July 26, 2012
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Going On Vacation While On Food Stamps
Let me give you a hypothetical. Imagine there is a xangan who is on welfare and gets food stamps. Now imagine that person wants everyone else to pay for her/his medical care.
Now imagine this xangan is taking a vacation while unemployed.
Should a person on welfare go on vacation?
Comments (112)
Oh, here we go…
Congratulations Dan, between yesterday’s post and today’s post you have earned 10 Romney Points. They are worth 10% less taxes on the rich and are redeemable at your nearest Swiss bank!
Everybody deserves a vacation once in a while.
….
Not necessarily…
of course they should… everybody needs a vacation.
Who is this about? lol
You’re merciless.
Wait, I thought being on unemployement WAS the same as being on vacation.
If I’m not footing the bill for the vacation it’s fine with me. But if I’m footing the bill for the vacation then no.
Honestly NO! I know many of people who are not on welfare and have stay-cations or just visit family because they cannot afford to go on vacations, so if hard-working people cannot afford it, then why should people on welfare or unemployment be taking vacations on the tax-payers dime. I am 29 and havent had a paid vacation somewhere since I went to Disney in Florida as a kid… and I am fine. Vacations are not a right but a reward for working hard and being able to reward yourself. Hek, I would like to go on vacation myself but dont have the money, mostly because of student loans, but I am not putting my loans on hold and suing the money to go on some cruise or take a trip through Europe.
Depends on the vacation. Are we talking Aruba or just to visit some family? Anyway, each hypothetical individual’s situation is different and I don’t think having welfare or food stamps should automatically mean no vacations ever.
Speechless
don’t be surprised. a lot of people abuse the system. i see it all the time.
I’ve never been on a vacation in my life. I’ve never been on welfare, but my parents have always lived on around $20k a year.
I think if a person is able to find a vacation spot that is super cheap or they go stay with family for a week and visit sites around there, then whatever. But someone doesn’t need to go to like the Bahamas or something.
Yes to Romneys 13 car garage with elevators and 13,000 sq ft house (probably bigger by now that he has axed a few more jobs to china and taken the money and run) Besides only Anglo Saxons can understand. OH PLEASE stop insulting our intelligence!
A vacation away from vacation lolz
lol. My friend who gets nearly $700 a month for food stamps was talking about how she was gonna go to the beach and how she was saving up & she was gonna be pretty much broke while there. I said “you know foods expensive there, right?” She said she was taking her foodstamp card to go to the grocery store and get food to make at the hotel. I had to remind her that her Ohio foodstamp card cant be used in North Carolina. Lol
hahaha you sure as hell are ripping this welfare xangan to shreds.
i’m not paying taxes for people to go on vacation.
your first sentence says it all with the word hypothetical. the food stamp allotment someone is eligible for is dependent on the State they live in. from what i’ve seen it can be as little as $16/week for a single person to $300 or $400 a month for a family of 3 or more. there is probably more available in some States. i did a quick Google search and clicked on a few links with eligibility tables. i suppose if someone decides to starve themselves and their family members for many months, possibly years in order to afford a vacation i’ll give them credit for determination and say go for it. of course they won’t be alive to enjoy it.
You don’t need to justify your vacation to us, Dan. We know you work hard making Xanga entertaining. You deserve a break.
No they shouldn’t!!!
Couldn’t agree with you more, Dan. I’ll admit I was on Food Stamps for a while, but I never took a vacation. I worked everyday that I could get away with. Overtime almost every paycheck, and if I was fired from a job, I had another in a week or two. Vacation was a dream, not a goal. My goal was to get OFF of Food Stamps. I’m no longer on Food Stamps, and I can gladly say that a vacation is no longer a dream, but a goal. In state, but none the less a vacation. My family deserves it, and I’d like to think that I deserve it considering I worked my way up to a better situation, home, job, and pay.
