What do you think about parents who are on government help?
Published by admin on September 1, 2010Just want to know what people think, as i read some other post about governments assistance.
What do you think about the people who are on it when they have kids?
Like WIC, food stamps, section 8 housing, health insurance wise, and or other stuff that the government provides?
Unless they are disabled I think they are lazy and terrible parents. Decent parents teach children to live self sufficient lives, and sucking off the tax payers tit is a terrible example.
Posted under Parenting Help
I depends on their circumstance. For example. if they are parents who have worked and paid taxes and then someone gets laid off so they need a hand while they get back on their feet, I see no problem with that. That’s why its there. We as a society should want to help others.
On the other hand, there are those people who simply abuse the system. They never worked, don’t even attempt to get a job, and just live primarily on Government assistance for their whole lives. I feel this is wrong and makes the people who are legitimately getting help look bad.
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Sometimes the unexpected happens, and its good to know the children will be taken care of. People who abuse the system though, are disgusting.
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really none of anybodys business i guess.Thats them.
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If you need it you need it, that’s why it’s there. I don’t look down on people who use it. However, i hate to see someone lie in order to get it, and YES i’ve seen this one to many times. People abusing the system i think gives it a bad name and makes it harder for the people who really need it.
OMG i’m appauled at Alexa’s Mommy’s answer! Wow, just wow!! "and my daughter has anything she needs or could ever ask for" well yeah, provided by the STATE!
I love Mason – I didn’t even notice that! TTC #2??? Disgusting!!
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It’s there to help people who find themselves down and out as a temporary means to survive until you get back on your feet, so to speak.
It was never meant as a lifestyle.
It has unfortunately become a way of life for alot of people.
Case in point, my single cousin has 4 kids..she’s on all of the above mention government aids.
My husband and I both work, we are not on government assistance.
My cousin’s kids dress nicer than mine, they play sports for city rec. that are out of my families budget and they eat better than we do.
Kinda bugs.
People who abuse the system ruin it for those who truly need it for short periods of dealing with unfortunate circumstances.
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There’s no shame if you need a little help to get on your feet, however, as with any kind of help, some people might abuse this, which makes is tough for the people who truly need it.
My parents were very young when they had my sister and I, and they were on food stamps for about a year. They were both pretty successful in the long run, so it does prove that people can benefit from this and make a difference. My sister is now a doctor and I just finished my Master’s degree
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I think those programs are fine if people find themselves on hard times unexpectedly. They should also be used as a bridge to independence, not a way of life. If parents are intentionally having children knowing they will need government assistance, and/or they are using such programs in lieu of actually working to support their families, it’s really pathetic and irresponsible.
There are certain uppity, narrow – minded individuals on here who look down on anyone who uses government assistance for any reason. I really hope that karma comes back to bite them in the hindquarters for it some day. No matter how much you plan for the future, unexpected setbacks can always come up.
*ETA* Alexa’s Mommy, I’m sorry but it’s people like you who give welfare families a bad name. Yes, your daughter has everything she needs – thanks to the responsible, hard – working taxpayers and no thanks to you. For you to even think of bringing another child into the world when you refuse to raise the one you already have is disgusting.
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Mother of a six – year – old and expecting Baby #2. My husband and I have never needed any assistance, but we’re not heartless enough to look down upon those who truly do.
I don’t see the problem with it.. If one of them works, or is really looking for work and you need a little help, then its great! It’s sometimes hard and its good to know your kids aren’t going to starve.. But if both parents sit at home all day and are relying on their payments, that’s another story.. They make people who genuinely need the help look bad..
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I think its one thing if you need to have help from the government to help you get back on your feet, but I think is is wrong when people have "welfare babies" just so that they can get more hand outs.
I believe if someone can’t support a child then they should hold off having children until they can!
Children are a huge responsibility, not just financially, also physically and emotionally, and if they cant be cared for in all aspects then I believe people should wait until they can… just my opinion
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I agree with the first answerer, it depends entirely on the kind of people they are. If they’re genuinely good, hard working individuals who just need a little help until they can establish an income and budget that works for them, then fine. I’m glad our government is there to assist them. But there are plenty who blatantly abuse the system in order to maintain their own lazy, selfish lifestyles and that is disgusting to me.
ETA: I do think it’s rather ridiculous to plan another baby when you’re on every kind of government assitance there is.
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It depends. There are a lot of people who abuse it. One of my personal friends is on everything you listed, yet she rarely has her child and any real money she makes herself goes towards booze. A lot of guys my husband works with in the military are on it and I KNOW they do not need it. I know exactly what they make, and I know at least a family of 6 can live on it without assistance because I’ve seen it done.
