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If I could live without food stamps when I was way worse off than Miss "WHAT, NO BRUNCH??", so can she. But I didn't see luxuries as necessities, as she obviously does. It's hard to feel sorry for someone who says "how can I eat without food stamps when I have brunch, an iPhone and THE COBBLER to pay for?" Whining like that falls on deaf ears with me. She CAN afford food. She just chooses not to. There are people who are truly needy, they're the ones who need food stamps. Not people who have other options, like she does.
She looks like she's in a nice neighborhood as well. Unless it's just staged for the article.
JayBrown, I in general agree with your statement, the question is this: With limited funds, do we allocate money to those single, able bodied, educated people OR do we allocated funds to those who have children they can't afford (whether due to their own incompetence or sheer circumstance) to feed/house etc?.
Good question. I sort of don't belive we have "limited funds" for food stamps when we have an UNLIMITED budget for tanks/bombs/and unmanned assassain drones.
But that's a seperate conversation.
I understand why this woman did not get food stamps. I am not advocating that someone give her food stamps. I said in my original post that I can see some mistakes she is making, for instance having an IPhone, not fixing her own boots, having a netflix account, having a fridge full of condiments rather than buying a bag of flour and a sack of potatoes and learning how to cook, etc etc etc.
As an aside, why is it the majority of my friends age 35 and under have every fancy ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, oyster sauce, olive oil, a million taco bell sauce packages, sirachi sauce, garlic and red pepper spread, etc etc etc....but they don't have eggs, flour, sugar, potatotes, or rice. It just confuses me. I hate when people call themselves "foodies" because they know what sirachi sauce is, but they couldn't boil water if their lives depended on it.
But I digress.
I understand why this woman didn't get food stamps. I think if she made a few small adjustments in her life, she woudln't NEED food stamps.
My main point is that this is a woman that went to college, has a degree, and like most people fresh out of school she is "finding herself as an artist". So she is going to be poor until she bites the bullet, realizes she is not the next Langston Hughes, and actually gets a real job with benefits and a liveable wage.
But in 10 years this woman WILL be working. She will be paying a 3rd of her paycheck in taxes.....and she can't get government assistance for food. It just seems terrible to me.
I understand why a welfare mom with 4 kids at 18 can get food stamps. I am glad the welfare mom gets food stamps because I don't want her 4 crack babies to starve.
I just think it's a damn shame that the system rewards the worst behavior. I understand WHY it rewards the worst behavior...and I think it's a damn shame. It's a damn shame that the system is so cyclical, and that you actually get punished if you try to work.
Why would anyone ever get off welfare if they get punished for trying to better themselves?
Last edited by JayBrown80; 04-13-2012 at 11:32 AM..
She looks like she's in a nice neighborhood as well. Unless it's just staged for the article.
It's probably just a random shot of a street corner. She confessed she has never spent more than $600 in rent. Since she is saying she needs financial help, I am only concerned with how much she spends, not what she manages to get for it. If she managed to live in a nice neighborhood on $600, good for her.
A lot of posters are trying to pick her apart and getting mad at me....look at her neighborhood, look at her shoes, look at her fridge...she must be lying, i have lived thru worse.
I am not really even talking about this woman. I am talking about the system in general.
It's hard to feel sorry for someone who says "how can I eat without food stamps when I have brunch, an iPhone and THE COBBLER to pay for?
I hear what you are saying, but when you focus on the cobbler as a luxury, I think you're looking at it wrong. Many people go to a cobbler when they wish to extend the life of their shoes, and not have to buy a new pair. My father used to make one pair of shoes last a number of years (10? 15?) by making regular trips to the cobbler to get them re-soled and whatever else cobblers do to extend the life of a shoe.
This behavior is not the same as going to get pedicures and manicures. It should not fall into the luxury category.
If I could live without food stamps when I was way worse off than Miss "WHAT, NO BRUNCH??", so can she. But I didn't see luxuries as necessities, as she obviously does. It's hard to feel sorry for someone who says "how can I eat without food stamps when I have brunch, an iPhone and THE COBBLER to pay for?" Whining like that falls on deaf ears with me. She CAN afford food. She just chooses not to. There are people who are truly needy, they're the ones who need food stamps. Not people who have other options, like she does.
I also believe in a safety net for people who fall on hard times. I do not believe in subsidizing someone who simply chooses to work at a job that does not pay enough to support them. We should all kick in so she can fulfill her dream of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world and 'doing what she loves'? I also can't stomach people crying poverty through their super rad iPhones.
