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I speak for myself when I say I have not resorted to Food Stamps ( being unemployed ) and will only do so when I can no longer afford the P & J and truly desperate . I promise you that...
I don't know the percentage of unemployed on Food Stamps but me thinks it will jump expotentially with the R. Congress blocking ( over and over ) the passing of an extension like a competitive Monopoly Game...
Geez...i'd certainly hope that you wouldn't wait until you were down to Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches before you'd ask for food help. I pay taxes and so do you...not to mention that you're a fellow American.
In any case, i can respect the fact that you have pride...and that's not a bad thing. I suppose that it would take a lot before i'd apply for food help too. Hope you find a new gig soon.
I work in an inner-city supermarket. The first two weeks of each month, we see a very heavy number of EBT (electronic benefits transfer) Card purchases. These function essentially as food stamps. A significant amount of product which is purchased on these cards would be defined by most people as being luxury items: lobster,expensive cuts of beef, high-end deli and bakery items, etc. Other frequently purchased items are those sorely lacking in nutritional value. Things such as potato chips, soda, and candy.
This is frustrating for many of us who work in the store because our tax dollars are being used to purchase these items. I have no problem with my taxes being used to provide those who are temporarily down on their luck with the food they need to sustain their families, but many of these folks are eating better than are those who work for their money. Those who are receiving government subsidies should be given a basic choice of foods which are both economical and nutritious.
And what does this tell you ? It tells me they are using the government for Lobster purchases / Filet ,Porterhouse steaks , which should be banned .
How many average struggling Joe Citizens purchase Lobster , Filet and Porterhouse in their normal weekly groceries ?
I like the idea one poster had about a set free standing store that only caters to the Food Stamp Users .
This stops the abuse by offering nutritional foods as the Food Stamp Program was intended for. Not expensive steak , crab legs , lobster tails , and shrimp scampi.
That would mean the bling, bling wearing Escalade driving clientelle ( fraud thugs ) would no longer go there if they could not get prime cut steaks and lobster tails , cash back , cigarettes , gum , candy , ( Don't be shocked , I have seen it with my own two eyes )
And what does this tell you ? It tells me they are using the government for Lobster purchases / Filet ,Porterhouse steaks , which should be banned .
How many average struggling Joe Citizens purchase Lobster , Filet and Porterhouse in their normal weekly groceries ?
I like the idea one poster had about a set free standing store that only caters to the Food Stamp Users .
This stops the abuse by offering nutritional foods as the Food Stamp Program was intended for. Not expensive steak , crab legs , lobster tails , and shrimp scampi.
That would mean the bling, bling wearing Escalade driving clientelle ( fraud thugs ) would no longer go there if they could not get prime cut steaks and lobster tails , cash back , cigarettes , gum , candy , ( Don't be shocked , I have seen it with my own two eyes )
LOL...yea, lobster in an inner city grocery store most certainly seems far fetched. The poster also said "expensive cuts of beef and deli items." C'mon...really? I'm originally from the inner city, and no one on C-D knows more about that environment than me. Sorry, but most people in my hometown buy salami, bologna, ham, and some hoghead cheese(and even that's rarely available). Nobody that i grew up with would even know what an "expensive deli item" would be. And beef? Most inner city supermarkets that i've been in would be hard pressed to sell more than hamburger, roasts, or cheap cuts of steak. If there were any Filet Mignons around, i never saw them.
What it comes down to is the "inner city" thing. Just say those two words, and it conjures of up images of minorities (although that's the explicit implication, they just won't say it), and attaching FS or EBT abuse to minorities should be readily believable no matter how ridiculous that abuse might sound.
Don't confuse the images of "inner-city" you conjure up with my personal experiences. The supermarket at which I work is part of a regional grocery chain in the Minneapolis-St Paul area. It serves a geographically large and diverse part of the city. It is "inner-city" by virtue of its' location and by the fact that a disproportionate number of neighborhood residents are poor.
If you attach explicit or implicit notions of "minorities" to the term, that is your mind-set, not mine. As for the customer base, I would say that about one-third is African American, One-third is Caucasian, and the other third an assortment which includes African Immigrants, Hmong, Hispanics, and Russian Immigrants. The workforce within the store closely mirrors those demographics.
The neighborhood abuts an area which is populated largely by college students, and another which has a sizable Jewish presence. The store draws customers from that entire region, which is why it provides a large variety of products from international foods, to traditional African American foods, to a very large seafood counter which includes fresh lobster tails selling at about $23.00 a pound.
Please examine your own biases before pretending to have insight into mine.
Wouldn't people be up in arms if someone was using food stamps to purchase a pizza at Pizza Hut? Oh, but it's perfectly ok to buy an equally bad for you frozen pizza at the store. Give or take calories...they are both crap. I get it now...one has to be cooked at home. I guess that makes it ok then.
And what does this tell you ? It tells me they are using the government for Lobster purchases / Filet ,Porterhouse steaks , which should be banned .
How many average struggling Joe Citizens purchase Lobster , Filet and Porterhouse in their normal weekly groceries ?
I like the idea one poster had about a set free standing store that only caters to the Food Stamp Users .
This stops the abuse by offering nutritional foods as the Food Stamp Program was intended for. Not expensive steak , crab legs , lobster tails , and shrimp scampi.
That would mean the bling, bling wearing Escalade driving clientelle ( fraud thugs ) would no longer go there if they could not get prime cut steaks and lobster tails , cash back , cigarettes , gum , candy , ( Don't be shocked , I have seen it with my own two eyes )
Stop the abuse .
How would you separate the Escalade driving clientelle from the responsible senior citizen on food stamps in your program? Or would the senior citizen have to drive the 50 miles to the nearest government run hardtack and gruel center for their nutritional needs? Why shouldn't senior citizens be allowed to purchase any damn thing they want from the local supermarket down the street? We're responsible by now. We raised the kids, paid the mortgage off and spend most of the money we have left on health care copays and deductables.
Don't confuse the images of "inner-city" you conjure up with my personal experiences. The supermarket at which I work is part of a regional grocery chain in the Minneapolis-St Paul area. It serves a geographically large and diverse part of the city. It is "inner-city" by virtue of its' location and by the fact that a disproportionate number of neighborhood residents are poor.
If you attach explicit or implicit notions of "minorities" to the term, that is your mind-set, not mine. As for the customer base, I would say that about one-third is African American, One-third is Caucasian, and the other third an assortment which includes African Immigrants, Hmong, Hispanics, and Russian Immigrants. The workforce within the store closely mirrors those demographics.
The neighborhood abuts an area which is populated largely by college students, and another which has a sizable Jewish presence. The store draws customers from that entire region, which is why it provides a large variety of products from international foods, to traditional African American foods, to a very large seafood counter which includes fresh lobster tails selling at about $23.00 a pound.
Please examine your own biases before pretending to have insight into mine.
I submit that when you said "inner city," you surely knew what YOU were thinking, but i'm sure you had a good idea of what image others would get and i'm sure you were quite content to let that image stand. And one third Caucasian ISN'T any part of that image, i can assure you.
In any case, i appreciate that you cleared that up.
Geez...i'd certainly hope that you wouldn't wait until you were down to Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches before you'd ask for food help. I pay taxes and so do you...not to mention that you're a fellow American.
In any case, i can respect the fact that you have pride...and that's not a bad thing. I suppose that it would take a lot before i'd apply for food help too. Hope you find a new gig soon.
Thank You
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