If mom and dad make bad decisions its okay that the kid suffers I guess. The nerve of those Damn kids wanting to be fed.

why don't you donate ALL your money to feed those kids. We didn't have those kids, they aren't MY problem!

This has got to be the saddest case of "Where's my free stuff?" that I have ever seen.

Yah right, the parents have money to buy expensive cars but don't have extra money to feed the kids on off school days. Welfare checks are there to keep the people poor forever. The problem is these people don't understand that theory. Well, the democrat party is doing a pretty good damn job with keeping the poor people stay permanently poor generation after generation.

One of my good friends is one of eight children. They didn't eat fancy lunches, but their parents made sure they never went hungry. They didn't have the "extras" in life (video games, giant TV, fancy cars) but they did fine. I personally came from divorced parents - with a father who was an a**hole and took off leaving my mother with a young child and all the bills. She pulled herself up by the bootstraps and always made sure I was taken care of, even if she had to go without something. I had clothes on my back and food on my plate every day.

If you choose to have that many kids you better damn be ready to feed, dress, education, and raise YOUR kids. Stop relying on everyone else to take care of you.

SciTeach...CONGRATULATIONS to you and your good friend....AND the parent(s) who made things happen DESPITE being unable to do so.

You folks are truly the BEST of America.

Those who practice procreation and irresponsibility and who fail to educate, clothe or feed their kids because they have "higher priorities" (you can make your own list of what aberrations these might be) are the very WORST.

no @!$%#. It's also fitting that every person in the pics is probably an illegal mexican immigrant. I was looking for ins agents in the background, but didn't see any. how many legal citizens aren't going to get food because of these leeches?! this welfare state is growing exponentially with the bleeding heart libs in power and will dry our resources up quickly. send every illegal mooch home they are a massive drain on our society.

It is NOT my job to feed other's kids...

From what I understand about free lunch is that the parents are usually already receiving food stamps as it is. I find this a lack of parenting and very disgraceful. If you are receiving benefits, that at least use them for the best. I really do not want my hard earned money to go to waste. I do not think it is that hard to feed your children. If it is so hard, than there are plenty of people who want kids who cannot have any.

Imagine if the case was no free beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets! Now that would cause a riot!

Marys09, I don't care if the parent or parents are lily white or blacky wacky. It is ridiculous to have so many kids you can't afford. It is child abuse, plain and simple.

No of what you people say about how bad these parents are matters. The bottom line is that these CHILDREN are not getting fed. Should we as a society just turn our backs on them and let them starve because their parents are not providing. Or maybe we should act with some level of morality and make sure even if their parents fail them, our society does not.

And people like you are the reason these things just keep on happening.

I half agree with you, spg. If we are gonna take care of the kids, put the parents in jail. It is child abuse or neglect, take your pick. The fact that it is Latinos, legal or not, just tells me one thing: they know the ends and outs of our system better than I do! I go hungry about 3 days every 2 weeks, because paying my bills and feeding my pets are more important than my own welfare. If I were a parent, I'd literally starve to death before my children would go hungry, no matter if they get free lunch at school or not. I'd be willing to bet that these schools with these high percentages of reduced/free lunches also have abysmal pass rates as well, since all of it starts with the parents, or lack there of. I have plenty of morality spg, I just don't think it's my job to feed peoples' kids when they have resources in the community, but won't apply themselves enough to even make it to the local community food bank. Oh yeah, maybe the English barrier has something to do with that!

Melhog, I agree. My first point is that there are large numbers of white women on welfare just like there are african american or hispanic women on welfare. Second, it takes two to tango, and men, whether they are white, black or whatever need to be held equally responsible. When men are held equally accountable and take equal responsibility for both creating and supporting their kids, we will have far less children who need to be fed by the government!

spg64:

No we should not let children starve. That being said, as long as questionable, irresponsible moms and dads KNOW there is food to be had at school it lets them off the hook. I don't mind feeding a hungry child, but not so some worthless parent can relinquish their responsibility.

Excuse me Jerry I donate to the food bank and churches frequently how am I part of the problem? As a lily white single father Mary09 I saw to it my daughter had (has/remarried) food.

Thank you Wizard...a man who takes care of his family! My point was that this is not a racial issue but a human issue.

I think the problem here is that parents don't want to do any work. School lunches are "prepared" for them. It's not about nutrition; it's about lazy parents who don't want to fix lunch.

HINT: For $1 (yes, you can use food stamps), you can feed a whole family oatmeal for breakfast. It's nutritious and filling. For about $4, you can feed a whole family (and more) a tuna sandwich on whole grain bread. It's nutritious and filling. Bananas, brown rice, beans, cabbage, whole wheat flour... all these staples are incredibly cheap, healthy and filling.

It doesn't have to be hot-off-the-grill, with 7 different flavors, to be palatable. Instead of teaching kids to "eat out" all the time (for free, at that!), why don't these parents take "snow day" as an opportunity to teach their children how to meet their own needs? Good grief. You don't need the school to make you a hot lunch every day; most of the world eats rice or potatoes every single day.

Jerry,

Do you really think that starving innocent Children is going to stop poor people and drug addicts from breeding. Come on be rational, all we will be doing is creating another problem for our Country and losing our souls in the process. There are other solutions but the right in this country does not want to look at any of those either. Some how starving innocent poor children is acceptable, yet aborting a fetus is an abomination. Starving a helpless infant is OK but we don't want to give addicts free birth control. How about we institute a program that pays people $5000 or $10,000 if they are willing to get fixed before their 2nd kid. Oh no, that smells to much like communism, we will just starve the helpless little buggers instead. Come on people, wake up!

I bet a huge percentage of the parents of these children-in-need are on "disability," with absolutely no justification.

Most of these parents just need to step up and be human beings to feed their children.

Why do so many people on "disability" in this country, rival those in 4th world countries?

cable TV, high speed internet, cellular phones, new cars, gold necklace, etc.. This is how they spend their welfare checks. Because we kept on feeding the kids, it made the parents depend totally on us for support. I felt sorry for these kids, but there is nothing I can do about it. By giving to them, we are making the parents irresponsible and creating a new generation of welfare recipients. It is time to stop handing out welfare checks and start teaching these people to fend for themselves.

SOOOOOOOOO,What happens when schools closefor the summer,or school vacations?Do they all starve to death?How is it possible for the parents to still be alive if the only food source is at school?Somethings really off with this story.I'm having a real hard time believing they only eat at school!

proper nutrition for Americans should be a Must..as far as the food stamp program goes; that should be regulated to purchasing foods of nutritional value, instead of junk food buying that has created a whale of a problems right now..such as obesity, diabetes, heart problems etc., at such a young age..

Wow, all of you who don't want to help the poor, I hope you will never be hungry. But when you are there for the final judgement day, your God will see your black hearts.

Geez... get a grip.

Do you really think kids go without lunch because there's no school? I think that is a rare exception - not a norm...

One county , next to the best paid government employees, and 43,000, children rely on a free school lunch! Lets multiply that time all the counties in the country; are we saying that 30 million children have nothing to eat but what the school boards give out for free; if this is true, then we have lost our nation.

This wall of words, which passes for a "discussion," is a perfect example of how most people cling to stereotypes or broad principles. There is no grey area - just the good people and the bad people. Amazing.

What would you say to the family who started out well; modest house, a couple of kids, both working and paying their bills, but then fell on hard times beyond their control? What about illness, death, JOB LOSSES?

Sure, you can point to people who abuse the system. But I can't point out wealthy folks who started with nothing and worked their way up, and I can point to others whose careers, futures and fortunes were determined at birth by what their already-wealthy families already owned.

