Who are "those people"?

[Ima saver]

You know this ex son in law that I mentioned that is on disability for a "bad' back, also has a father that is on disability for his bad back. They certainly learn what they are taught.

[Gruntina]

You can't really judge apperance of those getting welfare or SSI on how they spend their money. As one who works for a non-profit organization working with people with disabilities, often I find that Disney( not sure if actual company or secondary company?) donatates disney clothes and backpacks and etc to children of people who are on goverment help. It appears the parents were spending money on them when it was actully dontated. I am sure other companies does that as well?

It makes them look more well off hence the irony.

[Ima saver]

That is nice of disney!

[lrjohnson]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I can't understand why there are so many welfare moms having more children??

In California your grant will not go up if you have a child while on welfare. (On aid the last 10 months prior to birth without a 2 month break in aid. Exceptions made for failure of sterilization, not regular birth control failure.)

Now, some of you might think this is great. It does lead to mom and 1 kid getting $555 ...then 2 kids later Mom and 3 kids are still getting $555 a month. So, she's not "rewarded" for having a kid, but all 3 kids are likely to suffer. And even though it may be entirely mom's fault that the kid is suffering, the reality is a guiltless child is suffering. Again, I'm not saying more money is the solution, I'm not saying the welfare system is great. But try to have some freakin' compassion. That child has many more barriers to becoming self sufficent than other children. I'm not thrilled when a large number of children start off from day one having so many barriers.

[rob62521]

Originally Posted by melissalt

I don't know how it is in other states, but I used to live in NH, and just because your child was coded as a special ed child absolutely did not mean you got SSI. I now live in Maine, and my 6 yr. old has speech problems and has to see the school speech therapist every single day. He is considered a special ed student, and SSI certainly isn't part of the special ed package here either.

It may be common in other states for the two to go hand-in-hand, but I just wanted to dispel the myth that if you have your child coded as a special ed student (for whatever reason) you automatically get SSI and/or some other type of financial assistance.

I did not realize it was different in other states. In Illinois it seems if kids are in about any type of sped or being tested for sped, they are eligible for SSI. Sorry that I made such a generalization.

[Homebody]

This is an extremely complex topic that has so many variables.

I don't know of anyone who resents helping "those people" who are truly in need. Heck at one time I was one of "those people". My second child was paid for by Medi-Cal. I worked part-time and my husband had been laid off.

Having said that, another variable is drug abuse and alcoholism. Then there are other problems besides just welfare being abused with outright fraud... in-home support services. This is a program that older or disabled low income adults get help with household chores and the payees can be their own family... So what we used to do out of duty, we now expect to get paid for.

In my own family, my niece outright committed fraud, was getting welfare when her parents were raising her son and she tried to get my dad to sign off on some extra hours she worked at his house. She was on drugs and 10 years later is still fighting her addictions.

Another niece and her husband are both in college right now and chose to have a second child after an unexpected first. She admits now it was not a very smart idea, and yes they are getting aid.

Then there are the people who choose homelessness and milking the system as a way of life.

It would be nice to think that the people who are getting help really need it, but unfortunately many times that is not the case. I am not talking about single drug free mothers trying to raise their kids.... I am talking about other countless people (and there a bunch in my county you see them with their signs in nearly every public place asking for money) who choose this lifestyle.

The solutions are beyond me, we live in a free society where you can choose to live off the system, maybe not very well, but you can.

Not an easy problem for society to deal with by any means...

[dshep]

[quote=Homebody]

Then there are the people who choose homelessness and milking the system as a way of life. QUOTE]


the other side of that coin is... there are people who do not choose homelessness, and are still not on the system, because they dont know how to get on the system, or because they are to proud to ask for help. And because they dont ask for help, they have a harder time getting back to what we feel is a normal way of life, such as a job and roof over our heads, food on the table. I have taken many a woman to the thrift store to get her a appropriate outfit to wear to a job interview. (mind you most were not homeless at the time, but were about to be, and were on their last pennies, it it took alot for them to come to my office)

[Ima saver]

There are many deserving people that need help in life.

[BCHGRL]

Any "those people" that I know are my mom's cousins. They all live on the same street as my parents. Her cousins live in trailers paid for by their parents and get welfare. The worst part is that their children all dropped out of high school, had one or two children as a teenager, and are headed for the same pattern in life.

Considering that my mom grew up in the midst of these cousins, it is amazing that my mom and her siblings are all very productive members of society. My mom and her siblings all have college-educated or degree-seeking children.

BTW, my mom is on disability too, but she works part time. She has the same issues with the perception of disability and was apprehensive to apply. However, she's had Chron's disease for 25 years, was in a terrible car accident in 2000, and continues to work part time. She takes care of her elderly father and is the first one anyone in the family calls when they need help. Anyone who called my mom "one of those people" would have to answer to me. She is the most caring and amazing woman that I know.

[Ima saver]

She sounds like a great woman !!

[rob62521]

Dear BCHgirl,

Your mom deserves what little disability she receives. You must be very proud of her and how she overcomes the challenges in her life.

[DivaJen]

I'm glad this conversation has taken place. If nothing else, I was hoping it would take an issue that it seems some see as black and white and introduce all of the shades of gray that are inherent in the issue. Sweeping generalizations bother me, as do assumptions based on a couple of anecdotes.

I'm all for hard work and making it on one's own. But I also believe we need to be there for each other, and sometimes that means with our tax dollars. For every person who abuses a system, I hope we can remember all of the people working quietly but resolutely to get back on their own two feet as quickly as they can, and support them with our resources and our compassion.