Poor cannot afford meat and ice cream in cruel Bush economy

Oh, yes indeed.

I don't know, but I'd like to find out...

Agreed.

it's a red herring, yes, since the reasons for their relatively low purchasing power is different and unrelated in each case. still, i have to question how hard someone is really trying, when they're as unhealthy as these two are. at some point, it seems to me that the welfare system has been corrupted from assisting those who cannot assist themselves, to assisting those who don't want to assist themselves--making it more difficult, in some cases, for those who really are in need of state assistance.

I highlighted the parts i thought you should read



I especially like the fact that they may have to make a bigger graph that shows 8%, the rate we are headed at now, we'll be there before the end of the year.

Jobs are pouring out of Ohio. It's a complete employer's market. GM, Ford and numerous other plants are laying people off, plants that have been here for centuries are closing their doors

it's as simple as......

opening the paper,

to see what will close next.

Ohio's economy is in the dumpster. Our prime income is Industry. We are not set-up to attract tourists and we've relied on things like steel, automobiles and other things that are now made in China. We've lost a big chunk of our industrial sector and it's catching up to us.

You may want to update your atlas. Africa is a not a country, but I'm sure you knew that and just it slip. I have a small problem with your comment on big business as it is a gross oversimplification of the problems in African nations. I'm not saying that US owned companies that do business in Africa aren't exploitative or disruptive, I'm just trying to point out that it isn't just "Big Business". There are a myriad of problems facing African nations. I will accept your generalization that Americans, despite their ignorance, are complicit in the raping of Africa (but then again we are equal opportunists when it comes to screwing over other countries, the world over, for our benefit). When we support a system of capitalist ideals without a moral compass to guide us, we are essentially giving companies the right to behave criminally.

You know what I love about stockula's threads? When I see the thread titles in the list of CE topics I know immediately a) exactly who the OP is, and b) that looking at those threads will be a complete waste of my time.

While the truth is, of course, in the middle here, I actually really liked the hillarity of this.

That NPR article is truly damn fucking funny, intended or not. Amazing.

Welfare is needed because of all the people on it that should be or need to be, but it is also abused, and this is a perfect example of it. Instead of bashing Stockula outright, you guys should see the bits of truth in his posts and argue rationally the parts that go too far.

And this is hillarious as well...

This is tangential to the topic, but it seems like a lot of industry that found it impractical to head to Mexico after NAFTA started has been pouring out of the old union-heavy industrial states and into states with right-to-work laws, where it's practically impossible to organize a union, thus guaranteeing cheap labor. Ohio is a non right-to-work state.

What is relevant to the topic is that this would have been a good jab at welfare during the late 90s, but right now it's a stretch. Especially considering that the national unemployment average is expected to hit 6% later this year.

proof please. I'm not defending Stockula, I would just like to see proof that a balanced diet is a "shit ton" more expensive than eating crap.

Indeed. I have a healthy, balanced diet and It doesn't set me back at all. I make only about $400/wk.

It's not like I'm spending my entire paycheck at Whole Foods or [insert local "organic" hipster grocery store here]. Hell, I go to the Farmer's market for wholesale prices of stuff in bulk, not Sam's Club.

$400 a week? Don't you own TWO Hummers?

I own them through the company I work for. It's a family business.

So, they're actually your parents Hummers.

They pay for them, but the titles are in my name.
Can we focus on the original question at hand, please?

How exactly is welfare being abused in this situation? Is it the family trying to make it on less than $800 per month? Is it the daughter who refuses to have a baby, even though welfare would pay more if she had one? Is it the fruitless search for a job? Is it the forced removal of a food group from their diet?

Which part of that is the abuse? Or are you just laughing at the fat people?

BWAAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dude, she dropped out of high school and has never had a job. She's never even tried to have a job until recently. The government is paying her bills, yet she is totally cool with chilling out and getting fat for like 30 years.

It's pretty fucking sad.

A disabled housewife is abusing the system? If they weren't fat, would you still be making that criticism?

The mother has never had a job because she claims to be disabled after an injury 17 years ago. As someone else pointed out, for dramatic effect stockula left out the part of the article that says the daughter did graduate high school and has had several jobs in the past but can't get one now.

So... what are these 20 year old injuries that prevented her from even sitting in a chair for 8 hours a day and answer a phone? I am curious.

You know how hard it is to get SSDI?

You actually have to fill out a form.

How should we know? But then, how do you know she isn't disabled?

True. But I don't think any of us are qualified to determine if she is or is not disabled, particularly with the information given in the real article (not Stockula's abridged version).