So tell us...why would a mom who "reads at a sixth grade level" decide to have kids? A hundred years ago they were farmers...and largely self-sufficient. Nowadays, we are supposed to feel sorry for these people and support them from cradle to grave?
I can tell you why some of them have kids ... nothing better to do. I've volunteered 13 years in elementary schools helping kids with math. Probably 4000 hours so far. I've known kids as young as 6th grade who were pregnant. And kids I worked with a few years ago are high school freshman and very open on social media about having sex. It's not the kids fault all that much .... it's that many of them have crappy parents and most haven't a clue as to who their Dad is. So they run around with no rules and end up replicating the behavior of those in the home. Three years ago I worked with a black girl ... really a smart kid. Won the school spelling bee. Highest math score on the statewide test for that school she attended. Worked hard and told me she wanted to go to a middle school that was 'good' and where other kids 'don't mess with me'. Her Mom couldn't get her to the citywide finals of the spelling bee at the time they were supposed to be there. Mom had no job and collected welfare, food stamps, section 8 housing, etc. I ended up getting this girl into a Math & Science charter school. I took her to 4 middle school open houses because Mom wouldn't (even though she had a car). When I brought this 5th grade girl home after the open houses I walked her to her door of a duplex. And when the door opened it reeked of smoke and there was plenty of drinking going on inside. It was a neighborhood that you'd not want to be in at night. She was never allowed to play outside due to it being unsafe. Mom was bounced from one section 8 house to another. When I was trying to get documentation on where the girl lived to qualify for the charter school Mom gave her a utility bill from one address and a rental contract from a different address. So I had to ask this 10 year old kid to be mature and get me what was needed since Mom was so useless. And this was a good kid. So many of them are 100 times worse. 90% of the kids I work with are black and the other 10% Hispanic or white. Legal or illegal ... the Hispanic kids are very well behaved, want to learn and really try in school (as are the whites). The kids with behavioral issues tend to be the blacks. And as far as your farmers comment ... my grandpa dropped out of school at age 10, worked on a farm and found a factory job at age 13. With a 4th grade education he started a plumbing & heating company in 1908 and endured the recession raising 5 kids and taking in a 6th (relative). Today, people who face obstacles often just whine and expect someone to give them something for nothing.
Do you have a source that states that food stamp abuse is limited to about 1%? Or are you pulling that number out of your...
I ran some numbers on it some time ago. However it did require making some guesses. The essential point is that the waste is far less in terms of the over-all budget than many presume and there is far more money being wasted on the defense budget. But of course the idea of lazy people getting supported is more offensive than that of defense contractors overcharging and politicians pushing excessive money at the MIC. That's understandable. Unfortunately it's the price of helping the majority that really need it.
Only the majority don't need it. They just want it. And bleeding heart fools are all too happy to oblige. With other peoples money, of course.
Blame the politicos. "Woe is you... vote for me and I'll take money from some hard-working fool and give it to you".... an immoral and chickenshit political cheap-shot power grab. Most people wouldn't even THINK of "how can I get somebody (government?) to pay me to sit on my ass in front of the TV all day and eat chips"? Yet, the politicos volunteer exactly that... in exchange for their vote, of course... and the hoi-polloi go, "yeah, I'm down wid dat"! All supporting the notion, "the parasite class SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO VOTE!"
Way back in U.S. history there was a strong movement that only individuals who owned real estate above some minimum value should be allowed to vote. The concept was that they would have the most vested interest in a fiscally sound government. Sadly, the property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850 in the U.S. - Now every parasite has figured out they can vote themselves free stuff and have others pay for it. http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html
We have two opposite and opposing forces. One, that even liberals would acknowlege, maybe after repeated waterboardings, is that if you subsidize something, you will get more of it. In fact, you will get as much of it as you appropriate money to pay for. Two, we are a compassionate country, we want to help the unfortunate and we cringe from making children suffer from their parents' mistake. Liberals will hiss you if you suggest we should discourage single motherhood. To them, it is right up there with abortion on demand as a moral right. To me, it is immoral to force people to pay taxes to subsidize loafers who are doing nothing to help themselves. We have already lost the moral and cultural battle in this country. Three decades or so ago, there was a stigma attached to being on welfare, and earlier, there was considerable stigma to having a child out of wedlock. People rightfully asked, how do you expect to provide for that child? Now of course, liberals are indignant if you even pose the question. We are at the tipping point where the takers have the political power to overwhelm the makers. From that point, forget morality, it is just a matter of finances. They will do the same thing with the country's finances they do with their personal finances, only there won't be anyone to bail us out.
Jobs will get people off food stamps, at least the ones that want to work. Obama, being "focused like a laser" on jobs, will get right back to us with a progress report right after he gets done with more important issues. http://news.yahoo.com/obama-turns-blogger-to-make-pitch-for-gay-rights-bill-063547333.html