Quote:
|
Originally Posted by astrahl
I am against Big Brother, too.
You cannot buy alcohol with food stamps, why should you be allowed to gamble with welfare money?
Same deal.
|
Except that I don't think that it is the same deal. Food stamps aren't money. They are redeemed by the retailer for money, and they aren't subject to taxes. Welfare money is designed to be used for a wide range of things - rent, food, water, electricity, phone and, yes, discretionary items. The problem that I have with what you're proposing is that there has to be a line drawn somewhere. Are we going to say that folks on welfare can only buy 3 light bulbs a month? More would be wasting the money. How about that a mother on welfare can't buy her 5 year old a Hot Wheels car? Or that a family on welfare can't buy birthday candles for a cake? Who gets to set the criteria? You? Me? Ustwo (god forbid)?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by astrahl
"People on the dole have just as much right to live their lives free from government interference as the rest of us."
I disagree. They are inviting the government into their checkbooks. Expect that the government will be concerned as to how the money is spent.
If the government can tell a scientist that, "We gave you this much money and you can only spent it on equipment." If that scientist wants to go to a conference that would benefit his or her research, they cannot use that same money. Why can't those restrictions, which already exist, be applied to this other segment of the population? NOT holding these people accountable for their spending when we hold other government money recipients accountable is discriminatory.
|
There's a big difference between telling a professional how to do their job and telling someone how to live their life. The government is basically paying a scientist to do science. With welfare receipients, the government is helping them survive. Most people on welfare don't want to be, and most of them aren't on it for very long (the average is around 18 months). I think that this is needless government intrusion.