What’s Wrong With This Picture?

… so there’s been a pretty heated conversation going on between Jen512 and my buddy The Goober about healthcare. If you’re up for it, you can read it HERE.

I was going to post my episode recaps for Project Runway and Top Chef but I think this topic is a little more important.

NOTE: Just let me set the records straight before I go on my tirade. I am not a liberal.. conservative.. Democrat.. Republican.. a sheep.. or a lion. I am just someone who tries to live right.. tries to provide for my family and loves my country. I don’t trust politicians OR the judicial system for that matter so please don’t think that I have a hidden agenda or am just spewing what I hear from someone else. I keep an open mind about everything and am the first one to google something I don’t understand before I form an opinion about it.

With that said…

Before I met Chief, I had very little :: okay, NONE :: experience with my state’s welfare system. I grew up in I guess you could say a lower-middle class :: or high lower class :: neighborhood where no one really knew they didn’t have anything because we had what we needed :: food on the table, roof over our heads, etc. :: and everyone was basically in the same position that my family was.

We went to Catholic school, went to college and then went to work. We got married.. bought cars and houses and didn’t have any of the drama that you routinely hear about on the news on in the paper.

When I met Chief, he was a working as a chef for a ridiculously high end caterer :: they wouldn’t do a wedding unless the price tag was a minimum of 50 grand :: but was making half of what I was making an hour. In fact, he was making less then an entry level position for the company that I worked for.  He was trying to raise 3 kids without any type of child support because all the judges he and the crack whore went before fell for her sob stories.

According to assistance limits, he was making too much money to get on any type of program that would help with electricity bills or heating bills but was able to get about 180.00 a month in food stamps.

That’s basically 6 bucks a day.

Which the state immediately cut off when he went on unemployment.

NOTE: There is a “down” time in catering and generally you work 8 months and then are laid off for 4 months. Carpenters go through the same thing.

If you think it was hard financially when he was working, imagine how hard it was when he was on unemployment. It was that reason why he decided to open up the store. The way we figured it on paper, my paycheck would be able to handle all the household stuff while his unemployment would go towards opening the store.. and then the store would be able to pay for itself.

He was smart.. and it worked. It was hard.. it was :: and still is :: 20 hour days and a lot of  sacrificing and a lot of worry and a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

I’m not complaining. It’s just how it is. We chose to open a store.. we knew it was going to take a lot of inner strength.. outer elbow grease.. and a lot of praying.

To say we work hard is an understatement. You can ask any one of customers and they will tell you that we do the very best that we can to give our customers things that they want that they can afford.

But what torques the hell out of my Chinese food suffering bowels is that while we are constantly pushing.. constantly striving.. constantly trying to make sure all our bases are covered, there are people that I wait on everyday who are just skating through life.. and think they are ENTITLED TO SKATE THROUGH LIFE.

The Crack Whore can run an air conditioner in every damn window of her apartment 24/7 and doesn’t have to care about what her electric bill is because she doesn’t HAVE TO PAY her electric bill.

She’s on welfare… the state pays it.

And guess what? On Tuesday, MY electricity was turned off because I owed a 28.00 back balance.

You read that right…

FOR 28.00 FUCKING DOLLARS, THEY CUT MY ELECTRICITY OFF.

Or how about this one:

One of my regular customers came in on Monday asking if she could get a few things to hold her family over until her husband got paid on Wednesday. Knowing that she has kids to feed, I said “sure”. So she got something like 25.00 worth of stuff.

As I was slicing her lunch meat, she tells me that she will be having Gastric Bypass surgery in October.

Now, there’s no denying that she’s over-weight. But Gastric Bypass? There’s no way that I would have thought that she’d be a candidate for it. I know people personally that have had the surgery and they were OBESE. Like, can’t fit through the front door obese. This woman is no where near that size.

But guess what? She’s on welfare.. so guess who’s paying for the surgery?

At any rate.. it wasn’t even that pissed me off so much.. on Wednesday, she came in to pay her bill with her mother. While she was waiting for me to finish up with a few people in front of her, she started checking our our shelves saying that she had her first nutrition meeting and was looking for things that she would be able to eat after her surgery.

She then tells me that what she is going to do is join Nutri-Systems after her surgery so she doesn’t have to worry about counting calories or proteins or whatever the hell she has to check.

You know what the going rate is for a monthly subscription to Nutri-System?

299.95 A MONTH!

You can’t make your fucking money stretch so you have to ask for credit from me to feed your kids but you’re going to spend three hundred dollars a month for Nutri-Systems???

WHAT THE FUCK!

So.. as delicately as I can be.. I asked her how she was going to be able to swing it and you know what her answer was?

“… oh, the state is paying for it because I have to have the surgery for medical reasons”

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??

I had to swallow my tongue because you see.. years ago.. I was 12 sizes bigger then I am now. I’m not that big anymore because I just started to eat right and I exercised. A lot. And eventually, I got down to a size 12.