Some people really do need it. If a single parent or couple is working and still can’t make ends meet, then by all means…use it. If you aren’t working because you chose not to, or you are in financial trouble because you are blowing all your money on booze and drugs, then you don’t deserve it. I think people should be drug tested randomly if they are on government assistance.
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My two toddlers get WIC. When I was pregnant with my first and in my last semester of college and got pregnant by accident (I had been married for 3 years, but was planning on waiting until graduation) I got medicaid and my then daughter also got medicaid for a year. I have no problem with government assistance for ppl who need it, just people who abuse the system.
There are lots of people who live in my area who don’t get married so they can get public assistance. They have children and have a daddy who works, but mom stays home and gets $400 or so in food stamps and all the other perks – that is unfair, but hey lots of things are unfair.
How about our government stepping up and giving mothers more options like the longer maternity leave that other countries give?
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EDIT How is Alexas mommy TTC when she is a lesbian with no money. Any TTC methods short of sex are expensive……..??????????
I think only a small percentage of people use these programs as they were intended and a large portion of parent’s on assistance are just using it for a free ride and not even trying to better their situation.
I have WIC for my son’s formula. My husband and I are both in college, trying desperately to finish as quickly as possible.. I am a SAHM and my husband works full time to support us… we are just doing what we can to raise our son (who was conceived unplanned, on birth control)…. We also get foodstamps… We use them responsibly though.. We don’t buy crap food like chips and soda’s… I buy all fresh fruits and vegetables for our family and fresh meats and fish… I don’t buy junk food…
It seriously pisses me off when I’m in the checkout line at the grocery store and I see someone with 2 cart fulls of total S.H.I.T. such as sausage biscuits, potato chips, fried chicken fingers, frozen TV dinners, soda’s, sports drinks, etc…. I don’t think you should be allowed to buy that junk if you are on food stamps. It annoys me that it’s even an option for people to buy that type of stuff with taxpayer dollars.
My husband only has a year left of school before he can work in his field… He will have a bachelor’s degree, and he is going to continue his education to get his masters… but in a years time we will not need the assistance anymore and I will be thankful that we had it available to us when we DID need it.
There are always going to be people who use those programs the way they were intended and those who abuse them and give everyone on them a bad name.
Oh, and one more thing.. I agree that people on welfare programs should be drug tested randomly and periodically.
I also think there should be special stores for people on Food Stamps to shop at that only contain healthy options, and those stores should staff themselves ONLY with people who are on welfare programs. This would prevent a lot of money being wasted on junk food and also give job opportunities to those who obviously need it.
***ETA***
To Ella’s Mommy.. I agree… I am appalled too! What’s really the kicker there is that she’s TRYING TO CONCEIVE ANOTHER BABY!
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I recieve WIC , food stamps, families first (cash assistance for my daughter), section 8 and Tenncare (‘government" insurance)…I stay at home with my daughter because any job I qualify for doesn’t pay enough to even pay childcare and my girlfriend (we are a lesbain couple) is currently looking for work because she just got laid off. I am still a wonderful mommy and my daughter has anything she needs or could ever ask for.
I think it’s fine..who cares if someone needs help with food/childcare/insurance or whatever?? It’s noone’s business but there’s. If they qualify then what’s it to anyone else?
EDIT: IT’S CALLED ‘AT HOME INSEMINATION’. YOU FIND A GUY WILLING TO DONATE SPERM AND HE LEAVES HIS SAMPLE IN A CUP AND VOILA! i HAVE LIVING PROOF IT WORKS. I WROTE THIS ANSWER BECAUSE I LOVE SEEING ALL YOU STUCK UP JACKA$$ES FREAK OUT. I WORK FROM HOME ONLINE WHILE TAKING CARE OF MY DAUGHTER. MY PARTNER WORKS IN A MEDICAL OFFICE. WE DID RECIEVE ALL THOSE TYPES OF ASSISTANCE AT ONE TIME BUT NOW WE ARE OFF EVERYTHING EXCEPT WIC FOR FORMULA.
AS FOR THOSE WHO FEEL IT’S NECESSARY TO BRING UP MY PAST.GOOD FOR YOU…YEAH MY MOM IS A BIT** AND I GOT OUT OF THE BAD LIVING SITUATION AND WE ARE LIVING IN OUR OWN APARTMENT 2 HOURS AWAY NOW. I DON’T SEE WHAT THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS QUESTION??
MY PARTNER PAYS TAXES AND SO DO I SO YOU CAN SHOVE IT UP YOUR A$$.
