So many tax dollars, so little time...

Started by tbone0106, December 04, 2010, 01:26:30 PM

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tbone0106

Here's what happens when government programs collide...

A woman went to a grocery store in Grand Rapids, Mich., and purchased 42 bottles and cans of soda. She charged them to her Bridge Card, a federally funded debit card that's managed by the state for use by public assistance recipients. She then took her purchase directly to the store's automated redemption machine, and fed all 42 containers, unopened, into the machine. Inside, they all exploded as they were crushed, spreading soda and debris inside the machine and all over the surrounding floor. She then pocketed $4.20 for the returns, and left. Store manager Steve Holland said he called the state, and was told the customer did not violate Bridge Card rules.

Read the full story here: http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/michigan/Pop-goes-the-tax-payers-Bridge-Card-

surfer_squirrel

An uncle of mine once told me that "Gratitude is the virtue of a dog." He said that even a dog that is abused will respond with gratitude. The human animal is different. Take away their dignity and the ability to do for themselves and they become offensive and ungrateful. The amount of money wasted on social programs in this country is astounding. It would be better spent reactivating closed military bases to house and educate those who receive public assistance. During their hours not in school learning a marketable skill, they could use those skills on base to gain experience to reenter the outside world. This would provide a more human approach to caring for the "less fortunate" at far less cost than the current bureaucratic mess that exists.

This could be started as a pilot program for those unemployed and displaced from their previous homes. Military bases are normally designed to be a closed community that is self sustaining. Just think of the variety of marketable skills that could be taught in that environment. Retailing, Electrical, Plumbing, Carpentry, HVAC, Healthcare, Personnel Placement, Food Service, Grounds Keeping, Telephone installer/repair, Computer network wiring and maintenance and many more.

This type of program would do far more to return the unemployed to the job market than just throwing a check or debit card at them and yelling "Next!"
Government- the cancer that consumes wealth

AmericanFlyer

Surfer, what job market are you referring to?  There isn't one in the private sector, unless you want to be a Wal Mart greeter or a shopping mall Santa.

tbone0106

Being a WalMart greeter could be the start of a career in retailing or a lot of other fields... but not if you have no marketable skills. I think I like SS's thinking on this one. The obvious BIG drawback is that it would still be run by the folks who brought us the Bridge Card.

surfer_squirrel

Quote from: AmericanFlyer on December 04, 2010, 03:16:51 PM
Surfer, what job market are you referring to?  There isn't one in the private sector, unless you want to be a Wal Mart greeter or a shopping mall Santa.
There are always jobs out there. You may not like what they are, but when you're hungry, you can't be choosey. Walmart greeter is a job. Mall Santa is a job. There are plenty of jobs that go begging because the current generation believes that they should be starting out at top wages.
The current mentality seems to be that the employer has to knock on your door and drag you kicking and screaming into their industry. It don't work that way. If you want a job, you have to look for it.
First of all, you need to have salable skill sets. You're not going to get an engineering job if all you have experience in is auto mechanics. You aren't going be hired as a physician if all you did is collect donations for the Red Cross. You aren't going to find a job as a structural engineer in the grass lands of Nebraska. Jobs are there and you have to know where to look for them.

I'll give you one classified section that has loads of employment ads. This is one source. There are many around the country like it. The idea that there is no work is BS. Sometimes, like the current national situation, you may have to accept less than you are accustomed to, but at least it will put food on the table and a roof over your head.

Our country as a whole has not learned from history. They don't remember the depression of 29 and what it did to this country. It took more than 15 years before a recovery was visible. Those who were poor lived through it better than the fools who lived beyond their means and got destroyed by a mountain of debt. This is the land of the free and freedom comes with a price, it's called living within your means. If you rely on the government to solve your problems, you're dillusional.

Sorry Flyer, I've heard a lot of that "I can't find a job" in my years and to me it translate to I don't want to work. Sometimes it is the same as an alcoholic or drug user saying they can't kick the habit. They just haven't hit bottom.
Government- the cancer that consumes wealth

surfer_squirrel

Here's a negative thought: Employers sometimes place ads looking for specific talent through a blind PO Box address that may look appealing to you. Employers that are preparing to lay off employees place those ads as bait. They don't know who to get rid of so they place the ad hoping that some of their employees respond. They then can let those persons go because there is no guilt attached.
Government- the cancer that consumes wealth

walkstall

Quote from: surfer_squirrel on December 04, 2010, 09:39:28 PM
Here's a negative thought: Employers sometimes place ads looking for specific talent through a blind PO Box address that may look appealing to you. Employers that are preparing to lay off employees place those ads as bait. They don't know who to get rid of so they place the ad hoping that some of their employees respond. They then can let those persons go because there is no guilt attached.