No surgery .. no state paid food delivery service.. nothing but determination and commitment.

Then there was the whole glasses fiasco.

I needed new glasses and Chief needed glasses period. My insurance basically covered the exam.. the frames.. and the lenses but not anything extra like transitions :: where the lens get dark automatically in sunlight :: or UV protection or that kind of stuff. Chief needed a bifocal so because that was out of pocket also, I had to give up the transitions so that he could have the bifocals.

Okay.. whatever.. his was more important then mine and we could have only afforded one so the bifocals it was.

Two weeks ago, Weed came into the store and I forget how the subject even came up but he pulled out his little welfare medical card and said, “… I LOVE this thing. Do you know that I got two pairs of glasses that turn into sunglasses.. and I didn’t even NEED them I just got them because I could.”

Remember that scene in Austin Powers when the mannequins head explode?

Yea. That was me.

Oh.. and did I also tell you that the state is paying for him to get his G.E.D and is giving him a laptop so that he could study and look for a job? All because HE WENT TO JAIL FOR BURGLARY AND DEALING?

Or how about the woman that comes in bitching that her 700.00 a month in food stamps isn’t enough?

Or the other woman who BUYS a food stamp card from some barfly for half the amount in cash?

Or the couple who come in saying that yes, they can afford to have a second baby because they’ll be getting more food stamps when the baby is born?

Is it me or is something wrong here?

Why can’t the widowed father of 5 kids get any type of help from the state because omg.. he actually has a JOB.. but a baby making factory can get free food, free housing and a monthly cash stipend and is doing NOTHING to make her life better? Because to HER .. her life is SWEET.

“… I ain’t gotsta do nuffin’. Dey gotsta give me my money” .. that being an actual conversation I had when I asked what she was going to do when the state finally goes bankrupt and her food stamp card becomes useless

Some would say that I have nothing to bitch about because I choose to accept the food stamp card in my store. But I couldn’t have a store unless I take food stamps. The majority of my customers are on it.. and instead of having a moral struggle with it, I just feel like I’m basically getting my own money back.. since as a working person, my taxes go to providing them their lifestyle.

So you’ll have to forgive me when I hear about how the current administration wants to give MORE of my hard earned income to somebody else.

I’m struggling but because I had a job.. and I own a store.. nobody cares. Nobody is giving my kids free school supplies.. or school clothes.. or lunches.

No one cares about how I’m going to make my next car payment or utility payment or the fact that I had to cut out a lot of things that we’ve become accustomed to in order to keep a roof over our heads.

As long as there are more people with their hand out then there are with their hands in their pocket.. we are going to be forced to dish it out. And that’s just plain wrong.

Give a man to fish and he’ll eat for one day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat everyday

… or something like that.

For more details on Food Stamps, read THIS post that I wrote back in April

<< end rant >>

Flip Side Facts About Food Stamps

I had this conversation earlier with a co-worker and I thought that since I’m always going on a rant about Food Stamps then I should at lease clue everyone in to WHY I go on a rant.. and it has alot more to do with the amount of money they take of my paycheck to issue those stamps.

I don’t know if all states work this way but mine does.

NOTE: If your state DOESNT operate the same way, don’t send me hate mail saying that I don’t know what I’m talking about because I do.

Ok.. so me and Cheif own a grocery store / deli. Most of our customers live on food stamps. You’d think that it would make me happy right? People spending the state’s money in my store?

But consider this:

On average, it takes 15 to 20 BUSINESS days for the state to reimburse us. That works out to roughly a month.

So if we sell 100lbs of lunch meat paid for by food stamps, we STILL have to replace that 100lbs of lunch meat the next day or we won’t have anything to sell, right?

If I don’t get reimbursed for that 100lbs of lunch meat until a month later, how do you think I buy more?

Yep.. with my money.

Can’t use the STORE’S money because the state didn’t give it to me yet.

Okay .. so you’re saying that that isn’t the recipients problem, right? No. Not really. But it’s a kick in the teeth to the people who actually work and pay for there stuff using their OWN money. Because I do have those customers also.

Take Soda for example. Because soda is fizzy, it’s taxable.

You come into my store and i have to charge you state sales tax.

BUT .. if someone pays using food stamps, I am not ALLOWED to charge them tax. So while you pay 1.59.. they pay 1.50. because the state doesn’t want you to tax their own money even though it gets turned right back over to them quarterly. That would mean LESS money for the food stamp user to have!

So now you’re probably thinking that if I collect state tax and turn it back to the state quarterly, then what’s the big damn deal?

Here it is.. doing business taxes is not like doing personal taxes. DUH! And when you have a business like ours, the state worries that you’re going to cheat them so how to they guarentee themselves that they’re getting what’s do them?

They base your taxes on your inventory and delivery receipts. I have to pay tax on every case of soda I buy. But if most of the sodas are bought with food stamps.. and I cannot charge tax for THEM .. then who pays for it?

