," writes Rostovtzeff, "meant the creation of new hives of drones." The necessity of feed­ing the soldiers and the idlers in the cities led to strangling and de­structive taxation. Because of the lethargy of slaves and undernour­ished free workmen, industrial progress ceased.

The comparrison is too obvious. Then there's this:

Production was everywhere dis­couraged and in some places brought to a halt.

It brings to mind all of the US manufacturing now outsourced to other countries.

Thanks for that nugget Nugget1. I always hear that our current civilization is crashing as Ancient Rome did, but no one gave me much that was comparable between the two. It really is a very close comparison it seems.

originally posted by: TheMichiganSwampBuck

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: Shoshanna

Excelent thread, Shoshanna!

Back in the late 1960's they started building low-income housing and I saw the writing on the wall. One day soon the majority of working class people will be so dependant on government subsidies for any quality of life that we will all be endentured servants. You don't bite the hand that feeds you...

I found this really interesting from your link:

the dole became an integral part of the whole complex of eco­nomic causes that brought the eventual collapse of Roman civili­zation. It undermined the old Roman virtues of self-reliance. It schooled people to expect some­thing for nothing. "The creation of new cities," writes Rostovtzeff, "meant the creation of new hives of drones." The necessity of feed­ing the soldiers and the idlers in the cities led to strangling and de­structive taxation. Because of the lethargy of slaves and undernour­ished free workmen, industrial progress ceased.

The comparrison is too obvious. Then there's this:

Production was everywhere dis­couraged and in some places brought to a halt.

It brings to mind all of the US manufacturing now outsourced to other countries.

Thanks for that nugget Nugget1. I always hear that our current civilization is crashing as Ancient Rome did, but no one gave me much that was comparable between the two. It really is a very close comparison it seems.

The creation of the debit card (traceable) to replace cash was no accident either, or the 24/7 tracking device cell phone most have embraced with open arms.

All they have to do to convince people less freedom is a good thing is to make people want it, then put a pretty bow on our chains.

Remember the free Obama phones? Now every illegal immigrant gets one! The smart ones will ditch them ASAP.

Shoshanna UR AN IDIOT! Ur complaining about poor people getting social assistance from our tax dollars but ur not complaining about the FACT that the MAJORITY of our tax dollars goto 4EVA WARS (to murder innnocent civilians in other poorer countries). Guess what moron, ONLY THE SMALLEST AMOUNT of our taxes goes to Social Assistance while literally 50% goes to the Military Industrail Complex, while another 15% goes to pay off our Interest to the CENTRAL BANK's loans!! Education as well as Social Assistance (small amount of monthly EBT food money which never lasts & Low-Income houses vouchers) each get only about 4% of our TOTAL TAX money that makes up about 70% of the U.S. yrly Federal Budget! How u complaing about 4% of our tax dollars going to poor people but not 50% going to kill innocent civilians! U #ING UNEMPATHETIC PIECE OF #! its assholes like u AND ALL PEOPLE IN THIS THREAD THAT AGREE WITH U which leaves this world in the unempathetic, uncaring, and unkind state were in today! NEVER MIND the fact that we live in DEBT-BASED GLOBAL ECONOMY which prides itself on ENSURING THAT ABJECT POVERTY CONTINUES TO EXIST for LITERALLY 50% of the entire human population of this planet, u #ing moron!!!! BUT NO, ITS THE MOM N HER DAUGHTER WHO R FINANCIALLY STRUGGLING that effects us all negatively (thats sarcasm, its not), #ing moron!!!!