Food Stamps and the $41 Cake (1 Viewer)

[Sarnoff]

Oh and times have changed on the free lunch program, on Los Angeles 82% of the kids at my kids school get free lunches, I am embarrassed to pay for them. I feel like a sucker.

Remember the good old days when CA welfare cards could be used on slot machines & gambling at the horse tracks?

 

[Loan Sharks]

Oh and times have changed on the free lunch program, on Los Angeles 82% of the kids at my kids school get free lunches, I am embarrassed to pay for them. I feel like a sucker.

Remember the good old days when CA welfare cards could be used on slot machines & gambling at the horse tracks?

You can use them at all fast food places in Cali now, that's kinda like gambling. *Oh and maybe you know. Why is it legal to buy your McDonalds, BK and Jack in the Crack with EBT but NOT if you use the drive through in LA. TIA

 

[Chairshot]

The point that most of you are missing is that it doesn't matter how much the cake is. It's not like the lady gets an extra $41 if she decides to get an ice cream cake. Her benefits are what they are. How she spends that benefit is left to her.We can't go around checking recipients receipts after they leave the store. How much cake is allowed? What if she spent $40 on 15 cakes, would that be OK?Regardless of the cost of the cake, her benefits stay the same. If she buys one cake or 20 boxes of crackers with the money she still gets the same amount. It costs the taxpayer nothing more than it already did. You could probably get mad at her for spending so much of her benefit on the cake, I guess, but you have no idea what her situation is. Maybe she's a fantastic shopper and had the money left. Maybe she cut corners that month just so she could get her kid a cake. Maybe she's and idiot that places no value on her benefits. No matter what she does, it doesn't cost anyone a dime extra than it already would, so I don't see what the big deal is.

So why have restrictions at all? Why shouldnt they be able to buy liquor then? If they get what they get no matter what, why does it matter what they buy?

How much should she be allowed to spend on ice cream cake?

 

[thayman]

Are we really arguing over ice cream cakes here?

I'm waiting for parasaurolophus to explain how one makes the cake part of an ice cream cake w/o baking.

I know you think this is a gotcha moment here so I will try and keep it simple.1 package chocolate chip cookies

2 quarts vanilla ice cream

1 bottle whipped cream or cool whip container

Less than 15 bucks. Enjoy.

We have also used Oreos. I can make a video for you if it is too hard to figure out.

You could also buy entenmanns brownies if you want to splurge.

Or you could buy (insert almost anything here) and make it with (insert relative here)

Thanks, I'd love to see the video. Feel free to provide a link here in this thread after you've complete it.

Just let me know when it is one of your kid's birthdays and I will be happy to help. here is a link to get you started in the meantime. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=no+bake+ice+cream+cake+with+oreos&oq=no+bake+ice+cream+cake+with+oreos&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=youtube.3...14622.17530.0.18464.6.6.0.0.0.0.175.960.0j6.6.0...0.0.ygOUC9nXUM4

You had an opportunity for some amazing schtick and you have totally blown it.

 

[Eviloutsider]

I have no problem in helping out those less fortunate when it comes to food needs especially with children. Heck, I think all school lunches should be paid for from the government. I also wouldn't mind them almost getting a list of foods that they can choose from each month, almost having a couple aisles at the grocery store to choose from with the basics. Heck, maybe everyone should have food stamps. I know I would use them if they were given to me.

 

[djmich]

haha...but Johnny needs the $41 cake to feel good about himself! Some people will defend anything.

 

[hutchins929]

Oh and times have changed on the free lunch program, on Los Angeles 82% of the kids at my kids school get free lunches, I am embarrassed to pay for them. I feel like a sucker.

Remember the good old days when CA welfare cards could be used on slot machines & gambling at the horse tracks?

You can use them at all fast food places in Cali now, that's kinda like gambling. *Oh and maybe you know. Why is it legal to buy your McDonalds, BK and Jack in the Crack with EBT but NOT if you use the drive through in LA. TIA

It's only a matter of time before Ronald McDonald gets dealt with by Michelle Obama.

 

[dickey moe]

I am a Little Debbie distributor and EBT fraud is rampant. I was in a store today and a woman purchased Twisted Tea with her card. The store just rang the alcoholic beverages as something else.

So?

This is worse than buying the $41 cake on foodstamps.

 

[Ryno]

I'm not gonna weigh-in until someone shows me a breakdown of happiness/$1 spent on at least 30 different cakes from 10 different stores.

For me, a $5 pack of Twinkees = happiness

Twinkies are $5, that settles it, I am indeed cheap!

 

[Zigg]

I'm going to take a controversial stance, but ice cream cake is overrated. However, I'm intrigued by the idea of a Haagen Daas cake.

 

[cstu]

I'm going to take a controversial stance, but ice cream cake is overrated. However, I'm intrigued by the idea of a Haagen Daas cake.

Buying an ice cream cake is like buying a jar of Goober peanut butter and jelly - it sounds great but what you're really getting is a ####ty version of both.

