Food stamps

[fishbones]

One of the big problems with the program is people buying items and then selling them for cash to buy smokes, lottery and booze.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by fishbones

One of the big problems with the program is people buying items and then selling them for cash to buy smokes, lottery and booze.

Bingo. In many cases, giving these people stuff that can be sold, is begging for trouble, and is a waste of public money. Like the NYC cop who used his own money to buy boots for the homeless guy...nice gesture, but it didn't work, as the guy was barefoot again the next day.

If you qualify for need, there should be soup kitchens where you can go for a healthy meal. I dodn't mind giving these people food to consume on the spot. I don't like giving them things that can be sold for crack or God knows what else. The current system doesn't address the problem of poverty. The root cause of povetry for many people (not all) is not a lack of money (that's a symptom), but rather, some behavioral issue (mental health, drug addict, lazy, learning disabled, etc).

I worked at a grocery store in high school. When food stamps came out, I'd see the same exact people, every single month, trying to buy cigarettes, loottery tickets, lipstick, perfume, etc...It made me sick to know that's where my money was going.

[JohnnyD]

Two things...

Originally Posted by the point

Medical conditions could be the cause of weight Gain, Like my cousin She is a Big Girl and eats nothing due to her thyroid problem..

A friend is a Nurse Practitioner that specializes in endocrinology. I asked her how frequent fat people are fat due to "genetics" (ie. a thyroid problem. She said very few fat people that would come to her office excusing their obesity to overweight actually had thyroid issues - she saw up to 20 people per day. Even still, if they did have thyroid problems, it would explain no more than 20-40lbs of extra weight.

As such, I don't buy the "it's genetic" excuse when people that are pushing 300lbs claim it's "not my fault". Thyroid issues didn't all of a sudden increase in the last 20 years, but laziness and a lack of personal accountability sure has.

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

I worked at a grocery store in high school. When food stamps came out, I'd see the same exact people, every single month, trying to buy cigarettes, loottery tickets, lipstick, perfume, etc...It made me sick to know that's where my money was going.

A story of my own from a couple years ago that still boils my blood. I'm in the self-checkout line at Stop & Shop. Waited a couple minutes for the person in front of my because they had a fair amount and just as they were finishing up a woman comes up to me "can I go in front of you, I'm only getting some gum?" I only had a few items but said it was no problem.

Then, she grabs some random gum from the rack, scans it and pays with her EBT card, but here's the kicker.....

She got $60 or so *CASH BACK*!!! Then, I saw her proceed to the customer service counter and buy a carton of cigarettes. These are the type of people we are providing "aide" to.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

As such, I don't buy the "it's genetic" excuse when people that are pushing 300lbs claim it's "not my fault". Thyroid issues didn't all of a sudden increase in the last 20 years, but laziness and a lack of personal accountability sure has.

Yes, I would venture to say if you look back at pics from the 30s.40s and 50s
you won't see any obese people. The word obese was not even in the dictionary then.
Thyroid problems exist, but with treatment, diet and exercise it won't add
250 lbs to a person's frame.

Like a friend of mine says, he never saw a fat person come out of a concentration camp.

[Piscator]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Like a friend of mine says, he never saw a fat person come out of a concentration camp.

Or boot camp.


We as a family eat very healthy. It costs so much more to eat healthy than not. The price of Fruits and Vegetables are insane. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it significantly costs more to eat healthy (unless you have a garden ).

[PaulS]

Originally Posted by Piscator

Or boot camp.


We as a family eat very healthy. It costs so much more to eat healthy than not. The price of Fruits and Vegetables are insane. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it significantly costs more to eat healthy (unless you have a garden ).

That is exactly why you see fat, poor people. Look how much food you get per dollar when you buy a bag of Fritos versus when you buy fruit. High frutose corn syrup (and escalators)!

[Piscator]

Originally Posted by PaulS

That is exactly why you see fat, poor people. Look how much food you get per dollar when you buy a bag of Fritos versus when you buy fruit. High frutose corn syrup (and escalators)!

You see plenty of fat rich people too. Going out for a run or walk is free. It's also easy to do when you don't work.............

Bottom line is exercise, if you exercise, you will not be fat. You don't need to belong to a Gym to exercise.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by PaulS

That is exactly why you see fat, poor people. Look how much food you get per dollar when you buy a bag of Fritos versus when you buy fruit. High frutose corn syrup (and escalators)!

We eat pretty darn well in my house. We also shop around sales and the seasons, make our own breads (about $1/loaf), make our own pasta (well under $1/lb), make our own tomato sauces, shop at farmers markets, focus our protein intake on beans/legumes, crock pot chili that has leftovers for a couple days and buy in bulk whenever possible. We average $50-70/week in food costs for two.

Does it take some time and planning? Sure does, but once we switched to mostly scratch cooking, we saved a ton of money on the food bill and we eat significantly better.

You know what else helps curb food costs.... Portion Control. Exercising portion control means that a dinner for four, actually feeds a family of four.

Like I said, it takes effort and planning. As politically incorrect as it is to say, the obese get obese because they typically live a sedentary lifestyle while eating garbage all day long with no considering to what they put in their body or how much.