Welfare pays more than Minimum Wage

[SLP]

Remember years ago when we had poor farms? I think revisiting something along those lines for able bodied people might be worth looking at. If you need housing and a monthly income from the government why not require they live and work on a complex that can service many peoples needs? A community where the able bodies mow the lawns, run the trash pick up, grow healthy food in community gardens etc. in exchange for the rents, or partial rents.

At the very least, even if the a designated community living is not workable, they should be required to work. If you are able bodied and need assistance, you should be required to work in your local community. Anything from cross walk guards, cleaning parks, school aids, cafeteria and janitorial help to road construction, mowing laws, etc, all depending on the persons abilities. At the bare minimum, if there is an elderly person who needs assistance, why not require an able bodied person on assistance mow their lawn each week? Just at least something to hold them more accountable.

Why is the food stamps system so broad that it can be so easily abused? Why not have local kitchens set up manned by people on government assistance that provide three healthy square meals a day for those people that need it? Then cut the food stamp money handed out by 3/4 which would still leave some money for them to buy small amounts of additional needed items for the home each month?

I am just thinking off the top of my head and don't claim to have the answers. I don't support taking away money from those that are genuinely in need of it, but how best to stop the abuse and fraud that comes along with it? IMO there needs to be at least some minimum personal accountability built into it. That alone would shake out some of the people who sign up with the sole intention of doing nothing but milking the system. If you put some hurdles in front of all the able bodied people seeking assistance you would at least lower some of the fraud, get some work in return, and maybe more important than all allow people the self respect of working in return for the assistance they receive. IMO that shouldn't be discounted because I believe that in the long run people will feel better about themselves and more quickly get back on their feet if they are working in return for money instead of doing nothing and still receiving it.

[fishin350]

Sounds a lot better than what happens now.

[Olgrey]

I agree that something needs to be done but I do not have all the answers. You cannot put just anyone in an environment that has school kids or handicapped persons in it. It has to be someone that can pass a background check. Many of the people on public assistance, are thieves, dopers, and worse so that takes away several of the options in giving them jobs. That being said, those types of people do need to perform some type of service to repay society for what they take from it. They would not like it but if they are physically able put them to work digging ditches for sewer and water lines, building playground equipment in new parks, cleaning public bathrooms, doing menial labor around sewer plants, picking through garbage and recycling, building sidewalks, painting public buildings, fighting forest fires, and make their participation in any assistance program conditional upon their working at these jobs. They need to realize that there are no free rides, someone has to pay.

[kygorski]

Soke of those jobs you mentioned are in fact a livlyhood for the people who depend on them for income. What happens to them? Our whole system of economics is based on consumerism. Take away the free food, do we need as many farmers? That poor schmuck on the bottom of the food chain has importance to the guy at the top of the pyramid.When were born we consume services, when we die we consume services.To consume you need to acquire, Techknology is out pacing reason.We cant go back in time, and it wont stay still, what a delema for a lot of us.