 

[Joe T]

This guy sees someone buy a ####### cake, decides its too expensive for them, then pats himself on the back for being able to afford a costco membership, a car, the time and gas to go across town 20 extra minutes on the weekend, the space in his home to store huge boxes of bulk goods, and the money to spend on things today that he wont use until tomorrow. But he doesn't take the time to ask if this is a single mom who is trying to help her kid have a cake with his friends so he will have some self confidence and wont feel like the poor kid who can't have a birthday party for reasons that have nothing to do with him, or if this mother is dealing with some other life issues like mental illness, substance abuse, or unemployment, or if this mother has the luxury to go on longer trips to the store or if it means that shed have to bring her youger baby in a car seat she can't afford or leave them with a babysitter who can't be bothered to watch a kid for a couple hours while she gets a two gallon jar of mayonnaise. He just says, this ladys stupid, and we shouldn't give her money anymore. Maybe he can spit on some homeless people on the way home and make himself feel even better.

No one should be buying a $41 cake with public benefits. Sorry.

You dont sound like someone who has walked a mile in those shoes. I hope for your sake you don't have to.

Whether I have or haven't is not relevant. Paying that sort of price for a cake when you're on food stamps is ridiculous. To tell the truth, t's ridiculous if you're not.I learned this lesson when I was young. If you don't work for it, you don't care about it.

Well done.

 

[Joe T]

http://www.huffingto..._n_1517572.html

To much of the world, it was Monday. To Mario Batali, it was Day Four.

The chef, his wife and their two teenage sons are eating for a week on the equivalent of a food stamp budget in protest of potential cuts pending in Congress to the benefit program used by more than 46 million Americans.

That's $31 per person for the week, or about $1.48 per meal each.

Goodbye restaurants, free nibbles on his talk show "The Chew" and all the luxe offerings at Eataly, the high-end New York City market he co-owns. Hello Trader Joe's, Jack's Dollar Store, Gristedes and Western Beef, a low-cost supermarket chain.

"I'm (expletive deleted) starving," said Batali, who's on the board of the food relief agency Food Bank for New York City, which issued the challenge to celeb pals like Batali and anybody else who wants to know what it's like.

You can get a lot more than $120 a month in food stamps.

If you play by the rules, living on food stamps is pretty hard. the problem we have though are that there are many people playing the system and flat out stealing. Of course, not everybody is like this. Limousine liberals like Batali like to close their eyes and pretend that none of this crap ever goes on.

Please. How much money per year does the Average FBG, take from the government buy way of the Mortgage Deduction? $3,000 $4,000? $5,000? More? Who is going behind them to make sure they are spending that money properly?

Take from the government?Really?

 

[glumpy]

http://www.huffingto..._n_1517572.html

To much of the world, it was Monday. To Mario Batali, it was Day Four.

The chef, his wife and their two teenage sons are eating for a week on the equivalent of a food stamp budget in protest of potential cuts pending in Congress to the benefit program used by more than 46 million Americans.

That's $31 per person for the week, or about $1.48 per meal each.

Goodbye restaurants, free nibbles on his talk show "The Chew" and all the luxe offerings at Eataly, the high-end New York City market he co-owns. Hello Trader Joe's, Jack's Dollar Store, Gristedes and Western Beef, a low-cost supermarket chain.

"I'm (expletive deleted) starving," said Batali, who's on the board of the food relief agency Food Bank for New York City, which issued the challenge to celeb pals like Batali and anybody else who wants to know what it's like.

You can get a lot more than $120 a month in food stamps.

If you play by the rules, living on food stamps is pretty hard. the problem we have though are that there are many people playing the system and flat out stealing. Of course, not everybody is like this. Limousine liberals like Batali like to close their eyes and pretend that none of this crap ever goes on.

So you're saying we need to cancel the benefit to avoid the abuse??

 

[Joe T]

I'm going to take a controversial stance, but ice cream cake is overrated. However, I'm intrigued by the idea of a Haagen Daas cake.

Top 3 post in this thread.

 

[djmich]

http://www.huffingto..._n_1517572.html

To much of the world, it was Monday. To Mario Batali, it was Day Four.

The chef, his wife and their two teenage sons are eating for a week on the equivalent of a food stamp budget in protest of potential cuts pending in Congress to the benefit program used by more than 46 million Americans.

That's $31 per person for the week, or about $1.48 per meal each.

Goodbye restaurants, free nibbles on his talk show "The Chew" and all the luxe offerings at Eataly, the high-end New York City market he co-owns. Hello Trader Joe's, Jack's Dollar Store, Gristedes and Western Beef, a low-cost supermarket chain.

"I'm (expletive deleted) starving," said Batali, who's on the board of the food relief agency Food Bank for New York City, which issued the challenge to celeb pals like Batali and anybody else who wants to know what it's like.

You can get a lot more than $120 a month in food stamps.

If you play by the rules, living on food stamps is pretty hard. the problem we have though are that there are many people playing the system and flat out stealing. Of course, not everybody is like this. Limousine liberals like Batali like to close their eyes and pretend that none of this crap ever goes on.

Please. How much money per year does the Average FBG, take from the government buy way of the Mortgage Deduction? $3,000 $4,000? $5,000? More? Who is going behind them to make sure they are spending that money properly?

Take from the government?Really?

 

[bigmarc27]

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40.