I can understand if a family member is paying for them or if it is a simple drive. Sometimes people who are on welfare aren’t on the best work schedules. However, if they are spending money saved from using wellfare resorces, it probably isn’t the moral thing to do. If not other help is granted for them to be there- then my opinion is no. The government is paying very little to help a means to life, not to help you live comfortably – to be blunt. If you can’t afford it, you probably shouldn’t do it.
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Yeah! There should be a federal program that mandates paid vacations for the unemployed – paid for by the various state governments of course – they wouldn’t have to increase taxes on the working too much – of course – we could tax the rich the most! Who would notice?
Aren’t they already on vacation.
yes especially if it drives another xangan insane
There are so many who abuse the system. I notice a lot of people on welfare are smokers and heavy drinkers or pot smokers…especially here in NY state where a pack of cigarettes is typically $8 on up and most people go through a pack or more a day. Ugh, it just pisses me off. Should someone on welfare get to vacation? Well, it depends on where they’re going and what they’re doing. Maybe their vacation didn’t cost them anything because family or friends are paying for it. Maybe they won a hotel stay and are using gas gift cards. I don’t necessarily judge people on welfare if they have nice clothes or drive a nice car. I was in a position a few years back where I had nice clothes and drove a nice car because my husband had a good job…and then he lost it and we needed food stamps while we both looked for work. I wasn’t going to go out and sell everything my husband worked so hard for for a fraction of what it was worth. It’s not always so black and white.
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Is she/he going with someone else who is paying for it? To many unanswered questions about where the money is coming from to pay for it.
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no, they need a madonna holiday
@carolinavenger - Dammit, you stole my joke.
a guy i worked with said his girlfriend got $700 a month in foodstamps and the first thing he does on the first of the month is buy like $100 worth of candy. i think they were getting about $100 to much in foodstamps if they were able to waste it on junk food.
NOPE!!! I have worked my effing ASS off just to get to a point where I can break even (I was a student, I borrowed money, I’m paying it back). I don’t expect ANYTHING from ANYONE, and I hold everyone else to this standard. So, no – I can’t afford. I can’t imagine they can, either.
But let us all be aware: Necessary medical care =/= government subsidized health care.
If someone else is paying for it (ie. a partner or a family member) then sure, but if they’re using my tax money to pay for it, then no. I work and can’t afford a vacation, so there’s no way they should be spending my hard-earned money on one.
Why not?
Some vacations are F.O.C.
Who can afford a vacation? I’m employed, have a college degree, and the only cool places I get to go are conventions and competitions. Or, my newest adventure, taking a really long road trip with my most prized belongings to another state in search of work that actually uses my degree, and not my waitressing prowess. I think they call that “moving, okie style”…
Not at all.
well, we can’t just expect him to collect food stamps all the time, right? We have to give him breaks, social security, and of course vacations. Btw, how are his medical expenses? Maybe we should put together a package and take care of that for him too
Yes, vacation is good for your soul. I am not saying the community
should pay for it through taxes, but if their family or a friend wants to invite them, that’s awesome.
Hope the Xangan you try to
backstab has a great time.
Only if someone has volunteered to pay for it. If they’re using welfare checks or donations that were supposed to be for medical, etc, then hell no.
This is the sense of entitlement that is destroying America. So many working folks cannot afford to take vacations because of the increasing costs of everything else.
Quite honestly, if this person is asking for donations here on Xanga, you should name names. If they’re going on vacation, report them to the food stamp and welfare office for fraud.
I would like a link so I can xanga stalk them … Please!!!
When dan does this, it drives kaela nuts… that is none of your business. It is ceasars money and he will deal with it. Im broken. All i do is wander around and eat. I spam bc i want my brain fixed. I think we should go to labor camps to clean up a bit. This is disgraceful. However, attacking one person wont change anything.
noooope.
