Have you ever received government assistance.

TheGirlNextDoor said:

For the intention of this particular poll, I was only referring to those programs that are available to people who are without income or on a very limited income.

Click to expand...

WIC's available to almost any new mother who wants it.
I think, at the time I was on it, the criteria was that your income had to be less than twice as much as the poverty level (whatever that was at the time).
I can't remember what that exact number was, in dollars and cents, but nearly anyone who wanted it would've qualified, even working class/ middle class folks.

I think their objective was less to help destitute mothers with zero income, and more to ensure that the children of the working poor got the best start in life by eating a healthy diet.
They also had mandatory classes that recipients had to attend, mostly having to do with nutrition.
They were strong proponents of breastfeeding, and offered a lot of resources, support and encouragement (and extra food vouchers) for moms who were doing that.

Of course, this was nearly 20 years ago. It may have changed.

1069 said:

He was joking, Blackdog.

Click to expand...

I don't think he was but so what.

1069 said:

There's no shame in receiving assistance if you need it, so whether it was you or your mother and whether you were or were not "responsible for it" doesn't really matter. If it was your mother, you can dang well bet you were at least indirectly responsible for it, in any event.

Click to expand...

So we are now going to hold sons responsible for the sins of the father? Hmmm?

I have no clue why this has anything to do with shame or any other nonsense.

1069 said:

Your tax dollars pay into the system, to help your fellow citizens through tough times.
When you're having a tough time, it's there for you.

Click to expand...

What does this have to do with what I said?

1069 said:

If this thread is going to degenerate into some sort of group diatribe against those who receive assistance or have received it in the past, I'm going to present a severe impediment to that.
Fair warning.

Click to expand...

The only one doing it so far is you. :roll:

Go back and actually read what has been said.

My God the stupid knee jerk reactions.

i have, but i live in one of dem socialist countries

I'm a married male and have never collected from any of the programs you mentioned. I've received indirect assistance from the government however.

Blackdog said:

Off topic ad-hom.

Click to expand...

Not off topic, and not an ad homenim either. O for 2.

This is a debate forum. Debate or as in this case you don't understand, stay out of it.

Click to expand...

Get over yourself some more. Have another beer.

Blackdog said:

So we are now going to hold sons responsible for the sins of the father? Hmmm?

Click to expand...

Gee, I thought this was off-topic. :roll:

This discussion does stray from the poll, but it's still interesting. Many people have been beneficiaries of government help as children, even if it was technically their parents getting it. And that's not a sin either.

When I was in law school and my wife was working, we were eligible for section 8 housing and took advantage of that. We also both received student loans from the government.

I am married and vowed never to seek government assitance in the form of welfare/food stamps. I ain't askin nobody for nothin if I can't get it on my own.

When I was a kid growing up in Michigan (libland) my parents divorced and my mother obtained custody of myself and my siblings. This was in the 60's. My mother and her hippie friends lived on welfare and mooched off the hard working tax payers of this nation while they partied, smoked pot, drank, ignored there children, and acted irresponsible. Mom had a VW microbus decked out in psychedelic paint, flowers, and peace signs. She and her filthy hippie friends would load up in the bus and go to woodstock or the Washington mall to protest the war in Vietnam. Leaving us kids with whoever. She would take in stray hippies and let them live with us living off of our welfare. She would have huge house parties with LSD, grass, free sex etc. while us kids looked on. My mom and her friend smoked weed with me when I was 13. When I was 15 one of my mothers friends who was thirty something seduced me. Needless to say I had zero dicipline and started to fail in school and get in trouble with the law. So I rebelled by enlisting in the Army and getting my **** together. I never looked back.

But I made a promise to myself, I would never suck off the government teet of welfare like my looser mother did. BTW she finally got it together, turned off, tuned out, and dropped in to the real world. She went to school and got her nursing degree and bought a home in the country. Once she straightened out her life out she appoligized to me for being such a bad mother and ruining my childhood. I accepted her appology but the dammage was done. My once beautiful sister has spent her life trying to follow moms example, she became a welfare mother and never worked a day in her life. She had her children taken from her by the state and has been in a mental institution for 3 years now. My brother is homeless living on the streets, he also lives off the tax payers. He is a drug addict and alcoholic who refuses to get a job.

