Your tax dollars at work

[cm8]

The most disgusting part is that closing the loophole is going to end up hurting a lot of truly needy families because it'll mean that EITC checks, SSI lump-sums, and other "windfalls" that the poor depend on to catch up obligations that they have fallen behind on or to take care of annual expenses like property taxes will now end up disqualifying them, however temporarily, from food stamps. And case workers will have to deal with the increased workload of closing thousands of cases every tax season only to reopen them a month or two later when those funds are spent. All because of one loser and the great attention-grabbing story that he handed our sensationalist press.

Not sure why his story is even new worthy, His case is no different from other millionaires/ billionaires that collect major money from the government and do it because they can .

I did find it sad that the college students were not eligible for Food stamps though

 

[HHSTigerFan]

In the state of Illinois the max food stamp amount for a family of 4, those people making no income, is $660... the last 3 months our family of 4 has averaged less than $500 a month spent on groceries.. I always see people using a Link card in line buying better groceries than we do.. Perhaps if we cut the amount of benefits, our state wouldn't be slicing education the way it is..

 

[GinnyEmma]

If you can afford college you can afford ramen noodles. That is what we did. Get another job. Did that too.

You can't exclude all the bad guys. It will never happen. But it would be nice if the extends like this or the billionaires could be eliminated.

 

[Purseval]

Basically yes, though not in the sense one might assume. Apart from being administered by the FCC, it's not a federally-funded program. Since its inception, the program has been financed via the pooled contributions of commercial phone service providers, which in turn impose small monthly fees on their regular customers to recoup the cost

If money is being taken by threat of force (if you don't pay this "small monthly fee" we will cut off your phone) from you and that money is used to provide a service that I am not paying for to me then saying it isn't federally funded is just an accounting gimmick.

 

[Purseval]

You can't exclude all the bad guys. It will never happen. But it would be nice if the extends like this or the billionaires could be eliminated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OQjlzh279E&feature=related

This is part 1 but you can link to the other parts from there. Well worth the time if you haven't seen it before.

 

[GinnyEmma]

I live in a small town, and we have a couple of professional beggars. It is crazy how well they do.

We also have a lit of people in true need. The economy here has been hit harder than most.

 

[brymolmom]

so by your argument, get rid of a good system because there are bad apples.

Let's see, since Enron ripped off it's employees should we get rid of all pension plans.

Since Bernie madoff ripped off his clients should we now get rid of all retirement plans?

Never in the history of man has every one acted with integrity. Not being snarky but that's where the term criminal comes from.

Yeah the man in the yahoo piece is a $%$ but statistically the system works very well.

Oh and like I said, the state the gentlemen is in, is quickly passing legislation to close that loop hole. I think it's Michigan

Many food stamp recipients work. Over one fourth (28 percent) of food stamp households have earnings, up from 19 percent in 1990. For these households, earnings are the primary source of income.

The majority of food stamp households do not receive cash welfare benefits. Less than one in six (17 percent) received TANF benefits, down from 42 percent in 1990. Twenty-eight percent received Supplemental Security Income. Almost one quarter (23 percent) received Social Security benefits.

Food stamp households have little income. Less than 12 percent are above the poverty line, while 38 percent have incomes at or below half the poverty line. Twelve percent had no cash income of any kind. The typical food stamp household had gross income of $640 per month and received a monthly food stamp benefit of $185. Over one-fifth of monthly funds (cash income plus food stamps) available to a typical household come from food stamps.

Food stamp households possess few resources. The average food stamp household possesses only about $154 in countable resources (including the non-excluded portion of vehicles and the entire value of checking and savings accounts and other savings).

Sorry your brother is a jerk but drug addicts have not been known to be the most honorable people but I certainly don't want a kid going hungry because less than 5% work the system to defraud it.

I didn't say we should get rid of any program, only that the way it works now assumes that everyone using it has integrity. And since that obviously would never be the case - something needs to change.

