All the disabled people I know and have met all wish we could work. My husband’s eczema is so bad that we’re probably going to have to go deeper into debt to move him to a state where he can live comfortably and not have to go on disability. It’s still not clear that that will work though.

I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and will probably never earn full-time pay. I certainly won’t be able to work a 40 hour week. The only work I can do is when I can set my own hours, preferably from home. Beyond that, my energy varies too much day to day.

And for all of you who think it’s a “free ride”?
I get $881 a month from the government as a disabled person. In a city where most apartments cost $700. I get Medicare, but it doesn’t cover all my drugs. One is about $300 every three months.

On welfare, a single person can get maybe $500 or so a month. In food stamps? Maybe $100.

It’s not an easy life. You fill out a lot of forms, you go through tons of needless bureaucracy and you never get quite enough to make ends meet. But the government insists it’s plenty.

Oh, and it’s ridiculously hard to qualify. For two people, you can only earn $1750 to get even the smallest amount of food stamps or medical help.

It’s a hard, humiliating experience. That’s not to say there aren’t abusers of the system, but most of us wouldn’t be on it if we had the choice.

Kim, I don’t buy name brand items either. But many times choices are limited at stores in poor areas. They get what’s available.

NogginBank, what happens if you needed disability one day? Is that redistribution of wealth? Or your spouse died and your kids started collecting SSI? Redistribution of wealth? Yes. Necessary? Yes.

Cat I agree. What are you supposed to do I guess if the relationship you thought was great, turns out not? A friend of mine is a single mom because her husband cheated while serving abroad. She refused to reconcile. But well she has a baby.

Meg I agree about there are those truly in need and those not.

Angie many people I’ve seen where I come from are on welfare and they don’t wed. Mostly because they got pregnant because of being careless. They really don’t even like the person. Sigh. So getting married isn’t the answer either.

Bogart, medicare is old folks insurance and medicaid is for income levels and I believe people on disability and death.

Thanks grace.

Amy that’s it. It does come with strings attached and it’s not as easy as it seems.

I used to work at a local state university branch. Most of the clerical workers were single moms and despite working full time their salary was so low most of them were on welfare as well. Getting to know them and sharing details of our respective lives — theirs were no picnic.

Yeah, welfare is “free” but, then again, it’s kind of not. The autonomy thing, you know?

I don’t mean to speak badly of those who need welfare, food stamps, heating assistance, food banks or the like. Not at all. I’ve been poor. And it sucks whether it’s free or not.

Just to highlight a few biggies —
We get the child tax credit, though not all of it (earn too much to qualify); we got $750 back last year.

Pre-tax withholding on retirement savings, medical costs, and child care will save us around $5,500 in taxes this year.

Our mortgage interest deduction saves us about $2,400 in taxes yearly.

One might, I suppose, respond that we are just being allowed to keep our own money, but the fact is, having a government costs money. Having a military costs money. Having roads costs money. You can like or dislike the particulars about how our taxes get allocated, but I for one think that some level of taxation is necessary, and in terms of the rules of our system, that a household with earnings as high as ours are gets welfare of (just to add the numbers above — ignoring other smaller things) $8,650 / year strikes me as pretty regressive.

I’ve seen my mom help a lot of people, family and strangers both. And yes, sometimes I do think that she overextends herself. But if she helps out one of my siblings, do I feel entitled to ask for a gift of equal value to “be fair” — receiving which would mean that she couldn’t help my sibling in need as much? No, of course not! I’d rather her be able them now when they need her. And I know she’d be there for me if things ever got really bad and there was anything at all she could do. But I hope it never comes to that.

I feel similarly when it comes to the government. I want those who NEED the help to be helped. Not everyone has another support system like I do who would at least see that they had a place to stay and food to eat. I don’t want to see people suffer whether man, woman, or child — but perhaps especially the many, many single moms and their kids who tend to make up the bulk of such programs. And I don’t want to see such programs be scrapped because too many people get greedy.

And no, I don’t think welfare is a perfect system. From what I gather from friends, it is not fun at all. And I don’t think it should be. It’s not about fun.

However, I think we have to do more to help people get off of welfare and other government programs when they can (and, sadly, I’m not sure all people can support themselves). I’ve seen a friend get a second job, knowing it meant more time away from her young daughter, and then find out that whatever she made she lost from the government and then some. And when a friend of the family saved up his entire life to buy just a small plot of land and build his family a small house so that he wouldn’t have to pay rent, the government took away the benefits that his family still needed to survive. He was forced to sell the land to a neighbor, who was at least kind enough to accept it in name only and allow him to continue living there. So, that is why I think there is something wrong with system.

how about schools? that wealth redistribution. lots of people don’t have children and their taxes go to the schools? what about the roads i don’t drive on – should I not have to pay for those?

i think a better solution would be to put in place more programs to help people on welfare succeed in getting off of it.

the majority of people on welfare statistically speaking are the working poor.

There is no ‘fat check’ forever and ever anymore. it’s TCA or temporary cash assistance. and you get it for 5 years lifetime. I qualified for it. You know how much that fat check was for, for my daughter and i? $375.00 a month.

There are other separate forms of assistance such as food stamps and public housing that don’t expire – but again doesn’t get you far.

@ Meg – unemployment isn’t a social service. when you work you and your employer pay for unempolyment insurance. those who collect it worked for it and paid for it.