My time at Walmart: Why we need serious welfare reform

[catknit 144]

I never mentioned the government fixing it.

As a matter of fact, I think independent agencies would do a hell of a better job. That said, any agency/group/church/not-for-profit/for-profit/whatever, can't have a one size fit all approach.

Problems in my neck of the woods are most likely different from problems in your neck of the woods - I'm guessing you don't have people with repetitive stress issues in the wrists from pulling skin off of chicken breasts then collecting disability and sorely needing a retraining program that doesn't include additional stresses to that part of the body or traditional computer related training [can't type if you can't feel your fingers]. We have a population here that could benefit from that.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I never mentioned the government fixing it.

As a matter of fact, I think independent agencies would do a hell of a better job. That said, any agency/group/church/not-for-profit/for-profit/whatever, can't have a one size fit all approach.

Then you agree with eliminating the entitlement programs?

Problems in my neck of the woods are most likely different from problems in your neck of the woods - I'm guessing you don't have people with repetitive stress issues in the wrists from pulling skin off of chicken breasts then collecting disability and sorely needing a retraining program that doesn't include additional stresses to that part of the body or traditional computer related training [can't type if you can't feel your fingers]. We have a population here that could benefit from that.

You're right, we don't have a lot of Chicken related disability around these parts but again I would think that the disability insurance companies would be more motivated to address the retraining issue if there wasn't government provided disability and/or entitlement programs for these people to fall back on.

[catknit 144]

I'm not into ending all entitlement programs - I think they should be re-evaulated and redesigned were needed. Unlike a 100 years ago when you could count on your neighbors/churches/family to be there to help in crisis - that isn't how society is now. How many families here live on homesteads together? How many families are scattered across all 6 times zones? How many people don't even know their neighbors' names? I think some would argue that if we just completely ended all programs we'd see the general public grow a heart again and pitch in. The unemployed would run to jobs to keep food in their stomachs. Ummm, people who think that are way less cynical than me.

By re-evaulated and redesigned I truly mean tear down to the studs and see what is needed. What do you do with the kid with both parents in jail and the extended family just doesn't give a damn or are dead and gone???? You've gotten rid of family services [it's an entitlement to those kids] - open for-profit orphanages? Child labor camps? I mean it doesn't take a lot of logic or legal arguments to start down a path where the least and the meekest get hurt. And that's who I'm scared will be thrown out with the bath water.

I truly don't get why we have both WIC and food stamps. I also don't get why there isn't an approved food list for food stamps. I know a lot has to do with big corp food businesses and their lobbying but really??? That's just nuts.

But, an otherwise had-their-#######-together family that genuinely gets into a fix [a few hundred k in medical bills because the hospital wants the money above and beyond the reasonable and customary the family's insurance company already paid on a sick kid] and they need food stamps for 6 months until their bankruptcy goes through - I don't have a problem with that and I like to think in the back of my head that if all hell broke loose that would be there for me too. [That little example - true story and freaking scary - short of being a millionaire how do you deal with that #######?].

I think the issue is that these programs are too big and not specific enough to the population they serve. I think that more of a private business management style approach would work and maybe it all needs to be handed over to a non-government agency - which would in fact end that entitlement. But, maybe in some cases that isn't true [i think the VA does a half decent job, my dad uses their services and I'm pleasantly surprised with the local offices].

I would not want to end public schools, police forces, fire services, or the ever dreaded USPS.

Here's the thing, I don't trust private businesses anymore than I trust the government.

The local group home I talked about in my last post [i think] - they just privatized. There are 3 buildings with a total of 70-ish patients. The people have a variety of issues but mainly they are there based on their mental health issues. Like "gee the chairs are talking to me" and meaning it crazy. The new corp wants to recoup its investment and turn a profit [and I'm not against that in theory]. Their solutions to the problem were simple - move more to part time to eliminate the need to provide medical benefits to employees [exploiting the entitlement programs to the company's benefit], meet the dietary requirements to keep accreditation by switching from a cook staff and kitchen to a cold food menu thus being able to sell some kitchen equipment and lowering the skilled staff needed to cook. The patients who will be institutionalized for the rest of their lives will never get a hot meal provided to them again while this company is in control.

Think about that. We aren't talking about a welfare queen who chooses not to work or how to game the system. We're talking about literally helpless sick people who in return for the SSDI or SSI check are now getting a roof and a sandwich in a warehouse setting.

A good P&L statement means either the company that took over will look like a better merger candidate or the site itself will be a better "buy" if they decide to sell it down the road. But it also means that these desperately ill people will, for the foreseeable future, be given cereal with milk for breakfast, a sandwich with applesauce for lunch and dinner. Some truly may be so far around the bend that they don't care - but others do care. How do I know? I just helped with a Christmas [hot] dinner that volunteers provided. Many were extremely thankful.

But the bigger question becomes - what happens to these people when there isn't SSDI or SSI to keep the private company happy? Not-for-profits/churches etc don't have the real estate/infrastructure or the funds in place to step right in.

Where are the families in all of this? Many are elderly with no next-of-kin, some were written off by their family because of the whole mental-health stigma, and other families don't have the means to have their loved one some place "nicer". Trust me, if you cared for your family member and saw this place - if you had the means, you'd move them out if you could.

I firmly believe we as a society can do better than that. I don't know how involved the government should be - but I wouldn't say not at all - there has to be over site that isn't easily profitable to someone. There has to be some sort of regulation structure, to think the market will take care of it is laughable - people are too greedy and self centered on both sides. [How many dead people due to no regulations will it take before there is out and out vigilante or angry mob style justice, homes burnt down, executives shot, corporations needing militarized security forces? We have enough armed civilians is this country that I wouldn't want to be anywhere near a corporation that majorly screwed anything up if there were no regulations]. And common sense isn't too common.

There has to be some magic middle ground - some sweet spot - where we can take care of those who truly need care and not gouge people with the costs of entitlement programs.