Good point....Republicans have tricked guys like Coach who are white and lower/middle class to support the rich in all that they want....very low taxes, subsidies, tax breaks, etc......
Actually lower and middle class whites have more in common with minorities who are lower, middle class and those groups should be working together for tax fairness and higher pay......
But help to the poor (especially if they are minority) is looked upon as handouts for laziness and the Republicans contribute to this perception.....however in fairness, the Democrats need to pay attention to combating fraud and abuse in the system, especially in terms of SSI and food stamps, and there needs to be a concerted effort to go after those who abuse the system long term....
I completely agree that abuse of social benefits exists. If the powers that be put more effort in controlling the abuse, one would think it would save some money. What most of us don't know is how widespread the abuse is. We also don't know if it is more expensive to hire additional government employees to work on government assistance fraud then it's worth. Those people who get caught generally are newsworthy. All the people who aren't defrauding the government aren't newsworthy.
6 Myths About Welfare Recipients DebunkedRead more at:
http://www.forwardprogressives.com/6-myths-welfare-recipients-debunked/ 6. Illegal immigrants receive food stamps: Completely and utterly false. If you’re an undocumented immigrant, you do not qualify for food stamps, plain and simple. If you are a documented immigrant, you still have to wait 5 years before you qualify. This is a talking point brought up over and over again by many uninformed conservatives, and it is false according to the SNAP website: Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for SNAP. Additionally, there is already a strict waiting period for documented immigrants. Documented adult immigrants (those with a greencard) are subject to a five-year waiting period before they are eligible for SNAP.
5. The “Obamaphone”: How many memes have you seen on the Internet like “I wish I could afford an Obama iPhone and an Escalade like the person in front of me in the checkout line who is paying for her groceries with food stamps”? Getting past the obvious racial dogwhistle (you know, because only black people drive Cadillac Escalades), has it ever occurred to these people that Lifeline does not support smartphones? You’re getting a basic phone with a finite number of minutes and text messages to use monthly. If you’re a welfare recipient and you have a nice phone, it’s not from the government. End of story.
4. The Welfare Queen: Again, this is a not-so-subtle racial card played repeatedly to convince poor whites who receive government assistance to vote against their own best interests. It paints a stereotypical image of a single, black woman with multiple children, an iPhone, and an EBT card loading up the back of an Escalade with fancy cuts of meat and cases of soda – allegedly purchased on your hard-earned tax dollars. The fact is that when you break down welfare statistics, the number of whites versus blacks who receive public assistance is almost equal: The margin between Caucasians and African-Americans who are on welfare is extremely narrow — 38.8 percent of Caucasians, and 39.8 percent of African-Americans are on welfare.
3. Obama is the “food-stamp President”: A favorite tactic of some conservatives is to claim that the welfare rolls are the highest they’ve ever been under the Obama administration. While true according to Politifact.com, it’s a trend that started before he took office due to a combination of the recession, the fact that corporations continue to avoid hiring despite record profits, and that the minimum wage hasn’t kept up to the rate of inflation. In other words, it’s a cheap, easy accusation that flies well with those who hated the guy to begin with – and have no idea how the economy works.
2. Only lazy people get welfare: A common retort from those who like to demonize those who receive public assistance is “if you just worked harder, you wouldn’t need welfare! Stop being lazy and get to work!” Almost $104 million dollars worth of food stamps were used at military commissaries in 2013. These are some of the hardest working people in the United States, and they still need food stamps to get by. In addition, nearly 1 million veterans receive food stamps as well. While there are certainly some who spend a lifetime on public assistance, they are the exception, not the rule – and honestly, I can’t see that as being a happy way to live.
1. Welfare is too expensive: The average SNAP benefit is slightly less than $134 per person monthly and if you are an able-bodied adult, you only get to be on it for 3 months. SNAP already has strict time-limits for unemployed workers. Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) may only receive 3 months of SNAP benefits during any 3 year period, unless they are working in a qualifying job training program. The SNAP benefit formula is structured to provide a strong work incentive – for every additional dollar a SNAP participant earns, their benefits decline by about 24 to 36 cents, not a full dollar, so participants have a strong incentive to find work, work longer hours, or seek better-paying employment.
Read more at:
http://www.forwardprogressives.com/6-myths-welfare-recipients-debunked/