I hear what you are saying, but when you focus on the cobbler as a luxury, I think you're looking at it wrong. Many people go to a cobbler when they wish to extend the life of their shoes, and not have to buy a new pair. My father used to make one pair of shoes last a number of years (10? 15?) by making regular trips to the cobbler to get them re-soled and whatever else cobblers do to extend the life of a shoe.
This behavior is not the same as going to get pedicures and manicures. It should not fall into the luxury category.
True. Perhaps given the rest of her habits, I did not see this as frugal behavior because she seems to not have a frugal bone in her body. My bad.
BUT you think she should get government assistance for food, when she's spending her food money on Netflix and iPhones? I think that's where we disagree. She wouldn't NEED government assistance for food if she wasn't spending what money she DOES have on luxuries instead of food. That's all I'm sayin'. She wants to spend money on unnecessary stuff she likes, and then have me pay for her food. NO. Spend your money on food first, and cut out the unnecessary stuff you like. Then if you're in true need AFTER that, we'll talk. And stop thinking that we should all support you until you can find the perfect job that lets you indulge your oh-so-important "creativity and individuality" and pays a fortune to boot. That could be YEARS.
I'm all for a social safety net for people who need it. But not for people who just WANT it. People like her are just as much a drain on our resources as the "welfare queens" you talk about. People who just WANT to be supported because they think they deserve to be able to hold out for EXACTLY what their precious little heart desires. She is young, educated and able-bodied. She can currently afford luxuries that many hard-working people cannot. She does not NEED help. She merely WANTS it. And government assistance is not for WANT.
BUT you think she should get government assistance for food,when she's spending her food money on Netflix and iPhones? I think that's where we disagree. .
Neither Henna nor I have made the supposition above that you are being belligerent about.
Neither of us said this woman deserves food stamps. We have commented on the system being flawed and how repairing old shoes rather than buying a new pair is actually a good idea.
You are so irked at this woman that you see anyone that doesn't slam her as a "supporter" of her lifestyle. That is not the case. Screaming at us that we are making statements we didn't make is not helping you prove the point you are trying to make.
The sad thing is, we are not disagreeing, you or Henna or I. But you are certainly throwing a fit like we are in the worst fight of our lives.
I specifically said that she wouldn't need food stamps at all if she would stop with the netflix, the i phone, and learn how to cook. Henna said repairing old shoes is actually frugal. That's what we said. What You heard was....
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissTrish
BUT you think she should get government assistance for food,when she's spending her food money on Netflix and iPhones? .
Calm Down Trish. Read what we are writing. Can't we comment on an unfair system and not be "the enemy"?
Neither Henna nor I have made the supposition above that you are being belligerent about.
Neither of us said this woman deserves food stamps. We have commented on the system being flawed and how repairing old shoes rather than buying a new pair is actually a good idea.
You are so irked at this woman that you see anyone that doesn't slam her as a "supporter" of her lifestyle. That is not the case. Screaming at us that we are making statements we didn't make is not helping you prove the point you are trying to make.
The sad thing is, we are not disagreeing, you or Henna or I. But you are certainly throwing a fit like we are in the worst fight of our lives.
I specifically said that she wouldn't need food stamps at all if she would stop with the netflix, the i phone, and learn how to cook. Henna said repairing old shoes is actually frugal. That's what we said. What You heard was....
Calm Down Trish. Read what we are writing. Can't we comment on an unfair system and not be "the enemy"?
This is true. The only comment I have made on this story is about how going to a cobbler is not luxury behavior. I did not take a position one way or the other about anything else.
JayBrown - As usual your posts are well reasoned and I agree with most of your positions. I strongly support a social safety net as a temporary solution for those in need. However, I don't agree that this girl has a poverty problem, she has a budgeting problem.
Maybe I'm an old curmudgeon at the ripe old age of 32 but I think this article reflects a deeper sense of entitlement and "me me me" attitude that's endemic to this generation of early 20 year olds. It's that they don't understand that generations before them have went through similar struggles in their 20's and persevered. She has a good base to build on, she has an education, which is more than can be said for most lifelong sucklers of the social teet. BUT that education does not entitle one to never struggle and she is making poor decisions all the way along.
An iPhone is not a responsible decision, nor is Ezekiel bread, expensive cheese, and whatever else was in her refrigerator. Those are luxuries you get to enjoy when you come out on the other end of your youthful financial woes, hopefully with a new found respect for earning what you've worked for. Take a look at her blog, it's all about clothes, and accounts of going out for wine, and trying this cool new restaurant. When you're young and a victim of financial circumstances you grit your teeth, eat lots of rice and beans, live with 4 roommates in a less desirable neighborhood, and get a basic cell phone plan.
I found this article appalling, not only because of the author but because of what she represents: a generation of entitled brats who feel they are owed a life free of hardship.
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