Who benefits from government social programs

If my local city government gets federal matching funds to pave the street in front of my home, am I benefiting from a federal welfare program?

 

A lot of people never receive as much as they put in throughout their lives. Especially if you figure what the growth of their investment should have been.

And guess who NEVER pays into that program?

 

Not in my mind its not. If you qualify, its because you are working and paying taxes.

 

The article has some points and opens up one's eyes to the gray areas that exist in the welfare state. That being said, there are leaches out there in society, people who take take take and never give anything. They need to be cut off, forever.

 

Survivor benefits can go to people that have never payed in.

While I am sure there are folks that have never payed in I highly doubt that it is any significant number. While it is fun to use "welfare queens" or someone you (anyone) know that has been on welfare and never has worked as examples, they are poor examples because the vast majority of the folks in "social programs" would be classified as the working poor. They work and pay taxes but don't earn enough to be able to stay off of these programs. The vast majority of people on these programs would prefer not to be but it is more fun to use the tiny % of program abusers as the example.

That would be like me using the air force veteran that receives disability payments for acne as an example that all military vets abuse disability benefits.

 

I agree 100% but they are a small percentage of the folks that are using welfare programs.

 

So Bruce, you approve of the current welfare state that exists today?

 

I approve of helping US citizens that may be currently having a difficult time. I believe in helping children whenever they need help. I could go on.

Are the current social programs perfect? Heck no. Can they be better and more efficient? Heck yeah. But as long as we have special interests deciding what our tax money will be spent on and how it will be spent then we are going to have bad programs.

 

Cool Bruce. You have a good heart man, and a balanced thought process.

 

Yeah, there is no place for that here ...

 

The leaches multiply and vote... They are like cattle that run to the trough....

 

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

The problem is, we just keep giving them fish and never teaching them.

In my opinion, there is a huge difference between social welfare programs and tax breaks for people who are contributing to society. You should have to at least pay taxes to get tax breaks. If we keep making excuses for those that don't contribute to society, they will never feel the urgency to contribute. Too many people feel entitled in our society, and if you don't believe that, you are turning a blind eye to the truth.

 

Helping people in need is great in principle, but the current structure of our programs actually penalizes those on it for trying to work their way out of it. Being involved in rental properties and having a father who manages 30+ social security buildings, its amazing all the loopholes you learn of. A HUGE majority of the lower middle/lower class (money wise) have a very good understanding of just how to work the system. How many kids, up to how much money/how many hours you can work without losing the free money, how nice of a house you can qualify for and still get section 8 rent coverage.... It breeds a societal mindset of working around the qualifications to still be able to collect.

I don't claim to be smart enough to know how to fix it....but I don't overlook just how broke the current system is either.


What are your alls opinions on inheritance taxes? Man works his whole life paying taxes on money he saves up. Money already taxed, and when he passes on the government comes in and takes up to 50% of the money AGAIN before his kids get it. Most illogical thing i can think of. Seeing the actual exact dollar amounts of a common working man such as my grandfather on how much he has paid into taxes his whole life vs how much he collected on SS later in life coupled with how his inheritance was scavenged has REALLY made me realize just how heavily taxed the middle class seemingly is.


I'm no economy major, but I often wonder if a simple flat federal sales tax wouldn't work to eliminate all inequalities and loopholes with the current system...imagine the reductions in IRS payrolls alone! lol

 

When I was stationed in Mayprot Florida we heard stories of military personnel using food stamps at the exchange. Of course we all thought people in the Navy didn't use them why would be in the Navy?

Well one young seaman in our department was using food stamps and several people found out shock went through our ranks. Even more shock went through our ranks to find out that night when he hung himself.

Suicide.

So the questions is why do people abuse the system and if an armed service member that put his azz on the line for this country and it's people and not giving a fair shake once returning to the civilian sector and he can't find a job and he's on welfare.

You ask those that abuse the system do they have no damn shame?

I also work with a Purple Heart recipient that was shot twice in Afghanistan as he ran to help other service members in a Humvee that was caught by an IED. Those same people he ran to help also took out the guy that shot him...

And he's on Welfare now and disabled, but he works harder than the average man that's able.


The question is why do people abuse the system. The same way politicians do. That's the real question.

 

Every 1st of the month theres a family of 6 spends about $2000 dollars on Food
Stamps and they load their new Van up and haul away their ill gotten spoils on the tax payers backs...They were at Food Lion like Clock work all 6 with their own baskets.

I have some of it on video, I'm afraid if I download it my butt will get sued.

FAIR TAX!

 

"What are your alls opinions on inheritance taxes? Man works his whole life paying taxes on money he saves up. Money already taxed, and when he passes on the government comes in and takes up to 50% of the money AGAIN before his kids get it. Most illogical thing i can think of. Seeing the actual exact dollar amounts of a common working man such as my grandfather on how much he has paid into taxes his whole life vs how much he collected on SS later in life coupled with how his inheritance was scavenged has REALLY made me realize just how heavily taxed the middle class seemingly is."

Tembry, I concur. It is highly illogical and UnAmerican to tax someone's life savings to that degree. If it were up to me I would make a law forbidding taxing ANY amount of inheritance. That is not the governments to take and should be given to those who it was intended to be disseminated. I cannot for the life of me figure why Americans put up with as much as we do. Many of the laws, like inheritance "tax" are so out of whack with what our founding fathers envisioned we might as well be living on planet Mars.

 

NO TAX! Unless necessary for what is in the constitution... we keep missing the point. There is room for taking care of those in true need in the Constitution. There is no room for dead beats.

 

My thoughts on those that won't work for money I say give em a stick with a nail and make them pick up paper through out there home cities. make them cut bushes and trees down to make new roads an clear highways.

Inheritance tax

why tax something your family left you upon their deaths....

thank the government and Bill Clinton sorry butt for the Death Tax!

 

I have absolutely no problem with a working poor family using welfare benefits of any kind. Also, I don't get any enjoyment or "fun" out of talking about abusers of the system. However, even though the non-working or abusers of the system may be a small percentage, they are definitely a large drain on the system. They are frequently used as examples because they are the part of the system that is "broken". I also think it might shock us all if we were to know the true numbers on how much money is spent on that "small" percentage. Dont paint with too broad of brush Bruce. Just because I (or anyone else) may be critical of the welfare system does not mean that I dont believe it is a viable and necessary program. Safety nets are indeed necessary and arguably a moral obligation. The abuse of the system is what boils my blood. The entitlement mentality is what causes those of us that work hard to get ahead and pay a huge amount in taxes to become jaded. My C corp. is taxed on its profits, and then I get to pay taxes again on those same monies when I take the profits as pay. I just hate to see my taxed and taxed again money be wasted. And, if I take all that money as pay prior to the fiscal year end so as to show no profits ever, I will be acused of being another corporation dodging out on paying my fair share. Cant win.

 

The "fun" comment wasn't really directed at you Fletch but others seem to take glee in blaming them for all of our society's ills.

I would suggest that the drain they place on the system is miniscule compared to our corporate subsidies and foreign aid. Look at Agriculture subsidies, Mining subsidies, Forestry and so on. Heck, the foreign aid we give to just one country could easily feed all the hungry American citizens. I could go on but my point is, we spend tiny fraction of the money we give to special interests and foreigners than we do on Americans in difficult circumstances. Yet, no one ever complains about how that money is spent. When there is talk about cutting government spending you hear about cutting the federal workforce, freezing salaries, cutting social programs that help American citizens but you never hear about cutting foreign aid or ending subsidies that drive our food prices much higher than they should be.