Have you ever been on any form of welfare in the U.S.?

[Bertha Venation]

Poll question: Have you ever been on any form of welfare in the U.S.?

If so, what were the circumstances?

I grew up on welfare. I don't remember ever going grocery shopping with a parent when s/he didn't pay with food stamps.

As an adult, I fell back on food stamps many times. I was extremely messed up mentally, couldn't keep a job, etc. I'm okay now, but without that temporary help (and help from food banks and, of course, my church) I'd've never made it out of the cycles I was destined to repeat.

How about you?

(This poll doesn't include Medicaid for the retired among us. I don't really think that's part of "welfare," is it?)

poll edited to include one more choice

[datasuspect]

1. food stamps

yep.

[trotsky]

2. Just government grants for school, but that's welfare too.

I think if more people (i.e., Republicans) realized that they, too, benefit from welfare, it might not have the stigma that it does today.

[ohio_liberal]

3. My kids have been on Medicaid

Ohio calls it "Healthy start, Healthy families". My kids have been enrolled since my ex was laid off. It's really been a blessing.

[DeaconBlues]

4. As a child, we were on foodstamps/welfare many times

My father became mentally ill when I was five, and my mother was left raising eight kids on her own (sounds like a bad drama from the family channel, I know). I remember waiting with anticipation for the first of the month for the check to come in. The government truly saved us.

It pisses me off when people talk about welfare cheats, like they know what the fuck they are talking about.

[Bertha Venation]

19. Deacon, everyone knows your mom just had so many kids so she could

get MORE in that check every month. /sarcasm :eyes:

It makes me angry, too.

[On the Road]

5. I Went Through Some Periods of Great Poverty

when I was young and single. Had to sleep in a broken-down car for a car because I had no money, even for a sandwich. Eventually I always found a job in restaurants or with a temp agency. But it never even ocurred to me to file for unemployment or seek food stamps. I don't know why -- it just wasn't something anyone I knew did.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Does unemployment compensation count?

n/t

[AllegroRondo]

8. I would say no

its more of an insurance program. You pay a premium into it every month in case you need it.

[1monster]

7. Are you counting unemployment check? If so, yes, for six months

when I was fired from a job for being pregnant and couldn't get anyone to hire me until after my son was born.

[lastliberalintexas]

9. It depends on what you classify

as a "welfare" program. Personally, I consider the vast majority of federal and local government spending to be welfare, and that includes police/fire protection, education, libraries, AFDC, WIC, Medicare, Medicaid, even roads and highways. Almost everything other than defense/military spending is really "welfare" since the expenditure is made for the welfare of the people rather than for the defense of them. ALL OF US receive welfare in some form or fashion from the government, and ALL OF US benefit in some way from government programs.

I've never understood why some people (ie, right wingers) used that word with such contempt. :shrug:


And btw- retirees are receiving Medicare. Medicaid is an income/needs based program for which you must qualify but can receive at any age. :)

[SmokingJacket]

33. Good point.

I've never understood why so many RWers feel that spending on roads or fire and police is just fine, but spending on public health is suddenly SOCIALISM. I don't distinguish: I vote for people and pay taxes in the hopes that the country can work for the benefit of everyone.

Of course, there are now many RWers who'd be happy privatizing the highways and turning the police into the arm of the military...

[Dr Ron]

10. Medicare covers retirees, not Medicaid

Many retirees also have Medicaid based upon income, but it is Medicare which covers everyone over 65 plus the disabled.

[Bertha Venation]

20. I got them mixed up.

Thanks.

[Coventina]

11. My family spent quite awhile on food stamps growing up.

My dad was unemployed/underemployed for a period of about 5 years.

My mother didn't make enough substitute teaching to pick up the slack.

I'm thankful for the social safety nets we have, and I have no problem paying my taxes.

[donsu]

12. twice in the past for emergency food stamps

thank goodness.