Although now that you mention it - I do think that the cell phone thing should be eliminated. I believe cell phones are a luxury....not a necessity. And I think that people in general need to focus on necessities first. And I really don't want to be funding, directly or not, a system that can allow my brother and thousands, I'm confident, like him to have a luxury. Yes, I realize that some of the legit people receiving one have it as their only source for contact, etc. But like it or not, we did live without them for a long, long time and I do not believe that the system or the legit people on it have truly benefited above and beyond the obvious convenience of having a cell phone. I believe the number of people who receive and use one only for the purpose of getting calls from potential employers and/or social workers is slim to none.

Food, on the other hand, is a necessity....

 

[HHSTigerFan]

If you can afford college you can afford ramen noodles. That is what we did. Get another job. Did that too.

You can't exclude all the bad guys. It will never happen. But it would be nice if the extends like this or the billionaires could be eliminated.

Not sure what you are saying, but what could the "billionaires" possibly have to do with this topic?

 

[Colleen27]

I didn't say we should get rid of any program, only that the way it works now assumes that everyone using it has integrity. And since that obviously would never be the case - something needs to change.

Although now that you mention it - I do think that the cell phone thing should be eliminated. I believe cell phones are a luxury....not a necessity. And I think that people in general need to focus on necessities first. And I really don't want to be funding, directly or not, a system that can allow my brother and thousands, I'm confident, like him to have a luxury. Yes, I realize that some of the legit people receiving one have it as their only source for contact, etc. But like it or not, we did live without them for a long, long time and I do not believe that the system or the legit people on it have truly benefited above and beyond the obvious convenience of having a cell phone. I believe the number of people who receive and use one only for the purpose of getting calls from potential employers and/or social workers is slim to none.

Food, on the other hand, is a necessity....

I think the cell phone program is valuable because without a phone number it is nearly impossible to get work (and not a contact number where a message can be left - low wage positions don't wait around for dime-a-dozen applicants to call back). I know a few people with the "free" cell phones and none of them have a home phone line at all; that cell phone is their only contact number.

And practically speaking, a free cell phone is easier to administer and more practical than providing a free land line because there's no way to run up the bill on a prepaid cell beyond the minutes provided and because in some areas so many calls on a landline are 'zone' calls and charged on a per-minute basis.

 

[brymolmom]

I think the cell phone program is valuable because without a phone number it is nearly impossible to get work (and not a contact number where a message can be left - low wage positions don't wait around for dime-a-dozen applicants to call back). I know a few people with the "free" cell phones and none of them have a home phone line at all; that cell phone is their only contact number. And practically speaking, a free cell phone is easier to administer and more practical than providing a free land line because there's no way to run up the bill on a prepaid cell beyond the minutes provided and because in some areas so many calls on a landline are 'zone' calls and charged on a per-minute basis.

But has this being their only contact number allowed them to get a job or remain in other contact with a resource that has been leading them to a point where they no longer need assistance? I get that it is likely the only contact number, I'm just not convinced that it leads very often to jobs or other progress toward the goal of getting off assistance.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Not sure what you are saying, but what could the "billionaires" possibly have to do with this topic?

Lol, sorry. Referencing the megacorporations who take handouts without necessity.

 

[tomthebarncat]

Lol, sorry. Referencing the megacorporations who take handouts without necessity.

LOL and arrive to pick up their welfare check by private jet!!!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Ethical, respectful....don't think so!

Breaking the law, no, so once again....ONLY in America... can your Liquid assets which make you a Millionaire still qualify you as Qualifying for Aid...despite the loss to some Actual Needy Family, Despicable.:.but thats just IMHO

 

[neatokimmo]

How does he not have any income? Where is the 2 mil? Is it sitting in his checking account earning nothing? Wouldn't that amount, in a stock account, earn dividends and flag for quarterly taxes?

I think that disturbed me the most. People who get something awesome like that and waste it.

(and I agree about the college thing - eat ramen, get another job - it's what most people do...it's a nice intro to the real world)

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Lol, sorry. Referencing the megacorporations who take handouts without necessity.

You mean the corporations that are owned by average americans?

 

[nunzia]

You want to see your tax dollars at work? Come and ride in my ambulance with me for a night. It will definitely open your eyes to why healthcare is so expensive.

