Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

[nativetexan]

my grown son was just telling me about how much things cost and i told him I was just remembering when i worked at the Credit Bureau after High School, i got a pay raise up to $1.68 an hour. Whoopee! But I told him I was able to save enough money to pay the Hospital and Doctor's fees (for his birth) with that Savings. Then he said his step daughter never paid a thing for the three boys she's had, nor did he remember having to pay for his girls being born. I guess it's all in the way you know how to use the Government. I, evidently, do not know how to do that. and now I'm too old!! Boy, life is irritating a times. My ex-DIL and her dtr really know these things. Sometimes our Government has programs in place for decades that need to be reviewed. I've known about this one for over two decades at least. But we never remove old laws such as no spitting on sidewalks, etc. Ah, well. this Country still chalks up as a good one to be in!!

[SuzanneOrleansOntario]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

if your son receive support through programs, it's probably because they qualified due to low income. These programs probably did not exist when you needed the.

I am always surprised and shocked with the costs that Americans have to pay for healthcare, not including the restrictions to chose their own caregiver and treatment. It may vary by states or plans, but still I cannot understand that people could lose their entire life savings in order to get treatment. I always worry when we travel to US, should we require care. We carry medical insurance to top up what we have.

In Canada, we have universal health care. It varies by province but you receive health care, with your choice of provider and provided with all options for treatment. In my province, drugs are free up to age 25 and seniors also. For seniors, I think there is a small fee per Rx. I do remember when my son was born (37yrs ago), there was a two-tier level of healthcare in Ontario which no longer exists. Many specialists would opt out of provincial plan, so you would pay them their fee, and get a portion reimbursed by healthcare. The difference you could claim on tax return. I chose one who charged. I never waited to see my gynaecologist, while some of my pregnant friends would wait. It was a small price to pay well worth my time.

[auntstuff]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

I never could understand why so many have kids they can't afford. Its not like we NEED to add to the population.

[nativetexan]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

would you believe i paid the Doctor's fee but didn't go to monthly visits because i had no more money left? My Mother was no help and the Doctor's office never called me telling me to come in!. sigh. I was feeling well and ended up being just plain lucky!

[grammaterry]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

I guess I figured if you couldn't afford to pay the insurance or the doctor maybe you couldn't afford to have a kid. Not sure my taxes should cover other people's lack of responsibility

[cjsews]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

My DD had a friend on food stamps. I told my DD she was paying for her friends groceries with the taxes she paid in. Boy did that change her way of thinking on government aids. She was not a happy camper and told her friend to get a job. LOL

[Momofmonsters5]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

This thread hits home for me. My oldest daughter lives off our state. I get so irritated. I pay for everything, she's capable of working. She's not talking to me anymore because I always tell her she needs to work. She has one child and with a loser who doesn't encourge her to get off benefits. In fact my bf sells insurance and was working a food bank and guess who he saw there. Her and her bf mom. As I pay for groceries and insurance and everything else. I also have a co-worker who always spends money and says our pay is enough, mind you since she's not married to her kids dad but live together she gets day care assistance and Medicaid for her and three kids. She driving a new car. Must be nice not to have to pay medical insurance and copays. People really take for granted benefits. They can help you get on your feet during hard times but should not be your lifestyle. The goal should always be to support your family with your own earnings. You chose to have a family, the state didn't assign you one.

[The_Last_Unicorn]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

It makes me sad the way a lot of people judge those who use government assistance. Are there some people out there gaming the system? Absolutely. But not everyone on assistance is like that. A lot of people on assistance come from generations of poverty and have few or none of the advantages that people from middle class families have to become financially independent. I could type out a whole essay here about it, but I'll try to keep it succinct.

A large part of the welfare problem is that if you make above a certain amount, your aid gets cut off. This is a huge disincentive for people to get off welfare. It costs money to work (clothes, transportation, child care) even at a fast food place or retail. These places pay so little, a person could actually be worse off trying to work more hours when you factor in the aforementioned costs of working.