Stop thinking you can judge a person by their financial worth for a minute, please! If anybody cared to stop ranting with "facts" pulled out of their rear orifices to look at actual census date, they would understand that income redistribution has been going on for quite some time - but it's NOT the direction your "gut" tells you. This means the middle class is getting poorer. Not only do they have to suffer from the financial instability, but they have to deal with misinformed, ignorant and hateful comments like the ones here.

boog - No, the worst case is social security...

get real - but it's other people's job to provide you with welfare (social security) if not now, then later...

well said ellen but stop drinking that kool-aid it will wrought your teeth. as for the rest of you ignorant folks that are not willing to help feed the poor in AMERICA shame on you may god have Mercy on your souls

Ellen, could YOU be more of an idiot? You talk about the middle class getting poorer, and it's a direct result of the policies you favor. The government doesn't take in enough tax revenue annually to pay for all of the programs in place. They borrow and print money to cover the expenses every year. Every year the cost of living goes up because the value of our money goes down. This just doesn't keep poor people poor, it makes everybody make due with less. Look at a graph showing the cost of living versus income since the late 60s, early 70s. Wages are relatively flat over the last 40 years, but the cost of living continues to grow with no problems. Maybe, just maybe, this could be a reflection of what the GREAT SOCIETY has done to us.

spg should read this too. First, if parents were not able to feed their children the DHHS would take those kids until they were able to do so. That is just a reality. Second, these social safety nets foster irresponsibilty and poor choices, not contain them. These parasites use their children against you. They take advantage of your compassion. Problem is, your compassion does NOT justify making it the responsibility of everyone else to take care of all of these people. We have LOCAL charities, churches, and other programs that the truly needy can benefit from on a short-term basis. None of us were born for the sole purpose of providing a living for another person. The only people responsible for providing for someone else are those who have children. PERIOD! Us "righties" are very compassionate people, but we are not idiots like those of you who promote programs that don't work, wreak economic havok on us all, and violate the property rights of every individual in this country. Corporate welfare is another topic, but you need to pull your head out of your posterior orifice and realize that those of us on the "right" are against it just as much as you, and more than likely know a lot more about it as well.

Since when did it become MY duty to be a main meal supplier to these kids??? This country is really going to pot!!!!

Amen Wizard.

mary09 As a single parent (father) I resent your statement "where are the lily white fathers"!!! I have raised my daughter by myself for the last 10 . Sometimes the mother will go for over a year without contacting her daughter. To classify it as just the fathers fault is sexist and just shows your ignorance and prejudice against men. Are you a lesiban ?? So in my opinion you can go to hell and kiss my ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weirdling, she obviously wasn't talking about you. But where ARE the fathers of the kids in her neighborhood? Where? You just showed your own homosexuality by calling a woman a lesbian, by the way.

LMAO at you.

OK is it just me or does it seem that the pictures and names are all hispanic? If there were legal poor residents of the United States with children shouldn't they be able to get food stamps so that they can feed their children? Maybe our government should be taking care of that problem.

What really irks me, besides the obvious, is these meals that they are being served at school aren't even good for them. Refined flours, fats and sugar. It's junk. My son is thrilled that his school cafe is offering milkshakes now, and the last fund-raiser was to buy a nacho machine. It's ridiculous and I refused to let him participate.

My kids are eligible for both the morning breakfast as well as the lunch program at their school, but they don't ever get it. I would rather feed them at home and send them with bag lunches and know they are eating good, whole, healthy foods, even if I do have to scrimp and cut coupons to do so.

People should feed their own kids, and if they can't, the help they recieve should be temporary...and GOOD FOOD.

USMC - I am not an idiot. And to whoever says I drink Koolaid, call it whatever you want. We can not be a great country with a third world population a la the Great Depression.

As an aside, I made a typo in my post: I meant to say I CAN point to wealthy people who create their own fortunes honestly and from the ground up.

Wealth does necessarily mean worth. Poverty does not necessarily indicate a lack of trying.

And the polices which have caused the "trickle-up" syndrome have been Republican polices of lower taxes and anti-regulation.

I don't put on a tinfoil hat and wait for the answers to come to me. I don't count on any politician or pundit to tell me what's going on in this country. I do my research, look at actual statistics. You know, look at the FACTS and then make up my OWN mind???

What percentage of these kids are illegal immigrants? my money is "majority"

Ellen, you are an idiot and drunk on the liberal sauce! A third world population? Really? It is quite clear that you have NO idea what it was that actually made this country great. In fact, you are the antithesis to that! I walk out my door and see homeless, starving adults and children everywhere, what a mess! Seriously, how can you people not eventually get tired of your own overblown, overdramatic BS? Yes, we are the only people in the world who have an epidemic of obese poor people! And the 3rd world looking neighborhoods are a result of compassionate, but dishonest, attempts to blame it all on THE MAN, rather than holding these people accountable for their own actions or conditions. Freedom from freedom, if you will. You can try to blame Reagan and the corporations, but if I recall he had a democrat majority to work with, and they have just as much to do with the corporate welfare state, actually more so, than any republican. The richest politicians in D.C. are Democrats, and are tied to more corporate special interests than the repubs by far. If you've really looked at history, and the supposed statistics, and you are still able to come to your current conclusion, I have to question your critical thinking skills, if not your outright mental faculties.

The problem with you lib-progressives, and even independents, is that you can't have it both ways. You can't speak about the inherent good of all people one day, and then turn around and force them to take care of each other and micromanage them the next. You can't stand there and speak of fiscal responsibility, then turn around and support the nanny state. No system of government is perfect, and there never will be one. The only thing that your mentality has produced over the last century is an exponential expansion of government, less freedom, and less prosperity. Take a closer look at our history and you will see that the progressive element in both parties have been the problem all along (last century).

but harley, you'll take the social security those kids pay, won'tcha.

Mary your point is taken...I agree it is really not an issue of one particular ethnic group that will grab onto the tail of the free kite.

My first point is that there are large numbers of white women on welfare just like there are african american or hispanic women on welfare.

In our local elementary we have about 35% of the children on free or reduced breakfast, lunch and after school care. One segment of the student population comes from a low income housing complex. This comprises about 10% of the student population. Unfortunately, some of these kids do not actually live there, their parents have learned to game the system to have their children attend this school. There is one other housing development that could possibly contribute children that are on free or reduced breakfast, lunch and after school care, if their parents bought more of a house than they could really afford. They comprise about 8% of the student population. The other two areas are more expensive homes. Purchasing in these two areas would not be possible for families that meet the formula when you consider just the home values, taxes and community dues. And yet we have 35% of our families taking from this program.

I truly believe that this is such an abused system that if the schools went back and audited the system, charged back the abuse to families that cheat they could probably feed the needy for several years on the charge backs. Unfortunately they won't ever audit. They want people dependent on Free Federal Programs. Schools won't stop the abuse because the receive other monies based on the percentage of children on this program.

The sad thing is there are children who will sit home hungry. There are also families that have an opportunity to get a bit ahead on the grocery bill and will do that willingly. If you must put a demographic on it they are White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern and African. Equal opportunity across the board...It seems that with people it is just Human Nature.

Ellen, you are an idiot and drunk on the liberal sauce! A third world population? Really? It is quite clear that you have NO idea what it was that actually made this country great. In fact, you are the antithesis to that! I walk out my door and see homeless, starving adults and children everywhere, what a mess! Seriously, how can you people not eventually get tired of your own overblown, overdramatic BS?

Give these trickle-up policies a little more time and you WILL see families on the street. And I ask you kindly to check out this site's Code of Honor and rephrase your "argument." Despite what your wingnut pundits practice, he who yells that nastiest insults loudest is not necessarily correct.

So, what about that data I was talking about? You know, those stupid facts - that ANNOYING reality - educated liberals like to blather on about...?

Perhaps a little guidance in the area of economical living and budgeting is needed... buying lunch at Burger King is a lot more expensive than simple cooking at home. a box of mac & cheese is 59 cents. you can eat for days on a bag of Bobs Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix.

A lot of kids worked to get through college ... I lived very frugally ... had lots of time and earned a 4.0 GPA. I guarantee it would not have happened if I was working.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Sometimes it's not all about giving money and looking at the facevalue of statistics.

