food stamps and how they make people feel

reply to post by State of Mind


I know plenty of people who work in farming and it's hard work, but never for minimum wage pay. All the farmers here are on the dole anyways and there are programs that pay them more to hire more workers. The whole thing is so controlled. Either way minimum wage is there as a minimum! No one should have to work for minimum age after they're 15 years old, least of all in agricuture. But that said the real money is in doing farm repairs and improvements, but that's dependent on the government seeing such programs as worth spending on.

Someone said earlier that what we need is real honest charity (might have been you I thought) and I agree. It's sad that society has the wicked edge of mistrust. I have a very serious disability and have been unable to work (I used to be a chef) for over a year now, and I'm living on welfare. I have a good welfare worker but earlier I tried to get unemployment and the workers were horrible. Many of them completely doubted what I was saying claiming it was my made up story. I've had this illness for more than five years with all of the medical documents and I was still treated like a liar. They didn't accept my application and I knew it was because a mistake had been made. I had to go through various departments for a full year before I finally found out that I would be paid unemployment, a full year back paid, and can get off welfare. The reason I was denied this whole time was because one document was missing from my file and the initial report done on me didn't say that I was "too sick to work" it said I was "too sick to find work" and that difference practically cost me my sanity and my ability to care for myself. I finally got my welfare rate raised at the same time and some backpay there as I was $500 in debt before paying my bills (and never mind the phone bill which will never be paid ever again).

Sorry, ranting. Just be considerate that it's really disturbing to be treated as a liar or a leech when you used to be the hardest working person you knew and now are unable to even care for yourself. I just wish it had been a doctor or a community elected official or somebody of some qualification and intelligence deciding whether I deserved benefits, not some overpaid government stooge who doesn't give a care.

reply to post by wildoracle13


But until you walk in these people's shoes, you have no idea how hard it is to "get out".
Its like asking the poor kid in India who is working in a sweatshop at 10 years old and dropped out of school: why don't you go to college and make your life better?!

Why it's demeaning is because i'm fully capable and willing and work harder than most people I've ever worked with, yet I can't find work because everyone want's to hire illegal immigrants. So my country does nothing about the INFESTATION but I'm supposed to run to them for help they'll most likely deny me?

F**k them. If it gets that bad I'll take whatever I want....from THEM who put me in my current situation


Also, why should the people who actually build and keep this country running like a well oil machine actually be poor. They're the ones who are supposed to be reapingb the fruit of their labor, not some fat cat, corrupt politician or some lowlife scum with their hands out.

Government assistance needs to stop in everyform and EVERYONE needs to grow some balls and stop paying their taxes systematically so the gov't folds.

I have read a few pages of this thread, and also others similar in tone. What I would like to know is what areas of the country is everyone in? I'm on the east coast and I don't see the job loss everyone keeps talking about. I do see the welfare abusers in droves though. So is this a regional issue with jobs/abusers? Or is it that our area just hasn't caught up with the rest of the country?

On the subject of EBT, I don't know if it's been brought up or not yet but I think it's relevant; you are not allowed to buy a hot meal using EBT. Recently there have been some changes, and Subway is now taking EBT, but prior to that it was made clear to me that you can say like go into a Safeway and order a sandwich and everything is fine, but if you ask them to toast it for you, then the cashier won't ring it up. Part of the rule that no hot foods are allowed to be bought using EBT.

Can someone explain this to me? I've refused to accept using EBT despite losing my job, and I've always refused to apply for unemployment benefits. But to watch someone be turned away from a hot meal, because it's EBT....it was just disturbing to me. Who is it that decides you can and cannot eat if you're hungry and out of work, solely because the food is warm? It's freaking ridiculous. The difference in this case was that the poor hungry soul who ordered a sandwich might not have even had the means to warm the damn food himself, and otherwise it was no different than any of the cold sandwiches that are sold there.

Are there really people out there that are so anti-foodstamps that they will deny a hungry person a warm meal, and get some kind of sick satisfaction knowing that this poor person won't be enjoying his/her food as much because it was served cold? Just sick. Very sick and disturbed at this mentality.

