Anonymous wrote:People in my neighborhood as a kid would sell food stamps (again before the EBT cards) and then buy liquor with the money.

I'm a pp (the checker who forgot to put the "food stamp eligible" on the soda.)
When I was working at the grocery store (mid-late 90s) the food stamps would come in a booklet in various denominations- $1, $5, $10, etc. Anything $5 and above, we had to actually watch them tear it out of the booklet. If they were owed change, it was given back in $1 food stamps (and then any coins were just regular coins.)
So if someone bought $6.35 in food and paid with a $10 food stamp, I'd have to watch them rip the food stamp out of their booklet, and then I'd give them three $1 food stamps, plus 65 cents in change.
They could then freely use those $1 food stamps without the cashiers having to verify anything.

We were told that there were "stings" where government employees would go undercover to make sure no grocery stores weren't following the rules. The grocery store could lose their privilege of participating in the program if there were violations. I don't know how common these "stings" were, or if they just said that to scare us.

Anonymous wrote:“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.“

Instantly thought of this. Yes, the rich get the most welfare, but they love that everyone else is fighting over the crumbs and they want to keep you distracted with the (tiny amounts within a budget) of welfare.

Anonymous wrote:Working class who are just barely making ends meet (but without assistance) are the most bitter toward welfare. I was raised by parents like this. So much disdain for welfare because they worked very hard are still only had barely enough for the same existence. Back when grocery stores started allowing credit cards in my childhood, my mom totally judged those people and told me that anyone who used a CC couldn’t afford their groceries. It’s funny how the world has changed.

This is still very true. People ranting about billionaires are missing the point. We have the working working classes who are doing what they have always been told: work hard, keep your head down, get on with life, and find themselves just barely making ends meet and always struggling with rising costs of living, and they see all around them the non working people who get various forms of welfare, vouchers or disability, and who work minimal hours and seem to end up in the same place as they do despite working much harder and trying to do the right thing. There's plenty of abuse of disability payments. If you're a progressive affluent person living in Bethesda, you have preciously little idea what really goes on in working class areas. There's a reason why we have both the lowest unemployment in modern history AND the lowest rate of participation in the labor force.

Then we do have frustrations with that many people on welfare seem to repeatedly make the same mistakes over and over again that perpetually keeps them on assistance.

No one hates poor people.

But, I do judge. I have a sister who is a partial quadriplegic. That means she has no use at all of her legs, and only partial use of her arms.

She can't get out of bed to get a drink of water. It's a huge effort.

But, she worked and supported herself throughout her life. She was never on any kind of public assistance. She's retired now and lives off her savings and social security.

Anonymous wrote:People are completely comfortable with the billions that the rich receive for welfare. They just hate poor people, so that's where all the anger is directed. Mad at the person getting $150/month in SNAP instead of the welfare/subsidies going to keep corporations afloat while the CEO's are paid record profits.

This!

Working class who are just barely making ends meet (but without assistance) are the most bitter toward welfare. I was raised by parents like this. So much disdain for welfare because they worked very hard are still only had barely enough for the same existence. Back when grocery stores started allowing credit cards in my childhood, my mom totally judged those people and told me that anyone who used a CC couldn’t afford their groceries. It’s funny how the world has changed.

People in my neighborhood as a kid would sell food stamps (again before the EBT cards) and then buy liquor with the money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. I assumed most cashiers are on some form of assistance too. They don't make livable wages to where they could survive without some form of help.

This feels like a troll post, though.

I don’t think it’s a troll post. I once had a cashier ask me, not the person in front of me, not the person behind me, but me if I was “paying with EBT”, at the time I had no idea what that was so asked him and he said “food stamps are you paying with govt food stamps”. I snorted and laughed out loud. And in my best got any grey poupon voice “No, I do not have an EBT card, but please do tell me where and how I can get one of those, food is expensive. Unbelievable you mean that the govt will give me a card with money on it and I can use it to buy food. I’d love one of those. Sign me up .”

Lol… I thought it was very amusing… and cute because I think the cashier was trying to put me in my place.

Maybe not--they may have just been trying to figure out how to ring up your purchase.

Many years ago (when there were still the paper food stamps that came in a booklet) I was a grocery store cashier. The store was in a wealthy area and I'd only get a customer using food stamps a few times a month, at most.