That a two way street.  Also looking for someone who will be willing to move for a better job without letting others know what there doing.   
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."

Solars Toy

Mather Community Campus

The Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance has been proud to administer the nationally recognized and award winning Mather Community Campus transitional housing and employment services program since 1995. It was named one of the "100 Best of the Best" HUD programs in the U.S. in 2000. To date the Campus has served more than 2,000 adults and children.

Beginning March 29, 2010, the administration of the program transitioned to the Volunteers of America, a long standing partner of the Mather Community Campus program. Volunteers of America, and its partners, will continue the many outstanding services that the Mather Community Campus has to offer.

http://dhaweb.saccounty.net/Homeless/MCC.htm
http://www.voa-sac.org/Services/GreaterSacramentoServices/Transitionalhousing/MatherCommunityCampus/tabid/2428/Default.aspx

For 15 years this program was ran by Sacramento County at a military base that had been closed.  Due to severe budget cuts the County could no longer pay for the program and handed it over to VOA.  Of the various Community Services Programs only 2 of the 4 are left.  In July 2010 the Senior Nutrition Program (provides meals and services to seniors) was handed over to another agency to run.  The "Homeless" program, providing winter shelters etc is barely hanging on through the end of this fiscal year (6/30/10).  The only program left not costing the County money is the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, it is totally funded by grants.

So yes it is a good idea to use the old military bases but someone still has to pay for it. 8) 8)
I pray, not wish because I have a God not a Genie.

Indy

They need to brig back food commodities. Dried eggs, milk. potatoes, canned ham, beef, peanut butter etc. Of course that is no longer PC. They have to feel good about the free food they appear to be putting on their credit card.

Solars Toy




CalFresh, California's new program, ditches food stamps and the old image to emphasize nutrition.

The most significant change in California's food assistance is a new emphasis on health and nutrition. Applicants may find themselves in a cooking class learning how to prepare fresh fruits and vegetables. California Food Policy Advocates spearheaded the move to change the name from food stamps to CalFresh. It took several years of focus groups and legislation to change the name.

http://www.zesterdaily.com/politics/698-food-stamps-california-calfresh

So they spent millions of dollars to make this change and probably the majority will still by crap....(or go to Vegas or on Cruises)

I pray, not wish because I have a God not a Genie.

AmericanFlyer

Quote from: surfer_squirrel on December 04, 2010, 09:06:29 PM
There are always jobs out there. You may not like what they are, but when you're hungry, you can't be choosey. Walmart greeter is a job. Mall Santa is a job. There are plenty of jobs that go begging because the current generation believes that they should be starting out at top wages.
The current mentality seems to be that the employer has to knock on your door and drag you kicking and screaming into their industry. It don't work that way. If you want a job, you have to look for it.
First of all, you need to have salable skill sets. You're not going to get an engineering job if all you have experience in is auto mechanics. You aren't going be hired as a physician if all you did is collect donations for the Red Cross. You aren't going to find a job as a structural engineer in the grass lands of Nebraska. Jobs are there and you have to know where to look for them.

I'll give you one classified section that has loads of employment ads. This is one source. There are many around the country like it. The idea that there is no work is BS. Sometimes, like the current national situation, you may have to accept less than you are accustomed to, but at least it will put food on the table and a roof over your head.

Our country as a whole has not learned from history. They don't remember the depression of 29 and what it did to this country. It took more than 15 years before a recovery was visible. Those who were poor lived through it better than the fools who lived beyond their means and got destroyed by a mountain of debt. This is the land of the free and freedom comes with a price, it's called living within your means. If you rely on the government to solve your problems, you're dillusional.

Sorry Flyer, I've heard a lot of that "I can't find a job" in my years and to me it translate to I don't want to work. Sometimes it is the same as an alcoholic or drug user saying they can't kick the habit. They just haven't hit bottom.

