They're young, they're broke, and they pay for organic salmon with government subsidies.

Magida, a 30-year-old art school graduate, had been installing museum exhibits for a living until the recession caused arts funding -- and her usual gigs -- to dry up. She applied for food stamps last summer, and since then she's used her $150 in monthly benefits for things like fresh produce, raw honey and fresh-squeezed juices from markets near her house in the neighborhood of Hampden, and soy meat alternatives and gourmet ice cream from a Whole Foods a few miles away. "I'm eating better than I ever have before," she told me. "Even with food stamps, it's not like I'm living large, but it helps."

Mak, 31, grew up in Westchester, graduated from the University of Chicago and toiled in publishing in New York during his 20s before moving to Baltimore last year with a meager part-time blogging job and prospects for little else. About half of his friends in Baltimore have been getting food stamps since the economy toppled, so he decided to give it a try; to his delight, he qualified for $200 a month.

"I'm sort of a foodie, and I'm not going to do the 'living off ramen' thing," he said, fondly remembering a recent meal he'd prepared of roasted rabbit with butter, tarragon and sweet potatoes. "I used to think that you could only get processed food and government cheese on food stamps, but it's great that you can get anything."

Read More

Therein lies the problem. Idiots like this who refuse to cut back simply because the taxpayers are footing the bill for these worthless parasites.

People like these need to have their EBT cards shredded immediately.

[edit on 17-3-2010 by brainwrek]

[edit on 17-3-2010 by brainwrek]

No, "the problem" is people who think they can decide how others should live, regardless of their own messes they live in.

Seriously, most of the time people bitch about food stamp recipients buying GARBAGE with their benefits. Unhealthy crap.

And, now, I see someone complaining about food stamp recipients eating HEALTHY stuff?

omg, you just cannot win, when everyone is paranoid about what other people should or should not be doing.

Wait a tick - these people actually qualify for these food stamps - how they spend them is up to them.

Personally I think freshly prepared, nutritious food is not only great for the body and mind but also an educational and fun experience too.

If you have yet to prepare your own food I'd start easy and go for something like mackerel and cream cheese mixed together - before long you'll be adding spring onion, a touch of horseradish and serving it on oatcakes with a pickled preserve on the side.

And that's just for starters! (badoom-cha!)

-m0r

You should be grateful that your system actually has Food STAMPS instead of liquid cash handouts like Australia.

You can't buy drugs with food stamps - that is a good thing you know.

I think that the trillions of American tax dollars that have been spent on violent conflict in the middle east as well as the trillion plus that has been given to banks is far more important than Joe Shmoe on main street collecting a measly few hundred bucks a month.

Yeah, Joe is sure living large isn't he? To be honest I wonder if this story isn't propoganda. Propoganda used to demonize the little guy. Propoganda used to ensure that the average American points their fingers in blame at their fellow average American. Keep the average American divided, hateful, spiteful, and vengeful.

Ensure that the average American remains at each others throats, while the true criminals walk away scott free.

Afterall, a divided populace is an easily conquerable populace. While the average American loses their jobs and their homes, the wealthy continue to expand their wallets. Thousands of Americans are reduced to living in tent cities, yet the elite use a portion of the bailout money to hand themselves bonuses. Bonuses on top of their annual six figure incomes no less.

Your country is crumbling due to poor management by those at the top of the pyramid. Your country is crumbling due to corruption and greed, and yet you still continue to blame Joe Shmoe living on main street for all of your current problems. This is exactly what those at the top of the pyramid want you to do. Point fingers at each other while they laugh themselves silly all the way to the bank.

My brothers and sisters in America continue to get shafted, the division is growing stronger by the day, and your country and its economy continues to spiral down the toilet. Yet, instead of banding together like brothers, you continue to divide yourselves and walk right in to their traps that they have deliberately set for you.

Remember the quote: United we stand, divided we fall? I think Americans need to adhere to this advice before it is too late.

Review this link: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.




[edit on 17-3-2010 by intrepid]

You don't actually understand how the economy works, friend. Your tax dollars pay for war and debt payments to the bankers. Ever heard of your cestui que trust? I would imagine you haven't! Debt Instruments? Negotiable instruments? You see, we live and operate in receivership: the Corporation of Canada/United States/UK and the rest of the commonwealth is broke, bankrupt, and since the greedy and (relatively) evil banksters have claimed all the gold through the debts incurred by the loans -given at interest- to the government from private banks..WE THE HUMAN BEINGS have become the collateral. That being said, how this works (in their favour - for the moment) is that these assholes in power create a corporation with your 'name' on it upon birth registration, HORATIO MCKANE is not actually me, but a private interest/bond (known as a cestui que trust), which the government uses as collateral to take out all those massive loans we somehow are responsible for paying back [to those greedy f'n banksters]. That being said, since we are paying for everything [picking up the tab, you might say] the government has agreed (in many many unnecessarily complicated words) tacitly to pick up 'our tab', otherwise they would be committing commercial fraud and treason - however, they would much prefer that you to pay twice. Following so far? Since we have no value to our currency other than ourselves and our labour/time/energy, we have become the currency, and as such, have already paid for everything. Sweet, eh? The money in your pocket is actually a 'debt instrument' or a 'promissory note', since the money itself is no longer worth anything other than the value currently placed on it through an agreed means. You can't redeem it for its worth in gold, only that you might exchange it once more for the accepted face value. So, what is money then? A piece of paper with a number on it, and a signature endorsing the credit or debt instrument into existence. I mean.. if real monetary value doesn't exist, how could a bank/government/tax payer be out any number of 'dollars'? If they created the credit for you to spend, why can you not create credit for them? You create value.