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. government assistance is there for a reason. There are people who work 50 + hours a week, who are not dead beat crack heads, who still have trouble buying food for their family. And before you bash food stamps and wic think about how you would feel if you didn’t know if you were gonna be able to provide food to your children. As far as section 8, it keeps kids from living in shacks with no running water and holes in the walls. It gives kids and their families a chance to live a normal safe life. Health insurance, medicaid, how could you say you don’t think children could have access to the medications they need. Its is very hard to get medicaid if you are not a child or pregnant, almost impossible.
Now, welfare, that’s a whole other story, since everyone in your household has to be unemployed, without receiving any other types of assistance, i.e Workman’s comp, social security ,ETC. that means you don’t have a job and you don’t have a reason not to. so i think to get welfare you have to show an active effort to find a job and be given a random drug test while you are receiving it.
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If the people are hardworking and are just having some bad luck, then I think it is fine. That is what it is meant for. I live outside of Memphis and it is disgusting how many people get aid. I do not think FDR envisioned that his welfare system would be completely relied upon by lazy people. It killed me recently when I drove in front of a City of Memphis school early and all the kids were getting in early for their free breakfast. Each kid stepped out of a nicer vehicle than I’ve got. I saw a Lexus and other luxury vehicles. So meanwhile, these jerks are driving these types of cars and taxpayers are paying for their child to eat breakfast and lunch. That is disgusting. It also kills me when I am standing behind someone paying with their food stamp card and they are carrying a Louis Vutton bag.
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I grieve for the pittance these folks get. North American welfare rates are scandalously low; rich countries like the US and Canada should have respectable guaranteed minimum income levels. I’m horrified to think of anyone having to struggle to put food on the table for their kids; my own hardships do not even come close.
…people going after "Alexa’s Mommy" should check out her previous Q&A if they are actually interested in what walking in her shoes might be like.
"I moved in with my mom when I was about 4 months pregnant with my daughter because it was the only choice I had at the time…I didn’t have anywhere else to go. The reason I didn’t want to move in with her (among many other reasons) was because when I lived with her i wasn’t allowed to live in her house, it was in a building…there was carpet and a tv, a recliner, and a couple of couches and that’s it…no bathroom and no kitchen. I was allowed to go in to use the bathroom and fix stuff to eat that I couldn’t fix outside. (also there was a microwave)."
"I have a 3 1/2 month old daughter and me and my partner are not in a very good living environment. It is technically safe, but it is soo stressful that I can’t stand it anymore. I get food stamps, but we are living with my mom and she takes all the foodstamps I get ($567 a month) and buys food for everyone in the house (which is now up to 6 people NOT counting me, my partner, and my daughter…she won’t let us get ANYTHING to eat that we want, to get anything we have to literally BEG or sneak it in the cart. She claims that it’s rent."
If your own mother was a screw-up who gave you jack by way of life skills, no ability to set up a stable adult life, never mind getting a career off the ground — are you then doomed to not having the children you want because you’re on welfare? These things are rarely so black and white.
(Also, naturally, this being Yahoo! Answers, she’s a "lesbian" who had "intercourse" whilst "TTC" four weeks ago ? )
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I agree with most of the answers on here. I myself have been working since i was 15, paying taxes, paying my way through school and so forth. I have a bachelors degree, and was recently fired from my job that i was at for 4 years, due to me having my son. we are homeowners, (not above our means) and work very hard. I have been looking for work non stop since mid june and cannot get a job. I had to cash out my retirement to get through Aug and Sept. My husband is in the national guard and works 55 hours a week. we do not have enough money to pay our monthly bills each month and put food on the table. i have borrowed from my parents to buy baby formula on a week where we could not do so because we needed gas in the car for an interview, etc. times are very hard. i never thought i would need government assitance, but i tried to get ARkids (child ins. provided by the state) and we were denied, tried to get SNAP(food stamps) and was denied it is a shame that some people take advantage of it, and those who actually need it for a period of time to get though a rough patch cannot get it. sad
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Well… I appreciate government assistance/help but we, as in my small family of 3, don’t abuse it. We humbly accept the $200 assistance we get for our daughter every month.
I know a lot of people free load off the system. My moms friend of 30 years has been a recovering crack addict for 6 years now, and she says welfare was the easiest thing to get on. My mom would always be fuming at her when she was able to send her kids to the dentist on her tax dollar, while my mom had no benefits at work and had to fork over 300$ per kid to get a check up. Or, when her kids got free eye exams, or free housing, etc. My mom was a single mom and was on welfare for 1 month because she had no money to feed me and my sister because my dad gambled it all away.
