The time I took a Government "Handout"

Byrnzie · August 2012

RW81233 wrote:

how can we have stronger family units when both parents have to work because of a decimation of the middle class? the logic of some conservatives makes little sense take away assistance, then beg for stronger families. outsource jobs, but get pissed about joblessness. make it harder for families to be families then ask for more family values. how can this work?

It's not logic. It's willful, self-serving ignorance.

It's...Splogic. :think:

Prince Of Dorkness · August 2012

usamamasan1 wrote:

What is the % of USA population on govt assistance again?
A joke it is.
We need stronger family units for starters.

Oh SNAP

I agree.

So next time how about you not vote to take away the legal protections for my family?

A good example... My husband was t-boned by some idiot kid not watching where he was going. My husband sustained three broken ribs and collarbone. He was totally unable to care for himself for about three weeks. I had to help him up out of bed to go to the bathroom, I had to shower him, feed him, pick up his medications for him, change his underwear and sheets.

in most states, he and I would be considered nothing more than room mates and I wouldn't be allotted the time off from work. In most states, had he died, I wouldn't have even been notified. I'd just think he didn't come home.

And in this state, I'm not considered power of attorney. So if he's unconscious and can't speak for himself, the doctors make decisions for his care. I'm left out of that equation.

so you're in no position to lecture anyone about helping create strong families.

(although you didn't answer your own question... What is the percentage and how many of those people don't need it?

Byrnzie · August 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLiLSRKms30

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you ?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but know you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone ?

unsung · August 2012

RW81233 wrote:

how can we have stronger family units when both parents have to work because of a decimation of the middle class?

And the decimation of the middle class came about due to inflation.

Inflation is tax.
Taxation is theft.

But it's ok cause the guv'mint is doing it.

Prince Of Dorkness · August 2012

unsung wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

how can we have stronger family units when both parents have to work because of a decimation of the middle class?

And the decimation of the middle class came about due to inflation.

Inflation is tax.
Taxation is theft.

But it's ok cause the guv'mint is doing it.

That's so absurd it's kinda cute.

brianlux · August 2012

Interesting story, Prince. Thanks for sharing it and for pointing out that not all people on assistance are lazy.

Here are my gov. "handout" stories:

The first time was in the 70's while I was living in western New York state. I was out of work and out of money so I applied for assistance and asked if I could do something to earn that assistance while looking for work. The guy in the office was a bit surprised, maybe amused by my request but was happy to let me work at the local high school as a tutor/teachers aide. I was put in a room with all the delinquent kids that the other teachers couldn't handle. The kids were glad to have someone who didn't treat them like dirt bags and one of those kids turned me on to the Neil Young/Crazy Horse album, "Zuma", which restored my faith in rock 'n roll. Win/win.

The second "handout" came after my hearing was injured by an explosion in a classroom in the state of Washington. I was offered no compensation from the school district. I had to find a lawyer who was willing to work for a percentage (can't remember what that's called) and spent four years fighting for what eventually worked out to be about 9 months worth of low wages. The compensation for my loosing the ability of my hearing to attenuate sound properly and to live with siren blaring tinnitus 24/7 amounted to a token sum. I nearly died twice during that period as a result of depression and anxiety over the situation but eventually managed to pull through and learn good coping skills. Working through the system often requires being extremely tenacious, stubborn and lucky.

comebackgirl · August 2012

I used to work for a domestic violence agency and by and large the biggest obstacles to survivors leaving their abusive relationships were affordable housing and daycare. The agency I worked for had 3 supportive housing programs. Clients received 2 years of subsidized housing, daycare and case management while they went back to school, etc. They could live in any housing in the county as long as the landlord was willing to accept our program. The program was wonderful. A lot of women really went on to thrive and become self-sufficient. We did have some people who misused the program, and that was frustrating. We all understood that the cycle of abuse is a very complicated thing to break, but there were not enough spots to have people in the program who weren't going to use it as intended, so they were discharged. The more frustrating thing though was when the program just wasn't enough for people. Some women were able to go on and get various nursing degrees, and they seemed to do really well; but some did everything right during their time in the program and still couldn't earn enough to be self-sufficient. That was really disheartening. The program accepted the survivors who needed the most support, so many were coming in with little high school education and 2 years really just was not enough. Sadly those programs no longer exist due to lack of funding. I'd love to start a foundation one day to resume and extendthose programs. The agency was really well run and so many people really benefitted.