I tried my best to help them, but they refuse to pull themselfs up by thier bootstraps and help themselfs. I blame my mother for there situation, and I blame the government for making it all possible.

SgtRock said:

I am married and vowed never to seek government assitance in the form of welfare/food stamps. I ain't askin nobody for nothin if I can't get it on my own.

When I was a kid growing up in Michigan (libland) my parents divorced and my mother obtained custody of myself and my siblings. This was in the 60's. My mother and her hippie friends lived on welfare and mooched off the hard working tax payers of this nation while they partied, smoked pot, drank, ignored there children, and acted irresponsible. Mom had a VW microbus decked out in psychedelic paint, flowers, and peace signs. She and her filthy hippie friends would load up in the bus and go to woodstock or the Washington plaza to protest the war in Vietnam. Leaving us kids with whoever. She would take in stray hippies and let them live with us living off of our welfare. She would have huge house parties with LSD, grass, free sex etc. while us kids looked on. My mom and her friend smoked weed with me when I was 13. When I was 15 one of my mothers friends who was thirty something seduced me. Needless to say I had zero dicipline and started to fail in school and get in trouble with the law. So I rebelled by enlisting in the Army and getting my **** together. I never looked back.

But I made a promise to myself, I would never suck off the government teet of welfare like my looser mother did. BTW she finally got it together, turned off, tuned out, and dropped in to the real world. She went to school and got her nursing degree and bought a home in the country. Once she straightened out her life out she appoligized to me for being such a bad mother and ruining my childhood. I accepted her appology but the dammage was done. My once beautiful sister has spent her life trying to follow moms example, she became a welfare mother and never worked a day in her life. She had her children taken from her by the state and has been in a mental institution for 3 years now. My brother is homeless living on the streets, he also lives off the tax payers. He is a drug addict and alcoholic who refuses to get a job.

I tried my best to help them, but they refuse to pull themselfs up by thier bootstraps and help themselfs. I blame my mother for there situation, and I blame the government for making it all possible.

Click to expand...

That's all very reassuring. Thank you for sharing that story.

It's important to remember that we don't stop growing once we turn 18, or 21, or whatever.
People continue to grow, mature, and evolve throughout life. Even moms and dads.
I see some correlations between your childhood and mine- I spent the early part of my childhood in a commune-type situation as well- but all we can do is look around and see that there are young adults who grew up in every situation- from poverty in the ghetto to wealthy on the upper East Side to fundamentalist Christian in the heartland- who are screwing up badly and unable to function as adults.

Perhaps in a way you can be grateful to your mom for some of the hardships you endured.
Who knows what kind of adult you would've turned out to be if you'd had a perfectly ordinary childhood?
Maybe you'd be less than you are.
Maybe our experiences are what make us who we are.
You'd be somebody different, if you'd had a different life... and "different" might not translate to "better".

misterman said:

Gee, I thought this was off-topic. :roll:

Click to expand...

It is a direct responce to 1069, and is on topic.

misterman said:

This discussion does stray from the poll, but it's still interesting.

Click to expand...

No it does not "stray from the poll" because it directly relates to the subject matter.

misterman said:

Many people have been beneficiaries of government help as children, even if it was technically their parents getting it. And that's not a sin either.

Click to expand...

This has literally nothing at all to do with what I said. :roll:

1069 said:

That's all very reassuring. Thank you for sharing that story.

It's important to remember that we don't stop growing once we turn 18, or 21, or whatever.
People continue to grow, mature, and evolve throughout life. Even moms and dads.
I see some correlations between your childhood and mine- I spent the early part of my childhood in a commune-type situation as well- but all we can do is look around and see that there are young adults who grew up in every situation- from poverty in the ghetto to wealthy on the upper East Side to fundamentalist Christian in the heartland- who are screwing up badly and unable to function as adults.

Perhaps in a way you can be grateful to your mom for some of the hardships you endured.
Who knows what kind of adult you would've turned out to be if you'd had a perfectly ordinary childhood?
Maybe you'd be less than you are.
Maybe our experiences are what make us who we are.
You'd be somebody different, if you'd had a different life... and "different" might not translate to "better".

