Private organizations (churches, other social programs like Salvation Army) can help out those that truly need it. They are better at screening people and making sure people are only getting what they need and not scamming the system to pay for big screen tvs and game systems (and designer clothes/ jewelry/ cars/ etc.). Build shelters for multiple families where those that can't afford their own housing go to live (there is no reason for private housing). Provide soup kitchens and food banks to give out staples that people need to eat, so they don't trade their card benefits for cigarettes/ booze/ other things. People would never go truly without in the country even if there were no welfare system (I don't consider SS a welfare system if you've paid into it for years before you draw it either). The local church near me packs bag lunches and passes them out to the homeless. I try to give them a check at least every couple of weeks because 1) I feel the people aren't going to scam for a bag lunch as much as cash (especially when someone is going out and handing it directly to them on the street) and 2) they truly do need it and aren't being helped at all by our current government "social programs".
You are so full of shit, I just can't even. You can't buy cigarettes with food stamps, churches and the Salvation Army don't have the funding or the resources to help everyone in need, and you have NO idea what civilian life is really like. My husband was in the military when we got married, and when my daughter was born. TriCare is nothing like socialised health care for one; I went Standard too and the benefits still cost FAR less than civilian health insurance. You think $350 a month isn't much?! That shows just how far removed from reality you really are. When his service ended, my husband was out of work for months because there
is no work. A year ago, we separated, and I'm back in with my parents. I left with no money, and my folks live in a rural area. I can't afford a car, so there's no way to get to work and all the jobs available around here have dozens of people competing. I don't smoke, I don't drink, and I worked my ass off and paid taxes for over a decade up until now. I have a part-time job, but I only work a couple of days a week- and I still pay taxes, albeit low. My husband is working full time and only making twenty-something grand a year; he can't afford to move out of his parents' house either, and he forgoes health insurance because the cost is out of reach. He served our country, and I'm an educated, responsible adult who got stuck in a shit situation.
And you'd have us living in a shelter with no electricity, going to Salvation Army for a bag lunch. I hope you know you're a misanthrope, and that you/your OH never leaves the military because you might get slapped down to reality right quick returning to civilian life.
The system is meant to help people like you guys not hurt.
