Tuesday, March 24, 2009
PLEASE READ IF YOU POSTED ON MY MARRIAGE AD CAMPAIGN POST!
I posted a blog several weeks ago, and i just now look at the responses to it! I felt the need to re-post the blog because the coments i read attacked me fo things I DID NOT SAY!!!! The responses that people put up made it obvious that they did not read my origional post.. they read dans post and responded to his response!
I also feel than Dan in his original response had a misunderstanding of what I was writing… maybe it came off as me attacking people who are on government assistance, but I would never do that!
MY ATTACK was meant to be aimed at the horrible condition the government assistance programs are in AND THE STUPIDITY OF THE GOVERNMENT TO FUND AD CAMPAIGNS TO PROMOTE MARRIAGE WHEN THE GOVERNMENT IS THE PRIMARY REASON PEOPLE ARE NOT GETTING MARRIED (because the government makes it so that it is more financially beneficial for people needing assistance to stay unmarried!!) and at aimed at the people who do abuse the programs which makes it hard for those who are working hard (and still not getting by) to get the assistance they need!!… I never said anything bad about people who need assistance, because I KNOW that it is a necessary!!
I actually did an entire research project, for business ethics, on
assistance programs, which demonstrated that a single mother working a minimum wage job (or even 2) COULD NOT POSSIBLY GET BY .. even in the lowest of cost-of-living areas!.. that it was difficult for a person living on minimum wage to even support themselves, much less a child!! I KNOW THE PROGREAMS ARE NECESSARYU>> CALLING FOR REFORM IS NOT CALLING FOR AN END!!
… AGAIN, I do think there needs to be a reform!! But the purpose of that is to stop the abuse of the system so that the honest hard working Americans can catch a freakin break and get the help they need!!!
And as for those of you talking about the delta.. the one guy who said he was from the delta didnt say anything bad about the post.. he simply said the delta was in bad shape!
I doubt that the others of you posting about the delta know anything about it! Both sides of my family are from a town in which you could throw a stone from one side to the other, in the heart of the delta.. YES I COME FROM A FARMING FAMILY!!! And I know plenty about the conditions of the delta.. but please don’t make me get on that topic because I promise you could find plenty of people in the delta who are abusing the system (right along side the mound of people who need the system) ..
Who ever said that the delta is biased to white people….Let me just tell you about one of my best friends who got out of college and took a job for $27 thousand a year, her medical insurance is $600 and month (YOU DO THE MATH ON THAT ONE!) and she couldn’t get on medicade because her car was in her name and it was worth $20 thousand.. so it was sell her car or pay $600 a month in insurance.. she pays the insurance. THAT’S CRAP! What makes me sick is things like seeing people with 5 kids piled into a freakin Escalade, and paying for their food with food stamps… SELL THE FREAKIN ESCELADE! And no one can say that that is not seen WAYYY too often in Mississippi.. if you say you don’t see it ALLLL the time please tell me where you are from?
HERE IS THE ORIGIONAL POST!
I AM SO CONFUSED!! The government educates children on safe sex, and/ or does not educate them and pushes abstinence, pays for abortions, pays for people to have their children, pays their bills once they have children, pays for them to eat because they have had children (more so if they are unmarried) , pays for them to “go to school” because they have children and are unmarried.. blah blah blah... All these factors point to the fact that it is more financially beneficial to be an unwed parent than a wed parent (kids of unwed parents even get their school paid for)… what is it about this that makes people want to get and stay married?? I have even known people who have (as happily married couples) filed for legal separation when they started having kids because it made them eligible for government programs which paid for medical care and food for the baby! WOW!…. SO now the government plans to launch an ad campaign promoting marriage(on top of tons of programs they already fund)? Does anyone really think that sinking another $5 million into advertisments is going to do anyone any good?? I think this is a lost cause.. if you see the benefits of not getting married, are you really going to go out and get married because an ad told you it was a good idea? I dont think so, i think the couples who get and stay married will be those who did it fr the right resons and are willing to fight for it! otherwise .. its a lost cause!…. Ok so I guess my point here is that our society abuses welfare to a sickening extent! The government has created a society in which lower class is completely dependent. And those who don’t have to be dependent are simply because they can be! WELFARE REFORM IS A MUST!!!!!!!!!!!! As long as people can find financial support through not being married they are going to continue to abuse that (and for anyone on welfare the pros of not being married are far greater than the cons) Sinking money into an ad campaign is stupid when there are much bigger problems.. the marriage problem is only a result of the greater problems at hand!
