# Republicans are taking away my unemployment for my own good. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 8, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823 "2013-12-08T15:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/221 "2013-12-15T13:14:21Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Because my spouse has diabetes, being “hungry”, that is, going entirely without food for a few days, could easily land him in the hospital. For some diabetics, that could kill them. So, bravo, you were young and healthy and we’re, for some mysterious reason, OK with that. I’m not, and I’m not risking the life of any one in my family to hold to your arbitrary standard. > > Likewise, with this volunteering you do, have you considered that maybe there might be a reason for the grousing beyond just ordinary likes and dislikes? Or do you just enjoy being smugly superior to those “beggars”? People who are well off and have free choice in their food complain, why shouldn’t poor people with no choice at all? Or do you think they should suck it up and eat whatever swill is dished out, whether or not it tastes foul, or might cause them problems with physical conditions? > > In the bad old days people really did starve to death, and if they had dietary issues, oh, well, sucks to be them they can either eat it and get sick or starve. I don’t think that was right then, I don’t think it’s right now, and while I will defend your right to have any opinion you want I will most strenuously object to an opinion that, _in my opinion_, is wrong and sucks rotten eggs. I am not expecting people to live as I had to, But I think many just let someone else take care of them, and no, in many circumstances people do need help. and of course there is exceptions to every rule. I do not expect anyone to go hungry. But should take into consideration how they use the help. If (and I am well aware of the fact that many do need help), If you are truly in need then this doesn’t apply to you or others with a legitimate need. I have noticed that every food pantry I give to do not pass out swill. There are some with food allergies who also cannot eat just anything. And I surely do not look down on people who really need help. You are entitled to disagree with me. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/222 "2013-12-15T13:28:07Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > It is an insurance plan. It’s also called a contract between generations. But here’s the thing: SS is not only adjusted for inflation. It’s also adjusted for [increases in wages](http://www.socialsecurity.gov/oact/COLA/AWI.html). As a result, certain cohorts (or generations) have done rather well with it _as a group_. You are correct that it scales with your lifetime earnings though. > > It’s a pretty good program I think. Although the media often claims there’s a big crisis in social security and medicare, that’s highly misleading. Social security only requires tweaks (relatively speaking). It’s [health care costs that are tough to contain](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/10/reminder-day-when-it-comes-long-term-spending-its-all-health-care-baby), though the Affordable Care Act has actually been a [pretty good start](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/03/cost-obamacare-has-gone-down-not), despite uncorrected and dishonestly misleading claims by the right wing media. Unfortunately that won’t hurt their viewership, since their audience is interested in reassurance, not trustworthy information. I agree with you. I recall when Roosevelt came up with the idea of SS many people were angry , they didn’t want any of their wages to go to SS even though they and their employer paid into it for them. Social Security as well as an employer health plan, was set aside for the person, so they had security in their old age. I have a friend 87 who works 3 jobs plus her Social Security just to keep food on her plate. She sews, works part time in a library, and does some work on line. she still has a hard go of it and does not live high on the hog. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/223 "2013-12-15T13:41:38Z")
I think part of the divide between us is that you tend to assume someone who looks healthy and doesn’t have a job is just lazy. I tend to ask “what is the problem that gets in their way?” You can look healthy and actually be very unhealthy or disabled. Fall far enough and you lack transportation and/or a fixed address, which makes getting a job very difficult at all. Some people give to the non-working family members out of a sense of obligation that can be very powerful - or do you advocate simply abandoning adult family members that aren’t fully functional for one reason or another? If enough time goes by since you entered the work world your skills might by outmoded by technology by now but it is VERY hard to retrain if you’re a former corporate office worker. Most of the adult retraining programs I’ve found apply to blue-collar jobs, have stringent entry requirements that eliminate considerable numbers of people who still need a job, and have attendance requirements that make putting a roof over one’s head while studying nearly impossible. If you have family members to support it gets even worse. Back