How does public assistance (welfare) work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can buy cold food in Dc with foodstamps.I was in line for the 3 dollar sandwich deal and over heard the lady on foodstamps trying to get prepared food. The clerk behind the counter told her that sushi was the only prepared food she could get for lunch. So my collegues and I got the 3 dollar sandwich deal while the welfare person got 15 dollars of sushi. Sound fair?

Yes, it does sound fair. If you or your colleague wanted sushi, you could have bought sushi. Surely there wasn't a rule at that store that only welfare recipients could buy sushi. And if she got $15 worth of sushi, that means $15 of her food money for the month was spent.

[Anonymous]

Which means that the money was poorly spent. $15 could buy a loaf or two of bread, cheese, mayo, ham/turkey, etc. This would've lasted a lot longer than sushi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can buy cold food in Dc with foodstamps.I was in line for the 3 dollar sandwich deal and over heard the lady on foodstamps trying to get prepared food. The clerk behind the counter told her that sushi was the only prepared food she could get for lunch. So my collegues and I got the 3 dollar sandwich deal while the welfare person got 15 dollars of sushi. Sound fair?

Yes, it does sound fair. If you or your colleague wanted sushi, you could have bought sushi.

Maybe not. Maybe that PP got the $3 sandwich because she only had $3, not $15...because you know, the pp probably had other things she had to pay for like rent/mortgage, electric bill, etc...things the foodstamp recipient doesn't buy with her foodstamps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If posters say this type of support is temporary, why are some people on it their whole lives?

That is the million dollar question? Can some of you who are so quick to defend these type of welfare recipients explain this one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, the "welfare person" had to eat something she didn't want because of some stupid rule. I only eat sushi in Japan; here I don't think it's safe.

Or the welfare person could've got off her lazy ass and bought bread, sandwich meat and cheese to make one.

[Anonymous]

They can buy sushi because they have subsidized housing check out these luxary units http://www.thomasjeffersoninst.org/article.php?article_id=2229

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, the "welfare person" had to eat something she didn't want because of some stupid rule. I only eat sushi in Japan; here I don't think it's safe.

Or the welfare person could've got off her lazy ass and bought bread, sandwich meat and cheese to make one.

Yup. Sounds like a great plan to me. Also while the "welfare person" is out picking up these items perhaps she could also pick up a job application.

Tired of all this coddling on these threads about welfare recipients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience working with families who receive welfare, those that are generational or life long welfare recipients (grew up on welfare, on welfare as an adult) often have a very poor understanding of money / budgeting and very limited financial management skills. It is often important to them to use the money they have to be generous and kind and to do things for others. They buy gifts, take friends and family out for meals etc as part of being caring, considerate giving people. They don't want to stand out as the poor people who never contribute or never do anything nice for others. The problem is this comes at the expense of the rest of the month. One family I worked with always brought me a gift each month to show their appreciation and after paying a few bills, spent the rest on gifts for others. By the 3rd or 4th of the month they had $0 left for the rest of the month.

OP - regardless of how they spend the money they get a set amount so it is costing the same tax wise - they don't get more each month if they spent the money on gifts.

I don't have any personal experience in receiving welfare, foodstamps, etc., however, I do have experience in seeing that those in need receive this assistance. Frankly, OP, your comments make me want to slap you. In this economy, when so many people have lost everything, very few families that I have seen are "generations of long welfare recipients." I suppose you think poor families have no right to food, shelter, any form of material happiness. You and OP are class AAA assholes and one day you may need help and you'd better hope that you have a case worker who is more like me than you.

Also stop judging people and their situations.

OP, for your information, Food stamps are good to buy any kind of food. This includes meat, vegebles, fruit, canned and frozen foods. Food stamps cannot be used to buy paper productsi, e.g., paper towels, toliet tissue, sanitary napkins or tampons for females. I suppose the two of you with your high six-figure income would like them to use their hands in lieu of toilet tissue, the hem of their sleev or dress to wipe their nose, and find free newspapers to use for women's hygeine products.

OP, it is truly none of your fucking business how this woman spends her food stamps. Poor as she may be, she obviously, has a generouis heart and spirit and wants to share her very limited good fortune with others. Apparently, this is not something with which you are familiar.

