[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Yes, it is. However, just how do you do that? We all know (although some are too far left to admit it) that direct payments to the parent(s) tend to go to alcohol, lotto, cigarettes and drugs. Massive amounts of money are spent to help the kids , but it never reaches them.
I don't know the solution, but I think a big step would be to ditch these EBT cards and go back to food stamps, in fact stamps for everything, no cash at all. The landlord gets paid directly, there are stamps only good for school supplies and school lunches, stamps for bus transportation, perhaps a direct payment to an ISP and cell (local use only) provider. Make welfare much less tolerable, a subsistence living like it was in the thirties when people would do ANYTHING to "get off the dole". We have made these handouts a lifestyle that millions are enjoying at the expense of others.
Then, make getting a job, job training, or more education a condition of welfare payments. Provide daycare, preferable by grouping moms into a unit that rotates taking care of the kids with the above self "improvement" categories
Lastly, since you can't stop the recipients from trying to sell their stamps for cash (to get beer, cigarettes and lotto tickets), make it a class B felony to BUY these stamps (punishable by 10-25 in state prison).
At least it would be a start.

How about we start with Universal Health Care like ALL the other 1st world countries. Then, add more IRS agents to stop all the rich tax cheats in America. Then we pay a minimum wage of $20 to get Americans back to work. Then, we change the tax policy that has made the US have the greatest wealth disparity in the free world. then, we eliminate the liability protection for Police Officers. Then, we start back a DRAFT so that 25% of our military are NOT volunteers and thus susceptible to overthrowing the government. Then we increase the supreme court to 11 justices and give them ONLY one 6 year term. Then we make Senators have one 5 year term and Congresspeople have one 3 year term. Then we stop whatever(?) crazy s*it is going on in Arizona and potentially other states. After doing ALL that, come back to me - I have MANY more GOOD ideas.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Straight out of the far left play book since 1932, page 1

The US now has the greatest wealth gap in the free world. We did not have that problem in the 50s through 1975 because the tax system spread the wealth around. Also, unions were strong back then - they are completely crushed by ugly, wealthy people today! The rich have their thumb on the poor today and the system is designed to keep them this way. Fact.......the US has much less "upward mobility" than EVEN England. They are 11th we are 30th.....SAD! Check me out on world lists!!!!!!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Astron

That is a sweeping statement that I would love to see you support with actual evidence, you know proof that would stand up in court. It must be scary and depressing to live in a world where everyone is out to rip you off, neglect their families and never do honest work unless forced. Most of the poor I have known were hard working, honest and loving people. Not being equipped to be financially successful in life does not make you a bad person. Not caring about anyone but yourself does, in my opinion.
People complain when their favorite eatery limits service because they can’t get help for minimum wage or less. But the same people seem to be unwilling to support the people at the bottom of the economic ladder that have to do the best to support their families.
Come on. We are all in this together, and no one is getting out of this alive. We need the woman scrubbing dishes in the restaurant kitchen or mowing the grass as much as the Doctors or entrepreneurs if the system is going to work. Try to make the system work for everyone.

WOW. Someone with a heart! Amazing. A GREAT post. With the GNP of the US, it would be easy for the poor to be equivalent to the average today in terms of wealth - if only the tax structure was NOT set up in around 1975 to benefit ONLY the ALREADY wealthy. Wall Steet is WRONG - GREED is NOT good!!!!! Look at how screwed up we are today - we are staring into an abyss of DICTATORSHIP!!!! Dictators like a large wealth gap - ask the David Koch , Ruphard Murdouch, and Steve Wynn and other creeps.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Billy1

I did see some loving Christian concern in these replies, increase your tipping so workers can afford child care and the government won't have to cover your tips.

TIPs make workers GROVEL to the rich. Always was a terrible system. Set up by the system manipulators!

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

The US now has the greatest wealth gap in the free world. We did not have that problem in the 50s through 1975 because the tax system spread the wealth around. Also, unions were strong back then - they are completely crushed by ugly, wealthy people today! The rich have their thumb on the poor today and the system is designed to keep them this way. Fact.......the US has much less "upward mobility" than EVEN England.They are 11th we are 30th.....SAD! Check me out on world lists!!!!!!

So many of those dreadful socialist countries leading the way.
Where did they all go wrong!!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Or maybe they would just be replaced by a machine

As it IS, THAT is inevitable (likely in about 10 years). A.I. and robotics are predicted to increase unemployment to 30%. But GNP will be up. Future workers may work 2 days/week. people may retire at age 50 and have 1/2 of their life devoted to golf, sports, fishing, boating, and other leisure activities. Of course, a World War or persistent Pandemics could change that prediction.

[milling73]

Kenoc:
The problem with idealistic thinking is it doesnt come true. Wasnt food stamps, school lunch programs, public aid etc etc etc..supposed to stop child hunger??
In the real world of reality - very little, if any, of that money will go towards solving child hunger. It is however a great incentive to produce more neglected children.