I also feel than Dan in his original response had a misunderstanding of what I was writing… maybe it came off as me attacking people who are on government assistance, but I would never do that!
MY ATTACK was meant to be aimed at the horrible condition the government assistance programs are in AND THE STUPIDITY OF THE GOVERNMENT TO FUND AD CAMPAIGNS TO PROMOTE MARRIAGE WHEN THE GOVERNMENT IS THE PRIMARY REASON PEOPLE ARE NOT GETTING MARRIED (because the government makes it so that it is more financially beneficial for people needing assistance to stay unmarried!!) and at aimed at the people who do abuse the programs which makes it hard for those who are working hard (and still not getting by) to get the assistance they need!!… I never said anything bad about people who need assistance, because I KNOW that it is a necessary!!
I actually did an entire research project, for business ethics, on
assistance programs, which demonstrated that a single mother working a minimum wage job (or even 2) COULD NOT POSSIBLY GET BY .. even in the lowest of cost-of-living areas!.. that it was difficult for a person living on minimum wage to even support themselves, much less a child!! I KNOW THE PROGREAMS ARE NECESSARYU>> CALLING FOR REFORM IS NOT CALLING FOR AN END!!
… AGAIN, I do think there needs to be a reform!! But the purpose of that is to stop the abuse of the system so that the honest hard working Americans can catch a freakin break and get the help they need!!!
And as for those of you talking about the delta.. the one guy who said he was from the delta didnt say anything bad about the post.. he simply said the delta was in bad shape!
I doubt that the others of you posting about the delta know anything about it! Both sides of my family are from a town in which you could throw a stone from one side to the other, in the heart of the delta.. YES I COME FROM A FARMING FAMILY!!! And I know plenty about the conditions of the delta.. but please don’t make me get on that topic because I promise you could find plenty of people in the delta who are abusing the system (right along side the mound of people who need the system) ..
Who ever said that the delta is biased to white people….Let me just tell you about one of my best friends who got out of college and took a job for $27 thousand a year, her medical insurance is $600 and month (YOU DO THE MATH ON THAT ONE!) and she couldn’t get on medicade because her car was in her name and it was worth $20 thousand.. so it was sell her car or pay $600 a month in insurance.. she pays the insurance. THAT’S CRAP! What makes me sick is things like seeing people with 5 kids piled into a freakin Escalade, and paying for their food with food stamps… SELL THE FREAKIN ESCELADE! And no one can say that that is not seen WAYYY too often in Mississippi.. if you say you don’t see it ALLLL the time please tell me where you are from?
HERE IS THE ORIGIONAL POST!
I AM SO CONFUSED!! The government educates children on safe sex, and/ or does not educate them and pushes abstinence, pays for abortions, pays for people to have their children, pays their bills once they have children, pays for them to eat because they have had children (more so if they are unmarried) , pays for them to “go to school” because they have children and are unmarried.. blah blah blah... All these factors point to the fact that it is more financially beneficial to be an unwed parent than a wed parent (kids of unwed parents even get their school paid for)… what is it about this that makes people want to get and stay married?? I have even known people who have (as happily married couples) filed for legal separation when they started having kids because it made them eligible for government programs which paid for medical care and food for the baby! WOW!…. SO now the government plans to launch an ad campaign promoting marriage(on top of tons of programs they already fund)? Does anyone really think that sinking another $5 million into advertisments is going to do anyone any good?? I think this is a lost cause.. if you see the benefits of not getting married, are you really going to go out and get married because an ad told you it was a good idea? I dont think so, i think the couples who get and stay married will be those who did it fr the right resons and are willing to fight for it! otherwise .. its a lost cause!…. Ok so I guess my point here is that our society abuses welfare to a sickening extent! The government has created a society in which lower class is completely dependent. And those who don’t have to be dependent are simply because they can be! WELFARE REFORM IS A MUST!!!!!!!!!!!! As long as people can find financial support through not being married they are going to continue to abuse that (and for anyone on welfare the pros of not being married are far greater than the cons) Sinking money into an ad campaign is stupid when there are much bigger problems.. the marriage problem is only a result of the greater problems at hand!