Click to expand...

I have often thought about what would have been but reality for my siblings is hell. I was smart enough to see where I was heading. Unfortunatley my younger brother and sister where so messed up on drugs that they couldn't see what was happening to them. They were children and they didn't know any better. Its the same in the ghettos of America. Generation after generation living off the government. Irresponsible fathers who do not take care of thier babies or thier babies momma with to much time on thier hands. Kids with welfare mothers growing up without hope for a better future falling into the same government trap thier parents fell into. Why should you do anything to improve your situation, Uncle Sams gonna take care of you. So you end up sucking the government teet for life, in trouble with gangs and drugs angry at the world.

Blackdog said:

It is a direct responce to 1069, and is on topic.

Click to expand...

So was my comment that you said was off-topic. It was the same (new) topic.

But this is enough off-topic talk about what's off-topic.

SgtRock said:

I have often thought about what would have been but reality for my siblings is hell. I was smart enough to see where I was heading. Unfortunatley my younger brother and sister where so messed up on drugs that they couldn't see what was happening to them. They were children and they didn't know any better. Its the same in the ghettos of America. Generation after generation living off the government. Irresponsible fathers who do not take care of thier babies or thier babies momma with to much time on thier hands. Kids with welfare mothers growing up without hope for a better future falling into the same government trap thier parents fell into. Why should you do anything to improve your situation, Uncle Sams gonna take care of you. So you end up sucking the government teet for life, in trouble with gangs and drugs angry at the world.

Click to expand...

With your experience, do you see a difference between temporary and permanent help? There's a huge difference between living on welfare for life and getting temporary unemployment until you get a new job, or whatever, don't you think?

I have often thought about what would have been but reality for my siblings is hell.

Click to expand...

And for your mom, I'm sure.
Regardless of the fact that she cleaned up her life, how do you think she functions each day with her grandchildren in state custody, a daughter in a mental hospital, and a son drug addicted and on the streets?
The pity is that she lived long enough to see this day.
Thank God she's got you. It must be her one comfort.

On the other hand, plenty of people end up drug-addicted, homeless, and mentally ill who didn't have screwed up childhoods, so you never know.
I'm sure it doesn't help any, having a screwed up childhood, if you already had the propensity to be that way, and only required a trigger.

1069 said:

And for your mom, I'm sure.
Regardless of the fact that she cleaned up her life, how do you think she functions each day with her grandchildren in state custody, a daughter in a mental hospital, and a son drug addicted and on the streets?
The pity is that she lived long enough to see this day.
Thank God she's got you. It must be her one comfort.

On the other hand, plenty of people end up drug-addicted, homeless, and mentally ill who didn't have screwed up childhoods, so you never know.
I'm sure it doesn't help any, having a screwed up childhood, if you already had the propensity to be that way, and only required a trigger.

Click to expand...

My mom didn't live to see what have become of my brother and sister. She died from a brain anurism in 94. When she passed my sister still lived with her. She was in her thirties and unprepaired for life without mom. She was battling drug abuse with one child and one on the way. My mother kicked my brother out in 92. He has been on the street ever since.

SgtRock said:

My mom didn't live to see what have become of my brother and sister. She died from a brain anurism in 94. When she passed my sister still lived with her.She was in there thirties and unprepaired for life without mom. She was battling drug abuse with one child and one on the way. My mother kicked my brother out in 92. He has been on the street ever since.

Click to expand...

Guilt is a terrible thing to have to live with.
There is no worse guilt than feeling like you hurt your children.

misterman said:

With your experience, do you see a difference between temporary and permanent help? There's a huge difference between living on welfare for life and getting temporary unemployment until you get a new job, or whatever, don't you think?

Click to expand...

Yes I can see the difference. The 1996 welfare reform act was a step in the right direction. Welfare should be temporary not a permenent lifestyle. I think welfare should be limited to those who are trying to better themselfs. Either by attending school, working, or joining the military. Jobs that Americans supposedly won't do should be filled with welfare recipiants. If they refuse to do those jobs cut them off from government assistance. Starvation is a strong motivator.

I have two kids and have never received any form of the assistance that TGND listed. I would probably not be bothered by receiving unemployment if something happened outside of my control, or food stamps, but I don't think I could ever accept WIC.

