Buying dolls with social security/welfare money?

I'd have to say that I think welfare money should be used only for necessities. To me it's no different than seeing women who clearly get their hair and nails professionally done using food stamps. If you're really suffering that badly for money, then use it to pay your bills instead of buying items like dolls, that you can really live without.

And in the long run, the taxpayers are the people who have jobs and are working hard to put food on their own tables, so to me it would be taking advantage of the system to use welfare money to purchase a doll.

 

This topic has come up before, and never ends well.

the choice to spend welfare on luxury items is down to that individual, I don't believe it's relevant or appropriate to discuss it here.

 

Whatever way people obtain money to live on, it is up to them to decide how to spend it. Some people might rather have art than food; it isn't for me to judge.

 

Buying Dolls with Government Benefit Monies

 

No way can anyone who is not in fraud status use 'welfare' (ie TANF) money to buy these dolls. Why? Not enough money to sneeze at. Mom & kid gets $236 a month (granted, also gets about $300 in FS & hopefully if made it to the top of the waiting list a free place in a housing project). They also only get it for 5 years tops & have to go through lots of hoops - job placement specifically - to get it. There are SOOOOO many myths out there about this!
As for Social Security, HEY! We WORK for that! It is earned retirement benefits, exactly the same as a pension, military retirement benefits or a 401K! I CERTAINLY will use my SS retirement benefits to buy dolls!

Just want to add, there is NOTHING in the laws governing public assistance that says you can't spend money on 'luxury goods'. There are laws about neglect (ie you have to provide for your children) - which pretty much eats up all your extra $$$ if you are on TANF (getting stuff for the kids).
Now as far as SSI, that's for people who have been deemed disabled & have NOT got enough work experience to qualify for SSA (which is social security disability for those who have worked & earned SS benefits)
SSI recipients can spend their money on what they please. I see quite a few (I'm not being prejudiced - I know these are SSI recipients) who live in a shelter & eat at the food pantries - their extra money goes to the liquor store. That's NOT fraud.
So if someone on SSI scrimps & saves to buy a doll or two, that's their RIGHT as a citizen of the USA (I'm obviously not up on laws in other countries on this).

 

I guess when I read the OP I am supposed to imagine the mythical welfare queen, driving her over-sized Cadillac, but this time stuffed to the gills with ball jointed dolls. And note that the welfare queen is a myth-- journalists never found this person dreamed up long ago by Reagan in an effort to demonize the poor.

The truth is that many, many programs people depend on are considered "welfare"-- like the social security the retired get (retired get back far more than they put in, when adjusted for inflation), medicare, the work study programs many students depend on to get through college, the Pell grants others get, and even the student loans that are subsidized at a lower rate with tax dollars. I benefited from three of the programs I listed when I was in school, and I would be angry as hell if someone told me I couldn't use my work study $ the way I wanted to. And if I was stupid enough to spend my loan money on dolls instead of food or books, well, that would be my problem, not anyone else's. And if I'm smart enough to buy groceries on sale and scrimp and save until I have enough left over to buy a doll, again, that's my business, not anyone else's.

Now, hypothetically speaking, if I was spending my (non-existent) welfare check on dolls instead of my kids, yes, that would be stupid. But I have a feeling that if I was that poor a parent and dollies didn't exist I'd be buying some other type of non-food/shelter/clothing item with it. The dolls are a symptom here, not the problem.

 

I spend most of the social aid money I get on "luxury". But that is because I do not have any other expenses I would need that money for. I live with my parents, so I do not have to pay for rent, water, gas, electricity and food.
I fI had to do that, I would surely not spend the money I get on anything that is not life-essential. But with the little everyday costs, the 300 bucks per month that I get just stay on my accoun untouched and save up. And if I do not spend a considerable amount, I would not be getting any more. So I already used that money to pay for a doll, or for a holiday at Disneyland. Still, I would not buy anything over 100 bucks every month, just to make sure that I still have enough money when I need any in case of emergency

 

Please differentiate between "welfare" and "disability" and "social security." All three are different, and have far different intents and qualifications. I might have a problem with someone buying a doll with their food stamps (if such a thing were possible), because food stamps are emergency food money, and if you need emergency food money, you really shouldn't be thinking about dolls.

Social security, however, is money that I, as a taxpayer, have paid into the social security system. I should be able to spend it any way I want, just like I can spend the money I pay into my savings account.

 

As far as the UK is concerned, I don't really understand how anyone who isn't either defrauding the system, or getting a completely free ride from elsewhere (ie: parents or partner etc, paying for everything) can actually afford to spend the benefits they get on anything other that than the neccessities and still afford to live. Speaking from personal experience, in the six months that I was unemployed I was getting housing benefits and job seekers allowance and the two lots together weren't enough to cover my rent alone let alone all my other bills and my food. I ended up deciding that I would actually be better off moving into a YWCA and giving up my housing benefit because at least then my job seekers allowance (£52 per week) could be used on food and neccessities.

So without even taking a moral stance I don't understand how it can be done. Do this people live on the streets and starve to death whilst clutching a beautiful doll?

 

The benefits system in the UK is very different to the American one (while still being pretty messed up), but you'd have to make some serious sacrifices if you wanted to buy a doll while on the, er, dole. Like food, for example, or a place to live. I'm a university student who gets a (tiny) maintenance loan, and the only way I can afford dolls is by living like a hermit (no smoking, drinking, going out, shopping, etc) and not paying rent. So God knows how anyone living on the dole could afford a doll.

