One of the many reasons ouir country is so messed up..

[ironglow]

..Is because some are in favor of rewarding disgusting behavior:

 http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9FM4O2O1&show_article=1

[Mnswede]

Giving Food Stamps to felons is the bi-product of no moral compus.  Of coarse, your moral compus depends upon where you got it, ie the hood, schools, or church.  The symptoms can never be corrected until a proper moral base is put into place.  A President in the beginning of this new country made a statement about the US Constitution pharaphrased as best as I remember, "The Constitution is only a fancy piece of paper with a lot of words upon it when God and the Bible aren't the basis of the Constitution.  When man can decide what will and will not be in the Constitution based upon his ideas, then we have a living and changable Constitution as we are told it is.  Just my point of view on this country and the mess we are in.

[ironglow]

Rigfht mtnswede;
     Those who want to trash the constituition first come out with such BS as; "The Constitution is a living, breathing document"..to quote Algore and others. THAT SIMPLY MEANS< "we should be able to change it at our whim".

[SHOOTALL]

It would not open for me , but I would ask this if a man goes to prison and is released after serving his time even if his time is shortened has he paid his debt ? If not how long ?
As fgar as hand outs its vote buying .

[DDZ]

The new politically correct term for the food stamp program is now nutritional assistance program. The whole program is one of the thousands of reasons our country is messed up. Not just the fact that they will give felons food stamps.

So if we don't give felons food stamps they will revert back to being a felon. Is that something like the argument that if we don't hand out welfare checks, people will revert to crime. Haven't we been trying this for the last 60 years? Its really working huh?

I just heard the other day that 40 million people now receive food stamps. I wonder what I have been doing wrong. What really ticks me off is when I see someone in a store pay with food stamps, then go get into a car more expensive than the one I'm driving. I remember my Pastor telling me about the time he was behind someone at a grocery store. They paid with food stamps then went out and got into a corvette. I guess all you have to do is lie, and tax payers will get you food stamps.   

[ironglow]

They made the big mistake when they went to food stamps (and in some cases credit cards) instead of direct food distribution. In many cases, food stamps do not help with "nutrition", it simply exacerbates an already bad condition. If the GENUINELY poor get potatoes, rice, broccoli, cabbage, spam & ham..they may just cook their kids a decent meal now and then. So often we see the stamp user loading up their cart with junk food and microwave ready stuff, when so much more wholesome food could be bought with the same stamps !
   
    ...Then another point, how much potatoes, tomatoes and corn can the local pot or crack peddler handle ?

  Shootall;
     Some crimes, after a prison term could be stamped, "paid in full"...some can never be repaid...

[dw06]

They made the big mistake when they went to food stamps (and in some cases credit cards) instead of direct food distribution. In many cases, food stamps do not help with "nutrition", it simply exacerbates an already bad condition. If the GENUINELY poor get potatoes, rice, broccoli, cabbage, spam & ham..they may just cook their kids a decent meal now and then. So often we see the stamp user loading up their cart with junk food and microwave ready stuff, when so much more wholesome food could be bought with the same stamps !
   
    ...Then another point, how much potatoes, tomatoes and corn can the local pot or crack peddler handle ?

  Shootall;
     Some crimes, after a prison term could be stamped, "paid in full"...some can never be repaid...

+1 Very good post.

[magooch]

The thing is that whether, or not ex-felons and other people with baggage and flaws that makes them pretty much unemployable, especially in these times, there still is the daunting problem of what do we do with these folks?  Not that I have very much sympathy for them, but they remain a problem that I would like to see addressed.  We certainly seem to be willing to send money and other aid to foreign countries at the drop of a hat.  We should solve our own problems first.

My suggestion would be to provide some kind of basic work/shelter centers where those individuals who are basically losers and unable to find any job at all, could go to.  If nothing else could be found for them to do, they could at least pick up junk along roads and clean up parks etc.  I know a lot of them are brain dead druggies that are just waiting for someone to knock them in the head, but there's got to be something better than just letting them wander around talking to themselves.

[Rock Home Isle]

Here's a fine "how do you do?..."

Our national system of federal aid for college students has become an extension of the welfare system. Here is what I mean...

My daughter applied for financial aid to go to college. We reported our income and she was told that we are too wealthy for her to get any financial aid. She doesn't even qualify for students loans. So in effect...a High School Science Teacher and a High School Health Teacher have a combined income that makes us too wealthy to qualify for any aid or any student laons. How can this kid, my daughter, make it to college...she has a 3.987 gpa, community service, goes on mission trips to help those less fortunate, awesome athletics performance,...which did give her some money, thank god. But we are TOO wealthy, heck I had to borrow money from my dad so that I could replace the dishwasher.

