[ILLJIM69]

Originally Posted by importpower99

REQUIRMENTS FOR WELFARE BENIFITS/ASSISTANCE:
To be eligible for welfare in the United States, an applicant must be a United States citizen or lawfully admitted to the country for permanent residence. Some exceptions may apply to citizenship rules. When an individual applies for welfare, his or her citizenship status is reviewed, along with the status of each household member, before assistance is granted. Each state has its own residency requirements as well. For example, to be eligible in Pennsylvania, an individual must be living within the state and have the intention of remaining there.

A social security number is required for receiving welfare benefits. This is required not just of adults, but also of children in an applying household. If someone in an applying household doesn’t have a social security number, the person must apply for one, provide proof of applying for a number, and give the number to his or her caseworker once it is issued. The caseworker may also require a copy of the person’s social security card.

Often, adults must meet certain work requirements in order to be eligible for welfare. The requirements may vary depending on the program and the state in which the individual is seeking aid. Generally, recipients are expected to seek employment and/or training. Some states provide work training and employment search programs geared specifically towards welfare recipients.

In certain circumstances, a recipient may be exempt from work requirements. For example, an individual in a single-parent household, with a child under 12 months old, may be temporarily excused from work requirements. Temporarily or permanently disabled recipients, as well as those enrolled in substance abuse programs, may be excused from work requirements as well. Additionally, individuals otherwise eligible for aid, but attending college, may be eligible for a work exemption for as long as they are attending school in a program that meets welfare requirements.

Depending on the welfare program, there may be special requirements for single and separated parents, their dependent children, and child support. Typically, recipients are required to seek child support and cooperate fully with welfare’s child support and paternity requirements, including efforts to find an absent parent. Once child support is granted, welfare may intercept all or part of it to compensate for the fact that the individual is receiving assistance. Exemptions from child support cooperation are made for good cause, such as proven domestic violence situations"

Let me tell you a story about sterotypes. Look, most of the stories you hear are usually false and lack crediabilty. The days of welfare queens are over. When was the last time you were standing in line at the grocery store ready to pay for your generic affordable food, when your stuck behind a woman, heavly decked out in gold jewelry. She is paying for her USDA approved sirloin with food stamps, while her 5 kids are running around the checkout counter screaming and breaking s**t.....excatly.
They are required to work, and they are assigned a case worker who reviews there case periodically. The only time they are not required to work, is if they have a child under a certian age.

As far as your neighbor, I couldn't answer that for you. You are probably missing a key piece of evidence that you are purposely with-holding, or really.........just don't know the truth and your guessing. So unless you physically seen her state benefits letter, have proof that she didn't have a job, know that she purchased the car, then your statement is just an opinion, and means nothing.
So can you be wrong? sure! Could she have slipped through the cracks of the system? sure!
They are required to work, and they are assigned a case worker who reviews there case periodically. The only time they are not required to work, is if they have a child under a certian age.

Here is the benefits for welfare:
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/ServicesP.../003676754.htm


And yes Clinton reformed health care, he switched it from dependence to second chance:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/op...22clinton.html


And if you were refering to Disabilty, then no that figure does not apply to that. I was talking welfare, Section 8, food stamps, TANF, WIC.

All of that is well and good, but I think it's fair to say that there are standards out there and certain criteria that needs to be met that often is not. There is almost no enforcement in terms of state and local government checking up on these people. If the list of stuff you posted above rang true and the government did a great job of ensuring people didn't abuse the system, I wouldn't have a problem per se. However, they don't. I surely hope that you aren't going to tell me that there aren't people out there who don't latch onto the welfare system for life and never get caught.

Oh and I lumped disability in there because that systems is terribly abused. People just need a note from a doctor (in essence, I know there is some more to it) and they qualify. I see too many people who can do SOME form of work and claim to be disabled. Just because you worked construction and hurt your back doesn't mean you can't find a job less physical. And how about handicap tags? Tell me those aren't easy to get. Same idea behind disability. Hell, when I retire from the military, I will qualify for disability.....at least 10% automatically (probably more since that is usually what people who do 4 years gets), without any actual injuries to show for it. If your brain functions at least partially, you can just go to the docs a few times and complain about your back hurting. Once it's on paper and you go to get out of the military, you can get 25% or more for something that doesn't even exist! Tell me that isn't messed up. And the civilian sector is no better.