 

up here there is welfare, designed to help people make ends meet, disability, for those that can't work, and other ones but that dont matter to this.
if someone is on welfare, that means they are between jobs or out of work, and shouldnt be spending the money ment to help them keep their home till they can get a new job on toys.
however, those on disability are on it because they can't get another, or a good enough, source fo income. it's not jsut to make ends meet, it's to provide a quality of living close to one they would have if they could work, and provides a bit more for luxury items. *shrug*

 

Unless someone had qualified for disability and was living with someone who covered all of his/her expenses, I can't see how s/he would have ANY benefit money left to pay for a Goodwill fashion doll, much less a BJD. I am afraid that the OP is simply perpetuating the myth of the luxury-buying "welfare" recipient (there is no such thing as "welfare" anymore in the US these days, by the way. It has been completely replaced by other programs that are a lot stingier and a lot harder to get into.) The first big fallback is Unemployment Benefits--which I should point out, is something that an employed person and his employer have already paid for. Like Social Security, some is taken out of your check and some is taken from your employer to cover it. This is why employers often fight tooth and nail to keep you from getting it and try to prove you were "fired for cause" or "resigned" rather than got laid off, because they will have to keep paying into the fund until you get a job or the benefits run out. This is up to half---HALF--your last wage, and only extends for a certain number of weeks.

Following that is SNAP, or 'Food Stamps.' Firstly they cannot be used for anything BUT food, in a grocery store. You can't use them to buy a meal at a restaurant even if the meal is actually cheaper than anything you could make at home. In 2010, the Government Accountability Office found that "the national rate of food stamp trafficking [trading benefits for money or non-food goods] declined from about 3.8 cents per dollar of benefits" in 1993 to 1 cent per dollar today -- a historic decline. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, which runs the program, SNAP "had the lowest error rate in history at 3.81%. Over 98% of those receiving benefits are eligible for SNAP." Close to 90 percent of households that use SNAP live below the poverty line, while 40 percent of households live at half of the poverty line (less than $10,000 a year for a family of three). According to the USDA, close to half of the beneficiaries are children (48 percent), and another 8 percent are over 60. Monthly benefits run to $133.80 a month for each member of the household, or about $4.50 a day -- although poorer households get more generous benefits, while increased income leads to stingier assistance. And, again, food stamps can't be used to purchase hot food, alcohol, tobacco, or other non-food items. EVEN IF you could save them to use them to buy a doll (and YOU CAN'T), $4.50 a day is not a lot to eat on.

The average SSD disability check is $973 a month. The average SSI disability check is $671. Out of these must come your housing, your utilities, your gas if you drive, your car insurance, your medicines that are not covered by Medicaid....if you can GET on Medicaid (there is a waiting list varying from 2 to 8 months long). If you are disabled there may be other costs associated with your disability--cost of a guide animal, extra equipment, etc. You may be able to get into subsidized housing, or you may be able to get an additional housing or utility allowance. Subsidized housing is generally what I would call unsafe areas. A one-person apartment in a good area generally runs about $500 and up a month. Utilities vary, depending on climate and weather, but $200-$300 a month is a good ballpark. Generally the people I know on either SSI or SSD are eating a single meal a day at the end of the month before the next check comes in. No one on SSI or SSD is running out and buying dolls.

So let's just put this one to bed, now shall we? It's a myth.

 

Thank you VV
Wish people WOULD put it to bed....

 

JSA in the UK goes up when you reach a certain age to £71. Also Housing Benefit varies depending on circumstance and is more helpful in a cheaper rental area than say, the middle of London.

Not that anyone alone could afford a doll, but one persons' amount isn't the same as another's. Also I don't think it's anyone's right to judge what someone spends it on. People say "I paid tax for their welfare money!" but you have to pay it anyway. Tax doesn't just go to other people's welfare.

 

When I made mention of those on food stamps clearly having their hair and nails done, I was speaking from experience of what I've seen. There was also a time that I was volunteering with an organization that gives out free food and clothes to the homeless, and there were people that clearly did not need the assistance coming in and receiving the free items (like, a lady with a bluetooth earpiece. Those things are NOT cheap). Several years ago my dad also worked with someone that would job-hop so he wouldn't make too much money and could stay on welfare benefits. These are the kind of people I meant- I was by no means trying to perpetuate any sort of stereotype of those on welfare. I'm very thankful that it is available for those who need it.

 

You actually stopped these shoppers and asked them to explain their life stories or your just made assumptions based on the five minutes you saw them?

Again, you know these people intimately, right? Asked them all about their lives and circumstance? I have a friend on food stamps. Her family is "working poor". Her husband works full time to try to support his wife and 5 kids, two of which are neurologically impaired. My friend has a pretty nice cell phone.. nicer than mine for sure. You might see her checking out at the grocery store and wonder how the heck this lady with food stamps is carrying around such a nice phone. She must be a cheat, right? Well no, she's not. Her father bought it for her and pays the phone bill. It's a gift. Surely the poor are allowed GIFTS, yes?

How do you know the "welfare queen" with nice nails doesn't work at a nail salon and have her nails done by her coworkers for free? Maybe her sister does her hair. Maybe her clothes were a gift from her grandma.

Seriously people, if you don't ACTUALLY KNOW someone and everything about their life, quit making judgements or just freakin' ASK them. Maybe you'll learn something.