My mom can't make a cake like you're describing. She has a tiny oven less than a foot across in her subsidized studio. She doesn't own a cake pan and doesn't have a lot of room to store one. She can't always get a ride to the store, and the last time she walked, she fell and hit her head. She's a wonderfully kind hearted woman who wants to feel like her life is worthwhile and she's terribly depressed because she doesn't have the ability to do things for other people. Shes repeatedly tried working and can't because she sometimes flakes out and has to pray or thinks she's talking to god. When my son, her only grandson, comes to her rundown smalltown apartment, which is on the short list of things keeping her going, she doesn't have a tv with cable, or video games, or a computer, or a bunch of fancy toys for him. If she wants to buy a forty one dollar cake for him, in the hopes that he remembers that one good time at nanas house when he's older, do you really think that calling her a grafter is going to help? who the #### are you to pass judgement on her?

Dude....wait a minute here. I am beginning to doubt that anything you say is even true because when you described your mom at first, you spoke of her as a person who would never even think to do anything extravagant. Now she is the person out wasting the money? We are talking about apples and oranges here. In any event, it also sounds as if she has very little assistance in life, perhaps you should take a look in the mirror to solve that issue, and stop praying to your hero President Obama.

I think its fascinating how easily you can pass judgement on me and my family from your elitist ivory tower.

You've got time to sit on the Internet and spout off over 36,000 opinions according to the post count while your mother lives in a subsidized flat with an easy bake oven? You sound just as selfish as the people you're railing against.

 

[BoneYardDog]

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40.

My mom can't make a cake like you're describing. She has a tiny oven less than a foot across in her subsidized studio. She doesn't own a cake pan and doesn't have a lot of room to store one. She can't always get a ride to the store, and the last time she walked, she fell and hit her head. She's a wonderfully kind hearted woman who wants to feel like her life is worthwhile and she's terribly depressed because she doesn't have the ability to do things for other people. Shes repeatedly tried working and can't because she sometimes flakes out and has to pray or thinks she's talking to god. When my son, her only grandson, comes to her rundown smalltown apartment, which is on the short list of things keeping her going, she doesn't have a tv with cable, or video games, or a computer, or a bunch of fancy toys for him. If she wants to buy a forty one dollar cake for him, in the hopes that he remembers that one good time at nanas house when he's older, do you really think that calling her a grafter is going to help? who the #### are you to pass judgement on her?

Why don't you take care of your family???

 

[Wrighteous Ray]

This thread is like a magnet for dooshes.

 

[mr roboto]

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40.

My mom can't make a cake like you're describing. She has a tiny oven less than a foot across in her subsidized studio. She doesn't own a cake pan and doesn't have a lot of room to store one. She can't always get a ride to the store, and the last time she walked, she fell and hit her head. She's a wonderfully kind hearted woman who wants to feel like her life is worthwhile and she's terribly depressed because she doesn't have the ability to do things for other people. Shes repeatedly tried working and can't because she sometimes flakes out and has to pray or thinks she's talking to god. When my son, her only grandson, comes to her rundown smalltown apartment, which is on the short list of things keeping her going, she doesn't have a tv with cable, or video games, or a computer, or a bunch of fancy toys for him. If she wants to buy a forty one dollar cake for him, in the hopes that he remembers that one good time at nanas house when he's older, do you really think that calling her a grafter is going to help? who the #### are you to pass judgement on her?

Why don't you take care of your family???

If you are serious, you are a tool.If this is a joke, it's been done before, badly, in this thread.HTH.

 

[BoneYardDog]

I am helping raise 2 other families and have been for a while, when my wife goes food shopping she pays for 3 other family members who do not live with us and 1 that does...

I have been lucky in life and share what I can with other family members in need...

I could have tens of thousands of dollars more in my retirement account if I were a greedy *******...

I think that family is more important than "toys"...

I understand you can't see how family should help family, that is your loss...

 

[NJDawgPound]

I was very hard right for a long time and all it did was make me angry. With everything.

It was wearing me down and zapping my energy and when I took a long hard second look at what I actually believed versus the standard party line, it was way off. I retrained my mind to actually think about issues and if I don't agree with a person's stance, to at least give it thought.

Thanks bostonfred, for at least making me think about another side to a typical "ZOMG Why is someone spending $41 on a cake with food stamps!!??!?!1?" story.

 

[djmich]

If she wants to buy a forty one dollar cake for him, in the hopes that he remembers that one good time at nanas house when he's older, do you really think that calling her a grafter is going to help? who the #### are you to pass judgement on her?

He's the guy paying for the $41 cake. You want to buy a $5,000 cake....cool, do it with your own money.

If she spends forty bucks on something, she literally figured out to the dollar what she has to cut from her budget... Id try to take her grocery shopping later, and id pay for her groceries knowing she couldn't afford too many luxuries.

If you are buying her groceries sounds like she can't afford the $41 cake.

Tell me how i should juggle that with a job, and a wife, and a lawn that needs mowing, and a baby who i will only get to spend twenty nice summer days with as a one year old in my entire life

36,000 posts less would be a place to start.Public assistance exists, it is necessary, I'm glad I'm fortunate enough to not need it.Folks spending time getting pissed about a $41 cake are going to be miserable ####s for a long time because you aint stopping it.That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

 

[Chairshot]

That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

 

[hutchins929]

That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

Very good point!