# posted by Anonymous @ 2:27 PM 
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Jessi I completely agree with you and understand your point. I have seen this on a daily basis growing up in the delta. People often will work cash jobs and receive wellfare assistance just as a bonus.
Sorry you feel that way, Jessi, but nobody attacked you or your comments, other than Katie Allen pointing out that welfare already was "reformed." You shouldn't feel troubled though if your initial post touched off some spirited debate on a peripheral topic.
Something that I don't know if I mentioned, but I'm specifically from Indianola, in Sunflower County. There are few places deeper in the Delta than that. Born in Leland, grew up in Indianola, graduated from Indianola Academy, spent a lot of time in Greenville where my family is from. When I played little league baseball, it was in a segregated league. The white people had the "good" baseball fields in town, the black people had the one that was run down on the other side of the tracks.
Maybe you could throw a stone from one side to the other in yours, but in my hometown, the railroad tracks and the Indian Bayou which cuts through downtown, separated Indianola prosperity and Indianola poverty as sharp as if you cut it with a scalpel. All my life, I heard about the black folks riding around in fancy Cadillacs, while buying groceries on food stamps, but I don't recall ever actually seeing such a thing. All I saw was poor people, and it probably had a lot to do with my political leaning today.
I know for a fact that the Delta is biased toward white people, and even though I grew up in the 70s and 80s, whenever I go back home, I don't see as THAT much different today. Don't get me wrong, it's better. But it ain't equal.
About the marriage ad campaign issue that you mention though, you should expect new messages like that coming from a brand new administration. I know from reading his book, The Audacity of Hope, that President Obama really believes in a strong family life. Just look at the example he sets himself. And sociological data certainly backs up the idea that stable, strongly-bonded family structure makes a healthier society.
So yes, if the government wants to fund an ad campaign with messages meant to reinforce positive family life, then I'd say ONLY $5 million? That is a pittance, for the potential benefits it could bring. Although, I would also make the case that the First Family makes a good advertisement themselves for free, and a message that would especially be helpful in places like the Delta.
Why knock a positive message that is trying to address social problems, especially when a non-stable home is a root cause of so many of society's ills?
Something that I don't know if I mentioned, but I'm specifically from Indianola, in Sunflower County. There are few places deeper in the Delta than that. Born in Leland, grew up in Indianola, graduated from Indianola Academy, spent a lot of time in Greenville where my family is from. When I played little league baseball, it was in a segregated league. The white people had the "good" baseball fields in town, the black people had the one that was run down on the other side of the tracks.
Maybe you could throw a stone from one side to the other in yours, but in my hometown, the railroad tracks and the Indian Bayou which cuts through downtown, separated Indianola prosperity and Indianola poverty as sharp as if you cut it with a scalpel. All my life, I heard about the black folks riding around in fancy Cadillacs, while buying groceries on food stamps, but I don't recall ever actually seeing such a thing. All I saw was poor people, and it probably had a lot to do with my political leaning today.
I know for a fact that the Delta is biased toward white people, and even though I grew up in the 70s and 80s, whenever I go back home, I don't see as THAT much different today. Don't get me wrong, it's better. But it ain't equal.
About the marriage ad campaign issue that you mention though, you should expect new messages like that coming from a brand new administration. I know from reading his book, The Audacity of Hope, that President Obama really believes in a strong family life. Just look at the example he sets himself. And sociological data certainly backs up the idea that stable, strongly-bonded family structure makes a healthier society.
