| Posted by | Message |
Beer Bryant 
Alabama Fan
In a Hidden Bunker
Member since Jan 2012
4466 posts
| Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:10 am)
A lengthy – 3,500 word – anguished expose on the front page of Sunday’s Washington Post, “Hungering for a new month to begin,” about how people in Woonsocket, Rhode Island race to the grocery stores on the first of the month to spend their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment, yet run out of food long before the month ends, didn’t offer a word about President Obama’s responsibility for the poor economy.
Deep in it, however, reporter Eli Saslow undermined his case when he sympathetically cited “a series of exhausting, fractional decisions” a couple with two toddlers face over having to choose between food “or the $75 they owed the tattoo parlor.”
http://www.mrc.org/biasalerts/washington-post-despairs-parents-toddlers-forced-choose-between-food-andtattoos
|
| Back to top | Share on  |
Jbird 
Iowa Fan
Odramaville with EthanL
Member since Oct 2012
4864 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:13 am to Beer Bryant)
Prototypical Obama voters. 
|
| Back to top | |
CITWTT 
LSU Fan
baton rouge
Member since Sep 2005
25081 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:19 am to Beer Bryant)
WTF? These people should be sterilized NOW, and banned from ever getting tattoos til they have the rest of thier life choices in complete control.
|
| Back to top | |
GumboPot
LSU Fan
Saints Fan
Member since Mar 2009
17345 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:19 am to Beer Bryant)
The welfare money shouldn't be doled out monthly. It should be doled out daily in smaller but proportional increments. This can be done easily now with electronic accounts. This should cut down on welfare recipients purchasing nonsense and running out of food money at the end of the month.
|
| Back to top | |
Eighteen
LSU Fan
Member since Dec 2006
15492 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:27 am to Beer Bryant)
one of my friends mom who's a pharmacist tweeted this the other day...it sums up pretty quickly what's wrong with some of America's "poor" these days
quote:
I had a welfare woman cry to me bc she couldn't afford the $3 copay. She was holding an iPhone!
|
| Back to top | |
jcole4lsu 
Virginia Fan
The Kwisatz Haderach
Member since Nov 2007
21809 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:34 am to Beer Bryant)
read the comments of the original article. we are fricked, folks. everyone has a bleeding heart and thinks this couple is "doing the best they can".
what a load of shite. heres an idea: when on welfare dont get inked. heres another novelty: dont have kids until you can afford them.
|
| Back to top | |
constant cough 
New Orleans Saints Fan
Lafayette
Member since Jun 2007
28319 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:37 am to Jbird)
quote:
Prototypical Obama voters.
|
| Back to top | |
Taxing Authority
LSU Fan
Houston
Member since Feb 2010
16707 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:44 am to Beer Bryant)
quote:
Deep in it, however, reporter Eli Saslow undermined his case when he sympathetically cited “a series of exhausting, fractional decisions” a couple with two toddlers face over having to choose between food “or the $75 they owed the tattoo parlor.”
Poverty in America is a myth.
|
| Back to top | |
Bmath
LSU Fan
TX
Member since Aug 2010
2867 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:55 am to Beer Bryant)
The sad thing this type of behavior is prevalent in all facets of society.
The broke college kid calls up his parents to get more lunch money, and then proceeds to blow half of it on beer.
People only get angry about those abusing government handouts, but the truth is it is a problem everywhere.
Perhaps it is marketing, or simply trying to keep up with the Joneses. However, living above ones means and building debt has sadly become the new America.
|
| Back to top | |
SlowFlowPro 
Stanford Fan
Equality is a circle, not a =
Member since Jan 2004
263301 posts
 Online
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:56 am to Bmath)
quote:
The sad thing this type of behavior is prevalent in all facets of society.
absolutely agree. pushing finances to the limit isn't even limited to the "lower class mentality" as i call it
plenty of $30k/$100k millionaires running around
|
| Back to top | |
jonboy
LSU Fan
Member since Sep 2003
2184 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:00 am to SlowFlowPro)
If they can't afford a free $500 a month food budget, then they just waste money. People like this don't need welfare - they need Dave Ramsey. 
|
| Back to top | |
jcole4lsu
Virginia Fan
The Kwisatz Haderach
Member since Nov 2007
21809 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:04 am to Bmath)
quote:
People only get angry about those abusing government handouts
well yeah, they are the ones getting money directly from my pocket.
if the neighbor is living above their means its really not my problem if they arent getting a monthly tax payer provided stipend.