A customer came through my line (I was working the express line that day) with a bottle of soda (and a few other things.) For some reason, the 2 liter bottle of soda was not scanning. No big deal, that happens some times. I tried entering the UPC code, directly--system saying "not found."
It's the "express line"--other customers in line are starting to get impatient. I ask the customer if she noticed what price it said on the shelf, and she told me 99 cents.

Fine, so I manually enter the 99 cents and hit the "taxable grocery" (as opposed to produce or deli, etc.)

And then after I hit total she handed me the food stamps.

This was a problem, because (at least at the time) most "taxable grocery" items were NOT food stamp eligible. Soda definitely was eligible--so instead of just hitting "taxable grocery" there was an additional thing I should have entered for "food stamp eligible." But--I was in a hurry and feeling under pressure because the other customers were getting loudly impatient...and being that we rarely got food stamp customers it just didn't enter my mind at the time that she might be paying for the things with food stamps.
It was definitely my fault...but also not intentional in any way.

Anyway, maybe there was something specific about the item you were buying and the cashier knew he'd have to enter it a certain way if you were using food stamps.

Maybe people can't buy soda with food stamps? They are supposed to provide healthy nutrition, not sugary drinks, correct?

PP you quoted here.

No, you can buy soda with food stamps--at least you definitely could at that time, and in that state. You can buy candy. You can buy lobster and caviar.
You could also buy seeds/plants to grow food, but not flowers--except Sunflowers because you can eat sunflower seeds. I remember learning that you could buy things like bows and arrows with food stamps so you could hunt for food. Our store didn't sell bows and arrows so that never came up for me.

At the time (and in that state, California) you couldn't buy alcohol, hot prepared food (like fried chicken from the service deli)...and I think that was it. Just about everything edible was eligible. I believe they have changed the "hot prepared food" rule though, and even some restaurants can take EBT (food stamps.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. I assumed most cashiers are on some form of assistance too. They don't make livable wages to where they could survive without some form of help.

This feels like a troll post, though.

I don’t think it’s a troll post. I once had a cashier ask me, not the person in front of me, not the person behind me, but me if I was “paying with EBT”, at the time I had no idea what that was so asked him and he said “food stamps are you paying with govt food stamps”. I snorted and laughed out loud. And in my best got any grey poupon voice “No, I do not have an EBT card, but please do tell me where and how I can get one of those, food is expensive. Unbelievable you mean that the govt will give me a card with money on it and I can use it to buy food. I’d love one of those. Sign me up .”

Lol… I thought it was very amusing… and cute because I think the cashier was trying to put me in my place.

Maybe not--they may have just been trying to figure out how to ring up your purchase.

Many years ago (when there were still the paper food stamps that came in a booklet) I was a grocery store cashier. The store was in a wealthy area and I'd only get a customer using food stamps a few times a month, at most.

A customer came through my line (I was working the express line that day) with a bottle of soda (and a few other things.) For some reason, the 2 liter bottle of soda was not scanning. No big deal, that happens some times. I tried entering the UPC code, directly--system saying "not found."
It's the "express line"--other customers in line are starting to get impatient. I ask the customer if she noticed what price it said on the shelf, and she told me 99 cents.

Fine, so I manually enter the 99 cents and hit the "taxable grocery" (as opposed to produce or deli, etc.)

And then after I hit total she handed me the food stamps.

This was a problem, because (at least at the time) most "taxable grocery" items were NOT food stamp eligible. Soda definitely was eligible--so instead of just hitting "taxable grocery" there was an additional thing I should have entered for "food stamp eligible." But--I was in a hurry and feeling under pressure because the other customers were getting loudly impatient...and being that we rarely got food stamp customers it just didn't enter my mind at the time that she might be paying for the things with food stamps.
It was definitely my fault...but also not intentional in any way.

Anyway, maybe there was something specific about the item you were buying and the cashier knew he'd have to enter it a certain way if you were using food stamps.

Maybe people can't buy soda with food stamps? They are supposed to provide healthy nutrition, not sugary drinks, correct?

