http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/welfare/ en-us Sun, 3 Jan 2010 18:28:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420081/posts Living on Nothing but Food Stamps JASON DEPARLE and ROBERT M. GEBELOFF January 2, 2010 CAPE CORAL, Fla. — After an improbable rise from the Bronx projects to a job selling Gulf Coast homes, Isabel Bermudez lost it all to an epic housing bust — the six-figure income, the house with the pool and the investment property. With millions of jobs lost and major industries on the ropes, America’s array of government aid — including unemployment insurance, food stamps and cash welfare — is being tested as never before. This series examines how the safety net is holding up under... NYTimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420081/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 18:28:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419949/posts Mom of 9 cries foul Claim: I was sterilized against my will By Jessica Fargen Sunday, January 3, 2010 - Updated 37m ago + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio General Assignment Reporter Check out Jessica Fargen's Reporter's Notebook blog. E-mail Print (83) Comments Text size Share Buzz up!Post-delivery notes indicate she received a tubal ligation, the complaint says. The surgical notes were reviewed by the Herald. This is the second time Savicki has sued over reproductive issues. In 2001, she reached a settlement with CVS and a spermacide company after she became pregnant with her... The Boston Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419949/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 14:23:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419803/posts CAPE CORAL, Fla. — After an improbable rise from the Bronx projects to a job selling Gulf Coast homes, Isabel Bermudez lost it all to an epic housing bust — the six-figure income, the house with the pool and the investment property. Now, as she papers the county with résumés and girds herself for rejection, she is supporting two daughters on an income that inspires a double take: zero dollars in monthly cash and a few hundred dollars in food stamps. With food-stamp use at a record high and surging by the day, Ms. Bermudez belongs to an overlooked subgroup... NEW YORY TIMES http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419803/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 03:07:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419286/posts Immigration law Ignites Fear in Arizona Nicholas Riccardi A new state law requires public workers to report illegal immigrants who apply for benefits they aren't entitled to. The attorney general will decide the law's scope. Reporting from Tucson - Cristina, an illegal immigrant living in South Tucson, recently went to a government office to sign up her children for a state-run Medicaid program. The boy and girl, ages 7 and 3, respectively, are U.S. citizens and entitled to the benefits. But Cristina, who spoke on condition her last name not be used, was fearful. She'd heard of a new state... LATimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419286/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:03:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419228/posts STEVE INSKEEP, host: Arnold Schwarzenegger begins his final year as governor of California in 2010. It's another year that begins with another multibillion-dollar state budget deficit. Schwarzenegger is looking to the federal government for help. John Myers of member station KQED has more. JOHN MYERS: At an event just a few miles from the state capital in Sacramento, Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked whether he had any New Year's resolutions in mind. ... State Senator DARRELL STEINBERG (Democrat, California): We give billions of dollars in business tax credits and nobody really knows whether or not they're really creating jobs, and I'm... NPR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419228/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:37:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416204/posts A MOTHER and father with an incredible 14 kids who prove Britain's benefits system has gone bonkers, showering them with a whopping tax-free £36,847 (US$58,815) a year Pregnant Dawn and Sean Cain's huge family, aged 21 years to 19 months, have just enjoyed a very merry Christmas, with every mouthful of their turkey dinner, and every present stuffed under their tree, paid for by taxpayers. To match their breathtaking haul from the public purse Sean would have to clinch a job paying a gross salary of £51,500 ($82,200). Britain's average salary is just £21,320 ($34,000). He and wife Dawn admit... news.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416204/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:30:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415542/posts On Christmas Eve, I, my three small children, and my wife, who works the graveyard shift at a truck stop to supplement our meager income, visited our local Kroger store to pick up a loaf of frozen garlic bread to go with dinner. I refrain from writing much about myself in this blog, as it seems somewhat egotistic to assume anyone would want to read about my personal life. However, on this particular night, we ended up checking out behind a group of ladies. Their hair was newly done, obviously at a salon. Each of them had had their fingernails... The Constitutional Alamo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415542/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:02:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414661/posts The purpose of the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution was only to limit the tax power of the Government. The words "General" and "Welfare" were not placed there to give the Government authority to spend on whatever they want (ie healthcare), they're there to simply make it known that the Government has to always spend for the country as a whole, not for some single group. The clause doesn't give the Government authority, it limits it! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414661/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:56:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412350/posts Sharon Jasper has spent 57 of her 58 years dedicated to one cause and one cause only, and has nothing to show for her dedicated servitude... She has lived in Section 8 housing all but 1 of her 58 years. It was a legacy passed down from her parents who moved into Section 8 housing in 1949 when she was six months old.. She has passed the legacy down to her children, but fears they may have to get jobs to pay for the utilities and deposits. She laments about her one year hiatus from the comfort of her Section... MyFreePress http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412350/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:04:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411360/posts Nelson’s Nebraska To Receive Extra Medicaid Funds Under Senate Bill This morning’s managers amendment to the merged Senate health bill goes a long way towards satisfying the demands of Democratic hold-out and all-important 60th vote Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE). Nelson has recently complained that the proposed expansion of Medicaid to those earning below 133% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) would burden his state of Nebraska and suggested that states should be able to opt-in to the program. Under the current merged legislation (the version unveiled on November 18th), the federal government fully finances care for the expanded population for... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411360/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:32:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407091/posts There has been many problems with the automated system of the FSSA. Indiana's citizens that are on the various programs (medicaid, food stamps, and TANF) have reported missing paperwork, the lack of face to face contact and unqualified call center operatives. The problems got bad enough that the federal government started watching the program. Huntington Political Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407091/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:29:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405097/posts School Lunches = Pet Food? Many of you may be quite picky about what you feed your children. So many parents these days, in a hissy fit of Whole Foods-fueled hippie-ness, boycott the likes of a Happy Meal. State governments, much like our own here in California, rail against ye olde fashioned childhood snack time staples like candy bars and sodas, banning schools from vending all things that aren't dried fruit and Nutri-Grain bars. And parents these days, in their infinite laziness and longing to be "one of the kids," push their children toward video games in lieu of real... 760 KFMB AM San Diego http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405097/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:37:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404621/posts In America we are quickly reaching the critical point where expansion of freedom is viewed by some as a threat to religious liberty. Advocates for religious freedom who once took an almost permissive approach so long as the rights and safety of innocent third parties were protected are now actively calling for those types of freedoms to be curtailed. It is a delicate balancing act, and churches do well to protect their integrity. But if they are also using the power of this unity to “reform laws” and “rebuild the culture” then we are witnessing the emergence of a new... ReligiousLiberty.TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404621/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:12:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404515/posts Here is a question of principle. Do you take the free money? When Comrade Obama comes calling, and he’s passing out cash, do you take it? Are you a hypocrite if you denounce the administration’s free spending, but take the administration’s free handouts? That’s an issue many people face. If you’re a conservative, and you believe that debt is killing our country and that welfare is bad, do you participate in Cash For Clunkers? Do you let the government help you buy a refrigerator or insulate your house?Do you drink of the poison you believe is killing your country? The... boblonsberry.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404515/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:52:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403519/posts The Minnesota Department of Human Services has distributed nearly $11 million of federal funds to 31 state organizations that help individuals, families and unaccompanied youth find and stay in affordable housing, the department said Tuesday. Minnesota received $23.5 million of the $1.5 billion Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program money authorized under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More than half of the funds will go directly to certain cities and counties in the state to prevent or address homelessness. StarTribune.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403519/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 06:40:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397870/posts An Afghan family are still living in a £1.2million home paid for by the taxpayer - more than a year after a minister pledged to thrown them out. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell ordered a complete overhaul of a system that allowed single mother Toorpakai Saiedi, 36, and her seven children to move into the property at a cost of £12,458 a month. But nearly 14 months after this pledge the family - which receive a staggering £170,000 a year in benefits - are still living in luxury in the seven-bedroom home in Acton, West London. The detached property... Daily Mail - UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397870/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:01:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396100/posts With food stamp use at record highs and climbing every month, a program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children. It has grown so rapidly in places so diverse that it is becoming nearly as ordinary as the groceries it buys. More than 36 million people use inconspicuous plastic cards for staples [...]