posted on June 11, 2004 11:24:44 AM new
Remember this one?
Myth: There are Welfare Queens driving Welfare Cadillacs.
Fact: Reagan made up this story.
Summary
Reagan's story of a Welfare Queen driving a Welfare Cadillac was apocryphal. Even so, there is no evidence that welfare cheating is a significant problem; besides, individual welfare payments are too small for recipients to live well.
Argument
Conservative politicians have a talent for telling memorable anecdotes that capture the essence of their beliefs on any particular issue. One of the most enduring of these came from Ronald Reagan on the subject of welfare. He cited a Chicago "Welfare Queen" who had ripped off $150,000 from the government, using 80 aliases, 30 addresses, a dozen social security cards, and four fictional dead husbands. The country was outraged; Reagan dutifully promised to roll back welfare; and ever since, the "Welfare Queen" driving her "Welfare Cadillac" has become permanently lodged in American political folklore.
Unfortunately, like most great conservative anecdotes, it wasn't really true. The media searched for this welfare cheat in the hopes of interviewing her, and discovered that she didn't even exist.
As a bit of class warfare, however, it was brilliant. It diverted public attention from insider traders in their limousines to Welfare Queens in their Cadillacs, even though the former were stealing thousands of times more from the American people than the latter. Just one example of the cost of white collar crime would become apparent a few years later, when President Bush bailed out the Savings & Loans industry with $500 billion of the taxpayer's money -- enough to fund 20 years of federal AFDC.
Questions of class warfare aside, there is no evidence that there is a significant problem with welfare cheating. In 1991 less than 5 percent of all welfare benefits went to persons who were not entitled to them, and this figure includes errors committed by the welfare agency. (1)
footnotes
[ edited by Helenjw on Jun 11, 2004 11:34 AM ]
posted on June 11, 2004 11:28:05 AM new
How sad it is when certain posters take the opportunity to sprue their venom any chance they get with no regard to others. This service whether you hated it or not is the same service that is given any dignitary except with the little extras thrown in. If you listened to the after thoughts of the people they interviewed they were not all Conservatives but Liberals and their praises to this man. This country is so divided by hate as shown in some of the threads, it's just to bad we can't give one day to a fallen president. I know for myself this is a day revolution not because of the funeral but with the show of support between Nations, Presidents, Conservatives and yes Liberals who paid their respect. Now it is back to business as usual and I will make a bet it won't take more than an hour for someone to take offensive of this funeral.
Before I got this posted it has already started.
Someone stated that in the end Clinton will be known as a better President. In my book he will go down as to show how dumb he was because he didn't know that oral sex was sex. But then again he was from Arkansas. Cartier for building homes as they sure will want to forget when he was president.
posted on June 11, 2004 11:48:28 AM new
crowfarm nobody owes either you or I a living. Taxes have been since the beginning of time. To put them on this President is a travesty. You know it is how you make your way in life as to what you can achieve. We all have potential to do what our minds set out to do. Why weren't you a CEO? Next, could you have been one? I have worked many more years than you have and I have never complained about paying taxes, I still pay taxes and I won't complain.
posted on June 11, 2004 11:56:16 AM new
Well KD what else can you remember about him off the top of your head. No checking either. Oh I did forget one, failed National Health Care. I do have to commend him on his speeches, he knew how to present himself and could speak elloquently. Not everything about Clinton was bad.
posted on June 11, 2004 11:59:05 AM new
I am sure what Helen said wasn't very nice since it was deleted so fast but since I don't email myself the posts I will never know.
posted on June 11, 2004 12:06:27 PM new
Why do you say that Helen. Crowfarm on a previous page talked about paying taxes. then on that same page they talked about Clinton and Carter. Maybe you aren't in the right thread....
posted on June 11, 2004 12:10:04 PM new
Why do you think it wasn't very nice, Libra?
Actually, I made a mistake similar to the one that you made. You replied to crowfarm on a topic related to another thread.
I accidentally replied to Ebayauctionguy who posted on the first page of this thread. Crazy me, I thought I was on page 4.
posted on June 11, 2004 12:18:47 PM newbecause he didn't know that oral sex was sex
Clinton was absolutely correct. If you ask any doctor if you can get pregnant from having sex, they will answer yes, or at most say yes and make further inquiries. If you ask the same doctor if you can get pregnant by having oral sex he will say no.
So how is it if it's the same you can not get pregnant by one act and not the other? Newt Gingerich did exactly the same thing with one of his campaign workers and that is why he had to quietly leave Congress.
The BJ thing was a way for the republicans to put fear into insecure suburban housewifes. Infidelity and divorce are their worst nightmares. But it didn't work.
