Free cell phones a civil right????

[chickened]

Isn't that what welfare is for? Most freeloaders never had a job to lose and really do nothing to keep themselves healthy anyway. Obviously, the actual ones that need help should get it but that number is very skewed. I will tell you the story about my brother-in-law who is paralysed on one side and is epileptic and how he manages sometime.

 

[chickened]

I went through a hard financial time for about 3 years and accumalated mojor debt and came real close to filing bankruptcy. I managed to pull through by going without some things that some here will say are basics but made it just the same and will/may go through that again. I learned that lots of prayer is the best policy. Oh, and humility.
Quote:
I agree - the standard of "poor" sure has changed through the years here in America at least. I see so many "poor" folks now that have cable television (we don't - because we don't choose to pay that expense), cell phones, internet service, and cars newer than ours (all pre-2000 except my sons) that the whole definition of "poor" has a bad taste. We treat ourselves to a pizza 2x a month - DH was picking it up yesterday after work, and the guy in front of him was picking up two - using the foodstamp EBT card.
Helping folks in need is fine, but helping them to live better than we do bugs me.

 

[angry gary]

i agree famalies out of work need all the assistance they can get until they get back on thir feet. its the lifers and the second and third generation takers i hate. my wife works in social services. some come in to pick up their WIC and other social handouts. funny alot are wearing huge gold chains, some have gold capped teeth and some drive nice vehicles. there is one in particular who drives a hummer! they recently visited the house to do a child welfare inspection. all seemed within the norm. they made a surprise visit about a week later. this time they did not get a chance to hide the playstations, the 50 inch flatscreen tv and other necessities the poor require.
you cannot purchase alcohol, cigarettes etc with welfare checks, however go to about any street corner in the city and there is someone offering about 25-40 cents on the dollar for welfare checks.
the one thing i would institute would mandatory drug screenings for welfare recipients. then some sort of mandatory volunteer work to justify the handout. streets need cleaning, graffiti clean up etc.
but with the currnet political climate, asking people to pull just a small bit of their weight is cruel, racist, insensitve, and a dozen more adjectives.
i volunteer at my local salvation army during the holiday seasons, from before thanksgiving thru christmas. i personally buy christmas gifts for three families and their children each year. i am fortunate to have steady work and all the overtime i care to work, so iconsider myself lucky and able to help. we make dinners for about 30 families for thanksgiving and buy toys for up tp 50-60 families each year. the only prerequsite is the families must come in ahead of time and register and show proof of assistance. then christmas eve the families can come in and pick up their presents. EVERY year and i mean every year there are a couple women that will show and ask" i hear you are giving away free toys!" we inform them that they needed to preregister and give all the details so they can be ready next year. and for all our efforts we are called racists, and any other derogatory term you can apply to white people. and one female just happens to be the hummer lady. no big surprise there.

 

[Ferrret]

Quote:
Do you know for a fact that they are on government assistance and got a free cell phone or are you just assuming these things because they are unmarried with children and have tattoos?

 

[twentynine]

Holy Smoke!

Look this thread has morphed into Lord knows what.

Point is, less fortunate people need help.

The secondary point is what is the boundary of that help.

Plain and to the point having a phone any type of phone is not a civil right, garaunteed by the constitution. I don't care how much it helps, hurts or how much money it saves Uncle Sam.

On the other hand being protected from your own poor judgement is not a civil right either.

 

[Dunkopf]

These threads always crack me up.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Yep!

 

[arabianequine]

By the way there are different plans you can pick....phone is free with all plans.

Free 250 min a month
$5 for total of 750 min
$20 for total of 1000 min and 1000 text

I also believe you can keep paying that throughout the month if you use all the min up.

Also you don't have to get welfare to qualify.

You can be on any one only of these below to qualify:


Copes (home health care)

Disability lifeline (formerly general assistance)

DSHS chore service

Medical assistance

Refugee assistance

State family assistance (SFA)

Supplemental nutrition assistance program SNAP (food stamps only)

Supplemental security income (SSI)

Temporary assistance to needy families (TANF)

 

[chickened]

Just a guess here but I can actually think of more things the governments hands out than things they do not... at the moment. Illegitimate children are the victims not the tattooed mothers.
Quote:
Do you know for a fact that they are on government assistance and got a free cell phone or are you just assuming these things because they are unmarried with children and have tattoos?

 

[welsummerchicks]

you still think it's the government 'handing it out'?