 

[djmich]

That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

Generally I agree, as long as a $41 cake doesn't signal inefficiency in the assistance amounts...which I think is what the discussion should be about.Also, I'd argue that taxpayers would want to see the money used wisely, maybe everyone would be abe to hug it out if the grandma was buying Johnny Blueberries instead.

 

[Chairshot]

That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

Generally I agree, as long as a $41 cake doesn't signal inefficiency in the assistance amounts...which I think is what the discussion should be about.Also, I'd argue that taxpayers would want to see the money used wisely, maybe everyone would be abe to hug it out if the grandma was buying Johnny Blueberries instead.

If you haven't already, research what a person gets for assistance. It isn't much. I'd imagine 95% of the US spends more on food in any given month than people on assistance get.As far as her spending it wisely, that's such a slippery slope I wouldn't want to touch it.

 

[mr roboto]

The only way this type of purchase makes a difference to you, John Q Taxpayer, is of many, or most, of those who are receiving assistance are making 'poor' choices, and those choices impact studies done that determine how much to allow.

 

[Wrighteous Ray]

Blueberries are expensive. Day old bread is good enough.

 

[djmich]

That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

Generally I agree, as long as a $41 cake doesn't signal inefficiency in the assistance amounts...which I think is what the discussion should be about.Also, I'd argue that taxpayers would want to see the money used wisely, maybe everyone would be abe to hug it out if the grandma was buying Johnny Blueberries instead.

If you haven't already, research what a person gets for assistance. It isn't much. I'd imagine 95% of the US spends more on food in any given month than people on assistance get.As far as her spending it wisely, that's such a slippery slope I wouldn't want to touch it.

I'm not arguing that the assistance grants are too high, I doubt they are and I trust my government to figure that out (haha).I'm arguing that taxpayers have a right to complain, question and dispute how their money is being spent. It helps make sure things stay efficient. And if one does not like the complaints, questions, disuptes....then they should stop taking the taxpayers money.

So, my bigger issue is with the "you evil mother ####er how dare you question how your taxmoney is spent" attitude.

 

[djmich]

Blueberries are expensive. Day old bread is good enough.

Might lead to increased need for dental assistance.

 

[Chairshot]

I'm not arguing that the assistance grants are too high, I doubt they are and I trust my government to figure that out (haha).

I'm arguing that taxpayers have a right to complain, question and dispute how their money is being spent. It helps make sure things stay efficient. And if one does not like the complaints, questions, disuptes....then they should stop taking the taxpayers money.

So, my bigger issue is with the "you evil mother ####er how dare you question how your taxmoney is spent" attitude.

You are right, they do have a right. I'd argue that there are far, far, greater things to worry about than $41 cakes.Also, I think you are barking up the wrong tree if you think there are ways to further track, restrict, contain or maintain the food assistance program and some how get more efficient and spend fewer taxpayer dollars.

 

[Sarnoff]

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way.

It kind-of does. Not in just this one instance, but, in the long run. The reason a lot of people need the assistance is that they're just not smart with money. The hope of the taxpayer providing the assistance is that it's temporary, that the money will be put to good use to get someone who's hit hard times back on their feet. That the person in need will use it wisely so they eventually won't need it anymore. Blowing $41 on cake just shows that the cycle will never end, and this person will be stuck in poverty and on government assistance forever, because they haven't learned from their mistakes how to be smart with money. So the taxpayer will end up paying a lot more to this person in the future than if they had received some sort of guidance on how to make money last.

 

[djmich]

I'm not arguing that the assistance grants are too high, I doubt they are and I trust my government to figure that out (haha).

I'm arguing that taxpayers have a right to complain, question and dispute how their money is being spent. It helps make sure things stay efficient. And if one does not like the complaints, questions, disuptes....then they should stop taking the taxpayers money.

So, my bigger issue is with the "you evil mother ####er how dare you question how your taxmoney is spent" attitude.

You are right, they do have a right. I'd argue that there are far, far, greater things to worry about than $41 cakes.Also, I think you are barking up the wrong tree if you think there are ways to further track, restrict, contain or maintain the food assistance program and some how get more efficient and spend fewer taxpayer dollars.

Yes, the $41 cake argument is stupid. It's wrong to jump to a conclusion that everyone on assistance is spending $41 on cakes and it is wrong to defend the purchase as a necessary one.I cannot agree with you that this program is at maximum efficiency. I have no reason to know, but in general the government and maximum efficiency do not go hand in hand for me.

How much can be trimmed from this program I don't know and I do agree there likely bigger fish to fry (now that billion dollar illegal immigrant taxrefund scam...there's one).