"But Marla Caplon worried about a more fundamental problem: How would students eat?"

Well Marla have you ever heard of the parents becoming responsible and feeding "THEIR" children. I did not give birth to those kids why should I or others have to feed them. I had one child and I am very thankful I had only one. My son's father left when my son was eight and that was after 18 years of marriage. He walked and never looked back. I raised my son by myself. He is my child and my responsibility. He qualified for free breakfast and lunches, but he never ate one. He ate breakfast at home, eggs are cheap and filling and a brown bag lunch with a sandwhich, veggie sticks and an apple or an orange and sometimes a treat. None of this cost me much. We have a generation of people that think it is owed to them "they made poor choices", "it not their fault" and the way they think the "government" can provide for them. They don't realize we are the "government" and as the government I say if you are not a working person you are allowed ONE child and only ONE at the governments expense and after that is your problem your responsibility. We need to quit enabling these people.

I'm not so sure that the school program is the sole food source, yet the unexpected loss of that source would, indeed have an impact. It's really pretty sad that with the nation's ability to produce food a storm would effect the availability so drastically.

You can click on the link below to read more about the "Obama phone". just have a barf bag ready. This is unbelievable!!!! https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx

I checked it out. I clicked around as if I were applying in Massachusetts. Total minutes per month: 80. If the user needs more minutes, they have to buy them. The phones are provided by TracFone - no taxpayer dollars are being used to buy the phones.

Now, let's take a working single mom - and yes, working moms qualify for assistance since it's virtually impossible for a single human being to support a household. Let's say she uses it 5 days a week to check in with kids, babysitters, etc. - five minutes per work day. She is out of minutes before the end of the month. That means she can use it LESS than five minutes per work day to check on her kids. There's no time for idle chatter nor free texting.

Give people full-time jobs which actually PAY THE BILLS, and such a program wouldn't be necessary. Nor would food stamps, cash assistance, housing, fuel, etc. But hey, that would require that the "trickle down" theory actually WORKED. I've been waiting about 30 years for the trickle.

After a decade of economic decline, and a period of high unemployment, foreclosures, etc., you'd think people could try and have a heart. Better yet, instead of begrudging these people their free phones, thank your lucky stars that YOU don't need help.

I would easily qualify for one of these phones, but I shall not bother. I happen to already have a TracFone with double minutes. I don't use it a lot, so every month or two, I buy a $20 card to add minutes. But if I didn't have a phone and couldn't find one cheap...?

Ellen for Obama... Now consider what the cost of a cell phone is for a contracted plan. Each plan is padded with charges for the cell phone company to be able to provide this service, for which they probably receive a hefty tax credit incentive.

Take that off and it would be a bit more possible for that same working mother to afford to purchase her own plan and support her own needs. No decrease a few other things for the same reason like utility costs as they have similar programs. Grocery bills as the suppliers increase their prices to retail outlets so they can afford to supply food pantries. Then consider the ticket that middle class families cannot afford for sporting venues and yet these same venues can offer blocks of seats for underprivileged children programs as do museums, zoos and other venues that should be in reach of the average person.

Truly, in your heart would you prefer to qualify for a program or have the funds to provide for yourself?

Another side of the coin....This program would work well for drug dealers, they could pay an individual for their identity and have an easy disposable network with which to do business for almost nothing.

I begrudge exactly this:

Every last dime of tax money that I pay whether it's FICA, income tax, state tax, property tax, sales tax, fees to park/drive/ride a train, taxes on cable tv, phone, my insurance policies, etc etc etc....

That is WASTED helping people that are.....

Capable but unwilling to help themselves.

Under the delusion they're "owed" by the government and other people.

In this country illegally.

I do not begrudge one cent of my tax money being used to help people who are victims of natural disaster, are having a tough time temporarily because of unemployment, etc.

Do you understand the difference, and can you apply that to this article?

When the safety net becomes a hammock, everyone looses. Everyone. Including the people supposedly being helped, they become less and accept less.

piglizzard...what is the worst that would happen...families might have to put off buying that flat screen TV or choose a used car over new. Too many people in this country "poor mouth" just to get something for nothing. It wouldn't be so bad but there are people who truly need a hand up in order to move forward. I would much prefer to see our tax dollars going to give people and advantage to move ahead than to see the waste that we have created with our current welfare system. There are some tremendous programs offered by the Federal Government that allow people upward mobility. These should remain. At some point we need to apply a system that will allow those in real need access to the support that will get them moving in an upward direction. Those who stay on the system too long or use these programs as a crutch should be scraped off like the barnacles they are.

Truly, we waste when we enable anyone to remain stagnant. For those who are not capable of mainstream productivity due to mental disorders, we need to provide a kinder and gentler administration of a program to meet their needs. For those who are at the mercy of a bottomed out economy, we need to keep them afloat until they get back on their feet to be productive again. For those who have had some set back in life that knocked them off course then subsidy and retraining of skills can be their ticket back to the life they planned. But for those who make a life out of abusing the system...Then they can make their own world in a shanty town or ghetto.

This is what happens when you teach abstinence only for 8 years and don't provide condoms in school...kids have kids...that cannot afford to have kids! With 50% of the kids coming from unwed mothers today...this is a problem for society. Worship of Mary the teen mother is not a model that has worked out well for America. We should be limiting family size then each child is precious and not just a welfare and disability credit. Responsible parents learn how to budget so that their children has something to eat and ENCOURAGING education and job training not multiple births to increase welfare and disability checks!

jan...Your insinuations against the Christian faith aside, how exactly would you suggest we limit family size?

We should be limiting family size then each child is precious and not just a welfare and disability credit. Responsible parents learn how to budget so that their children has something to eat and ENCOURAGING education and job training not multiple births to increase welfare and disability checks!

For instance, I waited until I was married to have children. We had a beautiful daughter and decided to have another child when she was around two. Unfortunately, I miscarried that pregnancy. I was then blessed with another pregnancy rather quickly (Yes I thank my God for that blessing). I could not have been happier and yet my morning sickness was extreme. At one point I thought I was having another miscarriage. My darling dear one took me to my OB to find that we could attribute my morning sickness to a twin pregnancy.

Now we had only intended on having two babies. The third, my bonus baby, was ours by grace...which one would you suggest that I should have selectively aborted? See even to this day he is precious to me, truly no more or less than my other two cherubs, but I can't imagine how much less we would be as a family without one of our boys in our lives. I can't imagine what would be if I began motherhood having chosen one over the other.

See what you suggest in "limiting" families, to your own perception, is sort of a mechanism to control the unruly masses. Many of us do not need to be controlled. It is common sense and prudence that allow families to thrive regardless of 1 or 10. Instead of imposing "birth limits" on people possibly we should make sure they have a grasp of "common sense and prudence".

BTW, I do thank God daily for the blessing, health and happiness of my children, every day. At the point where we were a young family we did not know the wonderful blessings that were ahead of us or the prosperity we would have while raising our children. I know many families of three and more children that are living fine lives. Every child is special regardless of being an only or being one of many. When you start talking about family limits one can only assume that you never quite felt valued growing up. Maybe a bit of faith in something greater in yourself would offer opportunities to count your own blessings.

The fact of the matter is it is no more righteous or moral for a society to decide that a woman terminate a pregnancy than it is for a society to demand a pregnancy be carried to term. It is for a woman or family to make that decision. No one else. Part of making that decision does bring the ability to raise them with love and the necessities of life.

Where I agree that if a woman sees not prospect of being able to provide for a child she may have some hard decisions to make, but to demand she terminate, well....What about the loving families wishing to adopt?

I think that many of you have missed the point of this article. Consider the source. It is a blatant attempt by the socialists to further their agenda by creating yet another 'crisis' to be solved by yet another government program. This is how they control you!!!