Prince Of Dorkness · August 2012

comebackgirl wrote:

Sadly those programs no longer exist due to lack of funding. I'd love to start a foundation one day to resume and extendthose programs. The agency was really well run and so many people really benefitted.

How else were we going to pay for Mitt Romney's tax cuts?

unsung · August 2012

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

unsung wrote:

And the decimation of the middle class came about due to inflation.

Inflation is tax.
Taxation is theft.

But it's ok cause the guv'mint is doing it.

That's so absurd it's kinda cute.

What's it like living in your fantasy world?

Prince Of Dorkness · August 2012

unsung wrote:

What's it like living in your fantasy world?

Kinda fun.

I throw water on Ron Paul supporters and they melt.

Then I click my heels together and I go to some barren wasteland where everything is black and white and smells like horses. Have to wait for a tornado to bring me back.

Sucks.

comebackgirl · August 2012

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

comebackgirl wrote:

Sadly those programs no longer exist due to lack of funding. I'd love to start a foundation one day to resume and extendthose programs. The agency was really well run and so many people really benefitted.

How else were we going to pay for Mitt Romney's tax cuts?

Good point. Let's give the money to the people that really need it!

polaris_x · August 2012

a measure of the prosperity gap ...

https://www.cia.gov/library/publication ... 2rank.html

some relevant countries:

1. Namibia (most unequal)
42. US
52. Russia
103. Canada
121. Iceland
132. Norway
136. Sweden (least unequal)

begin to rationalize this data to your own personal beliefs! ...

cincybearcat · August 2012

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

usamamasan1 wrote:

What is the % of USA population on govt assistance again?
A joke it is.
We need stronger family units for starters.

Oh SNAP

I agree.

So next time how about you not vote to take away the legal protections for my family?

A good example... My husband was t-boned by some idiot kid not watching where he was going. My husband sustained three broken ribs and collarbone. He was totally unable to care for himself for about three weeks. I had to help him up out of bed to go to the bathroom, I had to shower him, feed him, pick up his medications for him, change his underwear and sheets.

in most states, he and I would be considered nothing more than room mates and I wouldn't be allotted the time off from work. In most states, had he died, I wouldn't have even been notified. I'd just think he didn't come home.

And in this state, I'm not considered power of attorney. So if he's unconscious and can't speak for himself, the doctors make decisions for his care. I'm left out of that equation.

so you're in no position to lecture anyone about helping create strong families.

(although you didn't answer your own question... What is the percentage and how many of those people don't need it?

Hey - thanks for sharing stories like these, it certainly shows the importance of equal rights (whether everyone gets married or everyone has a civil union I don't care as long as it's the same for everyone). I think these are the things people don't think about. And I think it's why so many can be against gay marriage...they think of it as a 1 day event, rather than a collection of all the events that make up ones life.

cincybearcat · August 2012

I really want to ask a question...

So, we've had one poster talk about his family needing assistance despite hard work. His family had 8 kids? I think that was right.

That certainly plays a part, no? I mean, I'm not sure anyone has the right to tell someone how many kids they can have, but you certainly have to be able to support them no? Obviously, things can happen to people with no kids, but 8? I mean, things better go swimmingly well and never change for that to work, wouldn't it?

hedonist · August 2012

cincybearcat wrote:

I really want to ask a question...

So, we've had one poster talk about his family needing assistance despite hard work. His family had 8 kids? I think that was right.

That certainly plays a part, no? I mean, I'm not sure anyone has the right to tell someone how many kids they can have, but you certainly have to be able to support them no? Obviously, things can happen to people with no kids, but 8? I mean, things better go swimmingly well and never change for that to work, wouldn't it?

This crossed my mind too - and not in terms of judgment; my mother is one of eight children, although that was in a different country, era, culture.

