Republicans propose welfare reform as Illinois budget fix

[Frisbee]

Source: BY HANNAH HESS | [e-mail]

Posted: Monday, March 7, 2011 12:05 am
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.

Some Illinois lawmakers believe they have found the key to solving the state's massive budget crisis: squeezing savings from the safety net supporting the state's 1.6 million welfare recipients.

Republican lawmakers recently proposed a new package of reforms — forcing drug testing for welfare recipients, sending debt collectors after those improperly receiving benefits and booting the children of illegal immigrants from the state's Medicaid rolls — aimed at cracking down on abuse within the system.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_cdb5bc4f-afc9-5a0e-a99f-9488222c1651.html

[surrealAmerican]

1. There isn't a single one of those proposals ...

... that would actually save money. Aside from causing great hardships for vulnerable people, they would cost more than they would "save".

[ejpoeta]

2. i don't believe they really care about saving money. they just don't want any for the little guy.

just more for the wealthy. tax cuts for the rich. that will fix everything. look what a great job it's been doing for ten years!

[himynameiss3an]

3. Again?

Always wanting to punish the underprivileged, those in poverty, and those in need. Never wanting to redistribute the wealth from the top 1% which owns over 40% of our country's total wealth. They already destroyed the "welfare" system with TANF on a national level. This is just disturbing; right around 15% of us live in poverty. That's about 48 million Americans. I have a serious question, no sarcasm at all: Do Republicans care about those in need of economic assistance?

[Frisbee]

4. "Do Republicans care about those in need of economic assistance?"

I'm sure there are a few who do (not so much sure, as like to hope), but I am sure the overwhelming majority couldn't care less. But they'll be the first to tell you what good Christians they are. Makes you wonder if they've ever actually held a Bible.

[himynameiss3an]

6. Exactly.

That's what frustrates, perhaps more than anything else. The most conservative of the right-wing tend to be those who claim to be the "strongest" Christians. But it's all hypocrisy; they refuse to tax the top 1% effectively, and claim that those seeking assistance are looking to "opt out" of competition, or are just lazy. When arguing with a very conservative Christian from my Poli class last semester, her rebuttal was that: "Christians will use private donations and charity to combat poverty, not the government."

Charity is brilliant, yet even so, we still remain at a 15% poverty rate.

[Marr]

5. It's like this country is on auto-pilot. Whenever it's poked, the

automatic response is to take from poor people and give to rich people. It's become so lopsided now that even some of the Republicans I know are complaining about it. This is rich soil for populist politics, but such rhetoric is locked well outside of the mainstream dialogue.