Think you'll never need welfare? Play this game & find out!
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Posts: 6,651
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Posts: 6,651
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Posts: 6,651
Comments
whoops, that should have said 850.. typing with baby on my lap
www.seanbrady.net
2010: Newark, MSG I
2011: EV Philly
2012: Philly MIA
2013: Wrigley, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Philly 1 & 2, Baltimore
I got fired from work for trying to start a union. lol i can imagine going home to the wife that day
"You're a waiter. what the fuck are you trying to start a union for?!?!"
"fuck you woman!"
I also taught my kid awesome lessons like when she was supposedly sitting in the backseat as I hit a parked car, messed it up, and drove away without paying damages. "Don't worry honey, God will understand. we're poor"
Luckily February is a short month!
But seriously, that was a great eye-opener...it shows how every decision you make may have a hidden cost.
I'm not buying this.
I chose serving tables because WA state doesn't allow business owners to pay below min. wage for those making tips. So I would be starting at nearly 9 an hour with base pay.
On top of that I wouldn't have made poor financial choices such as having a dog, racking up a credit card payment (where min. pmts are usually 15-25 not 200 something). And most importantly I wouldn't have had a kid. I would have also found a roomate to cut back on rent. Also I would ditch the car.
In fact, I probably would have had plenty left over to help out my sick friend-in-need except the government took too much money out of my paycheck for SUTA and FUTA that I'm just under budget for the month.
So instead my money inefficiently goes to some fresh-faced just out of college students who are conning the system anyway so he can have a gap year before he enters the work force and some inner city person who now has just enough money to start funding his meth lab since drugs are more important than getting his life together.
Life is choices.
So it sounds like you're saying you would never be in this position because it's not possible for you to lose your job?? :? Wow - you must have some job security!
People with good jobs have no reason to not get a dog or have kids, so how can you fault anyone for either of this things just because they unexpectedly lost their job many years in the future? Also, if you had no other money & expected to find another good job as soon as possible, you really wouldn't use a credit card to pay your bills & feed your kid? Would you just get welfare or move I to a shelter right away or what? And I don't know where you live, but MANY people in this country live in places where they HAVE to have a car so they can work.
makes me feel kinda blessed in a way (seeing how i ALWAYS opt to buy the PJ merch/tix over paying a bill that needs to be paid that month)
I missed when that took place in our country.
I think perhaps they are still two very different things.
It's not even the big picture.
All I'm trying to say is that I would rather control how and where my welfare goes rather than the government doing it for me.
You can fault them because there's many safety nets around unexpectedly losing a job. You can priotize finding a job that has good job security or have the 6 months savings cusion.
If unemployment is a constant inherant risk then it never comes unexpected. See it that way and you'll always be prepared.
NO ONE can guarantee that they'll always be prepared.
You can't guarantee it, but you can take steps to be partially prepared.
True. But I get REALLY tired of the constant judgement of anyone who is down on his luck that it must be because he was irresponsible & made bad choices - and is therefore not as good a person as those of us who have been more fortunate. ANY one of us, no matter how well we've prepared or how responsible we think we are, can fall upon hard times. We can have an unexpected accident or illness that costs us everything we own & then some in medical bills. We can lose our jobs & be unable to find another comparable one. We can lose all our money and investments in a Depression. (Doesn't anyone here have grandparents or parents who remember what times were like for even the most "prepared" people during the Depression?) Plus, not everyone has the same opportunities to prepare as other people do.
There but for the grace of God go I... and all of you.
irresponsible- maybe....made bad choices - maybe. Had bad luck-maybe. Case by case basis on all of those. Not being a good person...definitely not the case that anyone is trying to make. Anyone can fall on hard times, but anyone can also be ready (to the best of their ability) for those hard times.
And I'm not saying that welfare is bad. It's good for those who truly need it for cases that you've mentioned. But, it's so easy to abuse welfare whether it be by people who resort to way before they need it, or to those who just flat out take advantage of it. The negatives of the system simply outweight the good.
The welfare/donation system is a diseconomy of scale, the gov't can't oversee every single case for what it is, but smaller businesses and individuals do have that ability to better judge. Therefore, that's who it should be left to.
1998: Barrie
2000: Montreal, Toronto, Auburn Hills
2003: Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal
2004: Boston X2, Grand Rapids
2005: Kitchener, London, Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto
2006: Toronto X2
2009: Toronto
2011: PJ20, Montreal, Toronto X2, Hamilton
2012: Manchester X2, Amsterdam X2, Prague, Berlin X2, Philadelphia, Missoula
2013: Pittsburg, Buffalo
2014: Milan, Trieste, Vienna, Berlin, Stockholm, Oslo, Detroit
2016: Ottawa, Toronto X2
2018: Padova, Rome, Prague, Krakow, Berlin, Barcelona
2023: Chicago X2
2024: New York X2
NO ONE can guarantee that they'll always be prepared.[/quote]
You can't guarantee it, but you can take steps to be partially prepared.[/quote]
True. But I get REALLY tired of the constant judgement of anyone who is down on his luck that it must be because he was irresponsible & made bad choices - and is therefore not as good a person as those of us who have been more fortunate. ANY one of us, no matter how well we've prepared or how responsible we think we are, can fall upon hard times. We can have an unexpected accident or illness that costs us everything we own & then some in medical bills. We can lose our jobs & be unable to find another comparable one. We can lose all our money and investments in a Depression. (Doesn't anyone here have grandparents or parents who remember what times were like for even the most "prepared" people during the Depression?) Plus, not everyone has the same opportunities to prepare as other people do.
There but for the grace of God go I... and all of you.[/quote]
There are many different types of "bad" choices. Living beyond your means is a bad choice, and irresponsible.
There is a big difference between being unfortunate and irresponsible.
NO ONE can guarantee that they'll always be prepared.[/quote]
You can't guarantee it, but you can take steps to be partially prepared.[/quote]
True. But I get REALLY tired of the constant judgement of anyone who is down on his luck that it must be because he was irresponsible & made bad choices - and is therefore not as good a person as those of us who have been more fortunate. ANY one of us, no matter how well we've prepared or how responsible we think we are, can fall upon hard times. We can have an unexpected accident or illness that costs us everything we own & then some in medical bills. We can lose our jobs & be unable to find another comparable one. We can lose all our money and investments in a Depression. (Doesn't anyone here have grandparents or parents who remember what times were like for even the most "prepared" people during the Depression?) Plus, not everyone has the same opportunities to prepare as other people do.
There but for the grace of God go I... and all of you.[/quote]
There are many different types of "bad" choices. Living beyond your means is a bad choice, and irresponsible.
There is a big difference between being unfortunate and irresponsible.[/quote]
I agree. I'd just like to see more acknowledgment around here that many people are in worse positions than others because they were unfortunate - not necessarily irresponsible. I'd also like to see some acknowledgment that many people are in better positions than others because they have been fortunate - not necessarily responsible.
Every situation is unique.