As much as I hate free handouts. I will let you in on a secret. When ran effectively these programs help people.
A lot of you don't get it I will explain.
As the son of a woman that is on welfare/medicaid/medicare/foodstamps/diability. I will tell you when the budget decreases the users don't. The amount given to users do.
I will explain in layman terms.
You have 200 dollars. You have 50 people that receive $4dollars. Budget decreases to $150 dollars. Each person gets 3 dollars. That's a 25% decrease in amount in each hand regardless of the person. Still have 50 people. On top of that, prices went up. Groceries. Treatments for disabilities. Gas. Heat. Rent. And finally on top of that. The administration the gives out the benefits had to cuts its employees and can't effectively manage dispursement as well as it used to.
The worst part is, without these programs, my mother, two of my uncles, my aunt all would be on the street, or actually dead. My uncles and aunt can't breath on their own. They can't walk. They can't write. They can barely speak without losing their breath. THey survive using some form of welfare or another. My mother can breath but uses a machine for when she sits down and can't stand long. She doesn't have the ability to blow dry her hair, or put on makeup without getting winded. How does she get to her treaments that cost $38,000 a week, 26x a year? On a government sponsored vocational vehicle. How does it get paid? Medicaid. What bipap machine does she have? A government purchased one. WIthout she'd be dead. Same wit my uncles who also have the same disease. My aunt has had near terminal cancer and would have died without these services.
What do you do with these people if you cut the program? Have any of you been to a project? 75% of the people there need the money/support in a bad way. I've built two huge 500 unit apartments for section 8 next to existing, and the people that lived there, didn't have a choice, and didn't want it and would do something about it if they could. Unfortunately, seeing the amount of wheelchairs and mentally handicapped would astound you. Do you cast these people as lepurs?
Everyone in this thread should watch the documentary 1%.