[Mari333]

13. No,Im not a Corporation

the biggest welfare cheats of all. Corporate Welfare.
:smile:

[Mari333]

14. No,Im not a Corporation

the biggest welfare cheats of all. Corporate Welfare.
:smile:

[11 Bravo]

15. After I got out of the army I used the GI Bill for college.

I guess that should count.

[Straight Shooter]

16. Food stamps, for one month

It was agonizing to accept them, because I grew up with a father who berated people on welfare as being "lazy." I wanted to fall through the floor of the store when I pulled out the stamps to pay for my food.

I had lost my job, but fortunately times were better back then and I was re-employed pretty quickly.

If I were a right-winger, I'd look down my nose at people who use food stamps long-term, and say, "Look, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, you can do it, too." But because I have a heart, when I see someone with food stamps, I never pass judgment. There's no way I can be privy to that person's history, what brought them to this point. The only thing that makes me sad is when I see them buying lots of junk food. Good nutrition is vital when times are hard. JMHO.

[liberalitch]

17. after escaping from a brutally abusive marriage....

I could not go to my family because then he would have known where I was so I had to make it on my own until he was locked up..... during those months when I was trying to get back up on my feet I took food stamps and section 8 housing.
By the time he was locked up I was working and off the aid.

saved my life

[ellenfl]

18. food stamps and college grants

i was pretty poor in college because my father would not give me any financial assistance, even tho' he footed the bill for both my older and younger sister . . . but that's another story. i existed on school loans and grants . . . and briefly, food stamps . . . until my mother moved to town and housed and fed me while i finished school. i think she was trying to make up for my dad.

anyway, i didn't use the food stamps much because i had to pay $12 to buy $72 worth of food stamps and i never had the $12. . . . and yes, i worked the whole time i was in school.

obviously, i firmly believe in social safety nets . . . especially having lived on a single income all my life (well, since i left my parents' home anyway!). i think women and children are the most hurt by social program cutbacks and that seems to be what the neo-cons want.

ellen fl

[southpaw]

21. WIC and Food Stamps

At different times:

My ex-wife was elligible for WIC while carrying our first child (we were both working college students, but our combined income was below the maximum for wic, plus she had low iron... her OB-GYN encouraged us to get on WIC and it was a HUGE help.)

Later, I was terribly under-employed and my wife was unemployed. We applied for and received food stamps briefly (about 3 months) until our employment picture brightened.

In both cases, these programs were lifesavers, moreso in the second situation than the first.

It angers me to see people take advantage of these programs, but I can not understand the mindset of those who would pull the rug out from under honest families and individuals who truly need the assistance in order to punish the minority of welfare recipients who are abusing the system. It's like decapitation as the cure for a headache.

[frictionlessO]

22. Food stamps while homeless, until I started hustling.

I only had to do that for a few months until I saved enough to rent a shack and get a job.

[HippieCowgirl]

23. Remember the 80's and the family farmer? Remember FarmAid? That was us.

Welfare kept me from being homeless. Our whole pantry was filled with food marked "Government Surplus not for sale" and my mom shopped with food stamps. When she got pregnant she got on WIC to get more food & goods. My stepfather was on unemployment for a very long time (back in the day when it wasn't cut off after a few months) We got assistance to pay our electricity bill in the winter so we wouldn't freeze.

My mother and stepfather were both welfare cheats of the highest order. Stepdad was working as a mechanic for cash under the table while also getting unemployment. Mom was selling produce & eggs & meat for cash and never reporting the income. I can almost guarantee that my stepfather cheated on his taxes to make sure he got as much from the government as possible. As far as I remember, all of the cash money they got went to keeping 2 ancient vehicles running, and keeping up payments on the land we lived on, and buying feed for the livestock. Stepdad didn't work the farm - my mother and I did. He put all his efforts into cheating the government so he'd have enough cash to keep the farm from being reposessed by the bank.