I dunno, I think they should be stricter on who the allow to "free-load" off them, but I do appreciate it, because some really do need it… just like we did growing up. If my mom could afford to purchase a house, a trailer at the lake for us to go to weekends, and a new car, by working hard day and night, while raising 2 daughters alone, I don’t see why people with no kids have to free load off hard working peoples tax dollars.
All those people who do not use welfare should have a reduction in the amount of taxes the gov takes.
Same with people living on the reserves. There’s nothing aboriginal about not working and drinking all day!!
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I think that the misconception that some people have of these people living it up on gov’t assistance is ridiculous. The percentage of people that take some kind of illegal advantage of these programs is very slim. If you have to live on Gov’t assistance, your life is miserably minimal. I think that it’s great that assistance programs exist because it’s very hard to not be poor in this country and people shouldn’t be punished for misfortune.
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I have WIC, food stamps, and heath insurance through my state. Personally, I don’t enjoy the fact that I need government assistance in order to support myself and my daughter. I lost my job while I was pregnant with her. I have been actively searching for a job for a year now, and I’ve had several interviews but no job yet. In a week, I start school to become a pharmacy technician. I’ll still be job hunting while going to school though.
Very few people really want to be on government assistance, but if that’s what it takes in order to feed your child, you do it.
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mommy to a 6 month old girl
As a married woman who has never even thought to get assistance, even when I think we could have qualified, it is so annoying to see people brag about their long list of assistance. I am healthy and I am smart and I don’t need anyone to pay my way.
There are legitimate cases of someone needing assistance. If life comes at you fast and you need some help, I am fine with that.
ETA: After reading Alexa’s mommy’s answer, I am very angry. Who tries to conceive while on government assistance? That is like a big FU to all of us who try and live responsible lives and be productive and not be a burden on the system. Just because you want to have another baby, doesn’t mean you should if you are on public assistance. That is a spoiled person. Get off of the assistance first and then you can have as many as you want.
ETA: Well, Alexa’s mommy, if you don’t want people to get all fired up about you sucking off the government teet, then don’t lie. The joke is on you. And if not needing to be on government support is stuck up, well then call me a snob and I am proud of it.
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For those that need it it should be there. Unfortunately at the moment my family is on a few assistance programs, My husband has a health issue and could not work any longer, he cant take care of our son, because of severe restrictions, so I have to stay home and take care of them. However that being said, Im honestly looking for a job, trying to go back to school. I will figure something out for my son and husband, when I can find a job. It drives me nuts, when I have to go down to the welfare office, and see people pull up in cars that cost more than a house, dressed in designer clothing, and yet they are on welfare. Downgrade if you need to be on welfare. I honestly know a couple that had more and more children because welfare pays more for more kids, though I had to laugh recently because they kinda didnt realize the state of new jersey will only assist for 3 or 4 children, due budget and economy cannot afford more than that.
Edit* as far as food choices go. I cannot judge. If its food for myself, well then let me eat unhealthy. Food that goes to my son, healthiest I can make it, he however is a picky eater, so sometimes, chicken nuggets are all i can get him to eat. And yes alot of my food is microwave foods, because currently I do not have a stove or oven that works. It broke, can not spare hundreds for a new one. So only time i can properly cook, are weekends when my neighbor is home and can use his, or when i go to my dads house to cook.
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i think if you need to get on it short term, there is no problem with that. we have always worked and paid taxes, but we eventually needed medicaid for daughter and WIC for a year. but we BETTERED ourself and got off, i think thats the idea of it all in the first place, to HELP families, not support them long term. i didnt try to get pregnant with baby #2 until we were settled and financially ready for a baby, not just like ‘[oh well we can get assistance and food stamps and blah blah blah’..i waited until we were in a stable place.
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if you need help then you need help and if your taking care of yours then i would not care what anyone thinks… thats my opinion
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id depends. We have govt. healthcare for me (just for pregnancy stuff) and for baby, and we have WIC. but have you seen WIC income guidelines are now 35k a year for family of 3? that is a teachers salary.. and any respectable job salary! just bc we make less moneyt than some people doesnt mean we dont deserve to have any children at all. This just happens to be the best its going to get for us. I stay at home w the baby and my husband works his ASS off. we have a nice house, cars, ect. we are very responsible. but since we fit with the guideline, recieve some help. I think as long as you are a hardworking family, it is ok!
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As one of the parents you are speaking of, you need to learn the facts before you judge.
I am disabled. I never planned on having children. I always wanted children, but was told that I couldn’t have any. Last December I was surprised by my doctor with a positive pregnancy test. Unfortunately, his father did not share in my joy. My pregnancy was a high risk pregnancy as well.
