[JohnWill]

I think this is the best explanation I've seen of the events that happened post Katrina in New Orleans. An Unnatural Disaster: A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State

[katonca]

I agree. Despair is a shameful bi-product of welfare, crime, and such (when I say welfare I mean those who abuse it).

[Mulderator]

Uhoh John--I don't think you understand what you just stepped into. The liberals will crucify you for that post. Welfare is the holy grail of the left! Its the answer to poverty and inequity--don't you see how well it worked in New Orleans?

[combsdon]

.....no problem....if you're ever down and out or run a string of bad luck and need some help.......call Muldy and he'll tell ya to get a job and watch Fox news.....

[Ghosts]

From what I have heard the only reason everything took so long was because the governor of the state didn't ask for federal help until later on and Bush could not do anything until he asked. Oh by the way i'm not protecting Bush, I think he's a right wing nut job too

[sglv]

Originally Posted by Mulder

Welfare is the holy grail of the left! Its the answer to poverty and inequity--don't you see how well it worked in New Orleans?

Speaking about welfare, is there anyone here from Chicago? I grew up on Welfare, my Mom has cerebral palsy and could not work. My Dad left. I'm certainly appreciative of welfare, no doubt. But it didn't take long to figure out that while I was working every day after school, my friends were "playing" to get that little bundle of joy that would bring in a paycheck. Yes, many young welfare recipients consider their check as a pay check.

Anyway, my hubby tells me tonight his friend from Chicago called. The "boy" (his stepson) is applying for welfare. He's 18 and has no job. Has he looked for a job, nope. Is he "slow" or "ill" or any of the numerous reasons that might make you incapable of being hired. No. He also wants an increase in his allowance until his welfare goes through. He doesn't even take out the trash. He eats and sleeps there, collects his allowance, and he's off to do whatever he does. How can you collect welfare living at home? At least my friends who got pregnant young did so specifically so they could leave home and all the rules associated with it. He'll only get a couple of hundred bucks a month, but he'll get $300-$400 a month in food stamps. I'm sorry, I don't understand. My mother, whose health has decreased steadily over the years, gets $600 a month to live on (my dad's social security), housing assistance, medicaid (thank God for that), and a whopping $10 a month in food stamps. Some healthy 18 year capable of working gets $300/month in food stamps and my mother get $10. I don't get it. I don't even spend $300 month on groceries for my family of four and I let my mother come over and "grocery shop" whenever she wants to.

Explain to me how this is "helping" him in any way. My own feelings are is he needs a swift kick in the rear right out the front door. Instead my tax dollars are giving him the incentive to mooch. Disgusting.

[MSM Hobbes]

When I read this article a few days ago, I was shocked, amazed, and at the same time understood a little bit more clearly of what evidently happened. Sad that people, human beings, can allow themselves to get caught up in such situations...

How much truth in this: Welfare breeds poverty... poverty breeds hopelessness.

All I know is that it is sad when people just sit around on their duff, blame others for their own situation, and cry that others are not helping them - when they have able bodies, otherwise decent mental capacity, yet just want to be lazy and take hand-outs, instead of improving their life, via education, reading, getting job, being proactive, and at least trying to be productive and empowered with capabilities and potentials. Life is not fair, it is not equal. It also aint' easy, cause it demands a person actually apply themselves.

Semi-related articles, that give more insight:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...090702462.html
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Conten...6/017iioip.asp
http://www.nationalreview.com/lowry/...0509021731.asp
=> http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/4043.php <=

[MSM Hobbes]

sglv, wow... I hadn't read your post when I replied to the thread - nice post, and on your attitude - best wishes . Scared me somewhat, as didn't desire to offend, but to understand, so had spent some additional time doing some even more reading and researching before posting, and then... there is yours!

Another interesting article is here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...774271,00.html

[bassetman]

Originally Posted by sglv

Speaking about welfare, is there anyone here from Chicago? I grew up on Welfare, my Mom has cerebral palsy and could not work. My Dad left. I'm certainly appreciative of welfare, no doubt. But it didn't take long to figure out that while I was working every day after school, my friends were "playing" to get that little bundle of joy that would bring in a paycheck. Yes, many young welfare recipients consider their check as a pay check.