when I was at my lowest financial point I went to the local Public Aid where I found out my county actually has a small amount of money for things like car repairs for the destitute. This actually makes sense - if someone is unable to apply for a job and $100 or $150 can give them reliable transportation long term so they go out and get a job this is a good investment. Some people I told were outraged though - _they_ don’t get free car repairs, why should anyone else? See, this is a problem (in my eyes). There are folks OK with investing roads or businesses or equipment but balk at investing in _people_. We expect people to be _entirely_ self-sufficient and independent but in fact _no one_ is who lives in civilization. If you fail to help those who need help don’t be surprised when they continue to be needy. If you try to help those who need help some of them will get better and no longer need help. We do a crap job of helping people down on their luck in this nation, we really do, and we need to own up to that. We punish people who can’t find work because there are more job hunters than job openings. We’ve allowed education to become more and more expensive over time and simultaneously less useful. Minimum wage and aid programs have not kept pace with inflation. We should be ashamed that in our nation 1 in 6 people qualifies for food stamps, Even worse, Congress seeks to reduce the number of people in the program NOT by encouraging prosperity and jobs but by simply dumping people off the roles. Those people are every bit as needy as they were before but now they no longer qualify for help. In addition, while many conservatives seem happy with private charities giving whatever they want to whomever they want they scream bloody murder with the notion of government doing _anything_ to help the poor no matter how controlled and regulated that help is. I propose that that is bigotry at work - the notion that assistance should only come from religious and not secular sources, basically saying that church membership should be mandated for the poor and only the wealthy have the option do being secular. Much like only the well off have a right to food preferences, the poor should STFU and eat what’s put in front of them, dammit! It’s a pernicious double-standard that makes the poor both physically and culturally second-class citizens. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/224 "2013-12-15T13:46:06Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > I have a friend 87 who works 3 jobs plus her Social Security just to keep food on her plate. She sews, works part time in a library, and does some work on line. she still has a hard go of it and does not live high on the hog. Don’t you see anything wrong with that picture? I don’t see funding a life of luxury in a mansion for a senior citizen, and if a person _wants_ to work into old age that’s one thing (I had a friend who worked full time up until 100 entirely by choice) but I think it’s disgusting that _anyone_, much less someone 87, has to worth three jobs to piece together a bare bones existence. It’s an indication of something very wrong and rotting in our society. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/225 "2013-12-15T14:01:53Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > I have never heard of a food pantry being so over stocked that they would turn away anything that their customers might find useful. We don’t know what she’s trying to donate or that particular pantry’s clientele, so we don’t actually know that what she’s trying to donate is, in fact, something they’ll find useful. If she’s trying to donate some cheap cut of meat that’s wonderful in a long slow simmer but inedible when nuked, and most of their clients don’t have access to a real kitchen, just a microwave and minifridge that’s not going to be terribly useful. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/226 "2013-12-15T15:31:14Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > I have noticed that every food pantry I give to do not pass out swill. I know that food pantries won’t take things like unpackaged prepared foods (homemade) because if someone were to get sick from it, they’d open themselves up to all kinds of legal trouble. A lot of the pantries operate like grocery stores, where people can choose what they want. Just like a grocery store, shelf space is limited. So if they’ve already got cans and cans of lima beans and they have a hard enough time unloading them as it is, they probably won’t want any more of this particular item. The big pantry here in central VA is upfront and asks that people donate money before food. This way, they can buy food that people will actually eat, rather than the food that others think they should eat. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/227 "2013-12-15T16:01:23Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > The big pantry here in central VA is upfront and asks that people donate money before food. This way, they can buy food that people will actually eat, **rather than the food that others think they should eat.** Or that they won’t eat themselves which is why it gets donated. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/228 "2013-12-15T16:08:17Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Or that they won’t eat themselves which is why it gets donated. As a little kid, when we would have food drives, I would go into the pantry and pull out all the cans of mixed vegetables, asparagus, and beets. I’m sure all the other kids at school did the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/229 "2013-12-15T22:43:33Z")