Without the assistance of government insurance, food stamps, and WIC, I would have never gotten prenatal care or had nutritious food to eat during my pregnancy. I had multiple complications through out my pregnancy as well. I had hyper emesis, Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, placenta previa, preeclampsia, kidney stones, and fluid on my kidneys. I also had two UTIs and two lung infections. I was also dehydrated from the hyper emesis throughout most of the pregnancy. My son had to be born early because of the complications. I had to have two amniocenteses to check to see if his lungs were ready. He was born at 37.1 weeks and had some complications at birth. He had to stay in the hospital for over a week.
His father has quit his job so that he "won’t have to pay any support." Yes, I know that this means he will go to jail, but in the meantime, that doesn’t help financially. Even if he were helping, would not be enough to cover medical expenses.
WIC covers the formula. I just got my months supply of formula yesterday. It would have been $135.00 plus tax if I hadn’t had WIC.
Now, I don’t plan to have to be on assistance forever. I also have purchased plenty of things for my son on my own. I have bought him Dr. Brown’s bottles, Huggies diapers and wipes, Carter’s clothing, etc. I have also purchased things second hand. There’s nothing wrong with second hand things either. In fact in my baby magazines it recommends that you do that. I have also sent off for as many baby freebies as I can. I would recommend that to any mommy. Free stuff is cool. It is cool for anybody.
Now I do know that there are people out there who become baby machines so that they can get more and more benefits. I also know that states are cracking down on that. Where I live, if you are on benefits for two to three years, they require you to attend classes on creating resumes and interviewing for jobs. They also require you to do a job search for six months. If you are unable to find a job, you still continue to get benefits, but you have to repeat the cycle in another few months. Also, if you have children back to back, they now send in people to educate about birth control. They haven’t gotten to the point of sterilization yet, but it sounds like it may be coming for abusers. They also cut you off for any drug offense no matter what.
I do think that the abusers should be cut off, but there are people who genuinely need it. That is what it was created for. It was started to help people provide for their children until they could do so on their own. It was not designed as a life long crutch. It was not designed as a way of life to teach your child so that they would grow up and live their life that way as well. I don’t intend for my son to live on assistance. I plan to get a work from home job to add to my income so that I can help provide for him. I cannot get a regular job though because of my disability. A work from home job would allow me to set my own hours.
I realize that this is a long answer, but I thought you should know from someone first hand.
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life
I think these programs are wonderful for people that truly need them. But having worked at a Walmart before I have seen people abuse the food stamps more than plenty of times. One customer actually came in and purchased two cart fulls of 24-packs of soda and they were stacked one on top of the other and I think it was like 20-25 cases of soda if I remember correctly and they paid for it all on food stamps. I think that the law should be tweaked a little bit on food stamps so they can only get healthy foods just like WIC. Given I am on neither, but I was on WIC for a few months when I was out of a job and on top of bills, my fiance and I couldn’t afford formula. I planned on breast feeding, but the stress of my son being in the NICU and not being able to breast feed on demand and not being able to extract much with my breast pump caused my supply to run out. I think it’s sad when people abuse the system when it could be used by others who really need it. And like in the case of a mother and child being supported by the man and then he ups and leaves and she can’t afford anything, she needs all the help she can get til she gets on her feet. It’s not like people can get a high paying job overnight.
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Well, everyone needs help at some time in their life. Most people that is…and a lot of unplanned pregnancies happen. I’m just glad they choose to have the child instead of not. I’m very happy to help when I can. WIC really helps out with formula costs. I can understand totally why people would want to be on WIC. Formula is so crazy expensive. But, more people, especially underpriveledged people need to be educated on breastfeeding!!! A lot of women don’t even attempt it. Food stamps definitely help out people a lot, and I think you have to have a really low income to have them, so I totally feel for them as well. Section 8 housing to me sounds really bad…I wouldn’t want to live there, it would scare me. Child care assistance is extremely a good program and I used it once myself. Child care is so expensive. When I was on it, child care full time for my infant costed $200 a week. They paid for at least half. I now pay $185 a week without it, but go to school full time as a single mother so half of that is paid for in grants from financial aid (I choose to use it on that, what I had left over from tuition.) Some students who get extra money from grants, spend it on stupid stuff, like go on shopping sprees, etc. That shouldn’t be used for that. My daughter and I currently get help with free health insurance (Badgercare.) But, we don’t get extra things, like dermatologist, dental or counseling. I think especially counseling would benefit people who are struggling. We don’t struggle, but its tight most of the time.
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Mommy to Ellen Kate, my 19 month old daughter.
Unless they are disabled I think they are lazy and terrible parents. Decent parents teach children to live self sufficient lives, and sucking off the tax payers tit is a terrible example.
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