People on welfare are not stupid. However, they are ignorant and purposely so. We have raised a generation of people who cannot even read the Constitution to know what their rights are. See the following link of an interview of Charlotte Iserbyt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDyDtYy2I0M

The socialists have done an amazing job of undermining our nation and it is up to us to stop allowing them to 'guilt trip' us into our own destruction. Also, if you have not read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, it is time you did so. Written in 1957, she has foreshadowed our current society and what will happen if we, the conservative right, allow the fundamental foundation of our nation to continue to be corrupted.

People who produce are not without compassion simply because they do not wish their hard-earned dollars to go to government workers, politicians, union bosses, and anything else to do with the government. I am more than happy to help those in need locally. TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN!

I took in a family in need who was on welfare. The mom never once took me up on the offer to fund her in a work-education program. She never stopped crowing how this person gave her this and that person gave her that. She was fully capable of making her son's lunch, but due to her weak parenting (of which I was an eye-witness) he manipulated her into allowing him to eat pizza every day at school and always frozen food at home. Who says the poor don't spoil their kids. After a year, I couldn't get them out of my house fast enough. This is what welfare breeds. This is what government programs breed. (And no, she did not have more kids to get more from the government.)

A socialist/communist society cannot be sustained as has been proven throughout history. Whatever they call themselves - be it socialist, communist, Democrat, progressive - they are WRONG. If you think they are right, you must ask yourself why. Compassion? Need?

This webpage says it all: http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Ayn_Rand

I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. - Ayn Rand

Greginoceanside...We have been feeding children for a very long time. Many of these kids also live in families who receive other food subsidy. So the question should be why do they not eat at night and on weekends when the assistance is handed to their parent? I suppose that it is much easier for people to cry it is never enough because our nanny culture will keep giving until it hurts. Sadly, it will not trickle down to the child and their needs.

Did it occur to you that lack of transportation may have been a problem for many? I am one of the few people I know who always keeps several weeks supply of food on hand, even though I live in the middle of a big city. That's because I am unable to drive, and it's much more economical to buy in bulk anyway. Also the grocery stores don't deliver here (more shame to them). People have laughed at me or called me paranoid for keeping so much food around, but this time it was actually a very lucky thing for my kids, because we had NO bus service for nearly two weeks due to the snow. Even if you had a car, you had zero chance of getting a parking space when you got back, so people wisely weren't driving unless they absolutely had to. Many people were reduced to trudging to convenience stores, which of course charge an arm and a leg for a carton of milk and eggs.

The moral is, keep adequate food around because you never know when an emergency might come up. You can actually stock up little by little, finding or making extra storage space in odd places around your home. It really isn't as hard as you might think. Have other things like bottled water, extra blankets, can openers, or perhaps even a generator as well. And of course know how to bake bread and otherwise cook with the basics when you have to. Having money in the bank won't help a bit if you're snowed in.

oomYaqb...I certainly understand keeping extra food around the house, I live in a hurricane prone area. My extra dry goods and bottled water are kept in bins under the stairs along with other necessary items.

I don't think the issue is getting to the store as these children suffer regularly. If the issue were access then there would be large surpluses of credits on star cards. The money is being spent on something.

I think the problem can be laid at the feet of parents. Even if transportation were an issue wouldn't you do everything you could to make sure your children didn't go to sleep hungry? I sure would.

What country were the photographs taken in?

Lets hope you don't reproduce you uncaring pr1ck.

So TCW, popping out kids you can't even feed properly is considered caring?

Those liberal people encourage those who are poor to breed children. We can't harm the poor children, we must give them health care, food, etc, etc. We should bring back orphanages and take kids away from parents who can't support them.

Instead we encourage them to have more and more kids because it means more welfare and more food stamps, etc, etc. And anyone who doesn't think this is true is clueless. I've known people who are on welfare and foot stamps. If they have 1 kids they get almost no support, so they have 2 and 3 and the government pays for everything!

Thank you all you liberal morons for helping breed a useless class that are leeches on society and my tax bill!

There are more poor white people in the US than poor people of all other groups combined.

An excellent choice of words...."breeders"....these people who crank out kids they can't afford to feed, clothe, educate or give direction to should be neutered or spayed.

We started with free/reduced price breakfasts....now it's morphed into ditto-lunch...do these uncaring PARENTS even give a damn? Or could it bea that WE reward their anti-social behavior by picking up the tab and the responsibility for their gross incompetence?

Better yet, how about an experiment: give NOTHING to these parents; no welfare, so food stamps; no public assistance of any kind....AND give their kids to real parents who care and nurture and feed and clothe and educate. Enuf guilt is enuf.

Stand up, speak out

I notice no one responded to your comment. (smile)

yet

Stand up, speak out... that's an idiotic statement. There are more white people in the US than all other groups combined, so obviously there will be more poor white people. How ignorant can you people (Tiffany) be?

From the US Census Bureau:

• Poverty rate for African Americans: 26.1 percent
• Poverty rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders: 12.5 percent
• Poverty rate for Hispanics of any race: 25.6 percent
• Poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites: 8.2 percent

Learn the facts before you make ignorant comments

THe more kids, the more money from welfare department. These moms just want the checks not the kids. And the kids grow up to be just like the moms; another generation on welfare.

I'm fully aware of your statistics. My point is that not all poor people are minorities and illegals as some would like to believe.

Minnesotan, why aren't you holding the fathers of these kids accountable...only the mothers. It takes two to tango...we would have alot less moms on welfare if more fathers paid child support and took responsibility for their actions too.

Interesting that so many right wingers will scream about starving poor kids and "spaying breeders", yet abortion is unacceptable. The right viciously attacked the Chinese system a decade or so ago that paid people to get fixed and fined them for having more than two kids. If we want to SPAY these people so badly why not just give them $5000 or $10,000 to go get fixed before they have more than two kids. I am thinking lots of families would take that money in a flash.

spg, shut up. You're the first one to mention spaying anyone, so who's breeding hate?

I know at this point I sure shouldn't be shocked by the lack of compassion shown by some of these self-righteous, judgmental A-holios. But I am.

-disgusted-

Capt,

First Language, Language! I took that statement out of another post, just look through and find it. Second who said anything about breeding hate. I simply pointed out the hypocrisy of the right wing vitriol on this topic. It is OK to Starve living children, yet unacceptable to abort a fetus or hand out birth control, hypocrisy at it's finest.

spg- I agree with you on this. Birth control and abortion would stop alot of this but the right wing has made these options seem too "evil" to many people.

Lisa, you're a jacka$$. When do you place a little bit of responsibility on these f'n people? It is not our responsibiltiy to feed them, clothe them, or f'n house them. That being said, why the F should it be our responsibility to provide them with b-control and abortion? How about they take care of themselves and make decisions that are in their own best intrests, rather than counting on all of us to take care of their F-ups! You "compassionate" people are f'n clueless, and a disgrace to human beings everywhere.

Survival of the fittest has been removed..when i does all crash..mass graves will be the norm.

Marys09

Minnesotan, why aren't you holding the fathers of these kids accountable...only the mothers. It takes two to tango...we would have alot less moms on welfare if more fathers paid child support and took responsibility for their actions too.

Because these mother would need to actually know the names of each father to each child. They are not going after these men to be FATHERS either. So these kids are stuck in single parent household without a responsible parent living among a family of half siblings.

I agree fathers should be responsible as well but a mother...a real mother will care for her children regardless.

I like the idea of orphanages. If a parent can't feed their children and keeps having children and spends years at the public trough they have no business being around children.

Stand up -

No one brought up race, until you did.

Your arguement has been shown to have the solidity of swiss cheese.

White's are 65% of this country still, whether you like it or not. And they're tired of footing the bill for other 35% because bleeding heart liberal twang somehow mangaged to turn it into THEIR fault and that the other 35% were being "victimized" by them.

Bull crap. All day long, bullcrap.