I have a neighbor that brags about not paying his house payment for a year and that it’s going to be repossessed. He and his 5 kids went on a Disney vacation in Florida and then he and his wife went to France for three weeks. I have serious problems with people (government) that don’t have the money and yet spend it.
vacation from what? If it’s an earnest but frustratingly unfruitful job search, you know…sure. Take a couple days. Maybe the break will refresh spirits and you can come back to finding a job with renewed vigor. (i don’t mean after les than six months of looking)
If your couch knows your ass better than your boyfriend, then no. get a fucking job, moron.
it depends on how it’s being paid for.
i do think it’s wrong. vacation is a luxury. you want someone to pay for basically everything for you (food, medical bills, etc) so you can save up the money you “don’t have” to go on vacation? i dunno, it’s not logical in my opinion. if i needed that kind of government assistance any extra money i had would go to things we need, not things we want. it’s all about priorities. i have kids so extra money would undoubtedly go to clothes for them because they grow insanely fast. in my unpopular opinion, if you can fork out the money for vacation (because let’s face it, unless you’re staying at a relative’s house hotels + food are expensive!) then you can fork out the money to pay for your own damn groceries each month.
some of these “compassionate” christians should read proverbs. I particularly think of those about the sloth. Being poor, in itself, doesn’t absolve one of any blame or criticism. It’s called a hand UP for a reason, it’s a hand because it requires you lifting your own to reach it, and up bc YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO STAY THERE.
ABSOLUTELY NOT! People on welfare should never have anything nice, ever! The must live austerely until they pull themselves up by the bootstraps and become self-made millionaires, which all of them can totally do anytime they put their minds to it!
After all, what’s standing in their way–besides a minimum wage that has been proportionally decreasing for the past 40 years, a two-party dictatorship that is bought and sold, amoral corporations that sell out American workers in exchange for overseas slavery, and the death of the middle class?
are you serious? tell me this is a joke. get off your high horse.
How can he tell when he’s on vacation?
yea wut i just said is right
Yes, of course. The unemployed are more stressed than anybody. They have to worry about keeping a roof over their head and feeding their children on very limited government assistance and who knows when some asshole Republicans are gonna come along and take that away. Better she take some time to relax and unwind than cave to the pressure of our cruel world and shoot up a theatre. Sorry that you’re so out of touch in your mansion down there in Houston but the rest of us don’t have rich daddies to give us high paying/do nothing jobs at their oil companies. Try to have some compassion.
A vacation from what? People take vacations from work.
I think Dan is a secret liberal who just likes to be an asshole to see how stupid he can get people to be in the comments (for example, see this comment).
And no, Dan, I won’t accept your xanga friend request. The second I do anything you disagree with I’ll end up xanga famous, and, thanks but no thanks.
Dear Dan,
No time to read comments. (I’m at work!) Somehow, the idea that someone can “go on vacation” while unemployed seems a tad strange. Wouldn’t one need to be working in order to get a vacation? I’m thinking of “paid vacations” of course. I can’t tell in your hypothetical if the “Xangan” is working or not.
Someone who is working but still obtains welfare might be eligible for vacation pay from his employer. What does any of this have to do with medical care?
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
pilgrimage? it has its roots in the chuch and is a fine vacation
why not vacay…..pilgrimage? 
it brings us all cozy close to god and our faith:D it’s a community service to vacation broke 
takes the load off one community and distributes the choice to help evenly 
Depends on where the vacation is to. If they are visiting family in a state rather close by, then no big deal. If they are traveling across the world to an exotic location then yeah I have a little bit of an issue. But everyone is right, people need a vacation sometimes.
@SKANLYN - I agree with this.
@TheSutraDude - I know plenty of people on welfare who scrimp and save and would go on vacations to Vegas. In fact, California was having an issue with the Benefit cards pulling out money in Vegas. Sure, you can be on welfare and visit family in Vegas but then you start pissing people off when you are pulling money out at a casino.
i don’t think they should. i also don’t think welfare people should be on drugs/drink alcohol/smoke cigarettes while on welfare either. oops.