For comparison: One of my students barely makes it to class...sitting on a 2.0 gpa...Got a "D" in my class, mostly because I don't want him in my room anymore, had to take Freshman Science twice; partying every weekend; this student qualified for a complete full ride on the government dole. Now I do need to include that Mom is a bus driver for the district and dad recently lost his job...it is a sad story for that family.

We will be able to pay for one year of her college, and then we need a miracle.

For next year...We do have several hard choices that we are seriously considering:

If we refinance our home, there by going deep into dept (in this economy)...then we will have money for my daughter, and qualify for some aid, but nothing for my son.

If my wife and I get a divorce...On Paper we would then qualify for financial aid for my daughter.

I am disgusted...our government promotes un-wed parents, divorce and financial dept. No wonder we are a recession that rivals the "Great Depression."

[teamnelson]

Rock Home Isle, I hear your story every day, from many in our military. They were smart enough, but neither poor enough or rich enough to afford college. It was the same in '86 when I graduated from HS; folks made too much for a need scholarship, and merit scholarships were tight. I had enough $ for 1 year, living at home and working full time, then I enlisted.

As for nutritional assistance, 25% of the US are receiving some form today, not counting free or cheap school lunches: 62% of kids who eat lunch at school get subsidized meals.

[ironglow]

Magooch;
  I did not say nor imply that even the felons should be just discarded,  but surely food directly provide, rather than through some scam laden system seems the right way. I think we have all heard the stories of how food stamps are traded for cash ..at a deep discount. that kind of stuff is simply robbing the taxpayer and should be treated as such. Such activity in itself should be a class 1 felony.

  Education in itself should be much less expensive than it is. Schools, at least where I live, are very wasteful in their expenditures. I compare the local schools and find that there is simply too much disparity.
  My home schooled grandaughter will be attending a local Christian K-12 school. Her tuition will be $150 per month. The local centralized public school gets more than $16,000 per year for each student. I dare say, the students at the Christian school get a better education than those attending the centralized public school, and at a fraction of the cost.
  Still, my son & his wife pay full school taxes as I do !
  One answer would be in the case of public schools, to provide a voucher system, whereby a taxpayer could see some value in thge taxes they pay. This voucher would be redeemable for an educational venue of the parents' choice. COMPETITION improves any product !!

Perhaps the community colleges should be more selective, only accepting those with a reasonable academic standard and retaining only those who maintain a given grade level. By doing this te quality and value of community colleges would rise to a higher standard.
  Within a few years, community colleges would compete favorably with their competition. There is no sense in "warehousing" delinquent idiots in taxpayer funded institutions !

  I don't really expect any of these improvements to take place, since the educational system is largely government & union operated.

[SHOOTALL]

Food stamps could be a good way to get food to the needy . But humans do mess it up . They would scam a process where food was given out also. Did you realize that those containers on sales counters that beg for your change allow the store or person putting them out to keep over half the money in some cases . Alot of giving is to groups that turn a profit for themselves and only give out the least they have to to stay out of trouble . Look no farther than PETA or the NRA both have people working for them that make big bucks .
Greed is the problem in this country !

[magooch]

Greed is the problem?  Maybe, but I would say that it is a problem; the problem is too many people who can't, or won't take care of themselves and too many overly bureaucratic governments that are enablers. 

What do we do to begin to dig our way out?  We have to secure our borders, stop all immigration, send the illegals home and quit electing liberals to any office.  I know that none of that is going to happen--so we're screwed.  Say good-bye to the America that we grew up in.  Say hello to continuing chaos and downward spiral.  It was good while it lasted, but you just can't buck the tide of human irresponsibilty.

[SHOOTALL]

sure you can , just join the democratic party.

[Dixie Dude]

I know people who signed the guardianship papers for their kids over to their parents (kids grandparents) since they were retired and on SS.  They did this a year before they finished high school while they were like 16 or 17.  Kid then qualified for financial aid for college since their guardians, the grandparents had limited income.  

This is why a lot of people don't get married now.  Single mother with bills gets food stamps, section 8 housing allowance, utilities paid for, etc, while she has a live in boyfriend. 

Current government regulations aid this type living. 

[SHOOTALL]

That way the Gopvt. becomes the expert on how we should live not the Bible or church.