Yeah, only posts #4, #11.1, #11.2, #16 and #22 for starters. And it's not too hard to understand what many more were implying. You know, some people actually read through the posts before they make wild accusations and I stand behind the point that I was trying to make in that it is not only minorities who live at or below the poverty level. When people start to realize that the gap between the poor and the super-rich is widening every day the sooner the middle class can start working together to fix things. Let's all just hope that it happens before the middle class is gone all together.

let's say welfare pays 600 per kid.

LMAO! Why don't we say welfare pays $5,000/month per kid, plus two free luxury vehicles, a waterfront home, free health care, utilities, appliances, toys and vouchers for restaurants, airfare and hotels. I mean, it's not true, but let's just say it so we can manufacture some more fake outrage.

obviously 600 per is a lot closer than 5000 a mo per so why not put out some real data to make your case instead of going deep into the BS.

In reality it don't take much to buy lunch for 2 days and it wouldn't even have to be the highest quality since they are already nutritiously feed on a regular basis.

A week of vegi soup would cost a six pack of beer so we have a point of reference.

Who cares if it's closer if it's not accurate? You began with "let's say." Well, let's! The idea that living on welfare is luxurious is insane. The idea that a woman turns a profit by having a kid is doubly insane. What most people REALLY want is a job that pays the bills and a safe place for their kids while the parent is working. They want to live ABOVE poverty level. They don't want to figure out new ways to make Ramen noodles every night. They don't want the STIGMA of receiving any sort of public assistance. They like the satisfaction they get from earning a living, and they benefit from the break from their kids.

The problem is most jobs do NOT cover the expenses for a household. If we don't look at average jobs and the average cost-of-living from the viewpoint of a single-earner family, then we're not looking at it correctly.

most jobs do NOT cover the expenses for a household

so most people are below the poverty level? I want to believe some part of your argument but ... I can't.

a box of mac & cheese for 59 cents ... lunch for two days.

No. If you have at least two incomes, you can make it. Maybe - depending on your pay and the cost of living in your area. But what if your life only allows you to work one job AND you have dependents? As a single mom, I'd love it if you could give me several extra hours in every day - the more the better. Then I can work TWO jobs.

I have lived through different financial circumstances. Double-income-no-kids...now THAT was great. Worked as many hours as I could, rewarded myself for my hard work by dining out and buying things I wanted, not just needed.

Double-income-two-kids: Okay, so not going out to dinner or splurging on anything, but keeping our heads above water, paying our bills on time, being responsible.

One-income-two-kids (single parent): I started my own business so I could work around my children. I had some really good days in the beginning. Then lots of unfortunate things happened, including a tanking economy. I think twice before spending 75 cents to vacuum my car.

I'm ready to get back into the workforce but I face two problems. One is, college educated and skilled or not, my salary would not meet my expenses. I will handle that with side jobs if I can land something. My biggest obstacle is having been self-employed for the last decade. It's not a great selling point.

I remember days when employers would basically get down on their hands and knees to kiss your feet and beg you not to leave them. The tables have turned. Circumstances change. It is only right to have safety nets in place for people who fall through the cracks. However, I would like to see these assistance programs closely and neatly tied in with job-search organizations. And if it weren't for childcare vouchers (another form of assistance), many mothers simply wouldn't be able to afford to work. So that's important, too.

Ellen for Obama...It seems you are in a difficult place. My condolences that your business was not able to sustain you and yours in this economy. It is always a sadness when possibility does not work to an advantage.

I would ask you to take a breath, gather your work history before and during your self-employment and start with the largest employee entities first. There are great values associated with a person who has the discipline to run their own business and family at the same time that companies can appreciate. I would suppose that the fact that you owned and operated your own business for 10 years will be more valuable to any employer than a degree. It takes a great deal of self-discipline and attention to detail, basically what one learns in College, to manage the daily affairs of a business. Show that pride and confidence in your resume and the rest will take care of yourself. You are absolutely not an entry level hire.

Large companies typically offer benefits packages that are very family friendly, as well as providing a network of opportunities for education and vocational growth. Being a single mother is probably not the world you expected but, believe it or not there are a whole lot of single parent families that can do fine. It takes the right opportunity.

I wish you well.

I appreciate your positive thoughts. I just need to find an employer who believes and understands that I've already experienced the "dream" of working in my house in my PJs, and would like to go back to working for someone else so that I don't have to bring it home, anymore. But people look at you funny. They don't believe you want to give up being your own boss - and they worry you can't handle taking orders.

I'll have to keep rewording things and keep trying. Or - maybe - if I'm lucky - I'll find a position through someone I know....

My best to you...truly I am one to believe the right opportunities in life will present themselves.

Why does EVERYTHING have to turn into an ugly discussion about race and class? Here's another wrinkle: just plain lack of life skill and foresight.

I have a very wealthy, very Scandanavian-looking cousin who normally keeps almost no food in her house whatsoever, as she and her husband prefer to eat out three times a day. Someone like that would be in almost as much of a crisis when snowed in (or even just sick) as the poorest mother of six fatherless children in any ghetto or rural shack. Oh well, let them get their calories from the liquor cabinet. You know, a yuppie with no common sense isn't really any better than a poor person with the same affliction. Yes, like everybody else, I've stood in line behind people buying overpriced junk food with food stamps, then sending the clerk for cigarettes, but stupidity doesn't get prettier when you earn six figures.

A loaf of bread and a pack of balony = less than 2.00. Enough for few days.

Man you're my hero of the day.

A loaf of bread and a pack of bologna doesn't really provide a whole hell of a lot of fruits and vegetables.

UVUVUV,

Wow!, you sure hit the nail on the head that time. My grandmother raised me as both my parents died when I was young. She was great! Got up each morning to fix me breakfast and a packed lunch. Oatmeal, grits, eggs toast, with meat on occassion. I cry sometimes when I see the teenaged mothers who push carriages, tug one by the hand and may have yet another on the way. And not just young girls but young women in their twenties and even their thirties. I'm a pastor of a small minsitry in Newport News, VA. and it has been my experience that too many mothers are simply too young and inexperienced to be (mothers). We have in past and still do teach responsible relationships, especially to our youth while providing food to needy families. While I do not advocate for hatefullness, I do stand up without repentence for responsible behavior. Stop having sex, you stop having children too young, out of wedlock or with an irresponsible partner. When welfare was enacted it was for the needs of responsible families who hit a rough patch just until things picked up for them. It was not meant to be a right of passage for an ever increasingly dependant segment of the populice. I love people and try to help as many as I can, and I pray that some will stop and think before they leap (and I'm not talking about a genuine faith leap either.) Don't get me wrong, I wan't born saved, I learned a lot from the mistakes of others while I made a few of my own. So I 'm not condemning anyone, I just want people to think about those who suffer to cover them and start covering themselves. There are some very good post here and some rather ignorant ones as well. Yours at first seemed a bit edgey, but when I thought about it, you made really good sense.

10 lb bag of potatoes.....1.99

loaf of bread.............99

10 lb chicken thigh/leg pieces.......3.90 lb

3 lb bag of apples...........1.50

10 lb bag of oranges........2.99

jar of peanutbutter.........1.99

18 eggs .......................1.75

15 bux and I can feed a kid for 10 days. 1.40 a day. Sorry if you need Banquet chicken nuggets or prepared frozen dinners because you are a lazy bum. Bopught this today for myself at the local Dominicks in Chicago.

PB sandwich or egg sandwich for breakfast.

Orange Baked potatoe and apple fo lunch

Chicken mashed potatoe and apple for dinner.

Please keep in mind a bag of chips is 3 bux...most people buy 5 bags of chips vs all this AWESOME food.

Groceries are that cheap in Chicago?

Those prices are consistent with NY prices, if you shop sales. Chicago is probably consistent.

The point is - MAKE THE EFFORT.

We have created via entitlement in this country an entire underclass that will NOT make the effort. Why should they, when tax money is being robbed from people that WILL make the effort to pay their way?

Mark you really should pick up 2lbs regular carrots and some milk(growing kids need 3 servings of dairy a day), but you shop like me. I always tell people on these boards- nuritious food is not expensive. It doesn't take money to eat healthy it takes common sense.