I have had clients who have worked hard all their lives but lost their jobs, then their homes, and one woman (who was in exec. management,) job was cut and she could find nothing else. Not even flipping burgers because she is too well educated and it was believed that she would continue looking and would leave when she found a better job, which, of course, she would have done, was living in her station wagon with an 11 yr. old boy and 5-yr old male twins. Her ex was nowhere to be found. Her story is the norm these days. Be careful, because it could happen to you and do not think for single moment that it could not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They can buy sushi because they have subsidized housing check out these luxary units http://www.thomasjeffersoninst.org/article.php?article_id=2229

PP here with the cousin on welfare and her multiple children. She now lives in her second, 6 bedroom $800,000 home, in one of the most sought after neighborhoods. (not in the DMV area)
Why second you ask? Because she got evicted from the first almost million dollar home she was so generously given to live in by the government. I am not kidding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[


Also while the "welfare person" is out picking up these items perhaps she could also pick up a job application.

Could she pick up some experience and some references at the deli? Or maybe a contact with a hiring manager? If you're ever out of a job and down on your luck, don't count on buying one at the sandwich counter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That is the million dollar question? Can some of you who are so quick to defend these type of welfare recipients explain this one?

Why are you posting the same question over and over again without reading the thread? Several people have answered this one.

[Anonymous]

I am the OP and I work very hard to get by. I am a single parent who rarely gets child support so I am on my own most of the time. I am not wealthy or entitled. I work hard for what little I have. It bothers me that people who are given gov't help squander that help. The mom has already talked about where she would like to have her son's bday party. My son's party has only ever been at our house with a few family and friends. I cannot afford to rent out a location and have lots of people attend. But she can. With other people's money. Yes, it does bother me. I understand that plenty of people find themselves in need of assistance and one day, that could easily be me. But I sure as hell wouldn't waste this assistance of unnecessary stuff like presents for classmates and birthday parties. I worked a lot of overtime to pay for some XMAS gifts that my son wanted. Some of my hard work will go to providing her son with a bday party that my child will never have. This mom is obviously intelligent enough to find her way into a decent school system but there is no expectation that she will ever need to work. This bothers me. I donate some money to certain charities that I know go to help people help themselves. I was always taught that "God helps those who help themselves" so forgive my bitterness for not understanding how this system is going to expect anything of this family for the help they are currently receiving. Perhaps I should pray for understanding but I'm not feeling it now.

[Anonymous]

All gov assistance should end and then maybe the illegals would be pushed out of Mcdonald like jobs. Only in the Usa where poor people feel like they are owed a single family unit where as illegals live many to 1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I work very hard to get by. I am a single parent who rarely gets child support so I am on my own most of the time. I am not wealthy or entitled. I work hard for what little I have. It bothers me that people who are given gov't help squander that help. The mom has already talked about where she would like to have her son's bday party. My son's party has only ever been at our house with a few family and friends. I cannot afford to rent out a location and have lots of people attend. But she can. With other people's money. Yes, it does bother me. I understand that plenty of people find themselves in need of assistance and one day, that could easily be me. But I sure as hell wouldn't waste this assistance of unnecessary stuff like presents for classmates and birthday parties. I worked a lot of overtime to pay for some XMAS gifts that my son wanted. Some of my hard work will go to providing her son with a bday party that my child will never have. This mom is obviously intelligent enough to find her way into a decent school system but there is no expectation that she will ever need to work. This bothers me. I donate some money to certain charities that I know go to help people help themselves. I was always taught that "God helps those who help themselves" so forgive my bitterness for not understanding how this system is going to expect anything of this family for the help they are currently receiving. Perhaps I should pray for understanding but I'm not feeling it now.

Yes this is the original intent but the generational welfare recipients out number the ones in need, rlthe government shouldn't be the one giving the assistance it should be chruches or other charity organizations where oversight of money spent happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can buy cold food in Dc with foodstamps.I was in line for the 3 dollar sandwich deal and over heard the lady on foodstamps trying to get prepared food. The clerk behind the counter told her that sushi was the only prepared food she could get for lunch. So my collegues and I got the 3 dollar sandwich deal while the welfare person got 15 dollars of sushi. Sound fair?

Yes, it does sound fair. If you or your colleague wanted sushi, you could have bought sushi.

Maybe not. Maybe that PP got the $3 sandwich because she only had $3, not $15...because you know, the pp probably had other things she had to pay for like rent/mortgage, electric bill, etc...things the foodstamp recipient doesn't buy with her foodstamps.

And it's the PP's choice to have a mortgage. If she is envious of welfare recipients who she believes are living the high life with their sushi and bill-free living, she is free to quit her job and live it up on assistance.