brainwreck - jealous?

I'm glad to see the kids eating healthy, rather than spending it all at McDonald's

Nice to see the responses to this mean-spirited bait of a post. Nevermind that food-stamps are a quarter of a drop in the ocean of money we send to the military-banking-pharmaceutical-prison-industrial complex. Nevermind that food-stamps are highly stimulative to the economy compared to other expenditures. And nevermind that many people in what should be the richest and most powerful nation, founded on judeo-christian principles are actually food insecure.

Way to encourage us normal folks to fight over scraps while the people having their way with us make out like bandits.

Best,
Skunknuts

[edit on 3/17/2010 by skunknuts]

reply to post by brainwrek


All that I can add to the posters before me is that I think that the knowledge that you can eat real unprocessed food, that you can eat healthily, whilst living on food stamps, should be heavily promoted.

Maybe it would help America wake up if they got off their diet of starch, fat, sugar, salt and of course HFCS.

edit - when I first read the title, I thought it was going to be a positive story. I was thinking "well done" those fellows eating well whilst on benefits ... then I read the OP comments ... aaah well ...



[edit on 17/3/10 by Horza]

The point he is trying to make is clear to me. Instead of being frugal and maximizing the $200 he has been qualified to receive. Everyone seems to have this conception that since the guy qualified for food stamps, they're his and he or she can buy what they want. Fortunately they can, but herein lies the problem...when tax payers are footing the bill(government subsidies) and people are preparing gourmet meals, the charity does not go as far as it could if the recipient where living within their means, because obviously if this person cannot afford to support themselves it brings to mind the phrase 'beggars can't be choosers'.

Just wait till this Health Care passes and everyone starts getting botox and liposuction, and then it will be sex change therapy and the myriad of other plastic surgery and vanity surgeries. What people don't seem to get is, the well has already ran dry. We are broke, Social Security is in the RED and the US Government is on the verge of Bankruptcy.

Some of you may feel this issue is merely about healthy living and personal choice, but in reality it is about picking up the tab for someone and them ordering gourmet meals on your dime. Almond milk and Soy are all very good for someones diet if used moderately, but since a quart costs 2x that of a half gallon of 1% it seems pretty foolish because once this guys fridge goes dry he is just going to put his hands back out and ask for more. If he doesn't have any children then surely he is fit enough to walk his butt to the mission and get in the soup line like all the other people who cannot take care of themselves and see what people who need help really look like.

reply to post by Jnewell33



Exactly. Exactly Exactly.

No one is complaining about the fact that someone is eating healthy. How can anyone so completely misconstrue what the OP is saying?

You're on welfare for gods sake. What makes you feel that you still have the right to live high on the hog?

Have any of you ever been to organic markets or priced organic food? It's expensive. Sometimes, as much as 2-3 times that of the regular, non-organic food most of us are buying in our supermarket produce section. Why, when you cannot support yourself, do you feel the need, or even feel that it's appropriate, to buy this luxury item? I, personally, do not want you spending working people's tax dollars on an item marked up 200%, that provides a marginal, if unproven benefit to your health.

Aside from that fact, "Organic" is just the latest buzz word. "Organic" conjures up images of local farmers, toiling hard in their field to bring their extra fresh, extra clean produce to your local market daily. What guarantee do you have that the same pesticides and hormones that are supposedly used in stardard fare isn't used in these "organic" products anyway? Take a look at the country of origin of some of these products. Here's a hint, it's not the USA.

Organic?
Organic?

"Organic" is just the latest buzz word, swallowed whole by hipsters and elitists so that they can feel a bit superior to the average joe. I know several people who swear by "organic" food...and yeah, they're those kind of people.

If you want to spend your money to go organic, by all means, go ahead. But when you're on food stamps, maybe you should take off your skinny jeans, plaid scarf and horn rimmed glasses and go on down to Shoppers Food Warehouse or Giant with the rest of the population.

