Food stamp benefits

[Colleen27]

I'm curious-what do you mean by designer clothing? True designer clothing doesn't usually have logos, etc. so how could you tell it was designer clothing? Could it have been fake like a fake coach bag?

Usually, the "designer" clothing people rant about FS recipients wearing is designers like Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, RocaWear... The ugly (IMO) stuff with the brand name plastered all over it that you can find in abundance in any thrift shop in a middle class area. Not true designer, just a step or two above Wrangler or Levis. Just like those "high dollar" manicures are usually $20 acrylics from the shop where none of the techs speak English, not a high-quality salon job.

 

[allison443]

Even if it was not a fake no one knows where they got the item from. Perhaps they bought it before hard times hit. Perhaps it was a gift or maybe they bought it at a thrift store. You can find very expensive items at thrift stores for really cheap at times. Unless you know someones whole walk in life you should not be making assumptions about them.

I agree with you, that's why I questioned that in my post. Like someone else said, true designer clothes are like $1000 for a skirt, and I and most others I bet (including the cashier making the judgments) would not recognize it without the label. However, that poster was criticizing food stamp users for wearing designer clothing and I wondered what her frame of reference was for said designer clothing.

 

[allison443]

Usually, the "designer" clothing people rant about FS recipients wearing is designers like Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, RocaWear... The ugly (IMO) stuff with the brand name plastered all over it that you can find in abundance in any thrift shop in a middle class area. Not true designer, just a step or two above Wrangler or Levis. Just like those "high dollar" manicures are usually $20 acrylics from the shop where none of the techs speak English, not a high-quality salon job.

agreed.

 

[livie1205]

Yes there are people that abuse the system I will agree but comments like this really irritate me. Yes, I am on food stamps because I lost my job and I am a single mom of 2 girls. This is a temporary situation for me. I am sure that if you were behind me in the grocery store then you would say the same thing about me. I dress nicely, drive a nice car and yes I carry a coach purse. My girls are always dressed well.
You know what?? I purchased these things when I was working. I had no idea that my place of employment was going to close their doors and we would all be unemployed. Also, I shop at thrift stores and I am blessed that I have some great friends and family that give great gifts.
So please don't jump to conclusions. Would you like to walk in my shoes for a day? I would love to be working and off foodstamps and yes I am working (very hard) to get another job so that I can take care of my kids.

Another side note about eligibiltiy: My friend is a single mom and her husband up and left. No $$ nothing. She is in the process of filing childsupport. She has been out of work for over a year. Yes, she has sent out over 100 resumes and nothing. The unemployment rate here is over 10%. She is worried because she needs to pay for daycare so she can work. And she only gets $16 a month (yes you read that right) for the 2 of them.

I learned that no matter what you think of me while using my foodstamp card doesn't matter. I am doing what I NEED to do to take care of my children.

So please... as others have stated please don't judge someone using foodstamps by the way they look.

I hope I am reading this wrong, you have a trip in 45 days? I am sorry if you have to get food stamps and truly need them but I would hope you are using trip money to help with your income....I am sorry if I have read this wrong but that is what it looks like.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I hope I am reading this wrong, you have a trip in 45 days? I am sorry if you have to get food stamps and truly need them but I would hope you are using trip money to help with your income....I am sorry if I have read this wrong but that is what it looks like.

a gift?

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I would agree that you can't tell by sight whether someone deserves a benefit or not. That is stupid.

However, you can regulate the contents of a cart. Or at least the contents that are paid for by the tax payers. Frankly, everyone "deserves" treats. But I know too many trying to put the basics on the table from their own budgets, to care whether someone not even paying for them can buy them.

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Hey, I love Tommy Hilfiger! It's very well made and believe it or not, many things do not have the word Tommy Hilfiger written on it. I wear these clothes almost every day to work. In fact, I consider Tommy and Ralph my own personal friends.

 

[MrsPooh]

I do have to comment about someone on food stamps and going to Disney. When I was sick and unable to work dh lost his job about the same time. We were broke and barely getting by. We did have a trip scheduled to Disney. My parents took all of the extended family. It did not cost us - my family wanted us along so they helped cover extra expenses like giving my kids spending money, etc. A few months after our trip was when we had to file for food stamp benefits.

This is another one of those cases where it is hard not to judge others but things are not always as them seem.

 

[C.Ann]

What the working poor are buying varies considerably from place to place and situation to situation, though. Most of the working poor I know eat a LOT of processed and packaged foods, because they're working long hours while trying to be effective/involved parents, and cooking from scratch is one of the first things to give when there is a time crunch. Urban poverty looks very different from rural poverty that way - poor because you're unemployed lends itself to cooking and gardening and other money saving endeavors much more readily than poor because you're working two jobs but the cost of living is so high that you still can't make ends meet. And poor with two parents in the home is very different from poor as a single parent.

I agree who are we to tell people what they can and can not feed their families. Some of those people buying prime rib etc. are buying it on sale as many of us on these boards do. I buy most of my groceries on sale to save money. I do not use very many coupons anymore as they are for brand name things and I can get store brands much cheaper than I can brand names even with coupons unless the brand name is on sale.