[Holpat39]

And why: We never got money thrown at us or our children in our younger years. We worked and earned every penny and then forced to pay into Social Security which is always saying they will run out of money. Well, stop sending money to foreign countries that hate us and supporting all the illegals then maybe our Social Security won't run out of money.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

While I have a visceral reaction against giving away money like this, and while I am skeptical of this “child hunger” argument (given that I’ve seen plenty of overweight poor children, but I’ve NEVER seen a kid on the sidewalk in this country starving to death), there are a lot of people in this country who my Uncle Johnny used to call “pitiful poor.” (He grew up poor in southern Virginia without running water or a toilet, so “pitiful poor” was below that.) That sort of poverty doesn’t mean you can’t be happy or smile or laugh, but it grinds you down, and it hurts to not be able to buy anything or afford a little birthday present for your child.

The fact is, while plenty of this money will be used to by drugs, liquor, etc., nearly all of it will be used to BUY THINGS. When poor people who haven’t had enough money to buy things get a lot more, they buy a lot more. They spend it all. That means more things have to be made or cooked or whatever, and that means people have to be hired to make all this. Essentially, we the people are giving money to poor people so they will help grow the economy by consuming more. It sort of balances out, though it’s perhaps not a very efficient way of doing things.

One interesting point is that if the minimum wage were double what it is now, all those people earning minimum wages would have a lot more to spend without it having to come from the government. This would incentivise people to take jobs and work, and they might actually be paying taxes instead of receiving much more back as “refunds” than they ever pay in federal income tax. Business owners would have to charge more to cover the extra cost of the wages, yes, but that’s how it works. You and I would have to pay a little more to buy things. Maybe that pizza would cost a dollar more! But would you rather support people through fair wages or through government handouts? Also, if businesses were required to provide health insurance to workers, then yes, prices would go up, but the need for Medicaid would go down a lot. As it is, American taxpayers are subsidising all these businesses that pay so little that full-time workers still qualify for Medicaid, free lunches in school, big tax rebates, etc.

This is EXACTLY how capitalism is supposed to work. Sad that all these so-called anti-socialists completely miss the concept. They're too busy counting the change in their IRAs and 401ks and other investments, that they forget that the point of money is to spend it.

Your post is why I am a capitalist. I promote, encourage, and support the idea that the more people have, the more they spend, and the more they spend, the more companies need to provide. And the more they provide, the more people they need to hire. And the more people they need to hire, the more valuable those workers are. The more valuable they are, the more they earn. The more they earn, the more they spend.

And around and around it goes. That is capitalism, doing what it's supposed to do.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by petsetc

The Florida Department of Corrections employs about 24,000 people and has an annual budget of more than $2 billion — less than 1% of the overall state budget. It costs the state about $22,000 a year for each inmate in custody.

Source: What you need to know about Florida's prisons - Florida Trend | Feature

That's why money should NEVER be denied to primary school and early child development. Better schools make better citizens and reduce the cost of incarceration.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by meridian5850

So you want us to be communist China now???

The USA birthrate is already below the replacement rate of those dying.

Like I said.....get the population DOWN to 275 Million!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Larchap49

If it works properly???? When has any program run by the government worked properly? It will be mismanaged, the undeserving will get a large portion of the money and crooked politians will get most of the rest. Just the way it is. Oh and it will never go away just get bigger as more crooks figure out how to get their share.

The V.A. works fine. Social Security works fine. Our National Defense is pretty good. The national parks system is pretty good.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Exactly. Bank of America decided to pay their employees $25 / hour and now they have zero problem attracting GOOD employees. That tells me that the minimum wage should be between $20 and $25 in today's era of HIGH GNP and massive computer power.

Enjoy your $20 hamburger

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Exactly. Bank of America decided to pay their employees $25 / hour and now they have zero problem attracting GOOD employees. That tells me that the minimum wage should be between $20 and $25 in today's era of HIGH GNP and massive computer power.

You are retired, right? The thinking behind that analysis is truly frightening.

If the Govt. had chosen to continue to pay $600/week then would you now be advocating a $30/hour minimum wage?

And as others have pointed out, enjoy that $20 burger.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

This is EXACTLY how capitalism is supposed to work. Sad that all these so-called anti-socialists completely miss the concept. They're too busy counting the change in their IRAs and 401ks and other investments, that they forget that the point of money is to spend it.

Your post is why I am a capitalist. I promote, encourage, and support the idea that the more people have, the more they spend, and the more they spend, the more companies need to provide. And the more they provide, the more people they need to hire. And the more people they need to hire, the more valuable those workers are. The more valuable they are, the more they earn. The more they earn, the more they spend.

And around and around it goes. That is capitalism, doing what it's supposed to do.

You’d count the change in your IRA too if you had any thoughts of having enough money to stay solvent during retirement the way things are going. I get a kick out of people slamming those who saved for retirement. Now it’s a dirty word to have an IRA.

I’m advising our kids not to save anymore for retirement age. The new philosophy is to take the savers money and hand it out to the people who didn’t bother. It’s not worth skimping anymore.