Illinois Link Card - Let's get real in here (Atlanta: credit, loan)

[ChicagoMeO]

oh now they said that in this one store on 47th street, shoppers fill up their cart, in the first 2 weeks of the month so that they run out of food, but they dont have much shopping at the last 2 weeks of the month.

one woman had 3 carts of food totaling $400 and she doesnt' know how long it will last.

Why cant they go shopping 2 times a month and then use the LINK card that way? do they have to shop all at once? the report also said that people run out of food, and they have to learn how to budget it. so i guess when you see LINK card holders buying expensive items then that proves that this leaves them with less food in their cabinets/pantry all month.

i still dont know why they feel the need to fill up the cart(s) all at once, when they have milk and fruit and veg, cant they go as needed like I do?

[urza216]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

oh now they said that in this one store on 47th street, shoppers fill up their cart, in the first 2 weeks of the month so that they run out of food, but they dont have much shopping at the last 2 weeks of the month.

one woman had 3 carts of food totaling $400 and she doesnt' know how long it will last.

Why cant they go shopping 2 times a month and then use the LINK card that way? do they have to shop all at once? the report also said that people run out of food, and they have to learn how to budget it. so i guess when you see LINK card holders buying expensive items then that proves that this leaves them with less food in their cabinets/pantry all month.

i still dont know why they feel the need to fill up the cart(s) all at once, when they have milk and fruit and veg, cant they go as needed like I do?

Why is how poor people spend their money so fascinating? Don't get me wrong. I people watch EVERYBODY.

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by urza216

Why is how poor people spend their money so fascinating? Don't get me wrong. I people watch EVERYBODY.

It happens when you waiting in line behind people and cant help notice. partially due to wondering how long it will take to stand here in line, or something benign like that.. or yes somewhat judgmental at looking at the kind of food people buy. People watching. thinking random thoughts like wow that guy bought all snacks, tv dinners, he might not like to cook, or wow that person got a lot of steak and lobster, wow they must make a lot of money. or wow that person is only buying poptarts, cheetos and soda pop, must have a big dental bill or other such like that. or even,, wow that person is buying 3 cartloads of food, i bet they have a link card. ((and they did in one case when i was behind someone)).

its boring waiting in line so my mind wanders. but i can only speak for me.

but still, cant the peopel who are loading up on fresh food for the month which probably cant be all eaten at once, wouldn't it be better if they went to the store once a week so that they could extend the fresh food longer. it woudln't go bad sitting in the fridge for a month.. i dont get that. the ladies on the tv report said that is what happens, they stock up once a month and their food goes bad. you can keep milk about 2 weeks tops.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by Warsie

Any welfare abuse doesn't really **** me off. The military is a bigger drain on "my hard-earned dollars" (quoted because I hate that term).

Exactly. I'm sure there is a lot of abuse but in terms of our national finance problems programs like food stamps or TANF aren't even a blip on the radar.

If you include Medicaid and CHIP... yeah, you're right, it's a real problem, in that sense "welfare" is consuming nearly all federal tax revenue.

But it still ain't nothin' compared to social security, medicare and defense.

I do think there should be severe limits on TANF though. I don't know how you implement it... but people shouldn't just be allowed to have six kids while on TANF for 25 years.

And of course abuse makes hard working people angry.

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by urza216

Why is how poor people spend their money so fascinating? Don't get me wrong. I people watch EVERYBODY.

Exactly. I find the way rich people spend my (tax, pension, retirement) money fascinating, and I'd really like more research done on the way they both hoard and waste money that isn't theirs.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by treemoni

Exactly. I find the way rich people spend my (tax, pension, retirement) money fascinating, and I'd really like more research done on the way they both hoard and waste money that isn't theirs.

You and me both..

[doublenickels]

I am a good tipper. But, I would "forget" to tip you.

Originally Posted by nearnorth

doublenickles, if you put half as much time and effort into yourself as you appear to put into worrying about other people, you'd have reached self-actualization by now.

[Atlanta_BD]

I think the thing that is missing for the people who get food stamps and also Sec. 8 housing is that they don't have or have never been taught life skills. I think change would come in if in order to get food stamps and housing vouchers, the recipients should be REQUIRED to take life skills classes which includes learning how to budget their money and budget grocery shop and use coupons.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

I think the thing that is missing for the people who get food stamps and also Sec. 8 housing is that they don't have or have never been taught life skills. I think change would come in if in order to get food stamps and housing vouchers, the recipients should be REQUIRED to take life skills classes which includes learning how to budget their money and budget grocery shop and use coupons.

Ain't nobody got time for that...

...No, seriously. Just because someone has less money than you doesn't mean thier life isn't as busy or more busy than yours. There are definitely people workin two part time jobs and have other responsibilities like kids or school who are on food stamps. And sometimes low wage jobs can make it very difficult to schedule something new in like "life skills classes". I'm still not completley opposed to the idea though. How about earning an hourly wage for these classes too? And this income should be disregarded in whether or not the person qualifies for said benefits.

I've listened to people on food stamps b**** about section 8 in thier neighborhood. I think people in general should stop fighting amongst each other and take a good look at the top 1%.

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

oh now they said that in this one store on 47th street, shoppers fill up their cart, in the first 2 weeks of the month so that they run out of food, but they dont have much shopping at the last 2 weeks of the month.

one woman had 3 carts of food totaling $400 and she doesnt' know how long it will last.

Why cant they go shopping 2 times a month and then use the LINK card that way? do they have to shop all at once? the report also said that people run out of food, and they have to learn how to budget it. so i guess when you see LINK card holders buying expensive items then that proves that this leaves them with less food in their cabinets/pantry all month.

i still dont know why they feel the need to fill up the cart(s) all at once, when they have milk and fruit and veg, cant they go as needed like I do?

What's it like going through life being angry about things as trivial as other people's grocery shopping habits?