I’ve known people on welfare that scrimp and save the money they get for AFDC (whatever child payments are called), redirect the Foodstamps (I’ll buy your food if you give me cash for it kind of way), get free health care, and then bemoan the fact that the Section 8 goes to the landlord or something like that and then yell at their kids for eating breakfast at home when they get a free one at school… all so they can go to Vegas. Now, none of welfare money is meant for the parent/adult to go on vacation.
Now, Democrats will bemoan the fact that Republicans complain about welfare, but Democrats seem to actually be clueless in their worlds as to how many people actually use their welfare. I won’t deny Republicans overstate the misuse of welfare, but it sure as hell does happen.
@grizzlybearr - AGREED! I will add that there is a HUGE difference between going to see family or a day trip involving say the zoo or a museum than vacation. Vacations are so expensive…we do fairly well, I think & we’ve never been able to afford things like cruises etc. Though I would adore an Alaskan one.
Define vacation.
Taking a day off from work and hanging out at home can be a vacation.
Vacation is a mindset; it doesn’t have to involve traveling.
Maybe this person on welfare has a big trust fund or something….
Many people abuse the welfare system.
@TiredSoVeryTired - i’m sure there are some. i don’t know any personally. if i had to go on a food stamp program i wouldn’t be going on vacation much less to throw money away at a casino. i’ve never done that anyway.
.
I would say it depends on the people involved. Hate to say that, but if someone is cheating the system – which in turn is cheating the taxpayers – isn’t working, isn’t a good parent, and is all about scamming, then no, absolutely not. They make their own mini fun vacations by draining the welfare system, not keeping a job, and then reaping the rewards. Screw that. But this whole discussion is opinion-based and basically moot, bc nothing will ever prevent anyone from going on a vacation, regardless if they are on government assistance or not.
I don’t think you should’ve done that, Dan.
What is it with you ripping on the poor lately? Jesus, you’re an asshole.
Keep in mind that people who receive welfare and food stamps HAVE JOBS. Most states require you to work before they give you any sort of assistance. Also keep in mind that the average family of three receives less than $400 a month in food stamps and less than $200 a month in welfare. It’s definitely not enough to fund a fancy vacation to Tahiti or a Caribbean cruise. And since that family IS WORKING, then they definitely deserve some time off with their families. That “vacation” in this little attack of yours is probably to a theme park or somewhere else relatively inexpensive.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again ~ Go fuck yourself, hard, in the ass, with a barbed wire dildo.
a person can do whatever they wish. perhaps they need a vacation to keep their sanity, or to stay alive. ?
lots of things in life seem unfair.
@TheSutraDude - My husband grew up on welfare (lazy ass bitch for a mother, druggy drunk for a father)… they ate better on food stamps than we have making it on our own at points. The tables are only relevant to what someone reports anyway.
@IntoTheWind1 - You mean like Proverbs 28:6? “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse.” You mean like Proverbs 29:7? “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” You might also be interested in Proverbs 10:20. “The tongue of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgement.”
Just some food for thought from the book you brought up. Have a nice day, Doug.
you know I try not to judge others but sometimes it is hard when we work our buttocks off and hear of such things.
I try to just live my life right and do the best I can and hope karma will come back to me.
@Shadowrunner81 - Oooh, passive-aggressive sauce! I like it. One problem, aren’t you confined to not judging me, lest you be judged too?
28:6 The key word there is blameless. Someone who takes from others, and doesn’t attempt to do their own part isn’t blameless. As for the others that are clearly, (but deniably, like a little bitch) pointed at me…what’s it like? You know… not having a plank?
You have a good day, too.
If you need taxpayers to cover your food or give you other assistance, then there is no reason for you to be using them so you can go on a vacation. Vacations are a luxury. When my husband and our family were unemployed and on government assistance, we didn’t buy any luxuries (alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) because we didn’t feel it was right to purchase those things while on the taxpayer’s dime. If it’s your own money, fine, do whatever you want with it. But if your neighbors are being forced by the government to contribute to your income, luxuries are something you go without until you can pay for it on your own.
