Posted on 07/16/2011 5:03:45 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
More than 12,600 welfare recipients and their children will lose monthly checks averaging $511 effective Oct. 1.
The Senate passed a House bill today that imposes a strict 48-month time limit on benefits
There is no grandfather clause in the measure, approved 24-12, which tightens the original 2006 benefits cap that allowed for benefit extensions if the recipient was in job training or unable to work. That means most recipients who are or will be past 48 months on Oct. 1 will be cut off.
Gov. Rick Snyder supports the bill that would save some $77 million. Recipients could no longer apply to the Department of Human Services for an extension beyond the 48 months. Nor could DHS make allowances for those it determines should be exempt from work requirements.
The Senate did add language that allows benefit extensions for those caring for a disabled spouse or child.
Rep. Ken Horn, R-Frankenmuth, the bill sponsor, said welfare should be a safety net and not a "lifestyle."
The measure does make a change that welfare advocates have sought for years. It allows recipients to earn more money on the job without jeopardizing their benefits. A family with $950 in monthly earned income, for example, would still be eligible for $224 in assistance.
But advocates said the strict time limits would place vulnerable children at risk because economic conditions or personal barriers prevented their parents from becoming self-supportive.
Add the 48-month limit to reductions in the Earned Income Tax Credit and "we are really throwing new barriers in the way of families trying to work their way to independence," said Michigan League for Human Services analyst Karen Holcomb-Merrill. “We should be encouraging these families, not finding new ways to make it harder to reach economic independence."
Under other provisions in the bill, households would no longer receive benefit credit for a 19-year-old, full-time high school student living in the home. DHS would have to reassess a recipient’s eligibility for every 12 months instead of every 24 months.
Republicans rejected a Democratic amendment that would have provided for extensions for recipients living in counties where the unemployment rate exceeds 25 percent of the statewide average.
Drive west from the Twin Cities on HW 212, out toward Renville. There you’ll find some of the wealthiest farmers in the world.
“If it were up to me, I would make it as inconvenient as possible. No mailed checks or direct deposit, you have to go stand in line for your check each week. “
Be careful about the “standing in line part”. I heard a union animal interviewed about rousing up the masses - he said it’s a lot harder now to find “the oppressed” as they no longer have these long lines to wait in. What they used to do was hand out flyers telling them to meet at a certain place and time and raise hell. Now it’s a lot tougher, and bummer for the union animal - privacy laws prevent him from accessing lists of deadbeats.
This is why this shouldn’t be government run. One size does not fit all. Welfare should ALL go back to local and community run charities. I’ve heard of horror stories coming from the other side. I have a gf who is disabled. Ever now and again she loses most of her food stamps. They do this even though she can prove she’s only getting disability. This has happened to her several times. She lives off about $650 a month plus food stamps. She pays for her rent and electric bill with no help. Personally, I don’t know how she does it. I have in the past sent her money so she could by toilet paper. She has no cable and her kids pay for her cell phone. The waiting list for government housing is about 2 years and she keeps getting kicked back. They lost her paper work. She didn’t fill it out right one time. They never told her this until she called after waiting for months. This has been going on for about 7 years.
Yep you got it. And Michigan is very generous. People here live better on welfare then the working poor. 2/3 of there housing is paid. They get generous amount of food stamps. One friend of mine was getting SS($720 a month from a deceased x-husband) worked and made $400 a month, still received 2/3 rent paid, help with utility bills in the winter and received $176 in food stamps.
How will the welfare queens, the majority of which are illiterates, work at the DMV, or any job except cleaning toilets?
I’m OK with that
That’s an excellent idea. I would also give them some basic insurance. Handicapped would be exempt along with the elderly. $15 an hour where I live would be a lot of money. Housing here is very cheap. You can rent a half way decent house for around 5-600. A decent apartment for around 400. And you can buy a nice house for around 40-50,000. Much cheaper if you don’t mind an old plan jane house 33,000 or so.
And there goes the rest of the democratic base ;)
Oh they wouldn't even have to do that, under the new ADAAA (American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act) disability is defined as "having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or major bodily functions". For a list of major life impairments, you can click here. Also, the ADAAA says that the disability can be intermittent, and they would have to treat the disability as if it was continuously ongoing.
Even though the ADAAA is for making a civil rights case in hiring, why wouldn't some lawyer use it as a civil rights case in giving welfare to those who don't want to go out and find a job? Based on the rules it would be a piece of cake to declare a child/spouse disabled.
Better yet, they can move to Texas and bring their mamas, grandmas, greatgrandmas and cousins and be on welfare forever. If they're illegals, they can sign their kids up for in-state college tuition and get first grab at government freebies over those stupid US citizens.
If the unemployment rate is that high, people should MOVE to where the jobs are.
And the welfare mooches from all the other states will move to Michigan to get their 5 years before moving to another state, thus staying on welfare forever.
