On the same thought as the line about the mortgage company bailouts......

My dear friend and her husband are both 25, make about $20,000 a year more than us and  have lived with his parents for the last four years.  They are expecting thier fifth child.   They are joining a program somewhat like habitat for humanity, where you pur sweat equity into building ten homes with ten other families.   Once all ten homes are built, the families get to move in.  The homes are sold at cost and financed at 2% interest.  The program is goverment  subsidized.

Even though I am happy for them...I am frustrated also.   They have had every resource to buy a house on thier own.  They have bought two brand new vehicles, while DH and I were sharing a 1982 thunderbird (I loved that car!) until about a year ago.  They have no rent, no utilities, medicaid, foodstamps, and fancy cellphones.  DH and I bought our house three years ago on half the income we have now, and we have sacrificed to make it work.   Yet they  will get a nicer, larger, house in a better neighborhood for less money because they mismanaged their resources.  Where is the justice?

I love these people very much but must they be given everything? 

I hear you Amy!  When I hear stories like this I think well at least I have my self respect.   I guess because they have all the kids, they qualify?  They are going to be in a bind when they move in and have to start paying for everything.

of course if you didn't have to pay rent or a mortage, you would have a lot more money! I know I would.

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AmyC:

They are joining a program somewhat like habitat for humanity, where you pur sweat equity into building ten homes with ten other families.   Once all ten homes are built, the families get to move in.  The homes are sold at cost and financed at 2% interest.  The program is goverment  subsidized.   I love these people very much but must they be given everything? 

I hear ya.  A lady I work with lives with her daughter in a Habitat home. But the people at the HFH foundation don't know that the mother lives there and they don't know that the daughter has 2 kids. She hid her 2nd pregnancy while the house was being built.  But now the daughter has a 1040 sqft. house for 100 bucks a month, that she isn't even paying because she doesn't work. Not to mention the fact that she gets about 8,000 dollars back on taxes for earned income credit and a thousand dollars a month from the father of one of her kids.

Your friends are getting a REALLY good deal, but at least it doesn't sound like they are defrauding anyone in the process.

I know exactly what you mean.  I work in non-profit feeding people and I'm always a bit taken aback when someone drives up in a Mercedes or BMW 5 or 7 series needing food.  I'm just like, "Uhhh, let me get the person that handles that" b/c I'm so dumbfounded by this.  Don't get me wrong -- these people don't come along often, but it's still often enough.  They're the same ones flipping open their cell to text someone while brushing some lint off their brand name clothes.

When I was working full-time, I was still considered low income so I qualified to have my closing costs paid by a local nonprofit.  I had a 3 year lien on the house and had to do 100 hours of sweat equity.  I few years later, I became disabled and unable to work full-time.  I qualified to have my sewer line replaced for free.  They do put a 3 year lien on the house though. 

 I volunteered at a local nonprofit that hands out many kinds of help including food.  Boy was I in for a shock when some of the applicants would get out of brand new cars and then say they needed food.  We also had our fair share of scammers.  This totally jaded me on social work.  I cannot help anyone stupid enough to spend their money on a car when they cannot eat. 

I know, the food bank is close to my moms and lots of people drive up in cars or take taxis.

Wow, 5 kids at age 25. I am 24 and I can't even imagine having one at this point!

 I can understand your frustrations. Although most of my agemates and I are nowhere near being able to get a house, I am dating a fellow who's very similar to your friends. He goes to college, doesn't work at all, and his parents pay all his expenses, including food, recreation, and rent on his apartment. Meanwhile, I am in school, working two jobs, and I live in a much lower quality apartment than he does. While I am doing the best I can to scrimp, save, and buy cheap products, he seems to get the best of everything simply for existing and not even bothering to keep his grades up while he's in school. In a sense, I feel guilty for envying his success, but it's also unfair that there's no payback anymore for people who work hard. I care about him, but must he get everything on a silver platter?

At the very least, in your friends' situation, they are literally working for their homes through physical labor. But hang in there. Ultimately, at least you know that you have the ability to live within your means. You can take pride in having a home that you have worked hard for.

So, people is tough financial circumstances have to walk everywhere they go?  ??

They could have borrowed the car.  They may have the car so they can keep a job.  Not every person using a food bank is homeless, indigent, transient.

We seem to have a mindset that if somebody qualifies NOW for help then they should not look like they did BEFORE they needed help.  Know what I mean?

The cell phone texting...could be a friend's phone or they are stupid for wasting the money on texting.

People who need assistance are allowed to have transportation and nice clothing--the clothing may be from when they were doing well financially, or a gift, or bought second hand. 

Unless you live with the one you are judging 24/7, you do not the how or why of their life and why they are receiving assistance.  

Abuse happens but let's not judge.  If you know somebody who is actually stealing from the "system" then call and report them.  

"We seem to have a mindset that if somebody qualifies NOW for help then they should not look like they did BEFORE they needed help.  Know what I mean?"

I think our own government subsidised programs set the standard for that attitude.

"Households may have $2,000 in countable resources, such as a bank account. Households may have $3,000 if at least one person is age 60 or older, or is disabled. Certain resources are not counted, such as a home and lot and the resources of people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Licensed vehicles are handled as follows:

For the following vehicles, the amount of the fair market value over $4,650 is counted:

	One licensed vehicle per adult household member, and
	Any other vehicle a teen-aged member drives to work, school, or job training, or to look for work."

USDA Food Stamps

 I don't agree that people should have to wait until they are homeless, have lost their transportation, ect before qualifying for help. I believe assistance should help people to prevent the extremes from happening and should help them to find resources or options to the higher cost houses and vehicles they may have aquired when financially able to do so.

rolo:

So, people is tough financial circumstances have to walk everywhere they go?  ??

They could have borrowed the car.  They may have the car so they can keep a job.  Not every person using a food bank is homeless, indigent, transient.

We seem to have a mindset that if somebody qualifies NOW for help then they should not look like they did BEFORE they needed help.  Know what I mean?

The cell phone texting...could be a friend's phone or they are stupid for wasting the money on texting.

People who need assistance are allowed to have transportation and nice clothing--the clothing may be from when they were doing well financially, or a gift, or bought second hand. 

Unless you live with the one you are judging 24/7, you do not the how or why of their life and why they are receiving assistance.  

Abuse happens but let's not judge.  If you know somebody who is actually stealing from the "system" then call and report them.  

 

Absolutely correct. True story: mother came to DH school with her 3 kids. Drove up in a fancy Lincoln Navigator SUV. She came for help as her "darling" husband just ran off and left them $100 and the car. Seems he cashed out some savings, "bought" the SUV, took the rest of the cash and left. She had no job, no money (aside from the $100) and no title to the car that she knew of--she didn't know if she could even sell it. So of course she needed food and emergency funds--and the school gave her food vouchers at the food bank. And I'm sure she drove up to the food bank in her "fancy" SUV, with her kids who were dressed neatly. But she was far from ok. But I'm sure others judged her, too, just b/c of her car and her neatly dressed, well-behaved, scared children. BTW, her husband fled b/c of his own criminal activity.

Yes, there are those who abuse the system. Don't judge the book by its cover.