Thoughts for the day

[aegsm76]

•Nearly half of all Americans live in a household in which someone receives government benefits.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000..._sections_news

•About 47 percent will paid no federal income taxes at all for 2009.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly....html?x=0&.v=1

•The White House predicts that since October, one eighth of the population - or an average of 43.3 million people - will receive food stamps each month.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/finance/2...ll-Time-High-/

•One out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010.

http://www.businessinsider.com/15-sh...rter-of-2010-9

[Truthseeker]

So much waste with walfare and such, but I think gov waste all around including millitary.

[coadie]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker

So much waste with walfare and such, but I think gov waste all around including millitary.

Free school meals, food stamps and then the government pays for lap band surgery and other obesity related medicine.

[Truthseeker]

How is it folks on stamps also get free lunches at school??

[Seascapes]

There are many people that needs the benefits of our government, but there are some that abuse the benefits. I am on disability, and without social security that I paid into when I was younger, I would not be able to receive a disability check and therefore be able to keep my house. The stock market would not have this benefit. Yes there are many parents that won't provide for their children, and if it were not for the school lunch programs, many children would go hungry, they will do without because of their sorry parents. I am glad that we have a school lunch program for these kids.

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Seascapes

There are many people that needs the benefits of our government, but there are some that abuse the benefits. I am on disability, and without social security that I paid into when I was younger, I would not be able to receive a disability check and therefore be able to keep my house. The stock market would not have this benefit. Yes there are many parents that won't provide for their children, and if it were not for the school lunch programs, many children would go hungry, they will do without because of their sorry parents. I am glad that we have a school lunch program for these kids.

[Cindy]

We have been both with and without. I do not want anyone to go hungry, have no shelter, without clothes, lousy parents or not. When I was having babies, insurance would not pay for birth control, but would pay 100% for having a baby. How logical is that. Granted this was many years ago, but it made no sense to me. Now you can get free birth control, and still there are many unwanted pregnancies. So some have options, either abortion, or let the taxpayers pay. And still there are hungry people, people without shelter, clothing, etc.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker

How is it folks on stamps also get free lunches at school??

Now this will probably anger some here but I think it would be a good idea for all children in public (government) schools to receive free breakfast and free lunch. There would be no stigma of being in the "few lunch" program and it could be the only meals some of those children get that day.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker

How is it folks on stamps also get free lunches at school??

Two different things.

Some parents use those stamps for food.
Others sell them for drug money.
But, the children can't help what their parents do.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

•Nearly half of all Americans live in a household in which someone receives government benefits.

•About 47 percent will paid no federal income taxes at all for 2009.

•The White House predicts that since October, one eighth of the population - or an average of 43.3 million people - will receive food stamps each month.

•One out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010.

My wife and I both receive Social Security. I paid into it for 46 years before I started drawing from it. Some of those years I paid the maximum into it.

My wife and I file jointly. I receive a pension from General Electric where I worked for 32 years. We both receive Social Security. We pay federal (and state) income tax on the pension and on Social Security.

Neither my wife nor I have ever received Unemployment Benefits or food stamps.

Shortly after I retired I paid our house mortgage off. I had been sending in increased payments for some time before that and designating the overage to the principal. Now I own a house in a neighborhood where I am a racial minority and the houses ordinarily sell for 61 percent of their appraised value.

We also pay around $5,000 per year for Medicare and a Medicare Supplement for health insurance.

So, while we are not starving, we are living like lots of the elderly at a small income level. The last year I received a raise was in 1996 and then I retired March 1, 1998. We are now living on an income (combined pension and two Social Security Checks) which amount to about 2/3 of our income in 1997