Can your child be starving and fat at the same time?

[Anonymous]

Right, PP, but somebody is waiting those tables in Key West, aren't they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's amazing to me how nosy some of you are. I can't remember an occasion when I made note of how someone was paying for their purchase, much less scan their purchases for nutrional content. Entirely TOO much time on your hands.

Often the person paying for their purchases with Food Stamps is making such a big deal about it, it's hard to miss. Scan this, no take that one off, okay scan this, take those off and it's always followed up with an argument about why they can't buy some non-taxable item with the card. It's a little hard to miss, unless of coarse you live in Bethesda/Potomac or some area where people with food stamps don't tend to shop. Those of us who shop at inner city groceries stores are very familiar with the scene and pray that the person in front of isn't paying with Food Stamps so we're not stuck in line for an hour.

[Anonymous]

As far as working a blue collar job and living in expensive areas, that's just plain stupid, no other excuse-stupid. Ive been on a waiters income and would never say "hey, why don't I move somewhere I can't afford, that sounds like a great idea!!! Let's go." If you are a waiter trying to support a family in Key West, maybe you sould think of heading to Jacksonville instead where the rent is cheaper, there is not a huge income variance for waiting tables in middle class or rich areas. This is the same reason I don't live in DC, I can't afford it-duh. So I live in the burbs where I can afford it. If my income were double, then I could afford double the mortgage and live closer in.

Wow - great insight. Poor people have a lot of choices on where they should live, and if only they would choose cheap areas, these stupid people would no longer be poor.

If only you were running for president - perhaps you have an equally insightful solution for world peace!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As far as working a blue collar job and living in expensive areas, that's just plain stupid, no other excuse-stupid. Ive been on a waiters income and would never say "hey, why don't I move somewhere I can't afford, that sounds like a great idea!!! Let's go." If you are a waiter trying to support a family in Key West, maybe you sould think of heading to Jacksonville instead where the rent is cheaper, there is not a huge income variance for waiting tables in middle class or rich areas. This is the same reason I don't live in DC, I can't afford it-duh. So I live in the burbs where I can afford it. If my income were double, then I could afford double the mortgage and live closer in.

Wow - great insight. Poor people have a lot of choices on where they should live, and if only they would choose cheap areas, these stupid people would no longer be poor.

If only you were running for president - perhaps you have an equally insightful solution for world peace!

I'm not the person that posted the first statement, but i have to agree. If you're taking home so much money.. you don't end up living in major cities or driving new cars. I didn't for years when I was just starting out. If you're only making $1000 per month, like the writer was at some point, do you rent a nice apartment in a "good area" for $1100 or do you find a roommate situation? I part up with many a pain in the a$$ roommate for years till I could afford my own place. At one point, a relative of a friend offers her a room, and she turns it down! If I am poor and struggling and someone says, come rent a room for cheap till you get on your feet, guess what? I'm going to move in with the person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As far as working a blue collar job and living in expensive areas, that's just plain stupid, no other excuse-stupid. Ive been on a waiters income and would never say "hey, why don't I move somewhere I can't afford, that sounds like a great idea!!! Let's go." If you are a waiter trying to support a family in Key West, maybe you sould think of heading to Jacksonville instead where the rent is cheaper, there is not a huge income variance for waiting tables in middle class or rich areas. This is the same reason I don't live in DC, I can't afford it-duh. So I live in the burbs where I can afford it. If my income were double, then I could afford double the mortgage and live closer in.

Wow - great insight. Poor people have a lot of choices on where they should live, and if only they would choose cheap areas, these stupid people would no longer be poor.

If only you were running for president - perhaps you have an equally insightful solution for world peace!

If I were running for president stupid people who get themselves into financial messes and including those with equally idiotic loans on home they cannot afford would not be bailed out by the US government. EVERYONE has a choice of where they live. If you are wating tables or cleaning houses, there are jobs everywhere. Again, it is idiotic to live in a high rent district on a low rent income, this is not a difficult concept to grasp. If there were no one in Key West to do these jobs then the pay would automatically increase to attact more people to fill these roles, that's why it's called a market driven economy. I've been on the edge before and now I'm not because of smart choices, including not birthing children I cannot support, taking out loans to get an education, and living within my means no matter how paltry my income and always looking to achieve more-an apparant novel concept.

Sigh...the growing culture of victimhood. Maybe we should reintroduce Emerson's writings into the education system.

[Anonymous]

PPs clearly do NOT understand poverty and are so thoroughly middle class that they are sure that all of the opportunities and choices that they have had in their lives are available to all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PPs clearly do NOT understand poverty and are so thoroughly middle class that they are sure that all of the opportunities and choices that they have had in their lives are available to all.

Oh but they are, they really are. It all depends on how you look upon life, and the options that are truly available. If you feel that there is something you can not obtain, you will never have it.

I remember being so poor I couldn't afford to take the bus. I would walk three miles a day to get to and from work, where I only made six bucks an hour. I was on my own, renting out a bedroom in a basement, 1500 miles from my family. I had chosen to move away, because there were better opportunities. I didn't have to work as a waitress any more, making just $2.10+ tips, in an area economically depresses, and no one tipped.

When I moved, I ate nothing but Bean and Cheese burritos because they had dairy and protien. I would put salsa on top, for some vegetables. This was what I could afford, and I figured it was much better than some of the other options out there.

I also saved, and saved, and saved. Meanwhile I worked my way up at the six dollar job, and after a year and a half, I was making $9.50. I still didn't own a car, decided the bus was a waste of money, and I just saved some more.

A boyfriend then offered me his car. He had a work truck, and didn't need his car. He said that with his car, I could get a better job, one that paid more. He was right, and after a while I was able to purchase my own car.

My point is, if I hadn't been determined, than I never would have succeeded. I took risks, and they were not always calculated, but I figured it wouldn't put me in a worse situation. The great thing about American, is there are opportunities out there for everyone. We have to remind ourselves of that, and never say there is something we can't do, as there is always a way.

[Anonymous]

Laughing at the Barbara E haters, especially at the review one person posted. She LIVES in Key West, that's why she took her first jobs there. She chose Maine for its whiteness. She chose Minnesota for its then-liberal welfare policies. And she avoided CA not because she's a bigot but because in Key West she learned that a white woman who spoke English was steered into different jobs than Latinas were. Yes, she can be annoying, and she's too far left for me. But it is a rather eye-opening book for those who think it's easy to live on minimum wage.