 

[boots11234]

I'm with fred: I grew up on Welfare. I can remember going down to the supermarket as a kid and buying my ####ing Cherios with those ####ing neon-bright bills that you can spot from about a mile away, and trying to slink into my shoes as I pay. I can remember being a little embarrassed any time I threw something in the cart that wasn't completely healthy. It felt like I was stealing. I was embarrassed to eat free lunch for most of my school years. Right up through my senior year of HS. Without welfare, my family would have been homeless, and hungry. The investment the government made in my family has probably been returned 100 fold when you consider the taxes that I pay, my two sisters and one brother pays, that my mother pays. The public service jobs that now are held, the volunteer work that gets done, and the charity and church contributions. When I think about the moral indignation and tut-tutting of conservatives about Welfare -- those same conservatives who appear to give the robber-bankers a free pass -- and it's enough to make my head explode.Welfare may have serious flaws. The biggest being that I'm not entirely sure it, as a system, is more beneficial for the population it services than is harmful. But "they'll just waste their money on non-nutritious food" is the worst of the worst of the arguments.

I'm glad you felt this way as a child. It should be a humbling experience being on welfare. Perhaps it helped instill your work ethic.

 

[Abraham]

This thread needs to die.

Disagree. This thread is awesome.

 

[pittstownkiller]

This guy sees someone buy a ####### cake, decides its too expensive for them, then pats himself on the back for being able to afford a costco membership, a car, the time and gas to go across town 20 extra minutes on the weekend, the space in his home to store huge boxes of bulk goods, and the money to spend on things today that he wont use until tomorrow. But he doesn't take the time to ask if this is a single mom who is trying to help her kid have a cake with his friends so he will have some self confidence and wont feel like the poor kid who can't have a birthday party for reasons that have nothing to do with him, or if this mother is dealing with some other life issues like mental illness, substance abuse, or unemployment, or if this mother has the luxury to go on longer trips to the store or if it means that shed have to bring her youger baby in a car seat she can't afford or leave them with a babysitter who can't be bothered to watch a kid for a couple hours while she gets a two gallon jar of mayonnaise. He just says, this ladys stupid, and we shouldn't give her money anymore. Maybe he can spit on some homeless people on the way home and make himself feel even better.

No one should be buying a $41 cake with public benefits. Sorry.

You dont sound like someone who has walked a mile in those shoes. I hope for your sake you don't have to.

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40. It is really bothersome that some of you libs lack the intellect to understand that we don't get money from a money tree. What you obviously fail to comprehend is that the money this woman grafted is money that will not be able to go to somebody that actually needs it! So when your brother becomes indignant enough where he finally cannot care for himself, the facility they put him in will be lacking in funds precisely because of GARBAGE LIKE THIS!!!!!! Seriously man, take off the rosie-rose glasses and smell the smellin' salts....if you are telling us that you have a mentally ill brother, you should be smart enough to understand that people like that, unfortunately, are at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to demanding money to live on. When push comes to shove, your brother is going to be rotting away in a filthy, decrepit, understaffed, madhouse while millions of losers (unconcerned with work/society/etc.) are stuffing themselves with $4.00 packs of twinkies, $7.48 Tombstone Pizzas, $50.00 shrimp trays, and $41.00 sheet cakes purchased from the stores who are all too happy to exploit taxpayers like you. If I were you, with your family situation,I would be very concerned about problems such as this. The fact that you could care less is very puzzling, yet also quite telling.

I'm pretty sure this is exactly what Jesus would say.

I don't know what Jesus would say but I am sure he would rather not have you for a spokesman.

 

[mr roboto]

This guy sees someone buy a ####### cake, decides its too expensive for them, then pats himself on the back for being able to afford a costco membership, a car, the time and gas to go across town 20 extra minutes on the weekend, the space in his home to store huge boxes of bulk goods, and the money to spend on things today that he wont use until tomorrow. But he doesn't take the time to ask if this is a single mom who is trying to help her kid have a cake with his friends so he will have some self confidence and wont feel like the poor kid who can't have a birthday party for reasons that have nothing to do with him, or if this mother is dealing with some other life issues like mental illness, substance abuse, or unemployment, or if this mother has the luxury to go on longer trips to the store or if it means that shed have to bring her youger baby in a car seat she can't afford or leave them with a babysitter who can't be bothered to watch a kid for a couple hours while she gets a two gallon jar of mayonnaise. He just says, this ladys stupid, and we shouldn't give her money anymore. Maybe he can spit on some homeless people on the way home and make himself feel even better.

No one should be buying a $41 cake with public benefits. Sorry.

You dont sound like someone who has walked a mile in those shoes. I hope for your sake you don't have to.

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40. It is really bothersome that some of you libs lack the intellect to understand that we don't get money from a money tree. What you obviously fail to comprehend is that the money this woman grafted is money that will not be able to go to somebody that actually needs it! So when your brother becomes indignant enough where he finally cannot care for himself, the facility they put him in will be lacking in funds precisely because of GARBAGE LIKE THIS!!!!!! Seriously man, take off the rosie-rose glasses and smell the smellin' salts....if you are telling us that you have a mentally ill brother, you should be smart enough to understand that people like that, unfortunately, are at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to demanding money to live on. When push comes to shove, your brother is going to be rotting away in a filthy, decrepit, understaffed, madhouse while millions of losers (unconcerned with work/society/etc.) are stuffing themselves with $4.00 packs of twinkies, $7.48 Tombstone Pizzas, $50.00 shrimp trays, and $41.00 sheet cakes purchased from the stores who are all too happy to exploit taxpayers like you. If I were you, with your family situation,I would be very concerned about problems such as this. The fact that you could care less is very puzzling, yet also quite telling.