It's all a shell game, while pretending to be "reform". Abolish welfare entirely now.
Reminds me of the stories I hear of certain counties where the Department of Human Services staff share a certain ethnic identity — when members of other ethnic groups seek public assistance, they are advised that it is unavailable for people like them.
Exactly!!! I am personally aware of this. My daughter is learning disabled(mentally about 5), autistic and has seizures. We put her on disability years ago, she’s now 31, almost 32. When we first put her on it, we were told by a person of another ethnicity that she could only get a portion of SSI because she was still living at home, about a $200 difference. When we moved from that state to another, and had to reapply, she got the full benefits, even though, she still lives at home. I was told it was because it’s left up to the discretion of the person working for SS and helping us with the claim. You can draw your own conclusions on that one.
Imagine how much better California’s finances would be if we could purge the welfare rolls of millions of illegal aliens.
I figure there are at least 2 million illegal alien households in California that are receiving $500 in welfare benefits every month. That’s $250 MILLION dollars per month. Which equals $3 BILLION dollars per year. Add in free healthcare, education, WIC, and all the other public services they are provided with, and we are talking BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars wasted on these invaders every year.
In the words of Yakov Smirnoff: “America! What a country!”
Darn straight. I know folks that are unemployment (several were my employees just 2 months ago). I know almost all of them are at a wit’s end right now (well, not the guys I laid off, they are all taking the summer off, on Uncle Sam and happy about it), and are applying for jobs at Home Depot, and the like for $10 an hour (near Chicago, where median home prices and cost of living is very high).
They would jump on, and would much rather have a job for $15 than sit around. The argument I keep hearing against this plan is: If you are to put work on a work-fare program, then you won’t have time to find a replacement job.
Bull-hockey. Put them on a rotating shift, with 2 days rotation off each week. There are solutions, but the dems don’t want solutions, they want everyone on the gub’mint dole.
Also, in towns like mine, where we are facing HUGE deficits due to pensions of municipal employees, this would cut that payroll. Right now, we are paying 2 pensions for every 1 employee our city has. Can you imagine what that number will be in 10 or 20 years? These unions have got to be prevented from organizing in gub’mint positions, and my solution would do just that.
IMO, all municipal employees should be part time, with maybe the exception of managers. Again, working for your town, county, state, city, or whatever should not be a career (excepting our Police and Fire). End the welfare, and use this as an opportunity to reduce deficits.
The other part of this, is that it would be hard to implement. In a town like ours (we have around 100k people), only about 1,200 folks come out to vote for municipal elections. You can bet, of those, all 500 of our city employees come out to vote, and they vote DEM every time, because it is in their best interest because of the unions. So already, by city employee vote, we have a 40% tail in the elections. Add to that those on welfare who will always be on welfare, those in section 8, etc, who get bussed to the polling places, that’s another 400 people. Now we are behind 75% before any election really begins. All those folks vote D.
We threw out our mayor last year, but the was there forever, and the new mayor is really no better. Our city council is basically a job for life, as is all the other municipal positions, such as library board, water reclamation, you name it.
Our city is non-partisan by law. That means we can’t have a D or R on the ballot. This hurts us badly, because the unions and organizers pass out little cards to city employees, and those they bus in, on who to vote for, while your average person has no idea how one stands on issues. What makes it worse, is they have campaign workers who go around before the election, in the conservative neighborhoods passing out literature on how “conservative” the incumbent is, etc. They pass out the opposite literature in the section 8 areas, ie, how that same candidate is “working to help the poor, etc”.
My idea hurts that sort of campaigning, it puts folks to work, it cuts our deficit in our town, it cuts city payroll, and serves to help folks keep their homes and families till they get back on their feet.
Also, it helps the resume. No one wants to hire someone who has been out of work for a year or more.
Sorry for the long wind.
My wife's family is from MI.
If my widowed Mother weren't here in GA, I'd seriously think about moving up there. Lots of affordable housing and right on Lake Michigan. I'd have to get an FFL to bring all my NFA stuff, but I like the direction MI is headed.
Imagine how much better California’s finances would be if we could purge the welfare rolls of millions of illegal aliens.
I figure there are at least 2 million illegal alien households in California that are receiving $500 in welfare benefits every month. That’s $250 MILLION dollars per month. Which equals $3 BILLION dollars per year. Add in free healthcare, education, WIC, and all the other public services they are provided with, and we are talking BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars wasted on these invaders every year.
In the words of Yakov Smirnoff: “America! What a country!”
Your numbers are way off. $3.5 billion per year is being spent on illegal alien health care in LA County alone.
Add to this another $10 Billion in welfare fraud in LA County alone. Much of the welfare fraud is illegal aliens receiving money under one or more fake identities.
Yeah, that’s what I believe, too. But it’s only my opinion.
Does this mean that many of the Moslem freeloaders will be scattering to other locations? What will happen to Dearbornistan?
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