The Craigslist Welfare Program: Will It Work?

[Playinghardball]

Source: MoveOn.org

In response to claims by the Heritage Foundation that poor people can’t really be that poor if they have things like refrigerators and telephones:



http://front.moveon.org/the-craigslist-welfare-program-will-it-work/

[EOTE]

1. And that's not even including the money they could get by selling their organs.

Did you know that the typical poor person has two kidneys while the typical person could get by just fine with one? What are they holding on to them for? God, it's like people have forgotten how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps in this country.

[qb]

2. So according to Rush... in order to qualify for help paying for groceries

you should have no way of storing or preparing them?
:crazy:

[loyalsister]

3. ......

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most on the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well- housed, well - warmed, and well- fed. - Herman Melville

[Kalidurga]

4. Wooooooo weeeeeeeeeee

My refrigerator and stove are about 17 years old how much do you think I could get for them? And two and a half months rent well exceeds $1600 it would be more like $2300 in my area and that is a very low average.

[silverlib]

5. This would REALLY help,

as it's my understanding that a family cannot qualify for food stamps if there is no means available to cook the food. So, think of all the money that could be saved.

:sarcasm:

[Missy Vixen]

6. I have a little story re: Craigslist. Listen up, Limbaugh.

I know he reads here. Let him chew on this one.

My husband and I have a yard. It takes an hour and a half or so to mow. I have mobility issues. He doesn't like yard work. As a result, I ran an ad several months ago to find someone to mow our lawn a couple of times a month during the summer. We weren't paying a princely sum. We are by no means rich. At the same time, I would rather give up some "fun" stuff (like going out for a cupcake or seeing a movie at the theater,) than deal with the neighbors' snide remarks/fight over the lawn. I thought I would hear from a couple of high school kids.

I got fifty responses. Reading them made me cry. ALL were from adults out of work for an extended period of time. People offered to bring their own mowers, asked me if I had any other yard work they could do, told me that they were just trying to keep it together enough to stay in their apartment or wherever it was they were still living.

There was a highly publicized case on the news here of someone who ended up getting killed over a Craigslisted diamond ring, so I didn't ask for addresses, but I asked if there was anything I could do for them. We referred some of the people who answered my ad to those we knew who might be hiring, or told them about stuff like www.needymeds.org.

My husband ended up mowing the lawn after all. We are now making a recurring donation to the local food bank. After all, every little bit will help someone who needs it. We've been out of work for an extended period of time, too. I will NEVER forget how it felt. If there is one thing I can do to even begin to repay the kindness shown to us, I am happy to do so.

We live in one of the most affluent areas of the country. If things are like this here, I can't imagine what they must be like in places that don't have household name employers. (Actually, didn't 100,000 line up the other day in Houston for a free school supplies event?) This isn't a joke. There are so many people who are in desperate straits and trying to find anything at all to keep a roof over their heads, and food in their mouths. Telling them to sell all their household goods, and THEN they're "poor"?

What color is the sky in Rush Limbaugh's world?

If there was one last thing to say to Mr. Limbaugh, it's this: Karma is a bitch. Someone who makes thirty million dollars a year doesn't have the first idea what it's like to worry they won't have a roof over their heads, enough food for their kids, or what the hell will they do if one of those kids has to see a doctor. He's never wanted for a thing in his life, except for a heart.

edited for spelling

[elocs]

7. I mow lawn in my mobile home park for $10 for a cut & trim.

There are senior citizens here who were paying $20 a cut from a lawn service that would come the same day every week and mow it whether it needed it or not.

I can pick up an extra $50 or $60 each week and they are very happy. I just grab my battery powered mower and go across the street or down the block. Pays my rent during the summer.

[Missy Vixen]

8. If you lived in our neighborhood, I would be thrilled to hire you

Our neighbor's kids are now in high school, and no longer mowing lawns.

Mostly, though, you are kind to charge a very low rate, and do something for seniors who might have a tough time mowing their lawn.

:hug:

[BR_Parkway]

9. And how many of these people own those appliances vs the landlord

that they rent from? I would think almost all of them are supplied with the rental units - so the families sure can't sell them to buy food or pay the rent. Just when I think that gasbag can't be any more stupid, he proves me wrong.