Go to ADMIT GLOBAL WARMING AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
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- Go to WELFARE -- FAILURE?
take it from someone who's seen it firsthand
I was a welfare caseworker.
Most of the people wanted off welfare
oh, by the way, a study some time ago showed that 80% of the people on welfare got off within two years -- so they understood that it wasn't permanent.
there is a lot of bias against welfare, arising from a lot of tales told from a stereotypical point of view.
stop, study, see.
I don't have much time -- have to go.
But the blames goes mainly to politicians who are so shortsighted and just leave things as they are and even add conservative elements to the welfare laws that make it hard for people to get ahead.
I'll talk about those later.
posted by
Xeno-x
on September 17, 2004 at 12:44 PM
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sarwood
First of all, I wasn't throwing stones at Westwend. I realize he was responding to a post written by another blogger. My comment was a general statement on the topic of welfare, how whenever it's mentioned, black people are always factored into the conversation as well. My aim was to bring awareness to that simple point and what that implies. That's all.
Secondly, as far as my job goes, the supervisors, the "head honchoes" are all white, a fact that cannot be denied. Does this mean that they were chosen in favor of blacks who were more capable? Not necessarily. My immediate supervisor when I took this job was black, but soon left the company because he got a better job elsewhere. Is there some written or unwritten rule designed to factor out the advancement of blacks? Not that I've seen or heard. It's a major corporation that spans the globe. Somewhere, in some boardroom, there may be that attitude. As far as what I've seen with my two eyes where I work, there isn't.
posted by
Talion
on September 17, 2004 at 11:07 AM
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Good comment, Talion
But Westwind's blog was about the relationship of the Welfare program to the progress of Blacks and that particular history.
Black history in this country is a sad sad tale and needs to be told and retold. White people actually died for petitioning the government to put a stop to lynching of Blacks. Lynching! And we dare to call ourselves a Christian nation.
The more recent abuses have been more subtle. I heard a retired reporter from Ft. Worth saying that the newspaper there required that NO good news about Blacks be put on the front page -- only pictures and stories of bad news. This was not a subtle maneuver... but a well-known policy protocol. What can we say for those who knew and did not speak?
Are you any different at your job?
posted by
sarwood
on September 17, 2004 at 10:04 AM
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What bothers me most about this whole topic in general is how so often "welfare" and "black" end up in the same sentence. The two almost seem to be synonymous. In the eyes of some, it is.
posted by
Talion
on September 17, 2004 at 7:27 AM
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The people who most object to the elimination of food stamps
are those in the agricultural and grocery business. (Check it out.)..... but that being said, of course welfare is not a good idea -- unless it is out of simple compassion for the children. (Ever been to the border towns of Mexico and seen the vacant eyes of children begging on the streets? They crowd around your car at every stop. --Not the image I have for America.)
As to opportunity for Blacks -- I taught for 15 years at a job training school that was quite successful in educating and getting jobs for multi-cultural students. The faculty and staff there were good at it, and Northern Virginia has jobs at good companies (the government defense contractors are the base for a thriving economy). Even so, when asked for recommendations for school receptionist (part-time for student and considered a great honor and "resume-builder") I recommended my best student, a very attractive, personable and intelligent, hard-working Black girl. The feedback was: Don't recommend anyone Black. The owners don't want Blacks representing the school. This was only about 10 years ago. Did I fight it? You bet I did! But the racisim that abounds in the "executive suite" is real. If conservatives will address and fight that, then all of the liberals objections will fall.
More: In 1968, the Civil Rights laws required that the local swimming pool here be integrated. (It was whites only, and there was no swimming pool for Black children.) Rather than comply, the municipal officials had the swimming pool bulldozed in. I know adult African-Americans who peered at the workers from across the street as children -- in full understanding of how much they were hated and rejected.
Befire the Civil Rights era, there was no public school in our county for Black children. They had to be bused to the next county. Their bus stop was in front of the local white elementary school. On days when it was freezing rain and snowing, they often had to wait for the bus 30 minutes or so. The white school would not let them wait inside the front door. They had to stand outside in the cold.
The Democrats stood for equal justice and opportunity for African Americans. And the Republicans fought them. That is what the African Americans remember and tell their children. So if you think it is about hand-outs, you are wrong. I went to a strong Christian church as a child, and I loved the church and the people in it. We had prayers over the Intercom at public school every day. But as a teen-ager in the Civl Rights era, I noticed that none of these "good Christians" was going to demand justice for the little Black children who were being attacked by dogs in Alabama. My mother tried to get our church to meet with other local Black churches, and the congregation rejected her. I have not respected the "public prayer" bunch since. Show me your mercy; show me your compassion. and pray in a closet, like Jesus required (book of Matthew.)
So, to the commentor who said "get out of their way," I say Yes, I agree -- that means really out of their way. Stop saying "equal opportunity" and give it dammit. And they will beat you every time, as they do in sports and entertainment.
Moreover, it has long been recognized that if the managerial class could keep the Black and the poor Whites fighting with each other, they could keep wages and benefits low. If all the working poor ever pull together, they will be able to negotiate much better lives for themselves.
posted by
sarwood
on September 17, 2004 at 7:10 AM
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Can't argue with idiots.