To that end, eliminate food stamps altogether so these sort of things don't happen. If you require assistance, you receive a pre-determined food allocation from your local government or a participating local grocer (not an organic grocer). Allotments should be based per person, per week or month. If you have a specific allergy, another item will be substituted (not organic). Once you find employment gainful enough to support your lifestyle, have at your organic food.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I do cook a healthy diet and do my best to stay away from junk. However, I haven't bought into this whole "Organic" thing just yet.

The point your making is silly.
It is cheaper in the long run to buy whole foods. For example It costs about 3 dollars for a pack of cookies. If you went to the store and bought a bag of flour, ($2), a pound of butter, ($2), a bag of sugar, ($2) and a bag of morsels, dried, fruit, nuts, whatever ($3-$5) you could makes approx 7 packs of cookies and still have some ingredients left over.
What really bugs me......standing in line behind dirty smelly people with crazy sugared up kids buying substandard food items like super-sugary cereal, doritos, soda, soda, soda, cookies, frozen pizza, honey buns....its like a never-ending conveyor of trans fats, sugars and sodium. All at a premium price (see above) and paying for them with foodstamps. That is a waste of tax-payer dollars. And to think 20 years down the road we'll be paying for their health problems too.
Wether buying organic foods (which can be quite pricy but sometimes dirt cheap, depending on where you live and what you buy) or nutritious single ingredients it is still cheaper than buying mass-marketed garbage that is a quarter of the size of its box!
There are some people out there who are not only too lazy to get a job, who keep pumping out kids so they can stay on government subsidies, but too lazy to even cook for themselves! That statement in no way is a generalisation of everyone on government programs, just the ones that make me angry.
Just because you get foodstamps doesn't mean you should have to eat crap. Especially if you have the self-respect and motivation to feed yourself and family with proper food.
Also....proper food is more filling. When you eat small portions of healthy food (like salmon) you will be fuller for longer than if you eat empty calories. Then there is the notion that perhaps this article is propaganda and the people in it buy it maybe once a month or every couple of months as a treat, maybe the girl who shops at the cooop lives on rice and beans?

Originally posted by Nick_X

You can't buy drugs with food stamps - that is a good thing you know.

Folks sell their credits for drugs and booze all the time. There are entire drug dealing facets who deal with the EBT or food stamp trade.

Personally, I know a guy who was able to get enough crack to sell for profit and a crappy .25 pocket pistol for his EBT.

Growing up as a teenager in Detroit I worked in a local meat market (Warrendale Meats if anyone was around there in '95). Nearly everyday customers would come in and buy racks of ribs and nice steaks with food stamps. Customers would also try to buy something very cheap to get the cash change to go spend on other non-food items.

There is NO question the system gets abused by people who don't need them. But how do you police it? It's nigh impossible.

Far too many people around my age can't cook and the myth that it is more expensive is just that...a myth. Now you could argue that buying organic etc is a waste of food stamps...and i would tend to agree when it comes to vegetables atleast, but you could also say the usual processed to high heavens food that most would buy is also a waste. Im guessing they eat less but eat better which is something more people should be doing.

reply to post by Nick_X


Yes you can buy drugs with food stamps. Same as cash on the Southside of Chicago.

actually while i was in oregon i got an oregon trail card,

basically anyone can get free money for food, yes, the system is totally screwed up, we're wasting money on lazy people

my circumstances were legit, BUT, i was glad to be robbing your tax dollars so EASILY because the sooner we run out of money for that stuff the soon we realize we need to smarten our way of giving out free money

Wouldn't you rather see food stamps go to the people who worked hard to get an education and are having a hard time finding a job...actually TRYING to make ends meet, than some person who sits on their butt everyday not worried about working because the government is taking care of it all for them? Because there are TONS of ABLE people out there who don't want to work and live off the system. These two examples are kids who went to college to better their lives and are going through a hard time. These are the type of people who deserve the help. Who gives a rats as* if dude eats rabbit? You would be complaining that he wastes his food stamps on garbage if he said he ate a box of twinkies and some cocoa puffs.

*I would like to add that I know there are other people who deserve food stamps like the single mother, people who physically can't work, etc....but I was just stating that I believe the examples given are definitely deserving.

so manny of you ppl are worse then jehovah witness.
holy er then thou .
you talk about the poor underclass wile you sit in your manshions .
looking down . You know there once was a whole contry that every one in suddenly got rich and there were no underclass .
but afunny thing happened no one would take off trash after all it was benith them.
bet not a one of you would get on the back of a trash truck.
no one would grow farm produce it was benith them .
well all there gold but they starved you cant eat gold.thaqt country fell and never recovered . this is what will and is happing to you now.
man i got news for you if you were goin from your desk job no one would even notice let the garbage man be goin for even 2 weeks you would be beging for him .
let the farmer be goin for 1 seasion you would starve .
we lower class are only lower class because u deam youir self higher then us.
the day finly comes and it already has your suddenly the one whos not need lazy armchair lawer. high prest.
you know what else when the black pleg hit and killed 20 million suddenly the lower class wich was hit harder wasent so low any more .