[[10 lb bag of potatoes.....1.99; loaf of bread.............99; 10 lb chicken thigh/leg pieces.......3.90 lb; 3 lb bag of apples...........1.50]]

I want to go to YOUR store, LOL! I mean, yes I've seen comparable prices once in awhile, but once again, you have to be able to get there and back. Many urban neighborhoods have no supermarket at all, let alone stores such as Walmart. There's a trend toward closing more and more grocery stores in precisely the neighborhoods that need them the most. It's more profitable to build luxury stores in the 'burbs. Not everyone has a vehicle or a friend available to take them, nor can everyone afford a freezer and a once a month mega shopping trip. Those are good things to strive for, though.

I feel you. I have lived in a lot of places and had limited transportation many tmes in my life. But like you said in one of your other posts,when it comes to being prepared it has more to do with common sense and foresight (and I might add an ability to think outside the box) than economic issues. Also you have to question - are the kids going hungry or do they just not have what they WANT? I know my kids are pretty spoiled and will complain there is "nothing to eat" even when nutritious food is available but for example we don't have Doritos or pizza rolls around. The way a lot of kids are these days, they think they should be able to sit around and eat junk food all day if there is no school.

I totally agree!!!! I'm sick of supporting them!

Many of these kids are illegal immigrants and black children. THey flooded the public housing in America. Remember Obama's aunt is also living in the project housing paid for by you and me.

There are far more white people on welfare than any other race. You should look at the statistics before you start screaming your bigotry!

SPg, sounds you're the one spouting bigotry! When you talk about the one group that has more people than ALL the others combined, it makes your point pretty dumb. How about scrolling up and reading the percentages posted above and go have a libronut dream over in fantasyland? You talk about others' hatred, but you're the first one in every thread here to directly attack individuals. Practice what you preach.

Rossi, what is your family's native homeland? Are you going back to Europe?

I think the illegal immigrants should get zero. They are not legally here, they should get no subsidies. If we didn't give any they wouldn't come. You feed the strays they'll keep coming back and will teach others where to go.

As for the "blacks" what are you a stupid racist hick? What does color have to do with it? The poor come in all races. The problem is the Liberals think throwing money at problems helps anything. Actually it's just their way of buying votes and being able to control large portions of society.

Capt,

I said nothing about the percentages of poverty I simply stated that their are more whites on Welfare than any other group. When the thread is lit up with a bunch of bigots screaming about all of the Blacks and Hispanics milking the system I think that pointing out there are more whites on the dole than any other group is a cogent comment.

Alan,

actually, no, I don't plan on heading back to Europe considering the fact that I was born here, my parents were born here, my grandparents were born here, and probably a few of my great-grandparents. Oh yeah, and I actually WORK for a living. Were I to leave, that would be less money to support those lazy ILLEGAL SOBs!

Devlin7 - you're right. The illegals come here and have anchor babies bec those little "instant citizens" open the doors to American social programs. The kids eat at school bec the parents have no apparent income and the school won't report them to ICE for deportation. The result? More money sent to Mexico, Latin America, Ireland, China, India, and everywhere else from where these people swarm across our border.

We need to re-open orphanages. If parents can't feed the kids, the kids go to an orphanage where they live and are fed and clothed. No, it's not a perfect solution, but it's better than shoveling tax money into the hands of those who see every baby as another check and won't even keep enough food on hand to feed their kids for a week or two.

OK, Rossi, so what you're saying is that if the immigrants survive a few generations without deportation, then they can stay, just like your family tree?

Hey spg, sure, overall, there are more white people on welfare. BUT, they make up a small percentage of the overall white population. Now take blacks for example, and make a true comparison. That's a pretty significant segment of their overall population, and it has nothing to do with adverse impact or conditions (except maybe the ones the retarded lib-progressives established), and everything to do with the expectations of their own culture. They look at it as an acceptable lifestyle, or a plain right, and the percentages don't lie. I've never understood how morons like you can call somebody a bigot for acknowledging facts and truth. Get over your white guilt complex, ignore the critical theory rhetoric, and educate yourself on what it really means to be a compassionate and responsible human being.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj15n2-3-5.html

At the national level, both the race-based and sex-based analyses for every group examined found that disparities exist in the allocation of welfare. Black single female-headed households received $756 more welfare per year than similarly situated non-black families. For a one-child family, this difference amounted to 16 percent. For a two-child family, this difference amounted to 13 percent. Black two-parent families received $395 more base welfare per year, but $27 less welfare per year per child, than similarly situated non-black families. That difference amounted to 12 percent for a one-child family and 11 percent for a two-child family. Similarly, significant sex-based disparities existed in the allocation of welfare at the national level. Single women with no children received $358 more welfare per year than similarly situated men.

At the state level for single female-headed households, 15 states gave blacks an average of $1,569 more welfare per year, and three states gave non-blacks an average of $1,504 more welfare per year. At the state level for married couples with children, seven states gave blacks an average of $3,359 more welfare per year, and four states gave non-blacks an average of $1,730 more welfare per year. With respect to sex-based disparities, ten states gave women $1,187 more welfare per year on average, and one state gave men $674 more welfare per year.

Not spouting Bigotry..Blacks live off welfare more than any ethnic segment. here are FEDERAL and STATE statistics...refute all you want. If you said Blacks are like this..the statistics say you are NOT A BIGOT...rather one that knows what they are talking about.

12% of the US population is black.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

30-40% of welfare recipients are black.

http://www.census.gov/apsd/www/statbrief/sb95_2.pdf

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_race_percentage_for_welfare_recipients

http://www.topix.com/forum/afam/TS6CBT754MKNC4E90

The stats vary, but the point does not.

Blacks are about 300 times MORE likely to be on welfare than whites.

And they can thank liberal Demorats for their ongoing victimization, after several decades of being told they were not capable of achieving and need to be protected from whitey. The Democrats have succeeding in creating a large voting block by making them dependent upon their entitlement programs, AND a large segment of the white population that erroneously accepts guilt for the plight of the black population, AND demonization of the "right" - who is becoming the center, that opposes this generational dependence via welfare and subsidy that causes trickle up poverty via taxation and subsidy.

PS, it was Democrats who fought hardest against abolishing segregation.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=thomas+sowell

Read this guy.

And PPS, they're getting cell phones at our expense.

https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx

And PPS, they're getting cell phones at our expense.

https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx

Free cell phones? They are really going insane with our tax money. I want my free cellphone, foood, housing, medical care, utilities, in some states even a car. But I have a problem...... I have an aversion to being beholden to others....

Come on people,

Yes African-Americans are more likely to be living below the poverty line and collecting welfare than Caucasians, but maybe there are some historical legacies at work here. Maybe just maybe, the prejudices in our society have worked against African Americans climbing out of the American economic cellar. Maybe 400 years of slavery followed by another 100 years of Jim Crow have had an effect on the upward mobility of AAs.

When the welfare roles reached there peaks in 1994 all of the data showed that AA recipients were far worse off economic and their numbers were concentrated in urban centers that had fewer jobs. The experts knew then that the new welfare rules were going to unbalance the welfare roles racially very quickly. Whites on welfare were located in less dense population centers that had more jobs and were able to be pushed into those low paying jobs faster than there urban center AA counter parts.They moved ahead with these rules anyhow with mixed results.(large rural working poor now)

Anyhow these are extremely complex problems, so to simply scream about the blacks on welfare is, well, rather ugly and kinda rings of racism.

Brian you should have a cabinet post!

You got my vote.

hahahaha! Maybe we could send in the helicoters from Haiti. They could kick food out the door.

Save the fat kids!

Hey I was a fat kid..I earned those Jelly Rolls!!!