And Prince, I'm curious (and somewhat uninformed in this area) - but why can't you get power of attorney? Or have wills, etc. drawn up? Is it a citizenship issue?

Go Beavers · August 2012

cincybearcat wrote:

I really want to ask a question...

So, we've had one poster talk about his family needing assistance despite hard work. His family had 8 kids? I think that was right.

That certainly plays a part, no? I mean, I'm not sure anyone has the right to tell someone how many kids they can have, but you certainly have to be able to support them no? Obviously, things can happen to people with no kids, but 8? I mean, things better go swimmingly well and never change for that to work, wouldn't it?

Point is, things change and don't always go well.

comebackgirl · August 2012

cincybearcat wrote:

I really want to ask a question...

So, we've had one poster talk about his family needing assistance despite hard work. His family had 8 kids? I think that was right.

That certainly plays a part, no? I mean, I'm not sure anyone has the right to tell someone how many kids they can have, but you certainly have to be able to support them no? Obviously, things can happen to people with no kids, but 8? I mean, things better go swimmingly well and never change for that to work, wouldn't it?

There was a time when having a lot of children actually benefitted family self-sufficiency; they could work on the farm, bring in income, help raise younger children, etc. That has since changed, but with cuts to family planning information and resources people don't necessarily have access to the tools they need to have a choice over the size of their families.

RW81233 · August 2012

comebackgirl wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

I really want to ask a question...

So, we've had one poster talk about his family needing assistance despite hard work. His family had 8 kids? I think that was right.

That certainly plays a part, no? I mean, I'm not sure anyone has the right to tell someone how many kids they can have, but you certainly have to be able to support them no? Obviously, things can happen to people with no kids, but 8? I mean, things better go swimmingly well and never change for that to work, wouldn't it?

There was a time when having a lot of children actually benefitted family self-sufficiency; they could work on the farm, bring in income, help raise younger children, etc. That has since changed, but with cuts to family planning information and resources people don't necessarily have access to the tools they need to have a choice over the size of their families.

i grew up in rural upstate new york where my grandfathers were zinc miners as well as farmers. having a big family worked in that situation, plus, my dad had a union job building parts for the local army base (among other things), while tending to a small farm at home (we had a cow and garden). having a large family in that situation was helpful, and we were close. my parents saved money in various ways, and we were fairly comfortable until that job went away. they weren't spending above their means (built our own home starting with a trailer, then an addition, then sold the trailer to build the rest of it), and still own that house outright. we would have been just fine if the company didn't move overseas. it wasn't the amount of children that screwed them it was economic policies allowing companies to seek cheaper labor in other countries that did. sadly/funnily enough my dad now works for Lockhead Martin building shit to kill people and makes very good money to do so.

inlet13 · August 2012

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

unsung wrote:

What's it like living in your fantasy world?

Kinda fun.

I throw water on Ron Paul supporters and they melt.

Then I click my heels together and I go to some barren wasteland where everything is black and white and smells like horses. Have to wait for a tornado to bring me back.

Sucks.

Do you even understand what he meant by inflation being a concern, genius? So, you don't think inflation matters?

Anyway, he's right - that's what's destroyed the middle class. That's the reason couples (gay and straight) have to both work in middle class families, whereas they didn't (in greater numbers) years ago.

This place is such a joke.

cincybearcat · August 2012

Go Beavers wrote:

cincybearcat wrote:

I really want to ask a question...

So, we've had one poster talk about his family needing assistance despite hard work. His family had 8 kids? I think that was right.

That certainly plays a part, no? I mean, I'm not sure anyone has the right to tell someone how many kids they can have, but you certainly have to be able to support them no? Obviously, things can happen to people with no kids, but 8? I mean, things better go swimmingly well and never change for that to work, wouldn't it?

Point is, things change and don't always go well.

Correct. And it certainly makes it tougher when you have 10 mouths in a family to feed, right? I don't know what the right answer is.

The time I took a Government "Handout"

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The time I took a Government &quot;Handout&quot;

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The time I took a Government "Handout"