AMPU - Barney Frank: Obamacare a Mistake

[amperfectunion]

Our "safety net" is our friends, our families, and our faith groups.  It cannot be, and should never be, government.

[Pandora]

Do you think the unemployment rate is as high because people don't want work or because jobs of almost any kind are few?  I agree; the idea of 99 weeks of "assistance" is mind-boggling, but the last thing this administration wants is to have people standing in visible public lines, right?  Not that they would get much media attention, but it would bring home to the line-standers how big the mess really is.

As far as allowing a national safety-net, doing that is exactly how we got here.  Private assistance I can do; let government do the "redistribution" and we're right back at screwed.

People having been standing in visible, public lines for nearly four years now.

How much of that have you really seen in media?

I've seen virtually none.

All "public assistance" is mailed or direct-deposited, so who's standing in lines, where, and for what?

[amperfectunion]

Do you think the unemployment rate is as high because people don't want work or because jobs of almost any kind are few?  I agree; the idea of 99 weeks of "assistance" is mind-boggling, but the last thing this administration wants is to have people standing in visible public lines, right?  Not that they would get much media attention, but it would bring home to the line-standers how big the mess really is.

As far as allowing a national safety-net, doing that is exactly how we got here.  Private assistance I can do; let government do the "redistribution" and we're right back at screwed.

People having been standing in visible, public lines for nearly four years now.

How much of that have you really seen in media?

I've seen virtually none.

All "public assistance" is mailed or direct-deposited, so who's standing in lines, where, and for what?

Not sure how it is in other states, but when I worked in downtown Houston, every day I saw people lined up at the state workforce commission or whatever it's called.  You have to actually show up in person to apply and qualify for certain types of aid.  After that you don't wait in line anymore.

[Pandora]

I collected unemployment "benefits" once in my life, in the 70s.  Natch = Carter.  Nothing was ever mailed, from filing to picking up the check, and every single day there were long lines through the building, out the door and down the street.  These are the sort of lines to which I refer, and imagine it was the same at the time for food stamps. 

Is that happening anywhere today?

[Libertas]

I think its the same here AMPU, you have to file out paperwork and then que up at local office, I think there might be a orientation/job bank resource thing as well they do in groups, then it is all electronic updates (yes, I am looking for work, blah, blah) and electronic deposits.  Other state welfare also requires intitial face to face as well, then I think stuff is mailed out and such.  So "lines" could be different day to day.

[amperfectunion]

I think its the same here AMPU, you have to file out paperwork and then que up at local office, I think there might be a orientation/job bank resource thing as well they do in groups, then it is all electronic updates (yes, I am looking for work, blah, blah) and electronic deposits.  Other state welfare also requires intitial face to face as well, then I think stuff is mailed out and such.  So "lines" could be different day to day.

Got it.  I, fortunately, wasn't old enough when Carter was president to care or notice ;-).

[LadyVirginia]

Our "safety net" is our friends, our families, and our faith groups.  It cannot be, and should never be, government.

It should be our friends, our families and our faith groups.  But too many people don't even know that any more much less have the ability to do it.

My mom is quite proud of the fact she doesn't have "to depend" on anyone.  She depends on the government!  But she thinks she earned all the social security she gets.  When my brother tried to point this out she shot back "So are you going to take care of me?"  She had no response when he said "yes, because that's what family does."

My brother was living at home for college (my parents didn't have the money to let him go away).  He decided it was boring and dropped out.  He left home and got a part time job at Mickey D's and within a short time got the girl friend pregnant.  Sooo they wound up on food stamps because he wasn't going to admit his mistake and ask the family for help.  Soooo the taxpayer got to support them for a while.  He had hard times because of his own choices!  Not because misfortune fell out of the sky and sought him out.  believe me I wouldn't have been thrilled if he, his girl friend and baby would have moved in but that what you do for family.  Of course, mom would have expected them to both work.