Poll: Welfare .. aka "The Dole"

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2003-07-08 11:40pm

Now, I'm not sure how this works in other countries, but here in America, if you can prove you are living below proverty level, you are eligible for some kind of welfare aid, whether it's money handout for a certain amount of time, or food stamps.

The questions are simple. If you qualified for it, would you take it?

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2003-07-08 11:43pm

Can, do.

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-07-08 11:49pm

Can't, Would.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-07-08 11:49pm

Depends on how I was managing. I'd take the food stamps, but if I was doing okay moneywise I wouldn't take the cash. I would if I were living in a cardboard box.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-07-08 11:58pm

I would take unemployment insurance but no welfare. I have some money set aside for this sort of thing.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2003-07-09 01:01am

If, heaven forbid(padon the theistic expression) I was poor enough to need it(like say, I just gt out of college, and have not found a job yet, with a BA in Biology

). I would take the money, but only until I was on my feet.

Post by **weemadando** » 2003-07-09 01:37am

Well, I'm unemployed and on the dole at the moment (well, I will be once my forms get processed).

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-07-09 01:40am

LadyTevar wrote:Now, I'm not sure how this works in other countries, but here in America, if you can prove you are living below proverty level, you are eligible for some kind of welfare aid, whether it's money handout for a certain amount of time, or food stamps.

The questions are simple. If you qualified for it, would you take it?

I am a libertarian, and opposing such government programmes, the least I can do is avoid hypocrisy by not accepting them, regardless of circumstance.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-07-09 04:29am

Politically I'm the complete opposite (well almost) of the Duchess - I support welfare for those who need it.

I pay my taxes when I work. When I can't find work, I don't see why I can't benefit.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-07-09 04:34am

innerbrat wrote:Politically I'm the complete opposite (well almost) of the Duchess - I support welfare for those who need it.

I pay my taxes when I work. When I can't find work, I don't see why I can't benefit.

Charity for the poor, lead for the tax collector!

(You just don't have the same tradition we do... *grins*)

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-07-09 05:20am

Considering that this last winter my hours dropped below the minimum for insurance coverage, and I had to pay the full $780 for my monthly Diabetes "Fix"...

I think you have your answer...

Warspite · Post by **Warspite** » 2003-07-09 05:23am

LadyTevar wrote:Now, I'm not sure how this works in other countries, but here in America, if you can prove you are living below proverty level, you are eligible for some kind of welfare aid, whether it's money handout for a certain amount of time, or food stamps.

The questions are simple. If you qualified for it, would you take it?

It exists here (Portugal), I would.

Warspite · Post by **Warspite** » 2003-07-09 05:26am

The Duchess of Zeon wrote: I am a libertarian, and opposing such government programmes, the least I can do is avoid hypocrisy by not accepting them, regardless of circumstance.

I would like to see when you're counting every last penny, see that you can't make it until the end of the month, and meanwhile your kids need to be fed and clothed.
Yes, it is such an hypocrisy to accept help from the state to survive.

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-07-09 06:51am

Bearing in mind that I am a New Zealander.
I would take the dole, and have done in the past. It does not pay much..enough to survive but survive you do untill you get a job.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-07-09 08:15am

The Duchess of Zeon wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:Now, I'm not sure how this works in other countries, but here in America, if you can prove you are living below proverty level, you are eligible for some kind of welfare aid, whether it's money handout for a certain amount of time, or food stamps.

The questions are simple. If you qualified for it, would you take it?
I am a libertarian, and opposing such government programmes, the least I can do is avoid hypocrisy by not accepting them, regardless of circumstance.

Unemployment insurance is a bit different. It's a service that I would be paying for anyway if the government didn't monopolize it, so I see no hypocrisy in benefitting from it while opposing other welfare programs.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-07-09 08:39am

I have no problems with people on welfare as long its as a safety net and not as their career. If for some reason I needed welfare, I'd take it.

Personally I'd like to see welfare turned into "workfare", where you are required to do basic jobs (like picking trash on the side of the roads). It would help some people get off their lazy a**, who sit at home all day drinking beer (or worse), courtesy of the Canadian welfare program.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2003-07-09 08:46am

innerbrat wrote:Politically I'm the complete opposite (well almost) of the Duchess - I support welfare for those who need it.

I pay my taxes when I work. When I can't find work, I don't see why I can't benefit.

I agree with you 100% on this.

I pay one hell of a tax today, let's just say that I pay more in tax than what the average Swede earns....