Is there something I'm missing here? Some dynamic where it's wrong to allow a person a hot meal using EBT? Possible abuse maybe? Are they expecting people who use EBT to go splurge at a local McDonald's or something? And if they did, what is it to anyone? To offer help to the needy is one thing, but to demand that you control how they use that help is clearly wrong.

When I've done better financially, I've always given money to homeless people I come across on the street. But never once did I ask them if they are going right over to the liquor store to buy a beer with it, which they likely do. You simply do not offer help to anyone then tell them what to do with it.

reply to post by haarvik


Eats Coast, NY. I also guess it has to do with the field of work. I'm in general contracting and it's infested with roaches ,i mean illegal immigrants who broke the laws to get into this country yet they have more rights than Americans.

Until it starts affecting the hiring of illegal immigrants into gov't positions, Millions of Americans were continue losing jobs even when the economy was good and will continue to do so. They like to deceive the people and say it's because Americans won't do the jobs. Well.... they can't because those hiring have lowered the salary by hiring Illegals and now that said job is the equivelent of taking a 50-60% pay cut. The salary can't compete with the economy. So technically while everyone is just starting to feel the pressure, i've been living like this for about 12 years breaking my back to not even be able to pay my bills.

Hence my anger issues and sheer distrust, hate and contempt for ANY agency that wants to govern another man/woman's life. This country is literally a prison and people haven't realised it yet but are starting to wake up because everyone's losing their little creature comforts and are becomeing poor. W/out our money we have no rights or independence and now you actually feel like what you are. A prisoner with no rights.

Originally posted by SlasherOfVeils
those who choose not to take them even though they qualify still usually somehow manage to get by.

Actually it reminds me of stories of the 30's and 40s when people were too proud to collect unemployment even though there wasn't much in the way of work and jobs to be found. The same folks who chose to clean restrooms and sweep streets for minimum wage.

...I have to admit, I highly respect those people who find a way to get by without public assistance even when they qualify for it.

I agree with you, mostly because I used to have food stamps for a while. Maybe a few years, actually, and I know since my mom was single with 2 kids we really needed it, and I also know about people who don't REALLY need it, but they still use it to the fullest, taking advantage.

reply to post by State of Mind


Amen.

Food stamps are one the worse ideas the government ever had. I have worked in a grocery store all the way through college and now I am finally done. I had to see, everyday, people buying crab legs, lobster tails, steaks, etc. on their foodstamps. In their case, no one is too proud, they love their ebt cards. It is very hard to see some one buy all of the things mentioned above, add in there candy and other things that me and my wife cant get every time we go to the store. EBT/foodstamps have made americans lazy, I know there arent many jobs out there, but there are jobs. It may not be the job they want, its a job.

I really wish the govt would do away with ebt/foodstamps. I mean people trade these things to others for other things. It is sickening to watch someone buy all the things mentioned above, then pay for a case of beer with a hundred dollar bill. These people need to be stopped. To the person who mentioned they cant buy hot meals, this is true, but they have found a way around that. Crab legs at my store can be steamed, along with other items. They can get day old fried chicken, etc. I wonder if drug testing was a requirement for ebt/foodstamp recipients, if thngs would change?

Anyone can go to a gas station that excepts this kind of payment, and see how screwed up this is. Two scenarios at a gas station.

EBT/foodstamps recipient "Lets see, I dont have to work, I can buy a big gulp, candy, anything I want really.Im gonna go home now and smoke my cigarettes, and drink my beer that I just bought with my EBT cash. Life is great"

Regular, hard working person " Damn, gas is getting closer to 4 dollars a gallon. I can only get 10 dollars worth, just enough to get to work in 30 mins and to get home with."

I see this everyday and it needs to stop.

In Indiana, foods stamps have been replaced by a "credit card"...

reply to post by obzerver


In Texas you get a Lone Star Card for government benefits.

Welfare, Food Stamps, Unemployment, Disability, whatever. So nobody can tell how why you are receiving government assistance only that you are. It is so common today I don't think anyone pays any attention.

I was a child who grew up on food stamps and it is a lot better now having a debit card instead of fake $1.00, $5.00, $10.00 and $20.00 bills you pulled out of a perforated booklet when paying at the register.