I'm pretty sure this is exactly what Jesus would say.

I don't know what Jesus would say but I am sure he would rather not have you for a spokesman.

Please tell me this is intentional irony.

 

[SeveredHorseHeads]

This guy sees someone buy a ####### cake, decides its too expensive for them, then pats himself on the back for being able to afford a costco membership, a car, the time and gas to go across town 20 extra minutes on the weekend, the space in his home to store huge boxes of bulk goods, and the money to spend on things today that he wont use until tomorrow. But he doesn't take the time to ask if this is a single mom who is trying to help her kid have a cake with his friends so he will have some self confidence and wont feel like the poor kid who can't have a birthday party for reasons that have nothing to do with him, or if this mother is dealing with some other life issues like mental illness, substance abuse, or unemployment, or if this mother has the luxury to go on longer trips to the store or if it means that shed have to bring her youger baby in a car seat she can't afford or leave them with a babysitter who can't be bothered to watch a kid for a couple hours while she gets a two gallon jar of mayonnaise. He just says, this ladys stupid, and we shouldn't give her money anymore. Maybe he can spit on some homeless people on the way home and make himself feel even better.

No one should be buying a $41 cake with public benefits. Sorry.

You dont sound like someone who has walked a mile in those shoes. I hope for your sake you don't have to.

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40. It is really bothersome that some of you libs lack the intellect to understand that we don't get money from a money tree. What you obviously fail to comprehend is that the money this woman grafted is money that will not be able to go to somebody that actually needs it! So when your brother becomes indignant enough where he finally cannot care for himself, the facility they put him in will be lacking in funds precisely because of GARBAGE LIKE THIS!!!!!! Seriously man, take off the rosie-rose glasses and smell the smellin' salts....if you are telling us that you have a mentally ill brother, you should be smart enough to understand that people like that, unfortunately, are at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to demanding money to live on. When push comes to shove, your brother is going to be rotting away in a filthy, decrepit, understaffed, madhouse while millions of losers (unconcerned with work/society/etc.) are stuffing themselves with $4.00 packs of twinkies, $7.48 Tombstone Pizzas, $50.00 shrimp trays, and $41.00 sheet cakes purchased from the stores who are all too happy to exploit taxpayers like you. If I were you, with your family situation,I would be very concerned about problems such as this. The fact that you could care less is very puzzling, yet also quite telling.

I'm pretty sure this is exactly what Jesus would say.

I don't know what Jesus would say but I am sure he would rather not have you for a spokesman.

You don't know what Jesus would say but you do know what he would think?

 

[pittstownkiller]

BTW, $41 is not a unheard of price for an ice cream sheet cake, and yes maybe it was her child's birthday, so she wanted to treat him but what do they eat when she is short at the end of the month? I would not pretend that I could look at a snapshot of a person's life and know their whole story but I have seen people on assistance make some head-scratching calls when it come to money; cell phones, cable tv, expensive clothing, and such.

 

[hutchins929]

This guy sees someone buy a ####### cake, decides its too expensive for them, then pats himself on the back for being able to afford a costco membership, a car, the time and gas to go across town 20 extra minutes on the weekend, the space in his home to store huge boxes of bulk goods, and the money to spend on things today that he wont use until tomorrow. But he doesn't take the time to ask if this is a single mom who is trying to help her kid have a cake with his friends so he will have some self confidence and wont feel like the poor kid who can't have a birthday party for reasons that have nothing to do with him, or if this mother is dealing with some other life issues like mental illness, substance abuse, or unemployment, or if this mother has the luxury to go on longer trips to the store or if it means that shed have to bring her youger baby in a car seat she can't afford or leave them with a babysitter who can't be bothered to watch a kid for a couple hours while she gets a two gallon jar of mayonnaise. He just says, this ladys stupid, and we shouldn't give her money anymore. Maybe he can spit on some homeless people on the way home and make himself feel even better.

No one should be buying a $41 cake with public benefits. Sorry.

You dont sound like someone who has walked a mile in those shoes. I hope for your sake you don't have to.

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40. It is really bothersome that some of you libs lack the intellect to understand that we don't get money from a money tree. What you obviously fail to comprehend is that the money this woman grafted is money that will not be able to go to somebody that actually needs it! So when your brother becomes indignant enough where he finally cannot care for himself, the facility they put him in will be lacking in funds precisely because of GARBAGE LIKE THIS!!!!!! Seriously man, take off the rosie-rose glasses and smell the smellin' salts....if you are telling us that you have a mentally ill brother, you should be smart enough to understand that people like that, unfortunately, are at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to demanding money to live on. When push comes to shove, your brother is going to be rotting away in a filthy, decrepit, understaffed, madhouse while millions of losers (unconcerned with work/society/etc.) are stuffing themselves with $4.00 packs of twinkies, $7.48 Tombstone Pizzas, $50.00 shrimp trays, and $41.00 sheet cakes purchased from the stores who are all too happy to exploit taxpayers like you. If I were you, with your family situation,I would be very concerned about problems such as this. The fact that you could care less is very puzzling, yet also quite telling.