For a minute there I thought you were talking about congress…lol…I don’t see why not they only live once and who knows maybe they will find work while traveling…I know people that has happened to….and it almost happened to me. And travel is an education and an opportunity. And maybe they will develop contacts with other people from around the world it that might be helpful…i have done that too. I have a thirty year friendship that was the result of all the traveling I did when I was younger and no money. I can’t travel much now because of health reasons and I still don’t have much money but I am very happy that I didi all the traveling I did when I was cash strapped and young. I would recommend using Youth Hostels their very cheap and located all around the world. You can google them by checking out The North American Youth Hostel Association most are very nice. I think everybody rich or poor should…its an opportunity and an education. And in a world wide international economy that we have it is an advantage.
@firetyger - everybody contributes to other people’s income in one form or another…good day.
@IntoTheWind1 - Let’s leave the name-calling out of this and confine the discussion to Proverbs. “Someone who takes from others, and doesn’t attempt to do their own part isn’t blameless.” That is not in proverbs. That is in your own opinion based on proverbs. There is a huge difference. Neither of us have the theological qualifications to make judgement calls in political discussions using anything except scripture.
And really, you and I are both Christians, yes? So let’s agree to confine the swearing to, say, nobody? The way you are swearing casts a very poor cloud over our discussion. Remember that you are a Christian first, and a Republican second. Republicans can swear up a storm like the most hardened sailing man. A Christian should not. People can read what we say and will be able to since this is on the internet. How you and I represent ourselves in this spat reflects not just you and me, but the faith we both hold dear.
We dont’ have to be friends to have a positive outcome of this discussion. And by positive I don’t mean my changing your mind or you changing mine. I mean a lively exchange of ideas.
@Tallman - No, they don’t. Have a nice day.
@autumn_cannibal76 -
ABSOLUTELY NOT! People on welfare should never have anything nice, ever!
Not if I’m paying for it, you’re right.
The must live austerely until they pull themselves up by the bootstraps and become self-made millionaires, which all of them can totally do anytime they put their minds to it!
The sarcasm only hints that you don’t think they can do it. I ask you, who gives the poor more credit? Those of us who think they can (and should) better their own situation (and who said they had to become millionaires?) or you, who seems to think that it’s an absolutely ridiculous notion?
After all, what’s standing in their way–besides a minimum wage that has been proportionally decreasing for the past 40 years,
News flash… you can have more than one job at a time. Or is that beneath you?
a two-party dictatorship that is bought and sold,
Ok, can’t really argue with you on that one.
amoral corporations that sell out American workers in exchange for overseas slavery,
Businesses are profit-driven, and rightly so. In order to create jobs, they must first earn a profit so they can pay those wages. If the gov’t taxes them to high heaven, they have to cut costs elsewhere. Want to get these jobs back in the U.S.? How about CUT taxes on businesses, and watch how much they grow. Lower taxes means more revenue, means more jobs, means more spending, means more demand for product, which means…more need of employees. If you lived in a state that taxed you outrageously, to the point that you couldn’t provide for your family, and *gasp* even dare to have some money in the bank, wouldn’t you seriously consider moving to the next state over, with NO income tax? It’s the same thing.
and the death of the middle class?
See above
@Shadowrunner81 -
Let’s leave the name-calling out of this and confine the discussion to Proverbs.
You get what you give. Name calling by insinuation is the same boss. But ok. Let’s.
(“Someone who takes from others, and doesn’t attempt to do their own part isn’t blameless.” That is not in proverbs. That is in your own opinion based on proverbs. There is a huge difference. Neither of us have the theological qualifications to make judgement calls in political discussions using anything except scripture. )
I never said that it was from Proverbs. You posted a passage, and I responded to it with biblical principle. Unless scripture is nothing more than a bunch of verses to you, then you should understand the thought of biblical precepts. So are there any biblical precepts that I could have culled my response from?