Did you read her post? In this case, soda was eligible. However, because it didn’t scan and she entered it as ‘taxable grocery’, it became ineligible to be bought with food stamps. That presented a problem and had she known food stamps would be used, there was another step she would’ve taken to ensure the soda remained eligible.

Go make your food stamps only entitle you to wheat germ and vegetable somewhere else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. I assumed most cashiers are on some form of assistance too. They don't make livable wages to where they could survive without some form of help.

This feels like a troll post, though.

What is enough to "survive?" I've worked very low wage jobs before. I "survived" but I lived a pretty meager life. The cheapest of food, no vacations ever, no cable (this was years before streaming services.) Tiny, cheap apartment in a bad neighborhood, shared with a roommate.

Oh, look, BS Right Wing talking points. Netflix! Starbucks! Avocado toast!

???????

Anonymous wrote:Americans take pride in you building oneself up while standing on the backs of others. Look at how we treat our elderly, how we treat those with disabilities, those living in poverty, etc..

Ah, yes, the United States is the only country the experiences this phenomenon.

Anonymous wrote:If you can convince yourself and others that the poor are fundamentally bad instead of just unlucky, you can reassure yourself that it won't happen to you and also that you don't have an obligation to help.

And that it can’t ever happen to you, because you think you’re “good.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. I assumed most cashiers are on some form of assistance too. They don't make livable wages to where they could survive without some form of help.

This feels like a troll post, though.

What is enough to "survive?" I've worked very low wage jobs before. I "survived" but I lived a pretty meager life. The cheapest of food, no vacations ever, no cable (this was years before streaming services.) Tiny, cheap apartment in a bad neighborhood, shared with a roommate.

Oh, look, BS Right Wing talking points. Netflix! Starbucks! Avocado toast!

I grew up in the Midwest in the 1970s, in the urban core. My mother was a SAHM. My father was self-employed. They struggled to make ends meet. When we went to the grocery store, my mother would sometimes comment after we left, how full the grocery carts would be of the people using food stamps (no EBT card at the time). And how they usually bought junk my mother couldn't afford to buy. And they had more children, sometimes in diapers and no shoes. And they would buy cigarettes. I think the buying of the cigarettes was the kicker. LoL. Lots of judgment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. I assumed most cashiers are on some form of assistance too. They don't make livable wages to where they could survive without some form of help.

This feels like a troll post, though.

I don’t think it’s a troll post. I once had a cashier ask me, not the person in front of me, not the person behind me, but me if I was “paying with EBT”, at the time I had no idea what that was so asked him and he said “food stamps are you paying with govt food stamps”. I snorted and laughed out loud. And in my best got any grey poupon voice “No, I do not have an EBT card, but please do tell me where and how I can get one of those, food is expensive. Unbelievable you mean that the govt will give me a card with money on it and I can use it to buy food. I’d love one of those. Sign me up .”

Lol… I thought it was very amusing… and cute because I think the cashier was trying to put me in my place.

Maybe not--they may have just been trying to figure out how to ring up your purchase.

Many years ago (when there were still the paper food stamps that came in a booklet) I was a grocery store cashier. The store was in a wealthy area and I'd only get a customer using food stamps a few times a month, at most.

A customer came through my line (I was working the express line that day) with a bottle of soda (and a few other things.) For some reason, the 2 liter bottle of soda was not scanning. No big deal, that happens some times. I tried entering the UPC code, directly--system saying "not found."
It's the "express line"--other customers in line are starting to get impatient. I ask the customer if she noticed what price it said on the shelf, and she told me 99 cents.

Fine, so I manually enter the 99 cents and hit the "taxable grocery" (as opposed to produce or deli, etc.)

And then after I hit total she handed me the food stamps.

This was a problem, because (at least at the time) most "taxable grocery" items were NOT food stamp eligible. Soda definitely was eligible--so instead of just hitting "taxable grocery" there was an additional thing I should have entered for "food stamp eligible." But--I was in a hurry and feeling under pressure because the other customers were getting loudly impatient...and being that we rarely got food stamp customers it just didn't enter my mind at the time that she might be paying for the things with food stamps.
It was definitely my fault...but also not intentional in any way.

Anyway, maybe there was something specific about the item you were buying and the cashier knew he'd have to enter it a certain way if you were using food stamps.