Anyway, my hubby tells me tonight his friend from Chicago called. The "boy" (his stepson) is applying for welfare. He's 18 and has no job. Has he looked for a job, nope. Is he "slow" or "ill" or any of the numerous reasons that might make you incapable of being hired. No. He also wants an increase in his allowance until his welfare goes through. He doesn't even take out the trash. He eats and sleeps there, collects his allowance, and he's off to do whatever he does. How can you collect welfare living at home? At least my friends who got pregnant young did so specifically so they could leave home and all the rules associated with it. He'll only get a couple of hundred bucks a month, but he'll get $300-$400 a month in food stamps. I'm sorry, I don't understand. My mother, whose health has decreased steadily over the years, gets $600 a month to live on (my dad's social security), housing assistance, medicaid (thank God for that), and a whopping $10 a month in food stamps. Some healthy 18 year capable of working gets $300/month in food stamps and my mother get $10. I don't get it. I don't even spend $300 month on groceries for my family of four and I let my mother come over and "grocery shop" whenever she wants to.

Explain to me how this is "helping" him in any way. My own feelings are is he needs a swift kick in the rear right out the front door. Instead my tax dollars are giving him the incentive to mooch. Disgusting.

For a min there I thought you were going to show compassion!

Originally Posted by Don

.....no problem....if you're ever down and out or run a string of bad luck and need some help.......call Muldy and he'll tell ya to get a job and watch Fox news.....

The Metamucil of the social world!

[gatorgram]

Katrina contributions. Friday I had a message on my answering machine urging me to contribute money to help "America's most needy" recover from Katrina. I've been supporting "America's most needy" since I started working at age 17. I will be supporting them until I die. It's called welfare. I will support those folks who were productive before the storm so they can recover and again become productive. I refuse to spit into the wind with my own money.

[techno_lust]

The article at this link that Johnwill has posted pretty much says it all

[dugq]

The article says nothing about New Orleons. All it says is "look, the people who were violent were on welfare, therefore welfare is to blame", this is no different than the left saying "look, the people who were violent are poor, therefore poverty is to blame".

No facts are put forward by that article that would prove it's thesis and disprove the "poverty is to blame" thesis, it is just opinion stated as fact based upon a single correlation without any attempt to prove a causal link.

The article puts every person left in New Orleons after the Hurricane into one group and then reaches judgements based upon the actions of a few e.g "People living in piles of their own trash, while petulantly complaining that other people aren't doing enough to take care of them and then shooting at those who come to rescue them" Guess what, maybe the people who were asking for help weren't the same as the people doing the shooting, but hey they're poor and black so why bother with such silly distinctions, right?

The article says nothing about New Orleons, it speaks only about the opinions and prejudices of the writer.

[Ciberblade]

Originally Posted by bassetman

For a min there I thought you were going to show compassion!

Show compassion? I grew up on the welfare system, and it is truly the new version of slavery. You are not encouraged to get off the system....in fact, if you do try and better your situation to get off of it, you are penalized to a level below survival.

Welfare is needed. But should be structured in a way for capable people to grow and leave the system (term-limits if you will) -- as for the permanently disabled...I have no problem with that. I am tired of this country producing generations of professional couch potato's!

[linskyjack]

The article of course is ridiculous---written by an unobjective right winger. First of all, there is no actual analysis of what percentage of the people left in New Orleans were the working poor---you know the people who go to work every day and attempt to support their families on minimal wages. The guy, in order to proove his point that the tragedy of those left behind were welfare recipients, goes into this ridiculous rant about looting, raping etc.

I would say that the man is a racist---one of the closet racists because he writes an article that makes generalized statements without any supporting evidence. Kind of sounds like the people who make universal statements about Muslims, using as their proof, the minority of Muslims who blow up cafes.

[Ciberblade]

Linsky ~ 570,000 people make up the minimum wage bracket, I doubt they were all in New Orleans