The kicker is that even with the cheating and unreported income and all of the government assistance, we never rose above abject poverty. My parents were experts at keeping the welfare flowing, but couldn't run a farm to save their butts. They finally paid off the land, got off the farm, and got real jobs. Stepdad still owns the land - it's worthless now.

[bleedingheart]

24. Don't know if this counts but my family got food stamps during a layoff

no other form of aid but that was it... 9 month layoff when I was about 8 years of age.

[shanti]

25. yep, all of the above

back in the late 80's, was on afdc, fs, mediCal, subsidized housing, food banks, gubmint cheese, student aid, you name it. ain't no shame in my game! i was a single mom of 3, attending college (when they still let you do that!) i figured that it was there for me when i needed it, so i took it. was never raised on it tho, mom and dad would never accept "charity".

[Bridget Burke]

26. No--because of Social Security.

Father died leaving pre-school kids; mother didn't go back to work until we were all in school. Social Security & other government money (for Air Force survivors) helped. Even after she resumed working, the totals weren't that high--but compared to our semi-rural neighbors, we did fine. We actually had books in the house!

Of course, some of the Social Security haters regard it as welfare.

[hyphenate]

27. Currently on EAEDC and several other

programs while I wait (endlessly) for disability to go through. I remember as a kid, we used to get the cheese, beans, and other things from welfare, though other than that, we weren't on it. It's one of the reasons I despise Velveeta cheese and peanut butter!

Last year, I even had to get help from a charity toward fuel assistance, as the cold winter here ended up with me using up all the oil I had.

Other than that, I worked all my life and if I didn't have money to afford something, I went without it.

[wicket]

28. We used WIC when I was growing up

n/t

[cally]

29. No

and I say this to let all know that it is possible to be a liberal without experiencing the programs first hand. I've had many family members, including my husband, who've used services. I've been close to destitute a time or two and just got fortunate.

[Rowdyboy]

30. As a child, my parents occasionally had to resort to "commodities"

government peanut butter, chhese, flour etc.

[Withywindle]

31. I went on food stamps right out of college...

...early 90s, first Bush recession.... I felt lucky to have to have $5 an hour job, as that was above minimum wage. But I still qualified for food stamps even though I worked full time, as did both my roommates. And a damn good thing too, considering how expensive rent was and how little we made.

[VOX]

32. Yes. A long time ago, I was disabled for 5 years...

I was flat broke, divorced and had no family to fall back on, and was far too ill to work -- I was laid off my job for health reasons, and and I had no disability insurance.

Supplemental Security Income and Medi-Cal saved my life, literally. I was offered food stamps, but I never used them. It took me five years to be healthy enough to return to work. I eased my way back into a full-time work routine with the help of the Social Security Admin folks.

When I was a very young man and in life-or-death trouble, my federal government kept me alive. I was so far down that my only other option was suicide. I will always be grateful that I lived in a country that would extend this gift to me.

[Blue_In_AK]

34. I got AFDC and food stamps from 1972-1974 in California

I was single with a baby and lived in small towns with very few employment opportunities.

[Blue Diadem]

35. Right after the birth of our first child, hubby's unemployment ran out

so we had a month of welfare and foodstamps. He was required to work for the county road dept. that month to pay it back. Luckily, he was called back to work later that month.

One other time, we were on foodstamps during a strike.

[Bertha Venation]

36. I'd be very interested to see the results of an identical poll on Free

Republic.

:kick:

[KansDem]

37. Social Security dependent benefits...

After my dad died (I was 22 months old), I and my siblings received some SS dependent benefits until we were 18. We didn't receive them the full time because my mom remarried and my stepfather supported us.

Not really welfare, but nonetheless, others had paid and were paying into the system to our benefit.

That's the way the world is suppose to work: the fortunate help the unfortunate. At least that's the way I thought it worked...

[Ariana Celeste]

38. medical coupons

mom couldnt afford insurance for both of us kids, she couldn't pay bills. so had to get medical coupons. i dont know what the actual name for those are.