So if I find myself in need I sure as hell would like to see some of that cash come back to me.

The Yosemite Bear wrote:Considering that this last winter my hours dropped below the minimum for insurance coverage, and I had to pay the full $780 for my monthly Diabetes "Fix"...

I think you have your answer...

Damn thought life supporting drugs where free in the US. Guess I was wrong.

Anyway that is just plain wrong if you need drugs to stay alive you should not have to pay for them.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2003-07-09 08:48am

Zoink wrote:I have no problems with people on welfare as long its as a safety net and not as their career. If for some reason I needed welfare, I'd take it.

Personally I'd like to see welfare turned into "workfare", where you are required to do basic jobs (like picking trash on the side of the roads). It would help some people get off their lazy a**, who sit at home all day drinking beer (or worse), courtesy of the Canadian welfare program.

And how would they get a new job if the are on your "workfare" all the time?

Do they get time off to hunt for new jobs, go to interviews(sp?) and stuff like that?

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-07-09 08:55am

Faram wrote: And how would they get a new job if the are on your "workfare" all the time?

Do they get time off to hunt for new jobs, go to interviews(sp?) and stuff like that?

Yes. Workfare, where it exists, isn't a 8 hours/day, 5 days/week week job. Its usually few hours per day, a couple of times per week. Basically breaks the cycle of sitting at home doing nothing (That doesn't get a job either).

Workfare also doesn't stop people from joining a job retraining program. Its for the people who have opted not to join one of these programs.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-07-09 09:48am

Well, without actually having to retype my anecdote about my father losing his job at Westinghouse when I was little and welfare and foodstamps and free school lunches saving our asses from becoming homeless, I'd say yes. I do support welfare for those who truly need it. And yes, my family did have some money set aside for such problems, but two young children are expensive and drain savings accounts rather quickly.

It pisses me off though, that some people seem to think that welfare only supports people who are lazy and don't want to work and don't know how to manage their money properly and all that. I can personally attest that those people exist, but there are also a great deal of people who genuinely need a bit of extra support until they can quickly and discretely get back on their feet, and generally do (we managed). And I've yet to see anyone propose a system to replace welfare that doesn't involve causing more problems than it fixed (hey, Marina, tell us again about your brilliant idea for mass deporting all inner city poor people to the midwest as effectively indentured servants on the threat of starvation and homelessness?)

Crazy_Vasey · Post by **Crazy_Vasey** » 2003-07-09 11:35am

The Government's gonna be quite content to take its' share of my pay cheque, so I might as well get sommat back if I ever need it.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-07-09 12:03pm

I suppose it would depend on how desparate my situation got.

I qualified for unemployment when I left the Navy but I chose not to apply for it because it had been my choice to leave the service. Now, if I lost my current job for some reasons and wasn't able to get another fairly soon I would apply for unemployment benefits.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-07-09 12:17pm

If I was qualified for it, chances are I could use it.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-07-09 01:13pm

Gil Hamilton wrote: It pisses me off though, that some people seem to think that welfare only supports people who are lazy and don't want to work and don't know how to manage their money properly and all that.

I'm all for welfare for those in need too (my own parents were on welfare for a little while during the 80s recession). When I say "lazy ass" I'm referring to the problem cases, for example, my parent's neighbour. He's a decent automechanic, with experience in body work and such.... yet his career is to sit at home and drink beer and smoke pot. He's been on welfare for at least 6 years (I haven't asked him for details). I just wish there was a mechanism that would encourage this guy to get off his ass.

I know that Ontario tried to introduce workfare a while ago, I'm not sure where they went with that. It was a few hours a week doing basic community work, and there was a public outcry from welfare recipients that you couldn't make them work for their money (the humanity!). I think they're proposing a new system where you don't get full benefits unless you participate in their work programs, or something along those lines.

Personally, I'd want to join such a program. For your job interviews you get to actually say something positive "Well, I've been doing community work, cutting the grass and such" rather than "I've been on welfare".

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-07-09 01:26pm

In Portugal, they strongly encourage the people receiving welfare to do something to improve their situation, like going to classes and by providing them money loans (which the banks are relutant to provide) to build small bussinesses.

If the person doesn't cooperate, he can lose the welfare.

I'd take it, obviously, not to rest on it but as a means of starting a new life.

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Poll: Welfare .. aka "The Dole"

If you qualified for Welfare or other Programs, would you take it?

Poll: Welfare .. aka "The Dole"

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Re: Poll: Welfare .. aka "The Dole"