No, it's just a pet peeve and a good example of where universal healthcare may bring us.

 

Do you have an alternative? While we all seem to agree that the Welfare program needs reform, eliminating this dysfunctional yet important social service would likely lead to greater problems than those produced by having it.

 

Well, we'd have money if it weren't for the war and the recent mistakes of the Republican party.
Maybe the taxes on the rich should only be temporary, just to get us out of this slump, and then reverse them afterwards.

exactly, i hate how we are wasting so much money, time, and effort trying to help some other country while we let ourselves go into debt and the economy fall behind.

Welfare currently for the most part doesn't, because it is abused. I already said that I agree and that it needs to be reformed and have stricter regulations. But I do agree with RonJ, it is probably helping us more than it would without it at all.
Everything else needs to go? So you support privatized social security?

 

In fact yes. Instead of paying these people for sitting on their *** pay them for service. Make them clean the steets, fix the roads, wash the goddamn buildings, even pick weeds on the side of the roads out....make them do SOMETHING that is hard and pay them very little. That will encourage them to work somewhere else. Just don't give me the argument that they'll just go ahead nad add to the crime rate. Many of them do it anyway.

 

You owe it to yourself and the country to vote, whether it be Obama, McCain, or someone you write into the ballot. Participate in the process or you lose your voice, despite the fact that I may disagree with some of your viewpoints.

 

The matter of fact is it doesn't matter. My voice to Ralphie won't matter just like it didn't the last election. I won't waste time voting for Ralph since I know he won't even get 5% this time.

 

Pasted Directly From Barack Obama's Website:
Help Americans Grab a Hold of and Climb the Job Ladder: Obama will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.
Create a Green Jobs Corps: Obama will create a program to directly engage disadvantaged youth in energy efficiency opportunities to strengthen their communities, while also providing them with practical skills in this important high-growth career field.

That sounds oddly similar to what you're talking about.
A lot of peoples' votes didn't count in the last election. You can thank the Republican Party for that. In fact, my local House Representative, Tom Feeney (R) is responsible for that. Watch this video, it's by the guy who challenged him 2 years ago, and it's all true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7tjnuG-l6g

 

I believe there is some merit to your idea. My guess of why such a program has not been implemented is because this would be the same as creating more jobs paid for by the public (taxes). I believe the idea of the Welfare program is to help the unemployed people get back on their feet so that they can find jobs in the private sector, though we both understand that this ideal is rarely realized.

I truly believe that crime would substantially increase. The number of imprisoned criminals in the U.S. is already among the highest in the world. Where do you think the money to build, maintain, and manage prisons comes from? A flaw of our system is the emphasis on punishment over reform. We also need to create more opportunities for disadvantaged people for whom crime is the only viable option.

 

Yes, I've seen that, however that's not what I mean. Abolish welfare and than do that. that may actually help. Plus for now those are empty promises. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Ron,

our prison system is more like a goddamn vacation for people sent there. It's supposed to be punishment and instead it's a networking forum for criminals who get food, get to work out, get concerts...WTF???