I have an issue with the people who abuse the system.
I have one "friend" who is working her full time job, and hasn't reported it, so she's getting paid $12 an hour, getting around $400 a month in food stamps, getting WIC, Housing Assistance, daycare assistance, and collecting SSI on her eldest son, plus getting child support from her youngest son's father. She went to a seminar a few months ago about gastric bypass surgery because she found out that she could get it covered by Medicaid! She's a single mom, but she's abusing the system...its ridiculous!
In the meantime, while she's receiving this...my husband and I are in income based housing where we've complained about the refrigerator at least four times because its freezing our food, our rent is half of what he brings home a month, and we get less than $200 a month in food stamps... and my "friend" makes a higher hourly wage than my husband does! I've always been really strict, though. I've told my husband that as long as we're receiving any type of assistance, that we do not need things like cable television, new electronics (we've bought everything used, through a garage sale, or on sale cheap), Cadillac's, or sushi because if we can afford those things, we don't need assistance and there is always someone else that does. I've seen too many people on public assistance with bling up the yin yang, driving fancy brand spankin' new vehicles, with their flat screen plasma tv's, blue ray players, wii's, ps3's, and dish network dishes outside of their low income housing. We don't even have a converter box for our garage sale television! We watch movies on an old beat up dvd player I bought before we even met for $40!
I get upset about the people who abuse the system, laugh about it, and complain about how broke they are, when there are weeks when my husband and I can't afford to buy toilet paper! I think the programs are great things to have for people who need assistance, but I also think there are too many who abuse the system, which makes it hard for the rest of us who genuinely need a helping hand. I am grateful for every penny we get... and I think more people should be grateful as well, instead of expecting a hand out.
So, I guess my answer to your question is... the programs are good; many of the recipients aren't.