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Miranda7

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Looks like Federal guidelines exempt caretakers of a child under 6 or an "incapacitated person" for SNAP (Not sure how that is defined)

www.fns.usda.gov

Texas also has state level exemptions from some TANF program limitations for people caring for a "disabled person" . I didn't look into Alabama. There are lots of other exemptions also.

Also realize that Medicaid can provide in home care assistance for disabled elderly persons. Many caretakers prefer to keep their jobs to give them a little time away from 24/7 caretaking.

I'm not claiming it is a great system, or even sufficient, but many of the claims above in this thread are simply untrue.

I was on a committee tasked with solving a problem, which was the extroardinary number of homicides occurring in a few HUD complexes. The public wanted to know why these places, which were wholly owned and under "complete government control" were the most dangerous places to be in the entire community. The group developed a plan for a pilot project. We selected ONE complex that was so rundown and crime ridden it had been shut down as a public nuisance. We got a budget for renovations to include full fencing with a manned gate. One building would be turned into a community center with a playground, on site day care and job training classes. The hitch was that ONLY the residents would be allowed inside. The idea was pitched by a grad student on the committee who called it a "dormitory like environment". There was a park across the street where they could hang with friends and family, but no guests would be allowed inside the gates, (except for necessary exceptions, like helping with move in, medical needs, etc, and those people could not stay overnight.) Most HUD leaseholders are single mothers without serious criminal records. The crime in these communities is usually brought in by their boyfriends and other friends and family members who are not permitted by the lease to live there. The idea was to provide ONE safe haven for the Moms and kids who were looking for that, and give her the agency to say "No" to the trouble makers and hangers on who often drag these women down.

SO there was a press release and an "interested party" list was created. It was overwhelming. There hundreds of families who wanted to get on a waiting list, despite the restrictions, and despite the fact that this was a crappy postwar cinderblock complex with little more than a fresh coat of paint. Then the ACLU protested to local politicians. Because it was a gated community. Said it was akin to putting these women, who desperately wanted a safe place, in prison. So it never happened.

A couple memories come up with this subject. My first day back from 6 weeks maternity leave after the birth of my first child, I was taking a police report from a young woman (after using my lunch break to pump breast milk in my car behind a gas station). As I filled out the blocks, I asked, "Name", "DOB", "Occupation" and she said, "what's that?" And I told her "your job" and she said "JOB!!!???, I ain't got no JOB, I got a BABY!" Kinda put things in perspective for me right there.

Another defining moment was a time I was called to a gas station for a young boy, maybe 8-10. The manager said he had been there all afternoon. So I asked him where he lived so I could take him home. He named a HUD complex several miles away, outside my assigned area. The Lt. had recently made a point that we were not a "taxi service" and discouraged us from leaving our beats unless it was an emergency. So I asked him about other relatives who might live closer. He proceeded to name every aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin in his extended family and friends, one at a time, before we landed on one close enough for me to drive him. What struck me is that EVERY SINGLE person this kid knew lived in HUD housing. The kid didn't stand much of a chance of having a solid role model to lead him into the middle class. He was practically destined to repeat the cycle. That is what cradle to grave social services creates. Multi-generational government dependence. Work and work training requirements actually provide a pathway out of that.

Ok, so we are back to "no realistic solutions" because EVERYTHING you suggest is VERY long term, and requires conservatives to declare they are wrong about everything, and come around to your way of thinking. You have already declared that will never happen. SO you got nothin'. Except complaints about conservatives. Helluva strategy.

Back to the actual topic of the thread. Aderrian Murry. The prevailing narrative for police shootings has been, "Blame systemic racism and authoritarian, trigger happy cops, hold them accountable!" We are holding more officers accountable than ever before, but there is no deterrant effect. It isn't working because they've got the "root cause" all wrong. We need to look closer.

For this particular incident, investigators need answers to all the questions I asked above. They need to perform a detailed after action review can study the circumstances and conditions and determine what could have/should have been done differently, identify failures in officer selection, training, procedures, and actions. Those failures can be addressed to prevent this set of circumstances from repeating. It is a reactionary response but if we do this sort of in depth analysis for each and every shooting incident, and build on what we learn, we may be able to make some real change.

Another thing we need to do is talk to/study the officers involved (which never happens because they are under threat of prosecution, civil suit or other social threat) and listen. Maybe with the help of hypnosis or techniques we can find answers that lie in the subconcious. The question is, do we really want to SOLVE this problem, or do we just want to look for someone to punish?

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