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Posted on 12/24/2008 12:56:19 PM PST by SmithL
Two reports suggest that state and federal public assistance programs may be overwhelmed by the growing ranks of families seeking help during the recession.
"The safety net is under severe strain," said Jean Ross, director of the California Budget Project, a liberal group in Sacramento. "Because of the severity of the economic downturn, increasing numbers of Californians are losing jobs or having their hours cut back."
Margaret Simms, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., looked at how state governments from coast to coast are facing declining revenue at a time of rising need.
"We've made some changes in our safety net system, and the consequences are not going to be uniformly good for the people who need them," Simms said.
Conservative poverty expert Douglas Besharov with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., cautioned against overreaction to these reports by advocacy groups.
"The safety net is there, and it will do what it is supposed to do - it will prevent people from falling all the way to the bottom," he said.
But Besharov said the economic stimulus program being prepared for the incoming Obama administration will probably bolster unemployment insurance.
"If it's done right, it is a good idea," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Safety nets are there to stop the fall. The person falling is supposed to get back on her feet and not just lay on the net though.
I suppose that saving $$$ like they do in Japan and China is out of the question. Everyone is apparently entitled to iPods, digital TV, fast food, F-150s and a house.
Ronaldus Magnus put something like this: "Welfare was designed as a safety net, but for some it has become a hammock." One of his great quotes. ;)
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Laziness kills
It is NOT up to the American taxpayer to feed, clothe, educate and medicate illegal aliens and their children.
BTTT
0bama misspoke when he told ‘Joe the Plumber’ that he wanted to ‘spread the wealth’. What socialists always wind up doing in the final analysis is ‘spreading the poverty’. Whoever thought up the phrase ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ very well could have had socialists in mind.
"If it's done right, it is a good idea," he said.
With "conservatives" like this, who needs liberals?
Well, at least we won’t have to read reports like this for the next four years. Obama Christmases will see nobody on the street, no homeless people, no unemployed, no hungry, nobody lacking for anything.
The problem is - that "safety net" has been used for far too long as more than a safety net. Government programs, when used correctly (is that possible?) would be the resource of absolute last resort, and should NEVER be the sole source of help.
But far too many people have become generational slaves to the "system" of government "safety nets".
They have milked the cow for all it was worth and they’re afraid the cow is going to run dry. But, never fear—0’s here.
Ha ha ha haaaaaaaa. Stop. You're killing me.
Wait. You're serious, aren't you?
Gee, Douglas. What kind of "overreaction" are you worried about?
Spending more money on more government safety nets?
Don't waste a moment of your precious time worrying about that. You KNOW it's going to happen.
People are a lot more careful walking the high wire when there’s no safety net. Some might not even decide to walk it at all.
Heck, it shouldn't be up to the American taxpayer to feed, clothe, educate and medicate anyone.
The ‘safety net’ has become the government - the true parents of many of our nation’s children going on 3 generations. The schools were the mother where meals were cooked, medical attention given, praise for a job well done, and discipline for failures, while the real mom sat home and watched soap operas, or attempted to be the friend rather than the parent. Uncle Sam was the bread winner and the default father. The natural safety net of extended family and friends that existed as recently at 50 years ago has been shredded.
When Mom and Dad are government entities, the kids have piss-poor parents.
What happens when unemployed or down and out Americans are told there is no money because we paid it all to illegal immigrants last year? Or that they have no jobs for them because they were jobs too good for Americans last year?
If welfare and unemployment checks start bouncing for citizens, non-citizens better flee the country fast.
Of course they believe we are in a great depression and blame Bush for all their problems when they have been and still are living off the tax payer.
It seems to me the definition of poor has changed from when I was little.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS 
SmithL