Posted on 08/20/2013 2:37:33 PM PDT by mandaladon
Looking for a good paying job? Well, look no further.
No, really, stop looking. In 35 states, welfare benefits pay more than a minimum wage job, according to a new study by the libertarian Cato Institute, and in 13 states welfare pays more than $15 per hour.
“One of the single best ways to climb out of poverty is taking a job, but as long as welfare provides a better standard of living than an entry-level job, recipients will continue to choose it over work,” said Michael Tanner, senior policy analyst and co-author of the study.
The study is an updated version of one Tanner put out in 1995 that estimated the full value of welfare benefits packages across the states. The 1995 study found that such tax-free welfare benefits greatly exceeded the poverty level and “their dollar value was greater than the amount of take-home income a worker would receive from an entry-level job.”
Despite efforts to curb welfare spending, many welfare programs and benefits have continued to outpace the income that many workers can receive for working an entry-level job, which disincentivizes work, according to the study.
“The current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work,” reads the study. “Welfare currently pays more than a minimum-wage job in 35 states, even after accounting for the Earned Income Tax Credit, and in 13 states it pays more than $15 per hour.”
According to the study, the federal government funds 126 separate programs designed to support low-income earners. Seventy-two of these programs provide cash or in-kind benefits to recipients. This is on top of additional welfare programs operated by state and local governments.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
It pays to be on the dole in America.
Not to mention you have all day to pursue other enterprises off the books.
is that why Dog the Bounty hunter moved there?
(to be close to the louts he’s after)
Gawd. (*slaps forehead*)
The leftists will just use this as an excuse to raise the Minimum Wage.
that’s why I’m always mean towards these slowpokes who take too much time paying their stuff using an EBT at the cashier. they should be thanking me and kissing my ass for allowing them to get freebies while I bust my behind working..
Are these numbers for a single mom with kids or what??
I understand what you are saying, however there are people with EBT card who actually are working real jobs trying to pay the bills and make ends meet.
Unfortunately I will disagree out of respect, but I’ll give you points for it. IMHO, being on EBT is like a drug you cannot live without. Can you tell me any person out there who told the govt office they don’t want an EBT anymore? When you are receiving free stuff with no repercussion, why give it up?
bkmk
Yeah I can name at least half a dozen, but I will stick with myself. They didn't want to take back the card or stop the benefit because our income was still within the guidelines. So I just cut up the card and mailed it back to them.
I know there re far more abusers than those using it properly - but there are still many using it properly, and even more who should actually get more than they do.
It pays to be on the dole in America.
When I lived in Hawaii, the state had the highest cost of living and the lowest per-capita income in the US.
Add me to your list.
This country is so screwed.
Consider too that minimum wage overtime is a vanishing. You get to work two 29 hour part time jobs and not see a dime of overtime. So you work your arse off and break even with staying home
It happens - but not everyone is a leech, as far too many around here would like to paint those of us who work damned hard, but fell on hard times.
Somewhere along the line the system got screwed up - it was meant for folks that fell on temporary hard times and a means to tide them over til things got better. “Temporary” seems to have gone out the window.
Yes, but the normal self-respecting person will continue to work, even if the leftist bastards take 60% of his salary to pay useless indolent slobs to vote democrat.
The useless indolent slob sees nothing wrong with taking the money that was earned by honest, hard-working industrious people.
This is where you end up when “compassion” and feelings drive policy. Why shouldn’t everyone have enough money to support themselves? Why shouldn’t everyone have enough money to live a good life even if they don’t work? If someone wants to sit on their ass and watch TV all day, who are we to judge them or tell them that they shouldn’t get Welfare and Food Stamps? It would be “cruel” to deny someone Food Stamps and Welfare because they don’t work.
And besides, those greedy bastard rich people have more than enough and aren’t paying their “fair share” of taxes. If they just “paid a little more” it would help “those in need.”
The Welfare State is a national suicide pact. America has slit its wrists and is bleeding out. But as long as the current generation gets to live the good life without having to work for it, who the hell cares about anyone else???
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.