Me.

Here’s another thing. I cannot set a minimum amount. You know when you go to a store or wherever and there’s a sign that says that there’s a minimum purchase amount for credit or debit card users?

You know why that is? That’s becasue the little machine that they use to swipe your card? It’s costs money per swipe. On average, with every little hidden cost (transaction fees, monthly service charge, etc.) an average swipe costs around .70.

Now, we’re not ALLOWED to put a minimum purchase amount for food stampers. So if someone wanted to buy a 0.10 piece of bubble gum or a 0.05 piece of Swedish Fish.. then I HAVE to do it. It’s illegal for me not to and comes with some ridiculous fine.. I believe 10,000.00.

And please don’t say that I’m exaggerating… that people don’t actually come in to buy a nickle piece of candy and use their card.

I’m not exaggerating.

It happens.. and happens fairly often, especially towards the end of the month when they only have change left on their card.

So basically, I’m losing money instead of making a profit.

This is another thing you may not know. FOOD stamps will only allow you to by FOOD.

Not toilet paper, not soap, not shampoo, not laundry detergent….

But they can buy lobster tail, prime rib and filet mignon.. because it’s food.

Tell me that’s not fucked up. You can’t wipe your ass, take a shower, shampoo your hair or wear clean clothes BUT you can eat lobster.

Does that seem fair?

Convos

MOM: This is going to be my last unemployment check

ME: Oh. Shame.

MOM: Think I’ll get another extension?

ME: .. and I would know that, why?

MOM: You know, where do they get all this money to pay unemployment when they give out extentions.

ME: Where else? The people that work. Like.. oh, I don’t know… ME?

MOM: Why are you paying my unemployment?

ME: Do you think that the unemployment they take from my paycheck goes into an envelope with my name on it? No, it goes into a general fund that gets distributed and with more people going on unemployement there isn’t going to be any left for me if I get laid off.

MOM: Oh. Shame.

This Would Be Funny If It Wasn’t So Pathetic – Part 2

… so if you read my previous post then you know that the Crack Whore Prima Donna of the Gutter started working at the thrift store next store to our shop and promptly quit after 3 hours.

This morning while I was packing Spaz’s overnight bag :: his Uncle Sarge is taking him down the shore overnight :: he mentioned something about his mother working there.

I told them that I had heard and he said, “… yknow she quit”

I said that I had heard that too.

He went on to say that she told him she quit because she had to stand on her feet all day and deal with nasty customers and :: get this :: that

.. that job was beneath her

So being a pill popping welfare recipient crack whore is ALOT better then making an honest living, huh?

THIS is YOUR tax dollars at work people!

While YOUR out working.. trying to make ends meet.. provide for your families.. sacraficing to put food on YOUR table and clothe YOUR kids.. part of your paycheck is going to people like her who just sit back and live the good life.

Nice.

Something is really wrong with this picture, isn’t it?

My Issues With Food Stamps

There are two things I despise:

1. People who can work and don’t and
2. Thieves

To me, there is no justification for not holding a job to support yourself and your family.

.. and I really don’t want to hear that there are no jobs because it’s more like there are no jobs that suit YOUR overly inflated self worth because when it comes down to it people who are responsible and have a work ethic will do whatever it is necessary in order to support their family.

With that said, however, I am not heartless.

I do believe that there may come points in people’s lives that they need assistance.

ASSISTANCE as defined by Dictionary.com is the act of assisting; help; aid or support… it does NOT say that means for the rest of YOUR life and the lives of your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc.

But worse is the attitude some people have regarding how entitled they are to basically, YOUR money.

A woman came into the shop this morning and wanted to purchase a 25 cent bag of potato chips using her food stamps. Since it COSTS ME 30 cent for the “priviledge” of accepting the card I told her no.

She looked at me like I was out of my mind.

She told me I HAD to take the card.. that my shop is a public shop.

I told her that my shop was a private establishment and therefore, I determine what I do or not not sell and to whom.

She got indignant and I don’t remember exactly what that particular exchange was but she said something about having kids and I told her that her kids weren’t the one’s that were going to eat the chips.. that she, in fact, was going to eat them while walking down the street and would probably throw the empty bag on the side walk and that I’m getting tired of my money benefiting people who are more then capable of benefitting themselves.

She sucked on her teeth, wagged her finger in my face and said that I didn’t give her anything.

Actually it was “… you done gif me nuffin’”

Forgive me but it’s all in the essence of accuracy…

So I went off and asked her if she ever held a job and what exactly she though the taxes taken from a paycheck goes…

“I’ll tell you, “… I told her.

The money that gets taken out of MY check goes to fill HER food stamp card meaning that MY money is going for feeding HER kids which gives ME less to feed mine.

Guess the logic cracked her little walnut and she threw the bag of chips on the counter, called me a bitch and walked out.

I might be a bitch.. but at least I can eat potato chips