You're preaching to the choir, surfer.  The state and federal governments in this country have removed virtually all incentives for unemployed people to get a job, or even LOOK for a job. 

When lazy, deadbeat adults are being showered with food stamps and Section 8 housing and Medicaid and every other creature comfort, simply because they "can't find a job" or they have little kids or they have some sort of contrived "disability", is it any wonder that perfectly employable people are NOT filling the "Wal Mart greeter" and "mini-mart cashier" positions?


wizard


surfer_squirrel

Quote from: Solars Toy on December 05, 2010, 06:11:25 AM
Mather Community Campus

The Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance has been proud to administer the nationally recognized and award winning Mather Community Campus transitional housing and employment services program since 1995. It was named one of the "100 Best of the Best" HUD programs in the U.S. in 2000. To date the Campus has served more than 2,000 adults and children.

Beginning March 29, 2010, the administration of the program transitioned to the Volunteers of America, a long standing partner of the Mather Community Campus program. Volunteers of America, and its partners, will continue the many outstanding services that the Mather Community Campus has to offer.

http://dhaweb.saccounty.net/Homeless/MCC.htm
http://www.voa-sac.org/Services/GreaterSacramentoServices/Transitionalhousing/MatherCommunityCampus/tabid/2428/Default.aspx

For 15 years this program was ran by Sacramento County at a military base that had been closed.  Due to severe budget cuts the County could no longer pay for the program and handed it over to VOA.  Of the various Community Services Programs only 2 of the 4 are left.  In July 2010 the Senior Nutrition Program (provides meals and services to seniors) was handed over to another agency to run.  The "Homeless" program, providing winter shelters etc is barely hanging on through the end of this fiscal year (6/30/10).  The only program left not costing the County money is the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, it is totally funded by grants.

So yes it is a good idea to use the old military bases but someone still has to pay for it. 8) 8)
ST, the trouble with the programs you identified and the reason for their failure is that they are government run/controlled (be it local, county, state or federal it doesn't matter). I have been involved in observing several of these programs in another state and when government runs/controls operation of such programs, there is waste. They are typically run by inept, dime-store degreed idiots and staffed by people whose only purpose in being there is to grab a government paycheck and whatever else they can walk off with. I have witnessed it and when I approached higher government authorities about it, I was told that mine was the only complaint they had ever heard. I knew that to be pure BS and when I met with local leaders where the program was being run, they met with the higher authorities and told them to surrender the program to the locality. The program has been a success ever since. It is all about local people helping local people. Any time I am in the area, I stop in to say hello to those who I knew. It can be done elsewhere but it takes personal involvement to see it through and make a success of it. Government, though well intentioned, is a destructive force when it attempts to legislate social remedies.
Government- the cancer that consumes wealth

Solars Toy

Quote from: surfer_squirrel on December 05, 2010, 12:01:16 PM
ST, the trouble with the programs you identified and the reason for their failure is that they are government run/controlled (be it local, county, state or federal it doesn't matter). I have been involved in observing several of these programs in another state and when government runs/controls operation of such programs, there is waste. They are typically run by inept, dime-store degreed idiots and staffed by people whose only purpose in being there is to grab a government paycheck and whatever else they can walk off with. I have witnessed it and when I approached higher government authorities about it, I was told that mine was the only complaint they had ever heard. I knew that to be pure BS and when I met with local leaders where the program was being run, they met with the higher authorities and told them to surrender the program to the locality. The program has been a success ever since. It is all about local people helping local people. Any time I am in the area, I stop in to say hello to those who I knew. It can be done elsewhere but it takes personal involvement to see it through and make a success of it. Government, though well intentioned, is a destructive force when it attempts to legislate social remedies.

SS I am not saying it is the way to go just pointing out there are places where military bases are taken over when closed and used for the purpose you indicated in an earlier post.  The County couldn't afford to keep running it so it was turned over to another   agency. :) :)
I pray, not wish because I have a God not a Genie.

walkstall

Hmmm For them that live in Washington State. 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBQ/is_1073/ai_n16776684/


This is a full set up, a small city with everything you could ask for.  I would say it could house up to 1.000 + people with no problems.  My BIL was C.O. there for 4 years.  You could move people in today with no problem and everything is in work order at all times. 
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.- James Freeman Clarke

Always remember "Feelings Aren't Facts."