# Do some progressives love the welfare budget? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 2, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769 "2016-03-02T20:59:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/41 "2016-03-03T00:49:59Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I understand but they should not be on it. It’s dependence. After a while, _some_ of these people will lack the will to work. It’s the fact. Also, both races are on welfare. All two of them!? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/42 "2016-03-03T01:09:56Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > They should be working. Working. Working. Jesus. You really don’t know what you’re talking about, do you? What about the working poor? The majority of SNAP recipients who can work do. ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/43 "2016-03-03T01:37:10Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It could perhaps be solved by taking the poor **out** of those communities – e.g., project housing could be in the form of duplexes scattered throughout the 'burbs instead of high-rise warehouses. Then the poor kids can grow up in, still, a plain and small and austere home, but also in a more socially functional environment, they can go to better schools, and, if they ever present a crime problem, they will soon learn that the local LEOs make it their business to know exactly where every one of them lives – not like in the inner city where a kid can snatch a purse and fade into the background. The fear with that idea is for those that can’t afford cars and rely on walking or public transportation won’t have proper access to places of necessity. If you have to walk 20 blocks to the grocery store, that may be an issue when it’s -10F out and you have no car. Also it might be wise to issue city ordinance forcing property owners to not just trash their property, some poor people are so conditioned that they don’t even think about what they are doing at times…like pitching diapers out of a window. But otherwise I agree, change of environment would help a lot too but we also have the issue of mental illness and many of those people are poor because of that alone. Blight also causes quite a cycle. If you see piles of trash and abandoned houses while your holding an empty soda can, you may be more inclined to just drop it on the ground as apposed to a nice neighborhood where you may just hold it until you can toss it properly. Those kinds of areas breed crime and drugs. We should change laws to provide cities quick legal access to blight properties to tear them down and create green spaces. A nice looking neighborhood is a very good start to changing the mentality of a community. Unfortunately we still will never have the funding necessary for free mental health care and there are certainly quite a few poor class citizens in various states of mental illness…we all encounter them at times, they’ll never be able to deal with the complexities necessary to sustain proper financial stability. ---
**Author:** ![GloryDays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/44 "2016-03-03T01:54:31Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > All two of them!? Both races are on welfare. It gets annoying after a while. Taxpayers have to pay for this. I’m not being mean, but people were raised in life to _work_, not be on the government. Also, if you are still working with 2 jobs and you are on welfare, something is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/45 "2016-03-03T02:01:41Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > Both races are on welfare. It gets annoying after a while. Taxpayers have to pay for this. I’m not being mean, but people were raised in life to _work_, not be on the government. **Also, if you are still working with 2 jobs and you are on welfare, something is wrong.** Like employers paying shit wages. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/46 "2016-03-03T02:07:17Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > Both races are on welfare. Humans and Elves? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/47 "2016-03-03T02:17:41Z")
Has the amount spent on welfare _per recipient_ risen (adjusted for inflation, of course)? Anyway, with automation and computerization on the rise, we are able to keep the economy going with fewer and fewer workers. But we need just as many consumers to keep things afloat. The role of welfare is not to help the poor, it is to enable them to be consumers for the good of the economy as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![GloryDays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GloryDays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GloryDays)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/48 "2016-03-03T02:20:31Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Like employers paying shit wages. You know what, I rather have those shit wages than being subsidized by the gov’t. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/49 "2016-03-03T02:24:44Z")
More a Great Debate, really. Off it goes. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/50 "2016-03-03T02:29:53Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > You know what, I rather have those shit wages than being subsidized by the gov’t. Go and get one, live on it for a while and get back to us. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/51 "2016-03-03T02:31:14Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > I’m not a bigot. I love everyone. "I love everyone. I just think the working poor should starve to death. Freeloaders! Especially the kids! " ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/52 "2016-03-03T02:32:27Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > Also, if you are still working with 2 jobs and you are on welfare, something is wrong. I’m dying to hear what you think that is. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/53 "2016-03-03T02:32:54Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Humans and Elves? Us and them. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/54 "2016-03-03T02:34:21Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > You know what, I rather have those shit wages than being subsidized by the gov’t. And you’re free to do that. But other people would rather feed their children. You don’t get to impose what you’d rather do on them. Why should they give a shit what you’d rather do, if you were in their situation? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/55 "2016-03-03T02:53:44Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Humans and Elves? Orcs and Dwarfs don’t need no welfare! Smash! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/56 "2016-03-03T03:08:11Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > You know what, I rather have those shit wages than being subsidized by the gov’t. Great. If you’re ever working a job that doesn’t pay enough for you to buy food, you’re more than welcome to starve. Most other people are more rational than that. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/57 "2016-03-03T03:32:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It would be much better if, in some range, every extra dollar you earned cut your total benefits by, say, 50 cents: That way, you’d still always have some incentive to do better. The funny thing is that unemployment benefits DO work like that… but of course, those are benefits used by middle class and higher people, not just the unwashed poor. > [@GloryDays](#): > > I’m not a bigot. I love everyone. I’m sorry - you must be operating under a different definition of “love” than the rest of us. If you love people you don’t suggest that they starve. > [@GloryDays](#): > > They should be working. Working. Working. I have co-workers who work two jobs for a total of more than 50 hours a week but still can’t afford to feed their family without help. Minimum wage sucks like that. How much more “working” do you expect them to be? > [@GloryDays](#): > > I understand but they should not be on it. It’s dependence. After a while, _some_ of these people will lack the will to work. It’s the fact. Also, both races are on welfare. Why do you assume that SNAP recipients _don’t_ work? Clearly, you are unfamiliar with the program requirement that after 3 months the recipient must either be working, in school full time, or disabled (that is, UNABLE to work) or benefits can be cut off. Were you not aware of that? Clearly, you haven’t a clue what the program really requires. How about you do a little actual research before forming an opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/58 "2016-03-03T03:33:56Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > Both races are on welfare. There is only one race: _Homo sapiens_. We are all one race, we are all people. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/59 "2016-03-03T03:38:08Z")
How is it anything less than painfully self evident that a decrease in domestic violence, crime, marriage breakdown, homelessness, and mental illness crises occurs when the stress of being food insecure is removed from the poor’s already trying existences? So if your spouse falls into alcoholism, your factory closes down, illness befalls you, then your children deserve to be homeless and hungry? You want to live in a world where hungry children are begging in the streets? You’d be the first to complain about kids running wild in the streets getting into trouble, while their single mother is working 12hr shifts trying to feed a family of three on minimum wage. All because her husband made the poor life choice of dying! Your love for everybody is just shining through. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/60 "2016-03-03T04:33:32Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > Also, if you are still working with 2 jobs and you are on welfare, something is wrong. Indeed something is wrong – but not with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769.md?page=4)