"Live within your means": a loaded phrase that seems to be biased in the favor of those more well-off? (commercial, hospital)
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I'm not going to argue with what you observed, and I would also find it frustrating, but I do not think she represents the vast majority of SNAP recipients. About twenty-five percent of the United States is food insecure. That's a lot of people who are worried about where they are going to get their next meal.
I experienced the same thing at a Target store, but the person using the EBT card was a 20-something male who was purchasing 3 bottles of soda and two quarts of ice cream and some bar soap and dish soap. When he was informed that the soap was not covered under his form of payment, he told her he didn't want them. He then took his purchase of soda and ice cream and walked up to a late model Chrysler 300 and drove away.
People who buy fixings for Ice Cream Sodas and drive late model cars are neither food insecure nor should they be recipients of any governmental entitlement programs.
I had no idea the number of people that use SNAP. I didn't even know what SNAP was until I read the term here in this thread.
In 2007 the number of people using SNAP was 27,613,729 people. In Obamas first year in office the numbers jumped to 38,978,382 and as of November 2014 the numbers were at 46,271,508 people using the program. Things have gotten worse under this President. He is in his 7th year and things have gotten much worse. I would say that this war on poverty is a lost cause and we need to give up the fight. We have not done anything to make it better but everything to make it worse. I don't 25% of the people using the program but still the numbers of people on it are way more than their should be.
It's easy to lose a war when you pick the wrong target. The right war is a war on working poverty and that is a war that is winnable.
I pay $200/mo for a used vehicle without collision. And my driving record is spotless for the last 4 years. And again, as I mentioned earlier, just to register the car is around $300-350 a year.
Also, no one seems to factor in the cost of a replacement vehicle when calculating transportation expenses. To leave that cost out is to assume an income that will rise, which is a pretty iffy proposition in today's economy.
Where do you live? I pay $100 for a $500 deductible for 2 drivers and 2 cars.
I experienced the same thing at a Target store, but the person using the EBT card was a 20-something male who was purchasing 3 bottles of soda and two quarts of ice cream and some bar soap and dish soap. When he was informed that the soap was not covered under his form of payment, he told her he didn't want them. He then took his purchase of soda and ice cream and walked up to a late model Chrysler 300 and drove away.
People who buy fixings for Ice Cream Sodas and drive late model cars are neither food insecure nor should they be recipients of any governmental entitlement programs.
He's probably a Subsidy Kid, getting money from parents or maybe financial aid for school.
There are millions of people getting unreported money from any number of sources - gifts are taxable to the giver, not to the recipient, and only if they are above a fairly substantial amount, i.e. most of these people are receiving non-taxable gifts. This creates a huge loophole which allows many people to abuse assistance programs.
I pay $200/mo for a used vehicle without collision. And my driving record is spotless for the last 4 years. And again, as I mentioned earlier, just to register the car is around $300-350 a year.
Also, no one seems to factor in the cost of a replacement vehicle when calculating transportation expenses. To leave that cost out is to assume an income that will rise, which is a pretty iffy proposition in today's economy.
You are being scammed by your insurance company. Shop around for a better quote. $25 a month for registration isn't going to break your budget.
The budget I posted included an amortized purchase cost, which is the same as a replacement cost. Buy a $12,000 vehicle and drive it for 10 years. Your purchase cost is $100/month, if you have enough discipline to put that $100 in a car fund and not spend it. If you finance it, your purchase cost will be more like $300/month, because you will have to carry collision insurance and pay interest.
Then Wal-Mart workers and first year teachers would no longer qualify for public assistance.
Increasing pay also increases inflation. It does nothing to increase the standard of living long term. If Walmart employees want more money than they can do the same thing that all of us did that make more money. Create value for the employer. Many do this by increasing their skill set or knowledge level. They learn a trade, or get an education in a specific field. I know a guy that was a janitor. He came here from another country. Somewhere along the way someone gave him a computer for his kids, I think he told me. The computer had a copy of MS Office. He spent time learning how to use Word, then he picked up Power Point. Eventually he had learned how to work Excel and the remainder of the programs. I asked him how he was able to do all that. He said he started with the help section then started looking online for answers. Eventually he had mastered the programs. He heard someone talk about how they were having a problem with the program and it would take a while for someone to help them out. We all know how corporate can be at times. This guy opened his mouth and told that person that they didn't need to wait for anyone to help but that he could fix the problem. I bet they were a bit taken back that the janitor could fix the problem but let him take a look anyway. After a few minutes he had helped them work thru the issue. The word got out that he had helped that person and it wasn't too long before he had another job working for the company. I met him when we were working on our MBA's. Always thought that was a cool story.
Increase value to make more money. Don't change the value of the effort it takes to make money.
He is in his 7th year and things have gotten much worse.
Is it bad that so many are on SNAP, or bad that employment and income are so poor that so many *qualify* for it?
The economy would suck regardless of the president. Politics is nothing but theater. This hole took 30-40 years to dig, and we haven't even begun to claw our way out. I don't believe we ever will.
It's pretty obvious to me that the people who run this country (regardless of who is elected) abandoned US consumers long ago. We've been screwing our economy and labor market and running on escalating debt for decades. There is a solution even now, but it isn't the one *they* want, so it isn't happening. Rather we will continue to ramp up welfare to keep people from protesting too loudly, while wages and jobs deteriorate. The middle class who still have jobs will continue to pay for most of it.
Are you a middle class taxpayer with a job, and are you targeting the poor with your ire? That's exactly what they want. Pit the poor and the middle class against each other, while they continue to get richer.
If Walmart employees want more money than they can do the same thing that all of us did that make more money. Create value for the employer.
The problem is that the pay for so many jobs is declining in real terms, while *none* are increasing. Unless you are a CEO or investment banker or something. More people than ever are going to college, and yet the wages still don't improve.
There is a serious rational disconnect in your argument. Sure, someone can always potentially "get a better job" but in reality the playing field is deteriorating and the size of the pie is shrinking. It becomes more and more difficult, and those on the bottom of the talent scale really have no hope. We are fighting over a dwindling pile of scraps. Until we fix the root cause, this will continue to be the case.
BTW, increasing the minimum wage has one and only one major effect. That is income redistribution downward to the working poor. If that is what you wish for, it is a good way to acheive it.
Is it bad that so many are on SNAP, or bad that employment and income are so poor that so many *qualify* for it?
The economy would suck regardless of the president. Politics is nothing but theater. This hole took 30-40 years to dig, and we haven't even begun to claw our way out. I don't believe we ever will.
It's pretty obvious to me that the people who run this country (regardless of who is elected) abandoned US consumers long ago. We've been screwing our economy and labor market and running on escalating debt for decades. There is a solution even now, but it isn't the one *they* want, so it isn't happening. Rather we will continue to ramp up welfare to keep people from protesting too loudly, while wages and jobs deteriorate. The middle class who still have jobs will continue to pay for most of it.
Are you a middle class taxpayer with a job, and are you targeting the poor with your ire? That's exactly what they want. Pit the poor and the middle class against each other, while they continue to get richer.
I want to get rid of the welfare system alltogether. I look at is as a system that tells people, "You are too stupid to figure out how to make any money so we are going to feed, clothe, and house you."
People are much smarter than that. We can make much more money on our own than with the scraps the government hands out. I could make more money on my own than with any assistance that I could get from the Government. All people could do that. I tried offering a job that paid close to $15 an hour to someone making $8 an hour. She would not take it because she didn't want to lose what she had now. If she made more money she would lose part of her benefits. Why bother with that when it is guarenteed for her. I think the only way to stop the cycle is to shut down the system all together.
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