Public intoxication is not a crime (here, anyways) because alcoholism is classified as a disease. Therefore, someone who is publicly inebriated does not go to jail. Instead, they get an ambulance ride to the emergency room where they "sleep it off". This generates an ambulance bill and an ER bill. A lot of our "regulars" know the system. They acquire liquor (probably not legally), drink themselves silly and then lie down on the sidewalks along the major streets. Somebody drives by, sees them lying on the ground, has pity on them and calls 911 (*which is the right thing to do! I'm not doggin' the callers). We show up and have to take them to the hospital because they are "acutely ill" as a result of their chronic condition. (Most of these are homeless gentlemen who prefer to "live" in the emergency room than stay at the shelter. Some of them are transported MORE THAN ONCE A DAY!)

I go to houses all the time where the only source of light is the 60" plasma TV that is hooked up to the surround sound system and XBox 360. That person called 911 because they have a fever and they don't have a car to get to the pharmacy for some tylenol. They call 911 so that the ambulance will take them to the ER instead. That is some expensive Tylenol that Medicaid is now paying for. Due to liability issues, we can't refuse to take them to the hospital either.

It's a daily reminder that our society (government) has removed any sense of personal responsibility. I agree wholeheartedly with the concept of benevolence, but too many people have gotten their "rights" mixed up with their "privileges". The government now subsidizes cell phones for low-income people. Since when is a cell phone a "right"? Pretty soon, everyone will have the "right" to a car....the "right" to a HDTV...the "right" to free housing... Too many able-bodied people are choosing to do other things with their lives than be productive members of society. They'd rather let the government pay for them to live in this country.

This guy needs to have his Bridge card PRIVILEGES revoked....permanently.

I see abuse all the time also..work at a church and the stream of people 'needing' assistance is outrageous. What is sad is that the system players are very often not those who are truly needy. Many truly needy just won't ask for help and will suffer in silence. It really is getting worse..the sense of entiltlement. Phone call: "Yea, I need some money for my electric bill." "I'm sorry all of our appointments are full for this week." "Well I have a shut off notice for TODAY" (and you just now thought of trying to get help?) "I'm sorry, but our appointments are full" "Well, how do you expect me to pay my bill then!" phone slammed down..really sad. Then the people who will call in need of food at the beginning of the month because their food stamps ran out..really?? Or did you let someone use your card and then some cash for your own use and then have no food? I do think they need to crack down..I realize more people probably do not abuse than do, but it has really gotten ridiculous. And when did it become government's job to feed kids breakfast and lunch every day? I thought that was a parent's responsibility?
Back to the original issue..I hope they do go after this user. Ridiculous.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

. And when did it become government's job to feed kids breakfast and lunch every day? I thought that was a parent's responsibility?
QUOTE]

Uhm. In some places since the Great Depression when states decided to feed kids in school instead of watch them starve to death at their desks. 3 of my birth grand parents were in this boat. My DH's mother was in this group.

In other places, it's been around since WWII when the military realized they had a lot of young men who were ineligible for the draft or at the very least were smaller and weaker than they should've been because they'd been starved at points in their lives.

And anyway, since when is it that we, as a nation cannot afford to feed our children? It's not like they woke up one morning and chose their lives. If someone was so mean-spirited (I'm not suggesting you are, poster, just pointing to an anonymous person who might be.) as to think that the kids should just go hungry in those circumstances, because they are the responsibility of the parent and that we have no requirement to give other humans tolerance, empathy or charity, then we need to remember that those children grow up to be adults and citizens of our nation. If they starve while growing up, they do not develop to their fullest potention and we, as a nation, lose benefit of their usefulness.

That is why we feed kids two meals a day.

ETA: Of course, when I was teaching, a wise old teacher with 38 or so years in the business told me something I took to heart. "Do your best. You'll reach some. But always remember, a certain percentage of kids are just here for the free lunch."

 

[GinnyEmma]

While in a perfect world all kids would have food this world isn't.

Since when is it the govt.'s job to pay people foe having kids (anyone get the nice tax credit? I did.) or get subsidized student loans or grants? Or wic? I had pell grants for my ba. Welfare for college students, really.

My point is that it would be nice if we could stop the abuse of the system. All of them. But we aren't going to. We can try to stop the obvious really crazy stuff like this. Or prisoners receiving welfare checks. Stupid stuff.