[ironglow]

...And voters keep electing the crooked politicians who allow these scams to continue. Problem is, most career politicians have their own SCAM going...

   Consider Harry Reid;

  http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/04/citizen-reid.html

[born-to-hunt]

I think a good reason is because we spend so much to find out where tiger woods puts his putter instead of things that could improve the country

Thats just one example

[ironglow]

Right BTH;
  And where Tiger Woods partks his putter has no effect upon our individual lives..either positive or negative.
     
  ..But Nancy Pelosi does, and here is part of her scam;

  http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/6/4/210922.shtml

  This story is widely reported, but curiously..Snopes says nothing about it. Of course, many of us see Snopes as left-leaning and perhaps they figure if they can't say something nice about a liberal's tactics, they would rather not speak about it at all.

[Rock Home Isle]

The thing that makes me so deeply concerned about people like Nancy Pelosi, and liberals in general, is that these people think that they are doing good and that they think that they have good intentions. They really believe this about themselves.

But if I don't agree with with what they want or I don't like their political platform and they really believe that they have good intentions...then I must be evil because I don't believe as they do...And they will treat me as you would an evil person because my beliefs are different then theirs.

...that is what concerns me about these people. The road to hell is paved with good intentions...

[beerbelly]

.You give them way to much credit! They do not have good intensions. They are about remaining in power and nothing else! They would do a 180 on every thing they say if it was the way to stay in power.
    We now have half of the people in this country living off the other half. As long as the lib's keep taking care of these bums they will be hard to vote out. When they get all the illegal Mexicans legal to vote, it is all over. We will slide into a third world country very fast.
                                         Beerbelly

[Rock Home Isle]

.You give them way to much credit! They do not have good intensions. They are about remaining in power and nothing else! They would do a 180 on every thing they say if it was the way to stay in power.
    We now have half of the people in this country living off the other half. As long as the lib's keep taking care of these bums they will be hard to vote out. When they get all the illegal Mexicans legal to vote, it is all over. We will slide into a third world country very fast.
                                         Beerbelly

I did not say that they have good intentions...I said that they THINK that they have good intentions...

Anybody with an once of sense knows that they are sooooo wrong.

[steg]

I remember a few years ago an older well dressed woman in line in front of me checking out groceries, she had around five large packs of hamburger meat, the good stuff like 85% lean, and the cashier asked her about it, the cashier was just making small talk while the Woman was searching for her food-stamps, something like boy you sure eat alot of hamburger, to which the Woman replied "Oh it's not for me I get it for my dog, because I can't buy dog food with food-stamps, Damn Dog was eating better than me, on my dime..........steg

[Rock Home Isle]

I know people who signed the guardianship papers for their kids over to their parents (kids grandparents) since they were retired and on SS.  They did this a year before they finished high school while they were like 16 or 17.  Kid then qualified for financial aid for college since their guardians, the grandparents had limited income.  

This is why a lot of people don't get married now.  Single mother with bills gets food stamps, section 8 housing allowance, utilities paid for, etc, while she has a live in boyfriend. 

Current government regulations aid this type living. 

Yes...this has happened in our district as well. We've even had students become emancipated so that they would qualify for student aid so that they could get a college education.

[SHOOTALL]

Well what did you expect ? many women and the men who father their children don't live in wedlock so the mother can get welfare, food stamps , free phone . apartment , and a bunch of other free goodies !
 HEY its working they vote dumb-o-crat and soon will make America just like the rest of the sorry azz world .

[Dixie Dude]

It was in the news recently that more people get government aid, have government jobs, in the military, than in the private sector for the first time in history.  The private sector can't continue paying the taxes to support this.  We will fail as a nation, and who can bail out the largest economic nation in the world?  We must get people OFF the government dole.  Yes, we need the military, but we don't need 200,000 IRS workers, simplify taxes, flat tax with only mortgage deduction.  Lay most off of them off.  Get out of the health care business, allow nationwide advertising and cross state lines for insurance.  Eliminate food stamps and go back to commodities, this will eliminate fraud and people selling their food stamps.  Also would give people who need it better and more balanced food, instead of buying junk food with food stamps.  Legalize pot and tax it.  Keep the harder drugs illegal.  This will help clear out some jails and leave them for harder criminals.  Round up the illegals and send them packing.  Also, if an illegal has a child in America, it doesn't become an anchor baby, send them home.  Encourage the poor to grow gardens to supplement their commodities.  After two babies out of wedlock, fix the woman.  Two is enough for taxpayers to support.