And there you have it. My students have tried getting off welfare....but once they get a job, the aid stops dead. And they cannot make it, not even at the level they lived while on welfare. If these fools really wanted the poor to work, they would either argue for a living minimum wage or continued aid to supplement their fast food income.
posted by
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
on September 16, 2004 at 10:07 PM
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i don't deny that giveaways are not the answer.
but nobody has set up a program to help people advance.
the educational system is in a shambles -- nobody emphasizing what needs to be empahasized, which is education.
money going into it -- lots of fancy building projects -- lots of computers.
people need to learn.
also, property taxes -- such a disparate system. the wealthy communities have the best educational systems while the poorer have little.
then there is job training -- it should start in public schools -- aptitude tests that should help determine the path the individual needs to take.
then there are jobs -- there needs to be more opportunity -- lost of resistance to minority hiring by those who have jobs --
higher education -- getting less affordable for average people.
lots of barriers to a person bettering himself.
you ought to observe first hand these barriers and then come up with a plan to knock them down.
Welfare is just something to keep children fed and people from having difficult times. For sure it is not a good way to make a living.
too much there have been those who have stood in the way of legislation that could help matters.
one other thing --ecnomics -- welfare and food stamps are like any other income -- people spend and others receive the money -- this helps pay wages, etc. There is a considerable economy based on welfare.
posted by
Xeno-x
on September 16, 2004 at 1:44 PM
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If you want them to "better themselves"...
get out of the way. They don't need your help. They are not helpless. Let them do it themselves. Welfare is crippling these people. The more money you give to poor people, the more poor people there will be. You'll never meet the demand for welfare. It has no limit.
posted by
nevertheless
on September 16, 2004 at 1:36 PM
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I'm not selling
Im seeing.
must be we live in two different worlds.
maybe just two different cities.
almost all the fast food places i see have Blacks working there.
I drive through rundown neighborhoods
I KNOW that there's a waiting list for Section 8 Housing.
I KNOW that there are people living in subsidized housing projects.
I KNOW that homeless shelters are overflowing.
I KNOW that food pantries run out of food often.
THERE'S NOT SALES TO IT, JUST FACTS.
posted by
Xeno-x
on September 16, 2004 at 6:04 AM
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What I See...
is white and black teenagers who do not want to work in the air conditioned McDonald's because that kind of work is beneath them. I worked the worst most physical jobs in high school and during the summer's, while in college, to save money for college.My dad chose these jobs for me to teach me the value of a dollar. Such as the tobacco fields at 4 AM then to the textile mill on a wool baler at 4 PM until midnight in the summers. This is not tough at all compared to the work my Dad had to do to survive during the depression. It was a parade comapred to what he went through. However, today, I see, in our town, the Hispanics who work at McDonald's and other jobs like that. I do not see very few white and black teenagers doing that. What is wrong with that? I personally know of a Hispanic woman who started at McDonald's and is now the manager. That is what is missing WESTWEND. You will always have an unemployment rate of 4% because there is at least 4% of the people of this nation who are too lazy to work. They would prefer to stay at home watching Jerry Springer all day and get up only to check the mailbox for the check from John Kerry to keep them there. That is what is wrong. The "government is here to support you" crap from the Dems has been a strong tool that has worked forever. Thank God for the one who pull themselves up by the bootstraps to make it. We live in a neighborhood that has many black families here. I do not see what you're selling at all. Anyone can get an education. The responsibility and good work ethic is what you and your Dems have killed in order to stay in power. You and your party have created this gimme, gimme, gimme dependency that in turn manufactures votes for you. Shame on you!
posted by
RedStatesMan
on September 15, 2004 at 8:37 PM
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LOL YERSELF
You talk about all this wealth DEMS, and you say that Blacks are owning more homes and the whole populace is prospering.
Then tell me . . .
Why did I go down tonight and see kids from the projects coming in to the agency?
Why are the clothing and food banks always busy and low on food?
Why are there people in public housing? Section 8 Housing (a waiting list a mile long)?
Why do I still notice poverty?
Why am I able to drive through derelict areas in the metropolitan area?
Why are there more homeless than ever before?
The way you talk, there isn't such a thing.
Maybe because you are out of touch with these things?
posted by
Xeno-x
on September 15, 2004 at 6:14 PM
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yes it is a new century
the 19th revisited
or didn't you read some of my posts.
home ownership et al are based on financing that is more available now than ever before -- helps the construction industry
but wait until folks max out their credit -- and declare bankruptcy in droves
they are buying things with money that isn't there
it's the most fake economy you've ever seen
posted by
Xeno-x
on September 15, 2004 at 2:33 PM
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LOL
The democrats "great society" is in the past. We are moving to the future of a greater living society that is not DEPENDENT welfare. More people now own their own homes than ever before, especially minorities. Blacks are moving away from the democrats trap of welfare and into the new economy of ownership. But you westwend are being left behind wallowing in the misinformation fed to you by democrats.
It's a new century in case you didn't realize it. America is doing better now than when Clintoon was in office. Unemployment is at 5.4%, lower now under Bush than it was under Clinton. That is a fact that I'm sure you welfare pushers can't stand.
Remember when Clinton's economy was all the rage? It was fake because it was built on an internet bubble that popped in March of 2000 all over Clinton. Also, the last two quarters of his term were negative growth and led to the recession. Clinton didn't do a damn thing about it. But Bush fixed it.
NOBODY wants to be on welfare.. it's a no win situation that creates messes of peoples lives. Democrats only want you to be stuck on welfare so they can keep you down and them in control of your life. Why? Because they 'feel' they (big government) know how you should live your life better than you do and should be able to tell you what you can and cannot do with it. Are you a puppet? Democrats think you are.
posted by
DEMSareEVIL
on September 15, 2004 at 12:33 PM
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