Rumors and distorted facts like this really bother me, for two reasons:
1. I detest error in all forms, and
2. It hits close to home for me.
I lived in Illinois for the first 2/3 of my life -- a democratic stronghold. I still have friends and relatives there, and I am still in touch with them. Illinois isn't one of those (great, in my opinion) flyover states where self-sufficiency is in the (clean, unpolluted) air you breathe. No, Illinois takes the phrase "welfare state" literally. Illinois gave us Obama, for crying out loud.
I know of several cases, but let's just take two: a widow with no income, and an unemployed single mother with 2 children.
The widow went downtown to apply for benefits. What did she end up with?
Food Stamps: Yes
Health care: No
Cash Assistance: No
Housing assistance: No
Utility Assitance: No
Anything else: No
And Food Stamps was "the usual", or 3/4 the amount needed to eat for a month. No lobster and steak for this particular recipient...
The single mother got a similar amount of food stamps, but not much else, either. I don't know exactly the details of that situation, but I do know that she was living in a cheap motel for years, eating really cheap food. High on the hog? Again, I think not.
I just get upset at these kind of chain e-mails, which come from "Fox News" neo-con Republican/conservative rhetoric, placing the blame of society's ills (government debt, for example) at the feet of the poor people.
No, I assure you those poor people are not primarily to blame. If anything, they're the victims. If you want blame, look to the lawyers! Look how much THEY earn, look how many there are, and look at how they suck money from literally ALL SECTORS of society. There isn't a business in existence, or a person breathing, that isn't paying something to the leeches (lawyers), whether directly or indirectly. And what real service do the lawyers provide? Zero. If they all disappeared tomorrow, the world would be a better place. No more lawsuits! No more ridiculous statements on packaging (Peanut M&Ms: "Warning: Containts Nuts"), and health care would get a LOT cheaper real fast.
I think the people who spend all day bitter about how "their money" is being given to "those bums" (usually Baby Boomers and older people) need to get out and meet some of them. They might be enlightened. I have actually met several -- the truth might surprise you.
Anyone upset about welfare expenditures should be more upset about the American Imperialist presence around the world. How many military bases do we have around the world? Notice how Defense spending is seldom even placed next to other budget items. It's always exempt, always special. No "shutdown" affects it.
But really, the true solution doesn't come from the Republicans OR the Democrats. Ideally the poor (who will "always be with you" to quote Our Lord) would be taken care of by the CHURCH (The Catholic Church, that is) and administered much more efficiently, being done by volunteers. It's harder to BS your local priest -- who might actually know you and your situation -- than it is to BS the local welfare office. And so on.