Rescue inequality?

by Simon 63 Replies latest social current

• 

  Sara Annie

  If you are well off, everything is rosey. If you fall on hard times there is not much of a safety net.Again, another ridiculous blanket assertion.

  People who fall on "hard times" in this country (either by their own choosing or through circumstances beyond their control) have an almost ridiculous amount of aid available to them. Americans (and non-Americans for that matter in many cases) can and do receive state aid that pays for their housing, medical care, daycare, food and educational costs. There are unemployment & disability programs available when people are in need. Many of the poorest people in this country enjoy a standard of living that is unheard of by the poor in many other nations.

  In many ways, I think the net is too wide. As an American, I see the poverty problem as self perpetuating in that there is often no impetus to take advantage of the opportunities that are available in spades to improve your life--why work any harder (or at all) if someone else will foot the bill to make sure that you've got a roof over your head and a meal on your table? The attitude seems to be that while it may not be the best of all possible worlds, it sure beats working for it. The lives and plights people who legitimately need and benefit from the enormous amounts of aid available are often overshadowed by those who have made the same aid their 'career'.

  Edited to add: But I should also mention that I have a very hard time denying or limiting such aid to people who are caring for children (or dependent adults). Regardless of the choices or circumstances of the caregivers, I can't see making those who they care for suffer more for them.
• 

  Sara Annie

  SA, from the point of view of one who's been both "average or below," it does suck. This isn't a ridiculous blanket assertion.

  Well, sure. No one said it was fun not to have as much money as you want, but the resources to change one's plight are available for the taking. It is our responsibility to make our own fate in this world.
• 

  Simon

  I just noticed this in the same article:

  “How does this work? They (are) clean, they are dry, they get out ahead of us?” exclaimed Howard Blue, 22, who tried to get in their line. The National Guard blocked him as other guardsmen helped the well-dressed guests with their luggage.

  Hey, we can;t help you but we can help move this other guy's luggage. LUGGAGE?!

  Christ.
• 

  willy_think

  you should ask the dumb ass Sara annie, she knows jist what to do in situations like this one.
• 

  talesin

  SA, from the point of view of one who's been both "average or below," it does suck. This isn't a ridiculous blanket assertion. High 5's, Under74!

  This is true in Canada as well. I was in the slightly above average bracket, and because of illness have lived in the "below" for a few years ... No, sarah annie, the poor cannot always take advantage of programs that the government claims are so available. Here in Canada, in my province, the government is cutting back, and those who work in "Employment Assistance for Disabled Persons" are instructed to exhaust every avenue to disqualify us for funding --- it is only the most persistent who will eventually receive any aid. It's not what people crack it up to be! Also, they do not give you enough money to eat (125 bux a month), especially if you have a special diet, it is no picnic, let me assure you. There is little equality for the poor in western society ,,, that is an illusion. tal
• 

  upside/down

  There is little equality for the poor in western society ,,, that is an illusion.

  There is NO equality...that's why it's called "poor"...

  I was as low as person can get 2 years ago...broke my neck in an auto accident (not my fault)...the lady who hit me had no insurance...I lost my job making 92K per year...my Dub "brothers" decided to shun me...we had NOTHING.

  The gov't aid provided was scandalous...considering how much taxes I've paid over my life...BUT...it was "enough" (barely) to get us by and get on our feet again... I reiterate...it was sustenance existance...period. But what should I have expected? Ain't nothing in life that's free.

  I had to work my ass off to get out of that pit...and we did WITHOUT. That's a concept many can't swallow, as they brainwash themselves watchin Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous on TV.

  I have permanent debilitating health issues...and a family to feed... I had to make some new friends and start from scratch... I even ended up filing for bankruptcy...

  My motto: Expect NOTHING, accept EVERYTHING!

  You've got to be your own advocate no matter what...you can't and shouldn't rely on the government...as if it were "God".

  That's the best you can expect...Remember...NOBODY owes you anything...even if you think you deserve it...So be very pro-active in your own welfare...and if you're really lucky you'll have a few good friends that lend you a hand when you need it most.

  Good luck and hard work to all!

  u/d(of the lived well & suffered want class)
• 

  Sara Annie

  No, sarah annie, the poor cannot always take advantage of programs that the government claims are so available. Here in Canada, in my province, the government is cutting back, and those who work in "Employment Assistance for Disabled Persons" are instructed to exhaust every avenue to disqualify us for funding --- it is only the most persistent who will eventually receive any aid

  This is part of the point I was trying (albeit not successfully) to make.

  That the people who actually need the aid are being harmed by the number of people who DON'T need it, but get it too. A small case in point: When I was in college, I worked my way through school waiting tables and living as a resident assitant in the dorms. In one of my classes, we split into work groups. In speaking with two of the people in my group, I learned that they both--as 21 year old single, childless women without any disability--were receiving food stamps, subsidized housing and educational grants from the state. Dumbfounded that they would even qualify for such aid, I was equally appalled that they would seek out and accept it--when I asked them how they justified taking aid when they had no physical or situational impediment to prevent them from working, the answer from one of them was, verbatim: "If you saw someone drop a dollar on the street, wouldn't you pick it up?" Here I was, busting my butt to work my way through school and make my own future what I wanted it to be, and they were kicking back and relaxing while those of us willing and able to work had to foot the bill. I don't care if it only amounted to three cents, I wanted to demand the portion of MY tax dollars that supported their lifestyle back.

  And it is the very fact that this kind of aid is available and being handed out to people who do NOT need (or arguably deserve) it that is siphoning off the dollars from those who have a legitimate claim to it.

  Edited to add: I apologize for the way this thread headed down the hi-jack highway.
• 

  DannyHaszard

  First responders say the delay was one of logistics that because of "blockage by buildings and aerial telephone wires they couldn't fly in with choppers".

  THINK! If Osama bin laden or Saddam was in the superdome they would be in like flint.

  With jump jets.
• 

  Jeannine

  While it is true that the private hospitals were evacuated well before the public ones, there was more than "inequality" by our government that caused that. The private hospitals are just that....private. Private hospitals are owned and operated by....private individuals. These private individuals prepared in advance for the hurricane and had a good evacution plan at a cost that was paid by themselves. These private hospitals did not have to rely on the government. Instead, they picked up their own ball and got their patients and staff out of there. Unfortunately, the public hospitals had nobody to rely on except our incompetent government. So, yes, in the end there has been great inequality. However, not all of it was by "design" of the government. Just look at the rich hotels that did everything that they could do to perform a privately paid evacuation. It is heartbreaking that money became the difference between life and death in this tragedy.
• 

  Double Edge

  America is probably a great place to be well-off ... but it sucks to be average or below

  hmmmmm, If you are "well-off", you can make any place great. That statement can be true of almost anywhere. btw.... I'm most certainly 'average'... and it doesn't suck... I've had many, many opportunities that I've taken advantage of, and some I haven't. Quit judging something by news sound-bites....