monavis: Here’s my guideline. Don’t worry about getting tough during recessions or when unemployment is high. Do worry about that during times of prosperity. This is the worst spell of economic weakness during since the Great Depression, though thankfully it is a) milder than that disaster and b) will probably end in, oh, 2015. Bear in mind that I’m a little tougher minded than Broomstick. Doesn’t mean I’m right. Usually spells of weakness last a couple of years at most. The 2007-now era is unusual. Those interested in how we are doing should stare at the chart here, keeping in mind that a growing population implies that full employment will involve more workers than in 2007, when the downturn began. [Calculated Risk: Update: When will payroll employment exceed the pre-recession peak?](http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/12/update-when-will-payroll-employment.html) (Read the post, click the chart to enlarge it.) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/230 "2013-12-15T23:50:09Z")
Its the paradox of the Comfortable Calvinists: everybody must prove their worth by work, but there isn’t enough to go around. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/231 "2013-12-16T13:01:08Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Don’t you see anything wrong with that picture? > > I don’t see funding a life of luxury in a mansion for a senior citizen, and if a person _wants_ to work into old age that’s one thing (I had a friend who worked full time up until 100 entirely by choice) but I think it’s disgusting that _anyone_, much less someone 87, has to worth three jobs to piece together a bare bones existence. It’s an indication of something very wrong and rotting in our society. I know she doesn’t feel that way, she is proud of the fact that she can still do it. I guess it is a matter of one’s perspective! She doesn’t complain and is in good health; She never asked for help. We have become a thing society and put people last. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/232 "2013-12-16T13:05:45Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > We don’t know what she’s trying to donate or that particular pantry’s clientele, so we don’t actually know that what she’s trying to donate is, in fact, something they’ll find useful. If she’s trying to donate some cheap cut of meat that’s wonderful in a long slow simmer but inedible when nuked, and most of their clients don’t have access to a real kitchen, just a microwave and minifridge that’s not going to be terribly useful. The food pantries don’t except any fresh food, They want things they can store. I imagine if someone donated canned meat they would accept that. They do appreciate canned soups, veggies, and packaged food like Macaroni, Cereals etc. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/233 "2013-12-16T13:17:00Z")
Where do you live? Some of the pantries around here will accept fresh food and distribute it. You might have to donate it on a specific day so it’s distributed quickly. You can also speak to a soup kitchen or shelter about what they need instead of just assuming. For many years I helped support a woman’s shelter and would ask what they needed. Sometimes 50 pounds of potatoes, sometimes onions, or fruit like bananas or oranges that homeless people could take with them easily. Other times it was things like socks or gloves. Sometimes the homeless women would bag the fruit up and sell it at train stations in Chicago for cash. You know what? I didn’t care. If nothing else it shows some initiative. Did some spend it on booze? Yeah, probably. A lot of them spent it on things like socks, tampons, and other highly practical needs that are frequently forgotten by those rendering help. Yay, food stamps let you eat, but they don’t buy deodorant or toothpaste. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/234 "2013-12-16T13:20:10Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > monavis: Here’s my guideline. Don’t worry about getting tough during recessions or when unemployment is high. Do worry about that during times of prosperity. This is the worst spell of economic weakness during since the Great Depression, though thankfully it is a) milder than that disaster and b) will probably end in, oh, 2015. Bear in mind that I’m a little tougher minded than Broomstick. Doesn’t mean I’m right. > > Usually spells of weakness last a couple of years at most. The 2007-now era is unusual. Those interested in how we are doing should stare at the chart here, keeping in mind that a growing population implies that full employment will involve more workers than in 2007, when the downturn began. [Calculated Risk: Update: When will payroll employment exceed the pre-recession peak?](http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/12/update-when-will-payroll-employment.html) > (Read the post, click the chart to enlarge it.) This is true to an extent, I personally know people who think nothing of paying $20.00 and up to go to a ball game, concert etc. buy I pads etc. but go to food pantries for food and complain about the food they are given. Greedy business people send the work over seas, that some people would be glad to do. There is so much waste, I go through a subdivision and am amazed at the things people throw out, It is true they have the right to do with their things as they see fit. I had a friend who would ask for the things and give them to people in need. There is way too much waste in many towns. Of course there are people who do need the food pantries and stop going as soon as they can make it on their own. There are exceptions to all rules. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/235 "2013-12-16T13:22:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I think part of the divide between us is that you tend to assume someone who looks healthy and doesn’t have a job is just lazy. I tend to ask “what is the problem that gets in their way?” > > You can look healthy and actually be very unhealthy or disabled. Fall far enough and you lack transportation and/or a fixed address, which makes getting a job very difficult at all. Some people give to the non-working family members out of a sense of obligation that can be very powerful - or do you advocate simply abandoning adult family members that aren’t fully functional for one reason or another? If enough time goes by since you entered the work world your skills might by outmoded by technology by now but it is VERY hard to retrain if you’re a former corporate office worker. Most of the adult retraining programs I’ve found apply to blue-collar jobs, have stringent entry requirements that eliminate considerable numbers of people who still need a job, and have attendance requirements that make putting a roof over one’s head while studying nearly impossible. If you have family members to support it gets even worse. > > Back when I was at my lowest financial point I went to the local Public Aid where I found out my county actually has a small amount of money for things like car repairs for the destitute. This actually makes sense - if someone is unable to apply for a job and $100 or $150 can give them reliable transportation long term so they go out and get a job this is a good investment. Some people I told were outraged though - _they_ don’t get free car repairs, why should anyone else? > > See, this is a problem (in my eyes). There are folks OK with investing roads or businesses or equipment but balk at investing in _people_. We expect people to be _entirely_ self-sufficient and independent but in fact _no one_ is who lives in civilization. If you fail to help those who need help don’t be surprised when they continue to be needy. If you try to help those who need help some of them will get better and no longer need help. > > We do a crap job of helping people down on their luck in this nation, we really do, and we need to own up to that. We punish people who can’t find work because there are more job hunters than job openings. We’ve allowed education to become more and more expensive over time and simultaneously less useful. Minimum wage and aid programs have not kept pace with inflation. > > We should be ashamed that in our nation 1 in 6 people qualifies for food stamps, Even worse, Congress seeks to reduce the number of people in the program NOT by encouraging prosperity and jobs but by simply dumping people off the roles. Those people are every bit as needy as they were before but now they no longer qualify for help. > > In addition, while many conservatives seem happy with private charities giving whatever they want to whomever they want they scream bloody murder with the notion of government doing _anything_ to help the poor no matter how controlled and regulated that help is. I propose that that is bigotry at work - the notion that assistance should only come from religious and not secular sources, basically saying that church membership should be mandated for the poor and only the wealthy have the option do being secular. Much like only the well off have a right to food preferences, the poor should STFU and eat what’s put in front of them, dammit! It’s a pernicious double-standard that makes the poor both physically and culturally second-class citizens. If you are referring to me, I don’t suppose it is any one being lazy, I just think people should not be fussy about what they get to eat or where they sleep if someone else is paying their way! ---