I'm pretty sure this is exactly what Jesus would say.

I don't know what Jesus would say but I am sure he would rather not have you for a spokesman.

You don't know what Jesus would say but you do know what he would think?

Awe isn't that precious?!? Jesus is his BFF!

 

[parasaurolophus]

That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

You said this before and it simply isn't true. If it had no effect, there would be zero restrictions at all. I asked you before why have any restrictions if you only get what you get. You didn't answer. I suspect because you know the answer to that question is the same as to why you shouldn't spend 41 dollars on a cake. If the money were just spent on alcohol or cigarettes or cosmetics then the burden of hunger falls elsewhere. That is not what the program was designed for. It is to make sure people don't go hungry.

 

[parasaurolophus]

If she wants to buy a forty one dollar cake for him, in the hopes that he remembers that one good time at nanas house when he's older, do you really think that calling her a grafter is going to help? who the #### are you to pass judgement on her?

He's the guy paying for the $41 cake. You want to buy a $5,000 cake....cool, do it with your own money.

If she spends forty bucks on something, she literally figured out to the dollar what she has to cut from her budget... Id try to take her grocery shopping later, and id pay for her groceries knowing she couldn't afford too many luxuries.

If you are buying her groceries sounds like she can't afford the $41 cake.

Tell me how i should juggle that with a job, and a wife, and a lawn that needs mowing, and a baby who i will only get to spend twenty nice summer days with as a one year old in my entire life

36,000 posts less would be a place to start.Public assistance exists, it is necessary, I'm glad I'm fortunate enough to not need it.Folks spending time getting pissed about a $41 cake are going to be miserable ####s for a long time because you aint stopping it.That being said, the general point should be that the amount provided should only be enough to assist in lifes necessities...a $41 cake is not a necessity, no matter how good it makes nana's Johnny feel. Taxpayers have a right to complain and always question the efficiency of these programs.

This is uncalled for. It sure sounds to me like BF does a heck of a lot for his family members. I think he was off base in projecting his views about his mother and creating a scenario where her buying a 41 cake would be justified in his mind therefore justifying the OP's cake offender, but that doesn't make his postings or anything else about his life worthy of being questioned as some sort of character indictment.

 

[pittstownkiller]

This guy sees someone buy a ####### cake, decides its too expensive for them, then pats himself on the back for being able to afford a costco membership, a car, the time and gas to go across town 20 extra minutes on the weekend, the space in his home to store huge boxes of bulk goods, and the money to spend on things today that he wont use until tomorrow. But he doesn't take the time to ask if this is a single mom who is trying to help her kid have a cake with his friends so he will have some self confidence and wont feel like the poor kid who can't have a birthday party for reasons that have nothing to do with him, or if this mother is dealing with some other life issues like mental illness, substance abuse, or unemployment, or if this mother has the luxury to go on longer trips to the store or if it means that shed have to bring her youger baby in a car seat she can't afford or leave them with a babysitter who can't be bothered to watch a kid for a couple hours while she gets a two gallon jar of mayonnaise. He just says, this ladys stupid, and we shouldn't give her money anymore. Maybe he can spit on some homeless people on the way home and make himself feel even better.

No one should be buying a $41 cake with public benefits. Sorry.

You dont sound like someone who has walked a mile in those shoes. I hope for your sake you don't have to.

Who cares if anyone has walked a mile.....if they want a cake they should buy a Pillsbury one and frost it themselves for $15 instead of $40. It is really bothersome that some of you libs lack the intellect to understand that we don't get money from a money tree. What you obviously fail to comprehend is that the money this woman grafted is money that will not be able to go to somebody that actually needs it! So when your brother becomes indignant enough where he finally cannot care for himself, the facility they put him in will be lacking in funds precisely because of GARBAGE LIKE THIS!!!!!! Seriously man, take off the rosie-rose glasses and smell the smellin' salts....if you are telling us that you have a mentally ill brother, you should be smart enough to understand that people like that, unfortunately, are at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to demanding money to live on. When push comes to shove, your brother is going to be rotting away in a filthy, decrepit, understaffed, madhouse while millions of losers (unconcerned with work/society/etc.) are stuffing themselves with $4.00 packs of twinkies, $7.48 Tombstone Pizzas, $50.00 shrimp trays, and $41.00 sheet cakes purchased from the stores who are all too happy to exploit taxpayers like you. If I were you, with your family situation,I would be very concerned about problems such as this. The fact that you could care less is very puzzling, yet also quite telling.

I'm pretty sure this is exactly what Jesus would say.

I don't know what Jesus would say but I am sure he would rather not have you for a spokesman.

You don't know what Jesus would say but you do know what he would think?

Awe isn't that precious?!? Jesus is his BFF!

I chose my words carefully; I do know that He would prefer to not have you, in particular, to characterize His actions/thoughts.

 

[renesauz]

Most people on SNAP could have their benefits cut in half or more and still eat just fine with a little extra training and perhaps a crock pot and rice cooker.

Certain food items are dirt cheap (plain rice, beans), are highly nutritious compared to easier to fix but far more expensive foods, but require just a hair more talent to fix than turning on an oven or punching a few buttons on a microwave.

