The four biggest lies told about welfare

[ErikJ]

Last edited Sun Jul 7, 2013, 07:11 PM - Edit history (1)

The four biggest lies told about welfare

Jean Davidson

Myth #1: Welfare benefits go to minority women who never leave the dole.

THE FACT IS, MORE WHITES RECEIVE aid than blacks or Hispanics. Two out of three welfare recipients are children, not adults. And contrary to the stereotype of families forever dependent, nearly three out of four women receiving aid get off welfare within two years.
..................................clip

Myth #2: Welfare encourages teen pregnancy and large, dependent families.


"There is no evidence that welfare encourages more children," Daly insists.

"In fact, the states with the highest benefits have the lowest rates of additional births, and the states with the lowest benefits have the highest." ...........................................................................clip

Myth #3: People on welfare live pretty well.

CYNTHIA BARNETT BEARS NO resemblance to the Cadillac-driving "Welfare Queen" that President Ronald Reagan made famous as an example of fraud and excess in programs to aid the poor.
TOGETHER, AFDC AND FOOD-STAMP assistance for the family totals $661 per month, and $7,932 per year. That's just 64 percent of the federal poverty line for a family of three, which stands at a grim $12,320. Just one in five AFDC families receive housing assistance.
........................................clip

Myth #4: Welfare is a huge drain on the federal budget.

POVERTY IS EXPENSIVE. It's true that with state and federal expenditures, welfare programs cost a total of $24 billion annually. And yet welfare payments affect only 1 percent of the federal budget.

The fact is, affluent Americans enjoy far greater benefits in the form of tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes, capital gains exclusions, and farm subsidies. The higher the household income, under current tax law, the greater the tax advantages.

.....................................clip
http://salt.claretianpubs.org/issues/welfare/davids.html

[TheDebbieDee]

1. One percent???? That's even less than I thought it was...........

[Igel]

13. They're including Social Security and other non-discretionary spending in that.

We play the same game as conservatives. When it's in our interests, we insist on spending for something as a percentage of discretionary spending. So the military is over half of all (discretionary) spending. Sounds horrible, doesn't it?

When it suits us, we insist on calculating percentages based on all () spending. The military is something like 20% of all spending. Oh. Only around 20% for keeping us safe? What's the problem?

There's also the "what's to be included" game. Do you conclude welfare is a narrow program? Or do you shove into everything that can plausibly be understood to be "welfare"?

Even the OP plays games. Whites make up over half of welfare recipients. At about 74% of the population, they make up about 55% of the recipients. The number varies a bit--it's been as low as 51% and has increased to around 55% in the last couple of years, as the recession has forced more people onto welfare. Latinos, Asians, NAs are usually proportionately represented.

It's accurate. But might leave a false impression, or an impression that is true but very simplified without us being told that it's been simplified at all. We have hamburgers, then we have hamburger sliders. We have information, then we have information sliders.

[Luminous Animal]

2. Clinton's welfare reform was one of the greatest personal political activism losses of my life

and still makes me cry.

[Politicub]

10. +1 - it was one of the worst things that happened during his term

Once you give in on those hard fought battles, it takes generations to win them back -- if ever.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Many people who have never needed any assistance also believe

that it's so easy to get on that "gravy train", too. They think all you have to do is walk into the office, say you need help and they just start throwing money, food stamps and other benefits at you. They have no idea the hurdles you have to cross and the hoops you have to jump through before you qualify.

[auntsue]

5. or the heartbreak and panic

when you don't qualify, because you are just a tad over the limit. Happened at the food bank too. AND section 8 housing has a multi year waiting list. Getting old is and being poor....not for sissies !

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. It's worse than that....

There are idiots out there that really believe you can just decide to not work and go to "the Welfare Office" and get all that money you describe.

But not if you are white.

[Cleita]

4. As to point number #1, I used to live in Idaho, a place that's hard to find a person of color and

a state, with very poor people, thanks to the Republican government there. When I went to the market, almost every woman in line was overweight, from cheap processed food, and used food stamps. It's not that most of them and their husbands didn't work. It's just that a lot of the work, like logging, or working the resorts like Sun Valley were seasonal and very low paying besides. Most of them hunted to supplement their meager rations. A deer would feed a family for half a year. Unfortunately, the urban poor don't even have the option of hunting for meat to supplement their food stamps.

[auntsue]

7. Eating healthy fresh veggies and wholesome protein

is really hard with limited income...............beans, rice, noodles are filling but packs on the pounds.

[7962]

8. I agree on 3 of 4, but you've got #1 a little wrong.

More blacks ARE on welfare. And as a pct of population that makes the number even bigger.
But the only way youre gonna "live good" on it is if you're cheating or doing some criminal activity. Where I live, the benfit is 205.00 a month for one person. Damn sure cant retire on THAT.

http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/

[Dan]

9. I just checked

the percentages are somewhat comparable, but the population of each racial demographic is different. #1 was correct .

[7962]

11. help me out here

If the pcts of people on welfare are 38% white and 39% black, and blacks make up 13% of the population, how can more whites be on it? Again, using the info at the link I provided, which shows (supposedly) official govt stats.

[Dan]

15. sorry, you're right

I was thinking total % population and didn't take into account that the link provided the total population currently on welfare; and then based on the %'s and demographics - you were right, I misspoke. Sorry.

[ReRe]

12. "Poverty is the worst form of violence." ~~M. Ghandi

[Luminous Animal]

16. Yep.

[Hydra]

17. Thanks for posting this

Because I see the misinformation everywhere. Lots of people think there is a secret gravy train that they're not getting in on and a bunch of lazy people are using to suck up their tax dollars.

They're looking the wrong direction- that's not called "Welfare," it's called "Wall St." Or "Lockheed." Or "Booz-Allen."