**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:** [December 16, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/236 "2013-12-16T15:17:11Z")
I am “fussy” about what I eat because I have genuine medical concerns and don’t want a trip to the ER or stay in the hospital. I do not, however, “look sick” or have a brand on my forehead labeling me as one of _those people_ so I get shit for being responsible in regards to my own health. I shouldn’t have to explain to everyone I meet my entire medical history unless you’re the sort that believes poor people don’t have the same rights as everyone else. People are “fussy” about where they sleep because they want to feel safe. A lot of people won’t use shelters because _they’re not safe_. People are robbed, assaulted, and raped in such places. People couchsurfing might be “fussy” because, due to being in the living room or whatever they don’t have the same quiet place as people in bedrooms so they don’t sleep as well. What you are saying over and over is that poor people shouldn’t have choices, they should STFU and be slobberingly grateful for crumbs. I’m sorry, poor people are human beings, too, and should be treated with the same respect and dignity as those who are better off financially. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/237 "2013-12-16T15:37:51Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > This is true to an extent, I personally know people who think nothing of paying $20.00 and up to go to a ball game, concert etc. buy I pads etc. but go to food pantries for food and complain about the food they are given. The alternative to paying $20 for a concert or ball game is to be all but shut out of public life. I think there is a point at which some sense of entitlement is justified. For example, a [quarter of people with jobs also receive public assistance.](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-15/mcdonalds-low-wages-come-with-a-7-billion-side-of-welfare) Contributing labor to the society, shouldn’t workers also have means to participate in it, too? Contributing labor to the society, should they just accept that they have to eat garbage, smile and shut up? Criticizing individuals in this position is convenient, especially if one does not want to acknowledge that we have a systemic problem and that there are things we could do about it. Nagging people to quit complaining about injustice seems simply foolish. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in Sweden in $19. > [@monavis](#): > > If you are referring to me, I don’t suppose it is any one being lazy, I just think people should not be fussy about what they get to eat or where they sleep if someone else is paying their way! I don’t mean any disrespect, monavis, but let me point out that [not everyone from your times was willing to accept just anything.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qquzBFJdVw) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/238 "2013-12-16T23:45:50Z")
Monavis, you appear to “know” someone for any example that can be given. If you really do know an 87-year-old who works three jobs just to get enough money to eat, despite getting social security, then that is not something to suggest others emulate. You starving every weekend, by choice because you didn’t want to ask for help, is not something to be proud of or suggest others do - it’s masochism. If it really happened the way you claim it did, that is. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/239 "2013-12-17T12:34:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I am “fussy” about what I eat because I have genuine medical concerns and don’t want a trip to the ER or stay in the hospital. I do not, however, “look sick” or have a brand on my forehead labeling me as one of _those people_ so I get shit for being responsible in regards to my own health. I shouldn’t have to explain to everyone I meet my entire medical history unless you’re the sort that believes poor people don’t have the same rights as everyone else. > > People are “fussy” about where they sleep because they want to feel safe. A lot of people won’t use shelters because _they’re not safe_. People are robbed, assaulted, and raped in such places. People couchsurfing might be “fussy” because, due to being in the living room or whatever they don’t have the same quiet place as people in bedrooms so they don’t sleep as well. > > What you are saying over and over is that poor people shouldn’t have choices, they should STFU and be slobberingly grateful for crumbs. I’m sorry, poor people are human beings, too, and should be treated with the same respect and dignity as those who are better off financially. Yes, poor people need help, but don’t need computers, I pads etc going to concerts, ball games etc. I don’t know your situation so I am not addressing you personally, and do not understand why what I write affects you. Of course there are people who need help but still complain about what they get. It is not an entitlement. I would like to see all people have a nice home, good food; but that is not a reason to complain about what they do get. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823/240 "2013-12-17T13:08:35Z")
How are poor kids supposed to do their homework if their family doesn’t have reliable access to a computer? How are the poor folks themselves supposed to retrain if they can’t take classes, which often requires reliable access to one? How about job searching from home, rather than taking 2 or 3 buses to get to the library, so you can watch your kids, cook those nutritious meals etc. You just don’t have a clue what it takes to lift yourself up from poverty today. Not 60 years ago. People can’t lift themselves up by their bootstraps if they have no boots. I liked the earlier comment about investment in people. People with hope, not beaten down by unrelenting, exhausting poverty, make our society better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-are-taking-away-my-unemployment-for-my-own-good/675823.md?page=13)