I suppose next people on this thread will be telling those in debt and or those that do not pay a certain amount in taxes what they should or should not be allowed to buy as well.

I agree I do not like the abuses either but as someone else posted if you know someone abusing the system report them and do not lump everyone together. Many people on food stamps would much rather not be on them and are hard working Americans.

I do have to comment about someone on food stamps and going to Disney. When I was sick and unable to work dh lost his job about the same time. We were broke and barely getting by. We did have a trip scheduled to Disney. My parents took all of the extended family. It did not cost us - my family wanted us along so they helped cover extra expenses like giving my kids spending money, etc. A few months after our trip was when we had to file for food stamp benefits.

This is another one of those cases where it is hard not to judge others but things are not always as them seem.

And if you posted that here, I'm 100% sure no one would have believed you.. People can no more tell "who" paid for your trip than they can tell if your "designer" clothes were bought in a thrift store..

I'm glad you got to go on your trip and I'm sure it made your parents extremely happy to be able to do this very nice thing for you during an otherwise difficult time.. You can't place a dollar amount on time spent together as a family - while those family members are still alive..

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I agree. We took my sis when things got hard in their life.

Eta should have quoted mrspooh.

 

[kbeverina]

I might be a rusted pot... but I'm not the black kettle. I don't recieve food stamps, unemployment, or any other assistance. We make it work with the money we have. And I've never even applied for it.

Didn't you say on this thread that you were intentionally not working because you were applying for subsidized housing?


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2031116


Maybe you should be less judgmental of the rest of your family.

 

[emh1129]

a gift?

Yes, that was my first thought, too.

 

[C.Ann]

Yes, that was my first thought, too.

And not totally out of the realm of possibility.. Many times truth is stanger than fiction..

 

[Colleen27]

I hope I am reading this wrong, you have a trip in 45 days? I am sorry if you have to get food stamps and truly need them but I would hope you are using trip money to help with your income....I am sorry if I have read this wrong but that is what it looks like.

There's no way to know who is paying for that trip, though. My mom took my whole family to Disney as a birthday gift to my DD. My inlaws took the kids as a potty-training reward for the same DD. We treated my mom to a trip just because, when she was caring for my grandmother and struggling financially and emotionally with the strain of the situation. I've seen enough posts from other people doing the same here on the DIS to think of giving a Disney trip as a gift as unusual any more.

 

[C.Ann]

There's no way to know who is paying for that trip, though. My mom took my whole family to Disney as a birthday gift to my DD. My inlaws took the kids as a potty-training reward for the same DD. We treated my mom to a trip just because, when she was caring for my grandmother and struggling financially and emotionally with the strain of the situation. I've seen enough posts from other people doing the same here on the DIS to think of giving a Disney trip as a gift as unusual any more.

In December of 2006, I took my DD, her DH, and my DGD on an all expense paid trip to Disney to fulfill my late DH's dying wish..

It's not nearly as "rare" as some here seem to believe..

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Ok... this gets my vote for "Creepiest Thread of the Year"

Didn't you say on this thread that you were intentionally not working because you were applying for subsidized housing?


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2031116


Maybe you should be less judgmental of the rest of your family.

 

[crashbb]

To each his own and I'm not at all saying that I don't believe the stories, but if I had a family member that was on (or about to apply for) government assistance, I'd help with rent/mortgage or food money rather than send them/take them to WDW.

If I found myself in the need of assistance and a family member offered, I'd take financial help for my living situation rather than a trip to WDW, as well.

 

[livie1205]

To each his own and I'm not at all saying that I don't believe the stories, but if I had a family member that was on (or about to apply for) government assistance, I'd help with rent/mortgage or food money rather than send them/take them to WDW.

If I found myself in the need of assistance and a family member offered, I'd take financial help for my living situation rather than a trip to WDW, as well.

That was my thought also...if my family knew I was having that much trouble they would buy my food not a trip to wdw.I just think everytime people get called on something like that it turns out to be a gift...it is on here all the time...it is hard to buy it every time.I hate that she has to get food stamps but a trip to wdw is not going to help.It is awful to see people having a hard time, I hate it.

 

[vroomagain]

I think it is likely that the person just forgot about their ticker.

 

[Colleen27]

That was my thought also...if my family knew I was having that much trouble they would buy my food not a trip to wdw.I just think everytime people get called on something like that it turns out to be a gift...it is on here all the time...it is hard to buy it every time.I hate that she has to get food stamps but a trip to wdw is not going to help.It is awful to see people having a hard time, I hate it.

Not everyone thinks that way, though. One side of our family is that way. They think nothing of giving expensive gifts (seriously expensive - a late-model used pickup truck, AKL CL Disney trip, college funds for the kids, etc.), but there is a line and they absolutely believe that the necessities are 100% our responsibility (and I don't disagree). For someone who felt that way, the choice wouldn't be paying for a Disney trip vs buying food, because they want to give a gift to be enjoyed, not support an adult relative.