[tshile]

Yup...

I know someone with 2 kids working at walmart. She has a degree in dental hygiene, but she refuses to give up her walmart job.

Why?

Because if she did she'd get just enough of a raise to no longer qualify for gov't assistance, which would net out as less money for her and her kids.

I tried to explain the longer term benefits of moving into an actual career and off of gov't assistance... within 2 or 3 years she should easily be paid enough to net out ahead - not to mention the non-monetary benefits of moving your household off the welfare program.

She can't process it. Can't risk going a year with slightly less money.

So she's forever stuck at walmart, and on Gov't assistance.

I know the GOP gets lambasted for the way they characterize welfare recipients - in many ways it's ignorant. But the cry from the left that the abuse and incentive to stay on the system doesn't exist is equally as ignorant.

And so far the only real answer the left has given is to raise minimum wage. And the people pushing for it the most (ie: the people actually on minimum wage) don't seem to get how that nets out long term for them (not very good...)

Instead of this person being a productive member of our society and raising 2 kids in such a household, she's living off gov't assistance and raising her kids in the same manner. We're paying for 1/2 of their 'household income' instead of it being earned via a job she's perfectly capable of doing.

The. System. Is. Broken.