Disclaimer: I am not out to judge anyone or offend but I have a very strong feeling about this and would love someone to explain why things are the way they are. Feel free to enlighten me.
Today around two o'clock, I had to get a few things for dinner. I knew I couldn't spend a lot because I am no longer getting paid for my maternity leave. I had to use all of my sick days and if I wanted to stay out longer than my sicks days lasted (no longer than 12 weeks) I had to go without pay. Luckily I have a wonderful husband that does extra work to make this barely possible. So as I'm getting the generic brands and only the bare essentials, I wished I had coupons for the stuff I was buying. Just so that you know, I was getting some lunch meat, cheese, sauerkraut, milk, and bread. When I finally got that, I went over to the kitchenware and drooled over these containers I'm dying to get for my pantry. The "Mainstays" 4-pack of acrylic canisters were $19.97 so I decided against getting them.
As I got to the check out, I noticed a family with two carts full of ginger ale bottles, Coke bottles, Twinkies, and other junk food. I was surprised by all of the junk but hey, who am I to say what people should eat? As I stood there waiting my turn, I was shocked when the total was $198.87. That's a lot of money. Honestly, that's almost as much as I pay for my school loans each month- so yeah, it's a lot of money to me. I wondered how this family could spend so much money on such a terrible diet and then there it was. She pulled out the ACCESS card and paid the bill. She only had to pay $32.65 for her stuff. Oh! And she paid with a 100 dollar bill.
At this point, I was a bit annoyed and took a minute to remind myself that I didn't know their situation. The unemployment rates are high and times are hard so I shouldn't assume that these people are using the system. Then it was my turn to pay. After being rung up, the cashier told me the total was $34.79. At this point, I paid and actually felt guilty for buying a pack of hangers for Ayden's clothes and the Prego Three Cheese Spaghetti sauce. I really didn't need the sauce tonight.
As I'm leaving to pack the car up and go home, I see that same family loading their junk food into a brand new Chevy Avalanche. Now I'm not an expert on truck pricing, but I do know that Chevy Avalanche trucks are not cheap. Needless to say, I became annoyed again.
Again, I'm not trying to judge anyone or offend anyone either but I do not understand how I have two college degrees and can barely pay for the those degrees, let alone all the other bills. Now, if you've read my previous blogs, you know I'm not one to complain about my bills and that's not the point of this blog. I am thankful for the house, car, and things I have and I work hard to pay for those things. What I am annoyed by is that I do work very hard and can barely pay for the things I have. I do not have extravagant things, nor do we waste money on pointless things. I do not understand how working hard in high school to go to college (and paying for it), then getting a good job, getting married to a respectable man, getting a Master's degree, and planning a family means that I have too much money to get help. And yet people that have multiple children they don't take care of to multiple men, no jobs, and ambition to better themselves can have groceries paid for and extravagant cars?
Like I said, I'm not trying to offend. I only want an explanation. How is the system so messed up that people that make this world better don't get a break at all? How is it that people can manipulate the system to benefit themselves when there are truly people that need help? How are there no checks and balances to keep this from happening? More importantly, how can this issue be resolved to serve the purpose these means were originally created for?
heard that sista!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to America. Land of the free...for a price :-/
DeleteIn the spirit of being a devil's advocate, I will say this- people make the same judgement of me but would be totally wrong.
ReplyDeleteI'll set the stage: we make $35,000/year, receive WIC checks when we get groceries, are a family of 4, I wear Chanel sunglasses, a Michael Kors purse, and as I type I'm wearing J.Crew chinos. We each have college loans, we give 10% of our income to the church in tithe, and 10% into a retirement account. We have no credit card debt, we have two cars, and live closely on a budget.
People could look at me getting free milk and cheese in the grocery store and decide that, based on my possessions, I don't deserve to use the checks. But they don't know that my Chanel sunglasses from EBay and they STILL took me 4 months of my personal allowance (I have $75/month to spend on ANYthing I wear or want, other than makeup.This counts earrings, clothes, or scrapbook stuff- or fun dishtowels for my kitchen.) to save up for. My JCrew chinos are worth $70 and I got them for $30. And my purse is the only thing I got for Christmas two years ago. It's 2 years old and I take the time to clean it often so that it looks nice.
So WHILE IT'S RECOGNIZABLY NOT THE CASE, the possibility exists that they drive a nice car because someone was selling it on Craigslist because it had a lot of things wrong with it but maybe the husband had the know-how to fix it. They have horrible eating habits but that doesn't mean they blow their money. And a nice car doesn't necessarily mean they have nice other things. We all spend money on what is important to us. Some blow through a Lexus car payment's worth of eating out each month. Others spend it on education but decide not to take advantage of the extra income that education provided- like myself who pays monthly for my teacher's degree but receives none of the income that would allow for because I choose to stay home and raise my kids!
And it could be argued "Well, if they have enough extra to afford those nice things, they can afford not to receive the help." Actually, Jerr and I have had that very conversation about whether we should receive the checks. We decided that, because we are serving our country through the military and have a small enough income that we qualify for the assistance, it's okay for our country to serve us back in a small way. We also decided that the day we get out of the military, we will not get the WIC checks.
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Now, having said all of that...what's the point? I guess I'm saying sometimes things aren't what they appear to be, and that I am very aware that people could be judging me based on the visibility of the nice things I have saved wisely for. Maybe others believe it's wrong for us to use WIC checks and maybe they don't. And I believe the welfare system is GROSSLY taken advantage of. But lest it drive you crazy with bitterness, be comforted. The scenario may not be exactly as it seemed.
xoxo
Lauren,
DeleteI always know I can count on you. I see what you are saying about your status and why you have government assistance. I guess the people I am referring to and the ones that annoy me are people that take advantage of the system. You, on the other hand, budget your money and spend your money on healthy food for your family. Others, the ones that annoy me, don't seem to do that. I can appreciate your need...it's people that take advantage that I don't respect.
But thank you for explaining the flip side. It is nice to know that there are decent people out there.
Speaking of decent, thank your husband for serving our country. Thank you for being understanding about his job and thank your boys. Miss you all and hope to see you soon on the mainland.
It's a flawed system for sure. I bust my ass 40+ hours a week to barely make ends meet in a job that has nothing to do with my 2 degrees while people I k ow sit around all day smoking drugs and collecting unemployment for over a year and making slightly less than me to do NOTHING. miss u Austinfamilyadventures. And to Mrs Becker, way to not accept my Facebook friend request! Amherst
ReplyDelete