I'll start

[ladyVet]

34. I'll comment here, though we could probably make separate threads about these issues.

1. The working poor are, above all, WORKING. They are not on welfare, freeloaders, leeches, etc. They have jobs, earn money, pay taxes, etc.

Yes, my son works full time now (finally), at the most hated place in the world: Wal Mart. It's a job, pays decently, and he gets some benefits.

2. Tax burden issues. We all know about Mitt Romney and his 47 percent remark. What are the tax burdens of a family who could be considered working poor? Sales tax hits them hard. What about other "taxes" that higher income people can avoid? Utility deposits? Banking charges?

Sales tax can be bad, especially when the state seems to forget that an extra percent or so doesn't hurt the richer citizens, but makes it really hard for the rest of us to squeeze out enough for food, clothes, home/car repair items, and so on.

It was always hard to come up with deposits for things. That's why I was determined not to move around a lot, like we did when I was a kid. Getting your utilities cut off because you couldn't pay them hurts too. They want extra money to get stuff back on, on top of what you owe.

3. How many free services do the working poor really get? We sometimes hear how poor people have it better than middle class citizens. Is this really true? Do the working poor qualify for all the "free stuff" the government supposedly doles out?

There isn't much to get. Every extra penny you earn either cuts benefits, or knocks you off the lists completely, even though it's not enough to make up for what you lose.