Proverbs 31:27
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Here we see a praise that includes the fact that she does not eat the bread of idleness. That’s a praise. So, logically, it would be a bad thing to eat the bread of idleness. It is frowned upon. Just like “Thou shalt not kill” is a negative command that bears a positive command as well (you should promote life) this does the same. SO one eating the bread of idleness is unworthy of praise. If unworthy of praise, then… not blameless.
Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, you sluggard; I)’>
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer J)’>
and gathers its food at harvest. K)’>
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? L)’>
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest M)’> —
11 and poverty N)’> will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
These are pretty strong words for the sluggard. Seems almost like a rebuke. I don’t know the last time a blameless person was rebuked, do you?
(And really, you and I are both Christians, yes? So let’s agree to confine the swearing to, say, nobody? The way you are swearing casts a very poor cloud over our discussion.)
fair enough
Remember that you are a Christian first, and a Republican second. Republicans can swear up a storm like the most hardened sailing man.
I’m not a Republican, but I like that you think I must be…simply because I hold a different view than you? I’ve never identified myself as a Republican, and until many things change, I never will.
A Christian should not. People can read what we say and will be able to since this is on the internet. How you and I represent ourselves in this spat reflects not just you and me, but the faith we both hold dear.
Thanks for the scolding…brother. Do you think that they might also perceive you as sanctimonious, given your poorly cloaked insinuations in your first comment to me, and your sudden change to being “above the fray” now?
We dont’ have to be friends to have a positive outcome of this discussion. And by positive I don’t mean my changing your mind or you changing mine. I mean a lively exchange of ideas.
Ok, here’s an idea exchange. How about… we stop excusing people who are abusing the system, but at the same time we pull our heads out of our derrieres, and stop thinking that just because someone is against an abuse of the system, that does not mean that they hate poor people, think themselves better, or are against charity of any sort? As I said in my initial comment (and it’s funny you’re the one who responded to it…throw a rock into a pack of dogs, and the one who yelps is the one who got hit) simply being poor, in and of itself, does not absolve someone from any and all possible blame or criticism. The person being referenced in this hypothetical is someone who sits at home, does nothing to better their own situation, and takes advantage of systems that were put into place for people who genuinely need help to make it through hard times…. …to make it through hard times. This person is abusing that system, and in effect they are robbing resources from people who genuinely do need those resources, and you want to excuse that simply because you’re the benevolent, love the poor type? Hate to break it to you, but loving someone sometimes means walking away from them. (This is why we have church discipline, up to and including someone being cast out of the assembly… but I bet you’d never endorse such a thing, right?)
By the way, how much do you spend on a monthly basis in charitable donations, and helping those less fortunate? Don’t answer, I don’t really want to know because it’s not about boasting. The point is, I don’t know what you do, and you don’t know what I do. So if I agree to stop the cussing, then you agree to stop it too. Can’t spell assuming without a little ass.
Er… I believe you are definitely over-generalizing here. Not every person on welfare is a jobless, worthless, completely dependent leach as you are presuming. Think of the single mom working two jobs to provide for her family. What if this same mom wanted to go to college to make a better life for her child, trying to break the cycle of the welfare generation line that unfortunately runs in her family. She’s on welfare. Is she pathetic? Is she is less of a person than you? Is she that much less deserving of a vacation?
@IntoTheWind1 - Argument by intimidation? If in the future I refuse to respond to you, dont’ take it as a sign of weakness, as I am simply refusing to acknowledge your insults as a sign of strength. You have anger management problems dude. Seriously. Seek help.
@Shadowrunner81 - How, exactly, did I intimidate you? Was it by responding to each and every point you made, was it by giving scriptural support for my position that was clear-cut and concise, or was it the fact that I didn’t back down, and simply let you chastise me as though you’re the noble one in the debate, and I’m merely a miscreant, but instead gave you back what you gave me?
