I think a lot of the people who are on welfare or assistance of one type or another are just using the system to be lazy... but, there are a handful of people who do not want to be on welfare or assistance but are because they have families to feed. I am one of them. I hate being on foodstamps. I hate standing in line and pulling out my foodstamp card to pay for food. I see the looks people give me and hear them whispering about it.
I feel guilty and ashamed about it, like I'm less than a worthy member of society. A Leach. But, I don't live in a fancy place (small 2-bedroom apartment), I don't drive new cars (both vehicle are from the 90's and have issues), we don't go out and spend money for entertainment (our biggest outing is a $15 (for all of us) breakfast with my wifes parents sunday morning after church).
The food we buy with tax payers money is not extravegant but mostly just the staples we need .. eggs, bread, milk, and ground beef when it's on sale. I refuse to buy anything that could be considered luxury items - soda, candy, snack foods....
We also use the local food pantry, but again I only take what is good for us and don't go for the junk that a lot of the other people I see there do, and I only take what my family will eat within a week or so. I don't take things just to take them or because they there for the taking.
I'm working very hard to get off of foodstamps and become fully self-sufficient. In fact, last year we were given $406 a month for food for a family of 3. This year we're getting $116 a month. Sure, it's harder on me to pay for food because I don't make an extra $300 a month this year.... but I see it as a sign of success. Next year, if things go the way they are now, we won't receive any foodshare money and will probably have to pay for our state-provided insurance. (we get state provided insurance because I'm self employed, have a child, and am not offered affordable insurance from anywhere else. I personally have used it once in the last 2 years.)
I refuse to live in low-income housing unless I absolutely have to. I am not a drug addict or alcoholic and do not wish for my child to grow up living next to them and thinking it's normal and acceptable. (edit - I know that not all people in section 8 housing are drug addicts or alcholics, it's just my observation in this area and others I've seen, that the majority are) I could pay $12 a month for rent if I accepted the help, instead I pay $600 and all utilities. We do not have cable tv or any type of tv other than what comes directly out of the outlet. I do not have a cellphone. We do not have internet at home (I use internet at work). We borrow movies from the library. My wife does the dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher in our apartment. We do whatever we can in order to save money.
Sometimes I have to laugh when I pick up a magazine that says "Save $500 a month just by making these small changes in your habits".... I read through it and we're already doing everything it says plus more. We never had gym memberships, club memberships, or any other type of membership to drop in order to save money.
I don't think we need to do away with all of it (government/state assistance), but that it should be regulated more tightly and given to those who genuinely show promise that they are making efforts to better their situation... as well as not abusing the assistance they receive or using drugs. We give way too much to people who just don't give a $hit and look as their assistance as part of their income instead of a temporary helping-hand.
I stand in the food pantry line, sometimes for over an hour, and listen to some of the other people there complaining about what they're getting, or bragging about how much they take. It makes me want to smack them. I'm very greatful for whatever I get.... and I've eatten some pretty disgusting stuff just to eat. My wife complained the other day about the food not lasting long enough (and most if it is already expired when we get it).... I told her that she and our son could eat all the food we get from the pantry and foodshare and that I would pick food out of the dumpster behind McDonalds to eat. And I would. I'm not above eatting scraps. Beggers can't be choosers. And I'm an American!
The shoes I have on right now are K-swiss's... nice huh? They were when they were new. Now they're almost 2 years old, the soles have no tread left and the leather is peeling away from the base, leaving big holes that dirt and water get into everyday. Not to mention they have zero padding left in them. I take them off whenever I can because they hurt my feet.... but I refuse to buy a new pair until I absolutely have to. The clothes I wear are all gifts from one holiday or another, and I'll wear them for years or until my wife shrinks them in the washer/dryer that they no longer fit, then I'll wait until the next holiday to get more. I cut my own hair with buzz clippers.
Sometimes it seems like I look around at our friends and family, and other people I don't know, and they all go out to dinners, to the movies, to bars, bowling, weekend get-a-ways, etc etc. All the time it seems. My wife and I get a night to ourselves about once every other month when her mother watches our son for a night. We might rent a movie and stay home that night, pop some popcorn in a saucepan. It seems like everyone else has money to burn, even in a recession. Even people who make less than us.
August 16th was our 2nd anniversary. I convinced my wifes mother to take our son for 2 whole nights so we could actually get away for a solid day, just the two of us. We decided to go to a state park, since we have a park sticker and it's cheap. We were going to camp at Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wi. They were full. So, we drove town looking for a cheap place to stay and came across the Swanson Hotel. $45 a night. That was a waste. Here's my review on it
http://local.yahoo.com/info...?tab=reviews#reviews I also contacted the city administrator to make a complaint to the county health department. My wife offered to sleep in the van instead of that place. Go to the review and look at the pictures! ( I took those pics and posted them) (the review was 5 stars before we visited (with 1 review) now there's 3 (including mine) and they're down to 2 1/2) So, we went to a different place down the road, a much nicer place. The next day we went to the park and walked the trails. My poor wife. I told her I wanted to walk the trails to relieve stress. I wasn't planning on walking, and she wasn't expecting to walk, over 7 miles of rugged trails going up and down bluffs and into the deep woods. We both had blisters the next day. But it did relieve some of the stress I had.
Anyway, I'm running out of things to complain about. You probably didn't read this far, but if you did I'm sorry, there's no way to get the last 5 minutes of your life back.
[This message has been edited by FieroFanaticus2 (edited 08-21-2010).]
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