This is the problem with america!

[jstiegs]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08 ... -wage-job/

[jstiegs]

Just realized I posted this in the wrong spot. please move

[Heffay]

They should raise the minimum wage then.

[ex-LT]

They should raise the minimum wage then.

I won't argue with you on that point. However, something needs to be done to cut welfare benefits, too.

The disparity was even higher in nine states in which welfare pays more than the average first-year teacher’s salary and in the six most-generous states, which pay more than the entry-level salary for a computer programmer.

[Heffay]

They should raise the minimum wage then.

I won't argue with you on that point. However, something needs to be done to cut welfare benefits, too.

The disparity was even higher in nine states in which welfare pays more than the average first-year teacher’s salary and in the six most-generous states, which pay more than the entry-level salary for a computer programmer.

What's the career path for a welfare recipient? Lots of opportunity for promotion? Good outlook on their upwards mobility?

[grousemaster]

They should raise the minimum wage then.

I won't argue with you on that point. However, something needs to be done to cut welfare benefits, too.

The disparity was even higher in nine states in which welfare pays more than the average first-year teacher’s salary and in the six most-generous states, which pay more than the entry-level salary for a computer programmer.

What's the career path for a welfare recipient? Lots of opportunity for promotion? Good outlook on their upwards mobility?

Not having to work, and getting paid! Tough to beat that!

[goett047]

[quote="Heffay"]They should raise the minimum wage then.

I won't argue with you on that point. However, something needs to be done to cut welfare benefits, too.

The disparity was even higher in nine states in which welfare pays more than the average first-year teacher’s salary and in the six most-generous states, which pay more than the entry-level salary for a computer programmer.

What's the career path for a welfare recipient? Lots of opportunity for promotion? Good outlook on their upwards mobility?

Not having to work, and getting paid! Tough to beat that![/quote]
Not to mention the extra time for side jobs

[Heffay]

Not having to work, and getting paid! Tough to beat that!

I'm sure they are living the dream! What a fool I've been, working for money. To imagine I could have accomplished the same things in life if I just milked the system! Such an incentive!

I must have sucker written all over my face. How embarrassing!

[grousemaster]

Not having to work, and getting paid! Tough to beat that!

I'm sure they are living the dream! What a fool I've been, working for money. To imagine I could have accomplished the same things in life if I just milked the system! Such an incentive!

I must have sucker written all over my face. How embarrassing!

You could have accomplished trolling the interwebz no matter what path you took.

Anyways,I don't think welfare benefits com with handouts like trust funds and inheritance of estates, you just got lucky there.....

[Heffay]

You could have accomplished trolling the interwebz no matter what path you took.

Anyways,I don't think welfare benefits com with handouts like trust funds and inheritance of estates, you just got lucky there.....

Lucky? Marrying well is a LOT of hard work!

[MrDig]

{Sarcasm}Sure I spend all of my $203.00 dollars per month on the Tribe in Mille Lacs,{Sarcasm}

If you think getting by on welfare is easy street you are sadly mistaken.
And if you want to call me a freeloader because I have medical problems and can't work go right ahead.
More over while you bitch about us freeloaders your federal tax dollars are subsidizing multi Billion Dollar companies like Exxon and Walmart. Yes Good Old all American Walmart is ripping you off by now paying people enough they all qualify for Food Stamps and Medical Assistance because they can only work 29 hours a week not 30 thereby no need for Standard benefits.
So next time you want to bitch about the "Welfare State" read the Book of Matthew Chapter 25 Verses 31-46

[BU1]

If you think getting by on welfare is easy street you are sadly mistaken.
And if you want to call me a freeloader because I have medical problems and can't work go right ahead.

I don't think there are many people that have a problem giving truly needy folks a helping hand. It's the generational welfare that is way out of control. Welfare is not supposed to be a way of life for an otherwise able bodied person.

Flame suit on.

[Heffay]

If you think getting by on welfare is easy street you are sadly mistaken.
And if you want to call me a freeloader because I have medical problems and can't work go right ahead.

I don't think there are many people that have a problem giving truly needy folks a helping hand. It's the generational welfare that is way out of control. Welfare is not supposed to be a way of life for an otherwise able bodied person.

Flame suit on.

Well, that's not what the OP was complaining about. He was saying welfare pays too much.

[LePetomane]

Most welfare recipients only qualify for minimum wage jobs, so the welfare payments along with medical assistance is a huge disincentive to seeking employment.

[Heffay]

According to the study, the author calculates Minnesota's welfare benefits paying out $31,603 per person.

The study says that value is calculated from the following sources:
- TANF (temporary assistance for needy families. Benefits range from $170/month (lol Mississippi) to $923 (Alaska). This value has *decreased* in every state except Maryland since 1995.)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps. $403-$526 per month, except Hawaii and Alaska, which are higher.)
- Medicaid (also known as the finest insurance money can buy.... 3/4ths of medicaid members are low income families, but the elderly use up 64% of the funds. Thanks, old people! Benefit ranges from $16,547 (Alaska) to $4459 (California).)
- Housing Assistance (Section 8 housing)
- Utility assistance (Not much detail here)
- Woman, Infant and Children program (WIC)

The values they used for the study are for a "profile family", which I can't find defined anywhere in the study. Let's assume a family of 4. For Minnesota, all their benefits combined provide a combined value of $31,603 per year. Of course, the profile family gets both his TANF and housing monies, although in Minnesota only 24% of people getting TANF get section 8. So that skews the numbers quite a bit.

Not exactly rolling in the money. It is the equivalent to a $15/hour job. That would probably be a great place to raise the minimum wage to, so that the incentive to get off welfare becomes fairly strong.

Here's an interesting number that is making me scratch my head. He is saying the total money spent per year on anti-poverty programs is $668B at the federal level, and another $284B at the state level. Is he including all the Medicare costs in those numbers, or just the part that is used by low income recipients? Because 86% of the HHS budget goes to Medicare/Medicaid, and 2% goes to TANF. Interesting, eh?

Rank Jurisdiction TANF SNAP Housing Medicaid WIC LIHEAP TEFAP Total
14 Minnesota 6,384 6,247 8,207 9,000 1,041 424 300 31,603

That's for a family that can collect all the benefits, which is less that 24% of all the people who receive benefits in Minnesota.