How did I intimidate you?
As for being concerned with whether or not you respond to me in the future, remember that you came to me about my comment, I didn’t come to you. It won’t bother me a bit dude. Not a bit.
@IntoTheWind1 - you make your living off of other people’s money…so I guesss you can’t buy anything nice either.
We all make our livings off of other people’s money don’t fool yourself. And you are also educated at the expense of others…that is if you are in fact educated.
@Tallman - The point of note there being the difference between “make” and “receive.” Thanks.
@jbird_7 - I agree. And that was a well written answer.
@IntoTheWind1 - How do you know that these people didn’t “make” anything before hard times came their way? I know a lot of people on welfare most of them are white and are good people. Yoiu sound awfully judgemental to me….and like the Bible says “Judge not lest Thou be judged.” Good night.
@Tallman - Well, that would be covered by my using the word “If” in my comment that you responded to. As in, IF I’m paying for it, then it would be because they hadn’t made that money before-hand.
Isn’t every day a vacation if you’re not working?
@IntoTheWind1 - You are not the only in paying into welfare…Everybody with the of exception General Electric (I hear they don’t pay any tax and you don’t seem to be too upset about that) and a lot of other companies and a lot of other large companies is payinf into the system…all of my friends worked most of my friends and spnt years paying into the system. Most of them didn’t “lose” their jobs…their jobs left them….And since billionaires get financial help from the government when they don’t even need it…Why can’t my friends receive help since they do need it and paid into the welfare system their whole frigging lives. And probably have been working since before you were even born.
@Tallman - sigh*
First, the G.E. thing.. At what point in this conversation (that had nothing to do with G.E.) was I supposed to opine on how I felt about them? Further, since they’ve not come up until you brought them up, what basis do you have to comment on my (unprovided) reaction to that situation?
What you’ve just done is obfuscate the issue with an irrelevant, and meritless claim. Do you realize how little credibility that leaves you with?
As for not being the olly one to pay into it, that means nothing. A straw man. If I don’t pay in, THEN I shouldn’t have a say, but if I put as much as a cent in the federal tax coffers then I have a say as well.
Lastly, you’re still missing the main point: if you collect gov’t.benefits but do nothing to find your way out of needing those methods of assistance, you are abusing the system. If you aren’t abusing the system, then my comments don’t freaking apply to you. Is this really that difficult to understand?
@IntoTheWind1 - Cut taxes on businesses? Absolutely. Liberals tend to think that not supporting taxation means that you are a heartless bastard who wants little babies to freeze to death in the street, but in reality, not supporting excess taxation means you do not believe in funding government programs that clearly aren’t working.
I lived nine years of my life in Eastern KY, and you can rarely get gas without some drunk coming up to you asking to trade his welfare gas card for beer. There are a lot of problems with the system. I don’t mean to imply that the poor aren’t responsible or capable of changing their situation, only that it is unfair for others to say that everyone who is poor is lazy, or that they can always fix their situation right away but just don’t want to.
That being said, I don’t think the solution is welfare. For me it is people coming together and asking WHY there aren’t jobs, helping one another, and finding a way to fix it. Essentially, I wish people would realize that human decency and compassion are not something that can be outsourced to the government. There are too many homes for so many to be homeless, especially so many veterans. The greater flaw is not with the welfare, but with the society that has grown so cold to its fellow man that wasteful federal programs must pick up the slack.
@autumn_cannibal76 - there isn’t a single bit of that response I disagree with.
Why is that person unemployed? Is it because of laziness? In that case then no, he/she doesn’t deserve any vacation. He/she is literally vacating every day.
Otherwise, then yes, people can go for a drive once in a while.
@Such_are_you - The problem is that most people don’t realize when people on welfare don’t spend the money they earn on what they need (ie food) so they can spend their money on what they want (ie vacations or other entertainment) you ARE PAYING for their vacations.