Clinton presided over the best economy of the 20th century and produced the best government budgets in 5 decades. We were held in high esteeem throughout the world and no terrorist would dare attack our homeland.
posted on June 11, 2004 12:19:49 PM new
Libra, there wasn't anything I didn't like about Clinton. In my lifetime, JFK and Clinton would be my favorites with Reagan and Gorge W. at the bottom.
posted on June 11, 2004 12:24:04 PM new
Libra said,"crowfarm nobody owes either you or I a living. Taxes have been since the beginning of time. To put them on this President is a travesty. You know it is how you make your way in life as to what you can achieve. We all have potential to do what our minds set out to do. Why weren't you a CEO? Next, could you have been one? I have worked many more years than you have and I have never complained about paying taxes, I still pay taxes and I won't complain."
Libra you missed the previous posts ...I was not complaining about paying taxes...Linda said the government didn't owe us anything and my answer was yes, it does, it's what we pay taxes for. We pay for good roads, good education, and lots of other things and the government OWES us what we pay for.
I never said it owes me a living. It DOES owe us the opportunity (in "the greatest country in the world"to earn a living wage, safety on the job, equal opportunity and many other things. It owes us protection from those who would abuse our rights.
And Income taxes have been around in the US since 1862 and THIS president gave a huge tax cut to the richest 1% in this country...this is not Liberal rhetoric...it's fact. I have no problem with fair taxation...we just don't have it in the US.
Libra, do you know that Bush gave HUGE government contracts to corporations who will PAY NO INCOME TAXES because their address is the Bahamas...yet these people LIVE in the US !
No, Libra, neither I, nor several million other people are CEOs. Does this mean that we should be overworked and over-taxed because we're not? AND, from what we've heard about corporate executives in the last few years I'd have to sell my soul to the devil, become a money grubbing, cutthroat crook to qualify...sorry, I can't go that route.
We have a CEO of a HMO in Minnesota who made 92 MILLION dollars last year and there are people in this,"the greatest country in the world", people, working people, who can't afford health insurance or health care.
AND, if you haven't ever complained about paying taxes you are a saint.....or, you are not paying attention, or you're in that upper % and some how I doubt that..
Ok, all you Righties, go ahead and blast away but it'll roll off me cause I heard it all before .
posted on June 11, 2004 12:28:42 PM new
I agree Reamond. "Sexual relations", to me, means intercourse. I'm sure some on the right would also think that kissing is sexual relations. That's all they could come up with about Clinton. How sad.
posted on June 11, 2004 12:28:50 PM newThis country is so divided by hate as shown in some of the threads
Why do you always see "hate", Libra? That's a pretty strong word. Just because people disagree do you really think they "hate" each other? I truly think some people read way too much into some of the messages that are posted here and start to imagine things about each other that aren't true at all.
posted on June 11, 2004 12:34:39 PM new
Clapping at your post Crowfarm!!
That's true Kiara. Nobody here hates anyone but many of us are strongly opinionated and don't mind voicing our opinions, no matter who likes it or not. Actually, I think all the people that post here are pretty amazing.
I've seen posters here who are normally at each other over issues, come to the aid of another when they are in crisis. Linda is a good example. When Linda's dear husband was ill, we all sent her our prayers and then our condolences when he passed. We've tried to cheer posters up who have lost an animal or who have had their home destroyed in natural disasters. I see no hatred of individuals in these posts. Just differences of opinion. Strong sometimes, yes, but nothing more than differences of opinion. I think you need to go back and read some posts that aren't political in nature.
Oh, and by the way, taxes have not been around since the beginning of time.
posted on June 11, 2004 04:25:46 PM new
No, taxes haven't been around since the very beginning of time, but close ..
definitly taxes were around before there was a U.S. of A. I think thats one reason we went to war against England, the taxation without representation stuff
posted on June 11, 2004 05:54:57 PM new
Looks like there were more people along the road watching OJ and AC in the white Ford Bronco than there are for the funereal of the "best president" in our life time.
posted on June 11, 2004 06:27:27 PM new
Here's an interesting tidbit about Reagan that I received from my friend in London:
"Reagan was the guy who invaded Grenada, a country which is a part of the Commonwealth and hence has our Queen as its Head of State."
"His motives may have been good, but should he not have told us in advance? It caused a stink at the time."
"As far as Reagan is concerned, it is interesting to note that, at the time, we viewed him as a dangerous right-wing extremist. But now we have Bush, Reagan seems a moderate by comparison..."
to earn a living wage, safety on the job, equal opportunity and many other things. It owes us protection from those who would abuse our rights.