3 ms·

I am not well-informed about the inadequacies of the USA's means-testing of "welfare" (a term that is clean in the UK, but in the USA it's regarded as either pl

I am not well-informed about the inadequacies of the USA's means-testing of "welfare" (a term that is clean in the UK, but in the USA it's regarded as either plain wrong, or as evidence of bad character). Being forced to fall back on a food bank is considered demeaning here. From what I've read upthread, a lot of food banks in the USA are church-run. Many people will be ultra-reluctant to essentially beg for help from churchy people, however careful those people are are to keep their churchiness out of their aid provision.

giantg2 4y ago
Many food banks are not associated with churches. Why is it a problem that asking for free food is "demeaning"? Seems like that's more of a perspective or attitude issue than a functional one.
- denton-scratch 4y ago
  It's a problem, because people avoid demeaning postures. I'm an old man, but you'd have to punch me quite a few times before I'd be prepared to grovel at your feet. The simple fact is that there's enough food in the world for everyone. So if people are going hungry, that can only be because either (a) the system is broken; or (b) the system is fine, and it's fine for people to go hungry. You seem to be a proponent of (b).