A person on welfare should spend every waking moment looking for a job!
I guess I don’t understand how this would be possible. Food stamps are used for food, right? How would they pay for hotels or camping? Transportation to their vacation locale? Sightseeing, etc? I just don’t understand how they could.
I’m guessing this hypothetical is for the purpose of talking trash about a certain person, and by extension anyone receiving some kind of food aid. Classy.
Not all people who are on welfare even think of going on vacation. Most really do need those checks and food stamps to make ends meet. I’ve been on welfare for over 5 years now and have given up on vacations entirely. My “vacations” consist of a water hose and an 10 year old pop-up swimming pool during the hot days of summer.
@Rob_of_the_Sky - haha! I’m always a step ahead.
@Mizuyuri - Yeah, I know, but like the virgin who says “no” on prom night I need to say it so everyone knows I’m an unwilling victim of the evil welfare molesters. The truth is I am blessed, I have never had to use any kind of assistance. I would hate to be a slave of the state.
My problem is that I cannot imagine anyone wanting everyone else to pay for their medical care. I mean, those who say they don’t want to pay for others’ medical care simply mean they don’t want to pay for their own. Most of the time these people are pro-health insurance, and don’t seem to notice the CEO salaries they are paying for. They are too busy misdirecting their “issues” on the weakest and poorest of people. Note that health insurance, if done as it was originally intended, pools all the money to pay for *whomever’s* health care amongst the insured.
But back to your question – what is the vacation a vacation from? Job hunting? Just curious. I’d say that anyone who gets an income legally can go on a vacation, whatever that is. I don’t resent people on the basis of their receipt of welfare money. My husband gets a vacation anually, meaning paid earned hours while not working for 5 days. It used to be he could take the money and still work, thus increasing our income. And that is what he did until the employer quit giving that option. His last vacation was taken so that he could watch the football draft on TV in our living room. Vacation to us means not going to work. We can actually live life and stay home and enjoy it, without necessarily having to go somewhere.
No, obviously.
@autumn_cannibal76 - well written.You are a lot better at articulating your ideas than I am.
@eddydamas - Sometimes those are best types of vacations. Hang in there and you are in my prayers. Good night.
Should a person on welfare go on vacation?
Depends on what the “vacation” is, and who’s paying for it. You can have a “vacation” that is close to being free if someone else pays for it. I am not on public assistance, or poor, but I could have had an essentially low-cost vacation (for the price of a tank of gas in a fuel-efficient car) with everything else paid-for by helping someone move—my friend offered to pay for my meals, our joint transportation, and we stayed at his new place. As it was, because I am richer than he is I declined and tried to pay for some of his expenses instead.
This is similar to people complaining about people receiving public assistance having color TVs or computers. Often these were purchased before they got in financial distress, or they were given to them by others for no or low cost. Having a color TV or a computer is not a sign of great wealth; in fact it’s not a sign of even adequate wealth or income. Same with “vacations”.
Now imagine that person wants everyone else to pay for her/his medical care.
One, health care should be a considered a human right, as it is a largely involuntary purchase. People don’t consume health care for the fun of it, in fact, one of the problems associated with health care is that even when provided free (like colonoscopies or teeth cleaning) it’s difficult to get people to do it, because of the unpleasantness/bother with the whole mess.
Two, health care expenses can easily balloon to be greater than the value of one’s home, and most of us don’t go on vacations and spend anywhere close to that.
-netnguy
I actually knew a family who did that… :/ I don’t associate with them anymore. I mean, if you can’t “afford” your adult responsibilities such as living expenses, you shouldn’t get to go on vacation when I certainly can’t go on vacation and I work my butt off year-round.
Vacation!? No, the unemployed and debtors should be thrown into prison and forced to labor for the good of society. Not a single day’s respite until they have paid off their debts or found a meaningful job.
(Sarcasm off)
If you can’t afford to pay for your own costs of living, you certainly can’t afford a vacation.