Reuters! LOL

That's right! Let them eat cake, by God! Do you know what happens when you feed a stray? They breed! Besides, hunger is a good motivator, and all these kids can get out and get a darned job if they want to eat!

jm...

if you feel so strongly about this why not pick up the tab for these freeloaders yourself? why share it with those of us who don't support it? put your money right where your words emanate from

those like you who sit back and pontificate with my money and that of others sickens me almost as much as the freeloaders

from a proud sociopath!

Who's at fault here? Bush again. Wrong again. All these lazy people who don't work are democrat party puppets. The goal is to keep them poor by providing just enough for them to survive. These people are lazy and stupid so they are don't understand it. It is all about the democrat party abuse of power. Nothing more.

minnesotan01, "all these lazy people who don't work?" Most of these folks are underemployed or making minimum wage at an employer like Walmart. Minimum wage is another way of saying "I don't value you as a person at all and I'd pay you even less if I could."

A lady told then-President Bush that she had three jobs.. he proudly announced that this was such a "unique American" thing. Proudly? Yes, proudly. When you're rich and you've forced all the poor into slave labor, it's easy to be proud of what you've done to your fellow Americans.

Craig - 305042

Well said, for those of us who DO feed are own children and would like to create a comfortable future for them, we get sick of the liberal BS..

they won't be happy untill everybody has NOTHING like them.

Funny thing is...when I applied for my job they didn't ask if I was a Republican or a Democrat. And when they closed the company I worked for they didn't say all the Republicans could stay and sent the Dems home. When I got 2 jobs again, they didn't ask. Per your reasoning, only Republicans work and Democrats stay home! Somehow I just don't so. I'm thinking that somehow this unemployment has hit us all in some way!!

LS-415070, There in is the difference.

We aren't talking employment based on political affilation. What thread have you been reading?

We also weren't talking about those that actually work and when they loose a job go out and look for another one.

We are aghast that someone actually thinks these kids will starve without the free school lunch. The Liberals are really out of their freaking minds these days!

We are talking about the generational welfare recipients that believe it is the responsibility of the rest of us to insure their lifestyle and to care for their children no matter how many they have. Seeing our money we actually work for so we can feed, cloth, and house our families being taken and doled out to those that have been trained they don't have to do anything but pop out babies, raise them as good little democrats so they can keep their hand outs. They actually live better than I do because I am dumb enough to actually work and a percentage of my meager income goes into their pockets......I am more than sick of it!

Its time to get out no matter what the weather no excuses get to the polls and VOTE! Vote all the present incumbents OUT! We need to start fresh..... Repeal or severely restrict entitlements.

I wish I could vote for you twice.

Amen William! My thoughts exactly!!

I'm with you William, U GOT MY VOTE ALSO.

because they likely are illegals

Yeah, let's give hispanics more free stuff that the rest of us have to pay for!

No snow days in El Salvador. Go home illegal invaders!

Bahahah John..agreeed.

Thank you for this post. I was disgusted reading these comments.

Not everybody who gets these benefits is a lazy, good-for-nothing. I have to wonder if these people have noticed the unemployment rate recently.

Wow... I am truly astounded at the racist, bigoted, selfish commentary here today. Even the story itself seems to extrapolate that Kids Out of School = Starving Kids. Who said they weren't eating? When did the Hispanic lady in the picture become an illegal alien? When did all you good Christian conservatives become so cold-hearted toward your fellow man? Personally, I'd rather see my tax dollars feeding children than having them go toward some boondoggle bridge-to-nowhere or for supporting starving artists exhibits at the Guggenheim. Honestly, I don't mind feeding children at school... yours, mine or theirs. I can't imagine why anyone would mind.

You know what, they know about what this economy has done to single people and families . If the ones making these negative comment would jus wait awhile, they will be in the same predicament...and will be asking for help.

ula_ashore It's funny to me that you don't like other people making assumptions about people, yet here you are asking "when did all you good Christian conservatives become so cold-hearted toward your fellow man?" I don't recall anyone on here claiming to be either. Is that typical of how liberals think? It's o.k. for you but not anyone else. Pretty two-faced if you asked me.

sadielady, baseless personal attacks that fail to counteract the initial argument are nothing more than a sign that you know the original poster is correct. Thank you for acknowledging this wonderful and true post.

Alan Pugh Why don't you go look in the mirror? If you want to see personal attack. I just happened to point out the truth, you show me where it's baseless? You might try reading her post very slowly this time maybe you just didn't catch it the first time.

And another personal attack, this time on me. Good game.

We are no longer the ricest nation in the world. Look around, take this conversation for instance. There is no longer enough to go around, so how can we be the ricest nation in the world?! And if so, what does that mean for the rest of the world? I truly believe the "time of trouble" is upon us. Don't treat others bad, love them and try to teach them. Once you've started treating people bad it becomes easy to do so to everyone. We become desensitized as a citizenry and chaos ensues as breadlines form. This ain't the 1930's and people aren't as tough as they once were. I'm also a disabled vet and my wife and I marvel at the ease that some can get whatever they need and we have to console one another over the fact that we've come up short on rent for the month. But we keep trying to help where ever and whenever we, an as much as we can. It's how we keep our sanity and hopefully our salvation in tact.

Finally, posts of reason. (With an exception or so...)

People like Alan, who spew the common liberal goo, are the ones to blame here. If they knew the WHY and HOW of our current conditions, they would not be so quick to run on with their BS! This doesn't mean that the republicans are blame free either (especially over the last 20 yrs), but our MASSIVE problems today stem from nearly 100 years of progressive policy, and that is a fact! Take employment as an example. It was the progressives who cried out for government force on higher wages, but never considered that it would have a negative impact on overall employment. They scream out for things like unemployment insurance, and can't understand how that has a negative impact on overall employment. They b!tch and moan about working conditions, now we have a plethora of state and federal agencies devoted to working conditions and worker's "rights", and can't seem to grasp how spending thousands to millions every year to meet compliance could have a negative impact on overall employment. Don't get me started on unions, public or private! They don't undersand that the do-gooder BS they force on this country, the less choice we all have. For a bunch of supposed intellectuals, the lib-progressive types have to be the most ignorant, intellectually dishonest, fools that ever had the good fortune of being born in, or brought, to this country.

USMC22-1499212

Don't get me started on unions, public or private!

Right! It was the auto workers union that made the decisions to keep building gas guzzlers while foreign imports were taking over the market with fuel efficient cars! There's nothing wrong with no overtime, no matter how many hours you work in a week! Pensions are just a form of extortion to the corporations that you worked at for twenty to thirty years, they did pay you for the hours you worked! To heck with job safety or workmen's compensation, there's enough people looking for work to replace those crippled or killed! Making these poor corporations follow OSHA guidelines is ridiculous, what's a few hundred more Love Canals, and a few hundred thousand more deformed births? Those kind hearted businessmen (like McCormick) even had to use their political influence to have Fort Sheridan (an Army base) built to protect them from unions after those involved in the criminal Haymarket Square fiasco threatened their profits! And health benefits are just another drain on these poor corporations. Workers get too sick to work, fire and replace them. Yeah, we should bring back the good old days, maybe even give child labor another shot! Some unions have damn good benefits. Now compare them to the pay and benefits afforded the CEO's, CFO's, etc. Then compare that to the pay scale of an E-1, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps! Not even in the same galaxy, is it? Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller" came up through the ranks, and his dedication to enlisted Marines is legendary. You obviously are not cut from the same cloth!

#12.3 - I would die before going on welfare. I DID lose my job. I DID take unemployment benefits - I paid enough into the system to take something out guilt-free. The benefits were about to run out and I - through prayer and a lot of hard work - GOT A JOB! (BTW, I was laid off while on maternity leave, so no, I did not look all that hard for a job the first few months.) Welfare and all other government-assist programs are a TRAP.

PS. We DO have a big-screen TV because my sister-in-law gave it to us for Christmas - unsolicited. Our mortgage is paid for every month and my husband and I EARN our way. If he were to be laid off from his job, our mortgage would still be paid and our kids would be fed BY US.

We can only hope.

no we don't have to hope . It's coming and it's when they can least afford for it to happen.