Now you can even use an ATM and take it all out as cash. That may be a flaw that allows abuse of the system but people can pay rent and bills with the money as well, I guess.

reply to post by BIGPoJo
oh so you live in a mud hut where you get solar power? no we need the internet to make min by min transactions we need education or do you go to doc that has a 5th grade education? what about the lawyer or judge or do you think they get their certificate out of a cracker jack box?
if you are a slave then no you do not need an education for you do not need to read, what would the employer think if you knew the tax, workers comp laws or how to read the MSDS? you are not of the real world, no you live in a world where there is the rich and the slaves. yes thees thing's are not in the Constitution, but then are they, "life, liberty and the pursue of happiness " for it is
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." not in the Constitution pre say but still we have the right to seek them.If you do not like it, tell your congress person that you will not pay for nor approve of ed, health., nor the right to get help when needed. that all are meant to be uneducated, poor, and have no power, lights, nor transportation. for that is what i read in you.

reply to post by bekod


No, the Constitution does NOT guarantee welfare payments, food stamps or any sort of handout. It does guarantee that you can pursue whatever vocation you wish to obtain those things.

reply to post by nixie_nox


I have walked in their shoes, AND I got out. And no I did not get a handout, grant or other help from anyone. I did it the old fashioned way...I EARNED IT! I paid my way, I got my education...without scholarships/grants and raised myself above it. Anyone can do it.

reply to post by biggkatt
ok so they have a eating habits that offend you, stake and crab lobster maybe that is what the eat when they had a job, why change the way you eat? because you say so?

Who are you the IRS or the food police? yes some thing's people buy it too makes me sick 150$ for blue jeans 60$ for a tea shirt $3000 for a suite? what about the $250,000 car $1.5 million home the nerve of some people! You ought to be ashamed of your self, buying all that, what do you feed your kids? gold corn flakes in 24kt gold bowls?

What about your cell pone 700 to what 1,500$ a free phone not good enough for you, yea been told i need one to have a job, i do not have the money nor the need for one so why should i get one, to work??

Then i would need a car, er truck to hall things for said employer at my expense oh he would have me work long hours to make it up, then ins for truck, then license, inspection and IM, tax then to find a truck below $1000 with all the other stuff included so now that 1000$ truck became a 500$ truck tires as well still need the 1000$ for i might be able to barrow that and that is not for sure.

That $1000 truck ok 500$ truck, just want to make it clear, might need $3000 in repair like my last one did, and i had to eat rice and beans to have the money to go to work to fix truck to go to work to make money to fix truck to eat rice and beans, note this job did not cover the other bills rent, gas, lights, for it went to the needs for the job, truck tools cell phone gas oil ins tires work clothes, boots pants and shirts so i could work.

Yes a true slave I was, now that i am not working i still eat rice and beans but with my EBT i can buy some ham to have with my rice and beans. yes a true slave I am for now i am working off the rent.

Originally posted by bekod
reply to post by biggkatt

 

ok so they have a eating habits that offend you, stake and crab lobster may be that is what the eat when the had a job, why change the way you eat? because you say so? who are you the IRS or the food police? yes some thing's people buy it too makes me sick 150$ for blue jeans 60$ for a tea shirt $3000 for a suite? what about the $250,000 car $1.5 million home the never of some people you ought to be ashamed of your self buying all that, what do you feed your kids? gold corn flakes in 24kt gold bowls? what about your cell pone 700 to what 1,500$ a free phone not good enough for you, yea been told i need one to have a job, i do not have the money nor the need for one so why should i get one to work?? then i would need a car, er truck to hall things for said employer at my expense oh he would have me work long hours to make it up, then ins for truck, then license, inspection and IM, tax then to find a truck below $1000 for i might be able to barrow that and that is not for sure, that $1000 might need $3000 in repair like my last one did, eating rice and beans to have the money to go to work to fix truck to go to work to make money to fix truck to eat rice and beans , now that i am not working i still eat rice and beans but with my EBT i can buy some ham to have with my rice and beans

I get you, and you're right. I went through the same process with my vehicle. Paid 1200 for it, only to pay another 2k to get it working, but it's still a bargain for an otherwise perfect SUV. Try going to a dealership for the same vehicle, and find out they want 5k minimum for the exact same thing.