There are industries that prey on poor people, like pay day loan places. People will borrow money for car repairs, Christmas presents, school supplies, what have you, and if an unexpected expense comes up or they lose their job or hours, they will never be able to pay these loans back.

It can actually be quite expensive to be poor. Many impoverished, high-crime areas are also food deserts. Grocery stores won't open in certain areas where there is high theft. People in food deserts then have to pay higher prices at convenience stores to get milk and other staples.

Schools in impoverished areas are often failing. There is low parent involvement. Children come to school hungry. Classrooms are overcrowded and often taught by less experienced teachers.

For most people in poverty, there is no way to get ahead and there are no boot straps to pull themselves up by. An illness or unexpected expense could easily make them homeless.

When you live like that and things can and often do go to ruin for you, any little bit of extra money often gets spent on small pleasures like beer, cigarettes, lotto tickets, junk food, etc. Something will always come along to cost you all your money anyway, so you might as well get some enjoyment while you can. Sometimes you want a little something nice just so you don't feel poor for once.

We judge people on government assistance in part because we forget our own blessings. It is also in part because we are lead to believe (by many sources...) that the poor are that way because they are lazy and have other deficits in character, and that we don't all deserve things like health care. I think a lot of these attitudes are encouraged by those who don't want us questioning why our country can't provide health care for all its citizens, when we apparently have the money to bail out banks, big business, and fund endless foreign wars. Extremely wealthy and powerful people like to stir up resentment in voters against the poor and immigrants so that no one pays attention to the corruption happening up top.

[jjkaiser]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

The Last Unicorn I agree with you completely. There are many other issues that factor into a person's or family's need for public assistance. I often argue this with my BIL who thinks people on welfare are just lazy and looking for a handout. Yet he thinks it is perfectly okay that his married daughter, age 26, just filed for bankruptcy for the second time and she actually told me it was bc both her kids had gotten braces this year and she said "I'm not paying for that."

[cjsews]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

My BFF’s mom had county aid. Divorced with 6 kids. She worked hard to make ends meet. This additional help was much needed. Now my DD friend was divorced with child support for one child. Lived at home with her folks. She did not want to work. Tv was more important than trying to support herself. She was quite capable of finding a good job. That mindset irritates me

[MRoy]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

My career was with the Ky public assistance agency, working directly with clients as a caseworker and later in management. Kentucky is a poor state. There are those who work the system, but there are many more who are truly in need of assistance in order to provide the bare necessities for their families.

[auntstuff]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

It makes me sad the way a lot of people judge those who use government assistance. Are there some people out there gaming the system? Absolutely. But not everyone on assistance is like that. A lot of people on assistance come from generations of poverty and have few or none of the advantages that people from middle class families have to become financially independent. I could type out a whole essay here about it, but I'll try to keep it succinct.

A large part of the welfare problem is that if you make above a certain amount, your aid gets cut off. This is a huge disincentive for people to get off welfare. It costs money to work (clothes, transportation, child care) even at a fast food place or retail. These places pay so little, a person could actually be worse off trying to work more hours when you factor in the aforementioned costs of working.

There are industries that prey on poor people, like pay day loan places. People will borrow money for car repairs, Christmas presents, school supplies, what have you, and if an unexpected expense comes up or they lose their job or hours, they will never be able to pay these loans back.

It can actually be quite expensive to be poor. Many impoverished, high-crime areas are also food deserts. Grocery stores won't open in certain areas where there is high theft. People in food deserts then have to pay higher prices at convenience stores to get milk and other staples.

Schools in impoverished areas are often failing. There is low parent involvement. Children come to school hungry. Classrooms are overcrowded and often taught by less experienced teachers.

For most people in poverty, there is no way to get ahead and there are no boot straps to pull themselves up by. An illness or unexpected expense could easily make them homeless.

When you live like that and things can and often do go to ruin for you, any little bit of extra money often gets spent on small pleasures like beer, cigarettes, lotto tickets, junk food, etc. Something will always come along to cost you all your money anyway, so you might as well get some enjoyment while you can. Sometimes you want a little something nice just so you don't feel poor for once.

