Re: OT: New Orleans (VERY long!)

This has gone on too long. Tia Mary, you are choosing to ignore the fact that FEMA and the local authorities wanted everyone to stay in the shelters until the government was able to remove them. It was all done on FEMA's terms. Once a body walked in the door, he/she no longer had a choice. FEMA and local authorities also blocked the one sound bridge to keep people from leaving until the situation became so dire that they reluctantly had to let people go. This was all done in the name of "their own good" but the fact remains that these people didn't "voluntarily" stay in squalor. Didn't it ever occur to you that the reason the people were becoming mutinous (or despondent) in the shelters was because all choice was taken away from them and they were being neglected by the people who had all the power?

An education does not guarantee a job that pays a living wage. BTDT. In fact, it can be a detriment since too many employers will say you are overqualified for any openings they might have. Overqualified doesn't feed the kids.

BTW, many "burger-flippers" make more than minimum wage. Jobs where the employees are expected to get tips and retail usually pay lower than the burger chains. The bigger problem is that, except for management positions, all of these employers hire the bulk of their staff for part-time only to avoid providing benefits. Hence all the people who are trying to juggle a family with three or four part-time jobs and all the kids who are left home alone.

Tia Mary wrote:
Let's face it -- we could both find reams of data to back up our differing viewpoints. Data can be manipulated and we could both prove the other is totally wrong. I am curious about one thing -- have you had any personal experience with folks on welfare that you can draw upon to back up your viewpoint? Having anyone, be it government or family, provide you with any sort of "assistance" for any length of time takes away your sense of self worth. I've personally known people on welfare and after awhile, they start to lose that spark that keeps a person from becoming one of the sheep and potentially a parasite.
All of this rhetoric is wonderful. You can challenge me and I can challenge you but it's still nothing but rhetoric -- and Ivory Tower rhetoric at that. The bottom line is that too many people (regardless of social standing and financial wherewith all) voluntarily spent too long in the dark and the squalor of the evac centers in New Orleans. I'm not talking about any of the other people who might be on welfare in other parts of the country so why even use that as part of your argument? The longer the people stayed in the evac centers, the more like sheep -- or wolves in the case of the thugs & criminals -- they became. Regardless of the information available to them at the time, I still think more of those people would have tried to get out if they hadn't been made to feel powerless by the system and dependent on that same system to take care of them. I don't have any idea how many of those people are on welfare but it's the welfare mentality that makes them sheep.
Webster's has this to say -- Parasite: a person who lives at the expense of another or others without making any useful contribution or return; Sheep: a person who is meek, stupid, timid, defenseless, etc. There are many people on Welfare who are good and decent but if they are on "the government dole" without making a contribution to society in some form then they are, by definition, parasites. That doesn't mean they stay parasites tho'.
Actually, if you HAVE the data, I *would* like to know how many people who receive welfare actually manage to make it back into the mainstream of the working class. I would like to think that the majority of the people on the welfare roles are just there temporarily. Unfortunately, I don't think that is the case. As you say, how can an unskilled person with kids make a living and put the kids in day care while s/he flips burgers for minimum wage. Obvious answer is to NOT get yourself in that position. Get an education that allows you to do something other than flip burgers for minimum wage. Don't have kids until you can actually afford to pay for daycare and then don't have more kids than you can care for. Learn the difference between rights and privileges -- probably the single most difficult thing for people in our society today! 

--
Brenda
NEW to Styx, classic to the world:  Big Bang Theory
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: New Orleans (VERY long!)
    ... I've personally known people on welfare and after awhile, they start to lose that spark that keeps a person from becoming one of the sheep and potentially a parasite. ... how can an unskilled person with kids make a living and put the kids in day care while s/he flips burgers for minimum wage. ...
    (rec.crafts.textiles.needlework)
  • Re: OT: bb, do you even KNOW what a "Neo-Con" is?
    ... NOT expecting the government to pay ... there is no such thing as 100% employment. ... The BIGGEST problem is the Welfare system, and here I WILL sound Racist, ... > to have bullets flying through their kids' windows (and often, ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: Welfare babies,
    ... Not everyone on welfare goes on it when their ... You must know very little about the foster care system, ... on with their lives. ... families" should most definitely have their kids removed. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Welfare babies,
    ... Not everyone on welfare goes on it when their child ... You must know very little about the foster care system, ... I would rather see foster parents receive the government benefits ... most definitely have their kids removed. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Welfare babies,
    ... Not everyone on welfare goes on it when their child is ... often find other employment and get on with their lives. ... welfare is an expected way of life do not deserve the benefits. ... families" should most definitely have their kids removed. ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
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