So yes, if the government wants to fund an ad campaign with messages meant to reinforce positive family life, then I'd say ONLY $5 million? That is a pittance, for the potential benefits it could bring. Although, I would also make the case that the First Family makes a good advertisement themselves for free, and a message that would especially be helpful in places like the Delta.
Why knock a positive message that is trying to address social problems, especially when a non-stable home is a root cause of so many of society's ills?
ok, i dont really care anymore... i got mad because you QUOTED me under the orig. post for things i did not say .. then i saw people commenting on the "things i said" that i didnt actually say... its cool though.. and im not point fingers at races or particular groups of people i simply said that here in Mississippi its not uncommon to see people riding around in $60 thousand cars and paying for groceries on food stamps, you are the only one singling out races here.. and that’s not cool! if you never saw it in the delta you must have done a good job of segregating yourself! You must have been going to grocery stores that only particular people were allowed to go to???
HA, come to think of it you should call EMCC and ask them why they changed their policy on receiving refund checks… they changed it so that no one can get a refund check until after the final date has passed… they did this to stop people from receiving government grants for school and then dropping to get the grants in cash! THAT’S A FACT! They did that because it had happened not once or twice, but it was an normal occurrence!
And im sorry, but the ad campaign is not a good idea.. the only way the government can fix that is to stop pushing government assistance programs that make it SOOO incredibly financially favorable to stay single!!
HA, come to think of it you should call EMCC and ask them why they changed their policy on receiving refund checks… they changed it so that no one can get a refund check until after the final date has passed… they did this to stop people from receiving government grants for school and then dropping to get the grants in cash! THAT’S A FACT! They did that because it had happened not once or twice, but it was an normal occurrence!
And im sorry, but the ad campaign is not a good idea.. the only way the government can fix that is to stop pushing government assistance programs that make it SOOO incredibly financially favorable to stay single!!
# posted by 
: 12:17 PM
: 12:17 PM
Jessi, I never quoted you. I responded to what Katie said under your post. I never addressed your original post at all until now. So, you are correct in thinking that I was commenting on things you did not say. As did everybody else.
I don't know where you from but in all the years I have been living I have never known anybody to have five kids while receiving government assistance and driving a $60,000+ car. I'm not from MS but I have family here and I have visited a lot in the past and I still haven't seen anything like that. But you have to think about it there's a lot of different kind of assistance that you can receive from the government. Just because a person has food stamps doesn't mean that they don't have a job also and it also doesn't mean that the governments paying their rent. I know of people who are on food stamps and still have a job. It may not be the best job but their still not laying around living off the government like people think individuals who receive assistance do.
# posted by : 5:20 PM
: 5:20 PM
I've heard all my life about this boogeyman stereotype of the welfare queens, driving the fancy cars, having extra kids just for the benefits, and so on and so forth. I'm still waiting to actually see one. In fact, Ronald Reagan campaigned on this very thing in Mississippi and the South in 1980. It was a stereotype then, and continues to be so today. The one thing it's always been good for is getting a certain segment of the population all "lathered up" and angry.
I have to wonder though, how does one find out that the people driving $60,000 cars are using food stamps to buy their groceries? Do you see people using a government card at the register, and then follow them to their car? Or do you see the car and follow them to the store, then look over their shoulder at the register to see what it says on their debit card?
Or do you just take the easy way, and make an assumption based on one or the other?
I have to wonder though, how does one find out that the people driving $60,000 cars are using food stamps to buy their groceries? Do you see people using a government card at the register, and then follow them to their car? Or do you see the car and follow them to the store, then look over their shoulder at the register to see what it says on their debit card?
Or do you just take the easy way, and make an assumption based on one or the other?
I just saw this post, and I went back and re-read the original post and comments. I was not trying to offend anyone. I also did not mean to give the impression that I believe lower class=low class. I do not feel this way at all. I simply meant that there are many people in the lower class that are lazy; however, on the other hand, I understand and I am aware that there are many people in the lower class that work very hard. I do not know anything about the Delta or any arguments about areas of Mississippi because I am not from the South. All I meant by my post was that I despise the fact that there are individuals abusing the welfare system by sitting around and doing nothing except wait on their checks in the mail.
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