What, because they, like so many others, are SICK and TIRED of having our EARNED money TAKEN from us by our liberal, corrupt government and GIVEN away to who in most cases haven't worked a day in their lives? We are evil and heartless because we are tired of supporting other people's families? We are wrong to be fed up with the countless illegal Mexicans and the immense strain they have put on our society and resources? You keep worrying about your karma, the rest of us are too busy worrying about our families' futures!

You aren't concerned about your family's future at all. You're concerned about your personal short-term wealth and social standing. If you cared about the future of your family, you'd want them to live in a country without homelessness and hunger.

Show me all these people who "haven't worked a day in their lives." You show no understanding for how the welfare system works. It runs out, you know. There are several limits in place and people are not able to receive it for an extended period of time.

I`m already to broke to pay attention and my credit is so bad they wont take cash, the karma should be good!

Alan Pugh, the "free money" doesn't run out until the little AFDC gold mines turn 21.

Pugh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease! Yeah, they get kicked off the dole, they go flip burgers, PART-TIME!!! for a year, and then they quit and go back on the dole for a couple more years. Great system. Your misplaced compassion makes suckers of us all. Grow up and get real, fool.

USMC - "The Dole" isn't a lifestyle. Not unless you LIKE extreme poverty. I am going to try to give you some facts now. I know facts are annoying to conservatives who've already decided that the needier people in our society have done something terribly wrong, but try them, anyway. Visit census.gov. Take a look around.

Then try to explain to me what YOU would do if your kids were hungry and you couldn't, despite trying every day to find work, buy groceries. Just imagine it.

I heard a recent report (which I so wish I could link for you, but census.gov has some real numbers for ya) that the typical household, in 1974, was a one-job family who needed 50% of their income for necessities. Today, the typical household is a TWO-income family who has to spend 75% on their necessities. No, iPods and flatscreens are NOT factored in.

Wealth has continued to shift from the lower brackets to the already-wealthy higher brackets. Consistently. For decades.

And you claim LIBERALS caused that? Bwahahahahahahaha.

You have obviously never been to Pennsylvania. The unemployment system is run differently in every state even though it is ostensibly a federal program. Some state make is much, much easier to get on and remain on unemployment than others. When I was on it in PA, the worker even told me, with a wink, exactly how long I'd have to work before I could go on it again. There is no attempt here to make sure people are trying to find work or that they are even available for work. Having lived in much more conservative states, I was shocked.

and Yes, the weed merchants accept food stamps.....good as cash to them.

Exactly. They got both the welfare checks and the food stamps, plus free housing and free healthcare. Basically, their welfare checks and food stamps are more than my monthly allowance for food. So, what happened here? Welfare checks spent on expensive cars and drugs?

minnesotan01, I hate to wish the fate of losing one's job on anyone, but I do hope that someday you experience what it's like to be poor. You obviously have no idea the size of these allotments and the length of time they may be received. The subsidies that are provided are VERY minimal.

Frankly, I'd like to know these programs (that are apparently soooo easy to get) that pays all my bills, pays my medical, pays for rent and utilities, and feeds me! I've NEVER found a program like that!! EVER!!

You people should be ashamed of yourselves...casting stones!! You don't know any of the circumstances surrounding anyone today!! Last I looked, jobs are at a premium and pretty damn difficult to get!!

I admittedly live in a glass house....therefore no rock throwing for me!!

Alan, you make it sound like everyone on welfare has lost a job. Unemployment benefits are a tad different than welfare, but even then those that transition to welfare are hardly the issue here. We are talking about the total failure of these programs and the CULTURE they have created.

Cloward-Piven Strategy - overload the welfare system to bankrupt our economic system. FACT!

COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS were paramount in the welfare drives. They were responsible for increasing the welfare roles from 4 to 10 million in just under a decade. These community organizers were main players in the Black Separatist Movement, and had support from other apologetic, sympathizers. These strategies were employed in New York, bankrupted NYC, and nearly the whole state. FACT!

Cloward-Piven's Motor Voter of 99 - just for fun.

Please tell me, Alan, who are the bad people again? What purpose do these programs really serve again? When were families, communities, and charities not deemed sufficient enough to take care of their own? You're absolutely right, it's all of us heartless conservative types that are the problem. I would much rather have a program that throws money at this nameless, faceless entity who are held to the lowest of standards and accountability. God forbid it be left up to the individual communities to help those in need who we know, and know deserve it. And all of this good coming from personal choice and NOT to what amounts to compulsory participation in an immoral program (if you don't know why it's immoral, you don't know much).

Oh, the "if they didn't FORCE me to pay, I'd voluntarily give just as much in charity" lie. That's so rich.

And if there wasn't a minimum wage, employers would feel charitable and actually pay decent wages voluntarily too, right?

Be honest with yourself.

Hello fellow NHer, Yeah I see them buying bags of chips and stuff at the local convenience stores that....shocker accepts EBT cards!

In most areas, school breakfast and lunch programs continue all summer long....been that way for a long time.....after all, you can't expect these parent(s) to actually get up and feed their brood. Most of the kids are in summer school anyway.....or some school free day care program.....funded by we the taxpayers.....

Such sterotyping. Most kids....Most areas...

I live in a very populated city. None of the area schools offer summer breakfast and lunch programs!! Even to those who do go to summer school!!

Two cents, you live in a fantasy world and apparently don't realize how the presence of these people is affecting our country. I am unemployed now and will be losing my health insurance. I'll have to pay for my medical bills out of my pocket until I get another job. I bet they don't have to pay for any doctor visits!

wait until you become 'one of these people"

I doubt it. Should it happen that I need government support, at least I know that since I started working when I was 14 I have paid in plenty of taxes.

You need to talk to the elderly that worked and saved their money,moved to Florida and ask them how they're doing? You will be shocked at the comments.

Ya Dot, those retired elderly can't live on the pittance they receive from Scoial Security because the illegals are getting it all! None of us can becoming "one of those people" becuase we are not illegal Mexicans with our hands out!!

Sell your computer Dot, it will feed 5 0r 6 for a couple 0f weeks.

Leah... "the Mexicans" are taking all the Social Security checks? Wow. That's rich.

jennilynn-719848

Umm two cents, these are all hispanics looking for handouts that WE have to pay for!

jennilynn-719848

Two cents, you live in a fantasy world

You're the one who's clearly living in a fantasy world.

Dave the Voter2, I buy all the groceries for my family and the healthier the food the more expensive it is. Last time I bought apples at Wal-Mart for snacks they were $1 each. Yes, I know prices vary with seasons but since I buy and cook the meals for everyone at home I can tell you the healthier the food the more expensive it is. Apples $1 each but I could get two greasy frozen pizzas for 89 cents each to feed everyone.

You pay $1 apiece for apples?They do sell cheaper apples I buy a whole bag for $3 at walmart, but if your kids are like mine they like only certain kinds of apples, but they are also picky about frozen pizza -which is around $5.

Buying your food at Walmart is not a solution to being poor. Walmart is one of the reasons we're so poor. Support your local markets.

I've got news for you, Alan, a lot of us urban folks HAVE no local markets, unless you count the 7-11 or the bar that carries pickled eggs. Lack of actual grocery stores in urban neighborhoods has been a growing problem for some time. If you're lucky, there's a local bodega or two with a few fresh vegetables. There might be a weekly farmer's market, but not in the middle of winter in the mid-Atlantic region! Some of us desperately count on that once a month trip to Walmart or a similar discount store, courtesy of a kind friend who actually has a car.

Oom~ LOL! Pickled eggs? Do they still have those things? I wonder how old they are? I worked in my Uncles bar one summer and never sold 1 of those things but we still had the jar there, no refrigeration needed.

You are correct about some urban areas.

Oom, I agree... you definitely did cause the shutdown of the local urban market by shopping at Walmart. It's a shame that you and your fellow Walmart patrons didn't realize what you were throwing away.