You'd be surprised how many people waste SNAP money simply because they have no friggin clue how to cook. The lady in this story may have never baked a cake in her life.

 

[Ursa M]

Food Stamps and the $41 Cake

How did this great nation travel from the common sense of our grandparents to where we are today?

<blah blah blah>

One $41 cake at a time.

It's probably true that food stamps get abused. I have no doubt about it. But is it likely that food stamps as a whole have anything much to do with the current debt? Let's see.....deficit of, oh, let's call it a trillion dollars in 2010 for easy math. Food stamps cost in 2010 - $65 billion. 6.5% of deficit.OK, not chump change but did we get where we are one $41 cake at a time? No.

 

[Tchula]

I get so disgusted every time I see someone with a cart full of steaks and seafood pay with a food stamp card and then load it up in their Lexus. Happens more often than youd think.

 

[Marvin]

I get so disgusted every time I see someone with a cart full of steaks and seafood pay with a food stamp card and then load it up in their Lexus. Happens more often than youd think.

I think it happens 34,228 times a day. Am I close?

 

[Chairshot]

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.

Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

You said this before and it simply isn't true. If it had no effect, there would be zero restrictions at all. I asked you before why have any restrictions if you only get what you get. You didn't answer. I suspect because you know the answer to that question is the same as to why you shouldn't spend 41 dollars on a cake. If the money were just spent on alcohol or cigarettes or cosmetics then the burden of hunger falls elsewhere. That is not what the program was designed for. It is to make sure people don't go hungry.

I didn't answer it before because it isn't the great point you seem to think it is. There are very few "restrictions" on this program, unless you consider the fact that they have to use the money on food. They can't use the money on alcohol, cigarettes or cosmetics for the same reason they can't use it on sofas, guns or monster trucks: those things aren't food.I guess you could make an argument that alcohol is food, but it's not exactly sitting on the food pyramid anywhere. Someone who has EBT benefits can basically use it for most food items or seeds to grow food items. Pretty much the only real restriction is that it can't be used on hot food items, so no Mickey D's. It's very broad.

Let's be honest here. Almost no one, including you I'm guessing, care that she bought an ice cream cake, so restrictions aren't the problem. The problem people have is that she spent too much on an ice cream cake, in their opinion. Which is a very slippery slope, I think. Should they be allowed to get Chef-Boy-R-Dee ravioli or do they have to buy generic, since it's cheaper? Maybe they should only spend on sale items. Stew meat is OK but a T-bone is not. You start getting into all kinds of mess if you go down that road.

I asked you a question, too, which you failed to answer (tho, I won't assume to know why you didn't answer, as you did with me). So I'll ask again:

How much is she allowed to spend on ice cream cake?

 

[parasaurolophus]

Whether she spends $41 on cake or $4 on a cake, it impacts the taxpayer in no way. She gets what she gets. If she got extra money for cake buying, taxpayers would have a stake in her buying choices and I could understand people being upset about that.

Unless someone is suggesting that this woman should be getting less money (which I highly doubt any sane person would suggest, if we were to see the total amount of food assistance she is receiving each month) then no one is really arguing about efficiencies here. Trust me, even at max benefits, she isn't getting that much. And she probably isn't getting max benefits.

You said this before and it simply isn't true. If it had no effect, there would be zero restrictions at all. I asked you before why have any restrictions if you only get what you get. You didn't answer. I suspect because you know the answer to that question is the same as to why you shouldn't spend 41 dollars on a cake. If the money were just spent on alcohol or cigarettes or cosmetics then the burden of hunger falls elsewhere. That is not what the program was designed for. It is to make sure people don't go hungry.

I didn't answer it before because it isn't the great point you seem to think it is. There are very few "restrictions" on this program, unless you consider the fact that they have to use the money on food. They can't use the money on alcohol, cigarettes or cosmetics for the same reason they can't use it on sofas, guns or monster trucks: those things aren't food.I guess you could make an argument that alcohol is food, but it's not exactly sitting on the food pyramid anywhere. Someone who has EBT benefits can basically use it for most food items or seeds to grow food items. Pretty much the only real restriction is that it can't be used on hot food items, so no Mickey D's. It's very broad.

Let's be honest here. Almost no one, including you I'm guessing, care that she bought an ice cream cake, so restrictions aren't the problem. The problem people have is that she spent too much on an ice cream cake, in their opinion. Which is a very slippery slope, I think. Should they be allowed to get Chef-Boy-R-Dee ravioli or do they have to buy generic, since it's cheaper? Maybe they should only spend on sale items. Stew meat is OK but a T-bone is not. You start getting into all kinds of mess if you go down that road.

I asked you a question, too, which you failed to answer (tho, I won't assume to know why you didn't answer, as you did with me). So I'll ask again:

How much is she allowed to spend on ice cream cake?

Typically when you reply to a question with a question you wont get much discourse.How much do I think she should be allowed to spend on ice cream cake using public assistance?

Zero dollars.

I don't think it is a slippery slope at all. The point of these programs should be too keep people from going hungry. You can get a heck of a lot of food for a lot less money if you are smart about it. I think we could give them less money and spend some of the difference on food/nutrition education. Make it required.