|
| Back to top | |
SlowFlowPro
Stanford Fan
Equality is a circle, not a =
Member since Jan 2004
263301 posts
Online
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:05 am to jonboy)
quote:
If they can't afford a free $500 a month food budget, then they just waste money. People like this don't need welfare - they need Dave Ramsey
a comment from the original article
quote:
Aston1234
3/19/2013 1:03 PM CDT
I truly feel badly for folks trying to survive on SNAP, and I am not trying to be critical, but why does the family in the story have 2 cell phones for $110/month, and they are renting a car for over $320/month? I'm not saying you have to starve on food stamps, but $500/month for 2 adults and 2 small kids is a lot. I am in that situation and out grocery bills (including non-food items) total no more than $350--and we pay ourselves. We buy bulk chicken, rice, beans, canned goods, bulk oatmeal, fruit, and eat a lot of casseroles, pasta with veggies, and crock pot meals. Most if it is made from scratch, which is a huge savings. We do not eat junk food snacks (chips, sodas, sweets) nor red meat. Why is she giving her kids expensive string cheese when they could eat fresh fruit? And fast food? Forget it!!! Sorry if the kids want it but it's bad for them and really expensive...who's in control here? The parents or the kids? I get it that some people want to load up their carts with red meat, deli meats, etc. but no wonder your food won't last? Buy a 10 lb. ham or a $5 lb chicken for $1.19/lb, cook it, use it or freeze it. Way cheaper than $4.99/lb lunch meat or hamburger. It's just frustrating to see people who are wasting money when they do not have to. I'd like to eat shrimp every day or fish, too, but it isn't happening. at least try to be better stewards with the money.
|
| Back to top | |
Puck82
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2009
5445 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:09 am to Bmath)
quote:
People only get angry about those abusing government handouts, but the truth is it is a problem everywhere.
Well yeah. I don't care what someone does with their own money. It's money they worked for.
|
| Back to top | |
SlowFlowPro
Stanford Fan
Equality is a circle, not a =
Member since Jan 2004
263301 posts
Online
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:12 am to Puck82)
holy shite this is one of the greatest comments ever (from the original article, again)
quote:
It's very obvious that the writer of this article did not thorougly do their research before having this put to print. I am a Woonsocket resident and most of the blame of this problem is due to our local politicians who have done away with several large major retailors, who have closed up and moved elsewhere because of our Mayor and the City Council. Within the last year and a half, we have lost Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Staples , thus costing local area residents their jobs and thereby forcing them to go on public assistance in order to get by.
so this liberal is disowning "mom and pop" shops while pimping Walmart? WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!!??!?!
|
| Back to top | |
Bmath
LSU Fan
TX
Member since Aug 2010
2867 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:14 am to jcole4lsu)
quote:
well yeah, they are the ones getting money directly from my pocket.
I understand that. My point is that we have a cultural issue in this country.
For example, I ventured over to the outdoor board yesterday. There was a thread about how much does one spend on their outdoor hobbies such as fishing and hunting. Quite a few were talking about spending $10k or more each year.
Then each of them proceeded to talk about how broke they were as a result of it. How many of us do this with other things in our life?
|
| Back to top | |
Papercutninja
LSU Fan
Baton Rouge
Member since Feb 2010
362 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:34 am to Beer Bryant)
There has been a sharp uptick in what is considered societal necessities. The idea that a poor person is supposed to do without is now considered racist or classist.
I have several liberal friends who post these Facebook statuses about how people should mind their own business with regard to how the poor spend their money. They claim that there is a stereotype regarding the poor and that when we are critical of them we further marginalize them from our society.
If you have cable, a cell, and internet access at your home, you are not allowed to complain about money. The inability to prioritize has lead to their poor decision making their entire lives and now its society's role to make it all better.
Pathetic.
|
| Back to top | |
tylercsbn9 
USA Fan
Tomball, TX
Member since Feb 2004
51581 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:55 am to jonboy)
quote:
If they can't afford a free $500 a month food budget, then they just waste money. People like this don't need welfare - they need Dave Ramsey.
That's the thing that really chaps my ass. They get sooooo much money in these programs. The comment SFP highlighted is dead on to me as well. I spend about $350 a month. It's not fricking hard to budget.
|
| Back to top | |
Champagne
New Orleans Saints Fan
French and Spanish Empire Border
Member since Oct 2007
7917 posts
Online
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:58 am to Beer Bryant)
Obviously, we need FedGov to take greater control over the "government largesse industry" in this country in order to ensure that we don't have poor people starving to death in the streets.
Individual states have mucked things up for long enough. With total FedGov control, we can make FDR's Dream of the New Bill of Rights a reality.
We need to provide at least 50 percent of our income to FedGov. We won't miss the money, because FedGov will provide SO MANY services to us, such as free healthcare.
|
| Back to top | |
Beer Bryant
Alabama Fan
In a Hidden Bunker
Member since Jan 2012
4466 posts
| re: Post Despairs Parents of Toddlers Forced to Choose Between Food & Tattoos (Posted on 3/20/13 at 11:43 am to SlowFlowPro)
I eat that way regardless of how much money I have or don't have. Grew up on beans, pasta, rice, etc. It's good for ya. The staple supper around my neighborhood growing up was Beans, Taters, & Cornbread. Still love it. Of course, most people had a small garden too. But, you are allowed to buy vegetable seeds and plants with Food Stamps. I think that's a pretty good idea.
|
| Back to top | |
