then again...maybe I just don't understand the whole paying taxes for social services....

The system is totally screwed

The system is totally screwed

Ditto

Sorry to hear about your situation.  This is a terrible time for you and your wife to be so stressed.

Can you get a bank loan to get you through til your wife is working again?

Definitely look for a better job, guy.  $2k a month for a family of 5 ain't gonna cut it.

is she able to file a disability claim?

well....with 2k a month, we CAN make it, and we do pretty good for ourselves....BUT, saying that....I am trying to get a better job. I have been trying to get into management, and I am on the "verge" of making it....just a matter of time, really. And management starts at about 40k a year.

The problem I am having with "the system", is that we really do try. We both work...40 (sometimes more) hours a week. I pay my taxes....so why isn't "the system" there to help me when I need it? I am not looking for a handout...I am just asking for some of my money back....

as far as a disibility claim............how would she do that? Serious question...who would she talk to about that? At her job, she became a manager (McDonalds...she is going to college to go into Radiation Therapy), but she has not been a manager long enough to get any thing from them....

As for the whole situation, we will somehow come through it...we always do. Just not sure as to how.

Someone mentioned to me tonight, maybe about going to the Salvation Army for assistance with the utilities or the house payment for the couple months she will not be working. Does anyone know if the Salvation Army does that anymore? Even if we got help to just help pay part of the utilities, I would be much more at ease....

And thanks for the comments....I really do appreciate them.

Chris

I believe the Salvation Army does still help people. Also I'd suggest talking to the pastors of the churches in you area.

As far as the taxes thing goes...do you actually pay in?

With your income level and 2 children (3 on your 05 filing), you guys should be receiving the child tax credit. You should be getting every penny you paid in back, and then some.

Is this not happening for you?

Regardless, I sincerely do hope you're able to get some assistance to get you through the time your wife is out of work. I know this must put tremendous pressure on both of you at time that should be filled with joy. Best wishes.

Heh, and just for fun, some anecdotal evidence of welfare fraud.

I know a woman who is a SAHM. Her husband has a decent job. They live in a new home they've bought. Her husband also just bought her a $5K diamond ring and a new car.

She is pregnant and ALL her medical expenses are funded by taxpayers via Medicaid.

Nice, huh? I imagine that $5K ring would go a long way toward paying for her medical care during her pregnancy.

regarding disability: doesn't her employer deduct some sorta disability insurance payment from her check? if so, it seems she'd be able to collect benefits for whatever time she's physically unable to work. perhaps you should start by talking to her physician?

what do you do for only 1,000 dollars a month and where do you reside?

That 1,000 dollars a month is after taxes...and it is anywhere between 500-550 (sometimes a little more). I work at my Walmart....I am (thinking) that I am within a year of getting into management (which would take me to salary, and that would be 40k a year). My wife works at McDonalds, been there for about almost 5 years...she is a manager (but not a manager long enough, along with needing to go to a couple 3-day classes out of state, that we cannot afford for her to go to to get disability).

It is all going to work out in the end, I guess....I have some stocks I will be able to draw upon (so many times, the Stock Program at Walmart has kept us out of trouble). Really, it is just a matter of time until I am able to get into management....just a few more managers to impress, then I am "in there!"

Tex is right, we do get the child tax credit.....BUT....if I am remembering correctly, we have to claim any assistance on our tax return, so that would still come out of that. But really, that is not my point...the point is, the system rewards those who don't work (and basically, refuse to work), while "penalizing" those that do. We are the "working poor", "the forgotten", and we are the ones that fall through the cracks, and the ones that the politicians (whether the politician be republican or democrat) don't care about.

Yesterday we had a meeting with our case worker. Basically, I couldn't even make minimum wage and get help. Somehow, I feel that that is a seriously screwed up situation.

But...we will make it through....we always do....that is one thing about my wife....she sticks by me through some of the toughest times in our lives....and she is still here, standing right next to me. Too bad my government who I pay taxes to won't.

Personally, I am still amazed that 1,000 dollars a month is more than enough to take care of a family of 5....but....I guess, somehow, it is....

Chris

Oh, one more thing....our caseworker, instead of agreeing that the system is flawed, shifted pretty much all the blame over onto McDonalds.....I thought that was interesting....

Well, it is McDonalds fault (I agree to an extent, they are not giving her disability, but it is not their fault that the state will not help us). It is also Bush's fault (according to the caseworker)...."As long as there is a republican administration, there will be more cuts" is what she told us yesterday....interesting.....I think it is just simply politicians, period.

But, she never really said that the system itself is screwed up, just that it is everyone else's fault (except for the democrats....she actually outright spoke badly of the "republican administration" and the republican congress).

Oh well....she is living off my tax money, living good....I guess that is all that matters in the end.

Oh well....she is living off my tax money, living good....I guess that is all that matters in the end.

A well learned lesson...social services workers are the biggest welfare recipients you'll find.

I think a better system would revolve around privatizing social security, and tying "welfare" benefits for the working poor to their social security accounts.

But what do I know?

Mino,

I'm curious: If you had known nine months ago that the state would not pay you to have another child, would you have still gone ahead with your plans? What would you have done differently, to prepare for this extra financial burden and moral responsibility, if you had known you couldn't count on the state to cover your expenses?