Catz Part Deux said:

I have two kids and have never received any form of the assistance that TGND listed. I would probably not be bothered by receiving unemployment if something happened outside of my control, or food stamps, but I don't think I could ever accept WIC.

Click to expand...

What's the difference between food stamps and WIC, in your opinion (you can only get WIC until your kids are five, so you wouldn't qualify anyway)?
With food stamps, you can get whatever kind of crap you want- potato chips, junk food.
With WIC, you can only get specific, healthy items: milk, cheese, whole grain cereal, dry beans, eggs, and juice.
I think since I was on it, they've cut out the juice and added whole fruit, instead. They've also added peanut butter as an alternative to dry beans.
They've also expanded the "whole grain cereal" option, so that you can get healthy, whole-grain dry cereal; when I was on it, you could only get hot cereal: oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, or grits.
With WIC, you have to get the cheapest, most generic, WIC-approved brand.
With food stamps, you can get any brand, including the most expensive ones.

I thoroughly approve of the WIC program; I wish they'd just extend it to all mothers of infants and small children, to ensure that some healthy food gets into their houses, whether or not they want to buy it.

I think the food stamp program, on the other hand, could use some revision.
I'm not sure I approve of people using tax dollars to buy expensive junk food.
I'd prefer they were provided with cheap healthy food, and taught about nutrition.

Catz Part Deux said:

I have two kids and have never received any form of the assistance that TGND listed. I would probably not be bothered by receiving unemployment if something happened outside of my control, or food stamps, but I don't think I could ever accept WIC.

Click to expand...

Outside your control? But you control your own destiny! This is America, anyone who isn't employed and rich is a lazy loser. Haven't you heard?

1069 said:

What's the difference between food stamps and WIC, in your opinion (you can only get WIC until your kids are five, so you wouldn't qualify anyway)?
With food stamps, you can get whatever kind of crap you want- potato chips, junk food.
With WIC, you can only get specific, healthy items: milk, cheese, whole grain cereal, dry beans, eggs, and juice.
I think since I was on it, they've cut out the juice and added whole fruit, instead. They've also added peanut butter as an alternative to dry beans.
They've also expanded the "whole grain cereal" option, so that you can get healthy, whole-grain dry cereal; when I was on it, you could only get hot cereal: oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, or grits.
With WIC, you have to get the cheapest, most generic, WIC-approved brand.
With food stamps, you can get any brand, including the most expensive ones.

I thoroughly approve of the WIC program; I wish they'd just extend it to all mothers of infants and small children, to ensure that some healthy food gets into their houses, whether or not they want to buy it.

I think the food stamp program, on the other hand, could use some revision.
I'm not sure I approve of people using tax dollars to buy expensive junk food.
I'd prefer they were provided with cheap healthy food, and taught about nutrition.

Click to expand...

For one thing, I don't have small children. I have a teenager and an adolescent. For another thing, food stamps tend to be a more temporary measure and easier to obtain.

misterman said:

Outside your control? But you control your own destiny! This is America, anyone who isn't employed and rich is a lazy loser. Haven't you heard?

Click to expand...

I've been employed without a single gap in my employment history for 26 years. But, you never know, in this economy. I work as a contractor, and those are always iffy in a downturn.

Catz Part Deux said:

I have two kids and have never received any form of the assistance that TGND listed. I would probably not be bothered by receiving unemployment if something happened outside of my control, or food stamps, but I don't think I could ever accept WIC.

Click to expand...

I've never drawn unemployment either, but really wouldn't have any problem doing it if I was in the position I had to. With my job hanging by a thread and actively looking now before that thread snaps, I am a little worried about what the future holds. If the school district decides my position is "no longer necessary" due to their deep cuts, and I am having trouble finding gainful employment, I have no issue drawing unemployment until I can.

I do have a mortgage to pay and mouths to feed - be damned silly pride when I have responsibilities.

Catz Part Deux said:

I've been employed without a single gap in my employment history for 26 years. But, you never know, in this economy. I work as a contractor, and those are always iffy in a downturn.

Click to expand...

That's very true. This economy sucks right now and the job market is flooded.

Married male, nope, never have nor have I needed to.