. Virtually all have incomes near or below the federal poverty line, but their eclectic ranks testify to the range of people struggling with basic needs. [...] While the numbers have soared during the recession, the... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396100/posts#comment Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:27:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395366/posts A century ago many leading leftists subscribed to the vile pseudo-science of eugenics, writes Dennis Sewell, and the influence of that thinking can still be seen today We live in a country where the poorest members of society are literally trapped. We pay them millions not to work, simply maintaining them at subsistence level like prisoners of the state. Tied up with bureaucratic regulations and subject to crazy marginal rates of tax, there are few chances to escape for Britain’s welfare-dependent. A million of those out of work have been jobless for a decade or more. They see their chances... The Spectator (U.K.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395366/posts#comment Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:44:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383780/posts Has the AIG CEO Robert Benmosche, just three months into the job, had enough? The Wall Street Journal scoops the field this morning with news from inside the AIG board room that Benmosche has informed the board "he is considering stepping down as chief executive of the government-controlled insurer." Benmosche dropped the bomb last week, saying he was "done." According to the Journal's sources, Benmosche "is chafing under constraints imposed by AIG's government overseers, particularly a recent compensation review by the Obama administration's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg." He's not quite out the door yet, though. He agreed to think over... The Big Money http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383780/posts#comment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:01:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388154/posts LANSING, Mich. — One frustrated client hurled a piece of concrete through the window of a welfare agency. Another threw her car keys at a welfare worker before being escorted away. At one point, a woman on public assistance even took a swing at a worker. As Michigan struggles with the highest-in-the-nation jobless rate, state workers who deal with unemployment, welfare and other aid programs say they have never been so overwhelmed — or so worried about their safety. Some clients have begun taking their anger out on the very people who are offering help. And caseworkers are seeking extra... Waterbury Republican-American via A.P. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388154/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:12:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2386996/posts In an odd exposé that has left the worlds of politics and academia abuzz, a local homeless person revealed yesterday that he only blamed himself for his failures. The Current Truth http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2386996/posts#comment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:25:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2380566/posts <p>LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's father is seeking an allowance from his son's estate to help cover expenses that exceed $15,000 a month, according to court documents filed Friday.</p> <p>The request seeking an unspecified amount for Joe Jackson was filed by lawyer Brian Oxman, who said there was no apparent reason for the administrators of the estate to not seek an allowance for the 81-year-old Jackson family patriarch.</p> foxnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2380566/posts#comment Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:50:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377114/posts The left avers that many Americans are poverty-stricken, that we need to do more to alleviate their plight, and that the primary role of government is to help them. Let us examine these claims. 'Poverty' may be viewed as harsh deprivation, such as in Biafra or the Congo. Yet nobody in America starves to death. It is true that the standard of living of illegals from Mexico is far below ours, yet even they are far better off than the inhabitants of third-world countries. Nor do the poor in America suffer as did those during the Great Depression. Consider the... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377114/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 03:30:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373552/posts Trillion dollar+ budget deficit for the fiscal year 2009 and the money keeps flowing! Must be ultra income redistribution! Safe link wireless http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373552/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:39:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373289/posts PORTLAND, Ore. - With many families suddenly struggling to feed themselves, the big warehouse clubs known for king-size packages of steak and jumbo boxes of Cheerios are increasingly competing with grocery stores for the 36 million Americans now on food stamps. Costco Wholesale Corp. said Wednesday that it would start accepting food stamps at its warehouse clubs nationwide after testing them at stores in New York. That is a big about-face for a chain that has catered to the bargain-hunting affluent with its gourmet foods, and a reflection of the fact food-stamp use has hit new highs. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373289/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:11:06 GMT