We judge people on government assistance in part because we forget our own blessings. It is also in part because we are lead to believe (by many sources...) that the poor are that way because they are lazy and have other deficits in character, and that we don't all deserve things like health care. I think a lot of these attitudes are encouraged by those who don't want us questioning why our country can't provide health care for all its citizens, when we apparently have the money to bail out banks, big business, and fund endless foreign wars. Extremely wealthy and powerful people like to stir up resentment in voters against the poor and immigrants so that no one pays attention to the corruption happening up top.

That sounds more like bad choices than lack of opportunity. I grew up a poor kid in a single parent home. You absolutely CAN work your way up out of it.

[grammaterry]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

Auntstuff, I too climbed out of a lower class home...hard work. I know there are folks with real needs. We need to be kind and always, thou shall not judge. However, we have made some parts of our system too comfortable. We used to give food Staples to those in need and without support from their church or family! Now, we give them what appears to be a debit card so they are not embarrassed. I will help anyone who is making an effort to help themselves. I look for them when I'm food shopping. If they are mindful of the purchases and not buying what I call extravagant food ,ie prepared, junk food, frozen pizzas, shrimp, soda, chips, I will pay for their cart and tell the clerk to just tell them to pass it on when things are better.
I don't think heath care is a right, I think we work for benefits! I don't like it when little children go without, but sometimes the lessons they learn, give them the incentive to break the cycle. I went without socks until I was 30 and by then, I didn't even realize I had missed anything. I had a pair of size 10 shoes in 6th grade..I am a size 7...but I never let on. Pride is a remarkable reward.
I was not a well child and my mother took me to the doctor 7 days a week for 10 years! My dad worked but my parents were alcoholics. I was not insured although preexisting insurance was available. People have priorities ! Some buy insurance, others buy big screen TVs.
I won the life's lottery being born in America where I am free to make the choice to better myself.

[The_Last_Unicorn]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

I personally believe healthcare is a human right. I feel it is heartless to make your fellow man go without life sustaining medicine or surgery. To me, it is an odd notion that a person has to "earn" or be "deserving" of something like an EpiPen or insulin. If nothing else, having a healthy population benefits everyone: fewer diseases going around, a stronger workforce, etc. People in this country die every day because they can't afford insulin and try to ration it. Maybe if they didn't buy a fancy TV last year and tugged their bootstraps a little harder, they would've made it? Citizens in a first world country shouldn't have to beg and depend on the sympathy of strangers (e.g. through GoFundMe) to afford medical care. They shouldn't go bankrupt trying to save a family member's life. And these things happen to people with "good" insurance, too!

We pay taxes for roads and schools for everyone to access...why not healthcare, too? It's also a public interest, and every first world country except the United States has some form of universal healthcare. Sadly, things will likely stay the same because too many powerful people are making too much money off things as they are. Big pharmaceutical companies can lobby/buy politicians to get legislation that favors them, and they can sue into the ground anyone who opposes them. Because of the way healthcare insurance works here, medical costs have soared.

Maybe it all comes down to what you think our society should be. Should we cooperate so that everyone has reasonable, equitable access to basic human needs? Roads, education, clean water, healthcare, etc. Should the strong look after the weak? Should only the strong survive?

There are people who climb out of poverty. They do it by taking advantage of opportunities, such as someone giving them a chance by hiring them despite their lack of experience. Maybe they have a mentor or an advocate like a parent who is involved with their education and holds their child's teacher accountable or fights to get their child enrolled in a charter school or study programs. Even self-made people have had help somewhere from someone to get them where they are today. Those opportunities don't present themselves to everyone, and just because one person climbed out doesn't mean that everyone can. People born in poverty have worked and become millionaires. Why can't anybody do this, if it's only a matter of will and hard work?

[bubba]

Re: Programs for those in need... not me. well, maybe not.

Our daughters each cost $9.30 to have. MM was in the Marines at the time and the cost of $3.10 per day was to pay for the food consumed!!