But yeah, I understand the cycle of poverty that we run around in. Living to work, to live, to work. I'm in the process of trying to break free of that, but I was diagnosed with severe gallstones, 10 of them apparently, and let me tell you it's extremely painful. Despite that, I refuse to leech off the system. I can survive off the basics, I don't need rib eye steaks or orange chicken for dinner every night. My parents raised us on the old fashioned food stamp booklet, and it was a horribly shameful experience. I'll never repeat that, even if they've made it less obvious.

In my opinion, the change from paper stamps to EBT was less about sparing people some humility, then it was trying harder to prevent the individual from trading individual stamps for lesser amounts of cash, so the food stamp user could go and buy beer or cigarettes. That happened alot in my youth. Beer and cigarettes obviously not being considered food, and have never been purchasable by food stamps or EBT.

Anyway, work a little on your formatting please. I know you may not care who reads your posts, but spacing them out a little makes someone less likely to just skip over it altogether, thanks.

reply to post by haarvik
gee did i any where in that, make that statement.
no i did not it was the right to have an eduction a job or the right to site back and say no, all i have makes me happy.

Let me tell you having no job does not make me happy, but then i am not every one, for yes there are things i would like to get and having a job is the only way to get them, now if i was young i would join up with armed sev, not only to serve, but to get my collage fund, i am 46 with a bad back , bad enough where i can not do the work i use to, not bad enough to get disability yet, need to see doc.
(and yes i could get PCN but then no 50$ for sign up fee, to late now to sign up have to wait till the next sign up Nov Dec?)

Yes ER has turned me away, not life threatening, or needing med attention like a broken arm or a stab wound, speaking of, had a friend, ok so he was not a true friend, offer to stab me so it could get looked at, got tired of me complaining about the pain.

Originally posted by nixie_nox
reply to post by wildoracle13

 

But until you walk in these people's shoes, you have no idea how hard it is to "get out".
Its like asking the poor kid in India who is working in a sweatshop at 10 years old and dropped out of school: why don't you go to college and make your life better?!

Something tells me that the poor kid in India doesn't have an xbox or air conditioning and I would be willing to bet the government doesn't give his mother free housing, food stamps and health care like the poor kid in Indiana.

Originally posted by bekod
reply to post by BIGPoJo

 

oh so you live in a mud hut where you get solar power? no we need the internet to make min by min transactions we need education or do you go to doc that has a 5th grade education? what about the lawyer or judge or do you think they get their certificate out of a cracker jack box?
if you are a slave then no you do not need an education for you do not need to read, what would the employer think if you knew the tax, workers comp laws or how to read the MSDS? you are not of the real world, no you live in a world where there is the rich and the slaves. yes thees thing's are not in the Constitution, but then are they, "life, liberty and the pursue of happiness " for it is
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." not in the Constitution pre say but still we have the right to seek them.If you do not like it, tell your congress person that you will not pay for nor approve of ed, health., nor the right to get help when needed. that all are meant to be uneducated, poor, and have no power, lights, nor transportation. for that is what i read in you.

edit on 28-7-2011 by bekod because: (no reason given)

edit on 28-7-2011 by bekod because: editting

What makes you think that you deserve my money? If we are all created equal how come we end up in unequal environments. It is because I "pursued my happiness" and am still pursuing it. If you are unhappy with your current environment you have the Constitutional right to pursue it. So please, pursue your happiness and leave my tax money alone. You are responsible for your financial problems, you are responsible for where you live, you are responsible. Take some responsibility for yourself and leave me to my responsibilities.

According to you we were all meant to be either two types of people, workers and leeches. I am suggesting that there should be one type of person, workers. People seem to think that welfare has been around forever and that it is their inalienable right. This concept is false. What did we do before welfare? Good people made the personal decision to help out their fellow man. Now, because of welfare, we no longer have the right to make that choice.

BTW, did you go job hunting or even attempt to earn any money since yesterday? If the answer is no then you are in violation of the very idea of welfare. The idea of welfare is to help you get on your feet. So what is the hold up?