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Your Opinion: WIC or foodstamps, but also having luxuries
Would you mind giving me your opinion? I know a mother who is on WIC and has other government benefits, and does not work, yet she and her husband just returned from a pretty lavish Vegas vacation, and are going to Disney World next month. This and her 2 girls dress in expensive clothes, she goes to Starbucks every day, they get a new American Girl Doll for every holiday it seems, and have everything they want - more than any working family with no government help I know. At the very same time, I have been assigned to do a research study for a grad school project on government assistance. I'd like to get some opinions on this matter first (I obviously have my opinion, but it's not a part of this paper). Let me know your opinion on this matter - TIA!
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Re: Your Opinion: WIC or foodstamps, but also having luxuries
Agree. Also, just because they have made all of those purchases and go on vacations does not mean that they are paying for them with their hard earned money. They could easily be throwing those items on their credit cards. If you saw how my brother lived, you'd think he made a lot more than he actually does. Reality is that credit card companies gave them outrageously high limits on their cards and they feel very comfortable using it even though they often get out of control. They are lucky enough to have my parents who bail them out of these situations or, in the past, they've used tax returns to pay for a chunk of the bills. If they honestly meet the requirements for WIC, I can't imagine that they actually have the money for all of that. I looked into this when my brother had his 2nd child and I think the yearly household income had to be somewhere around $45,000 or less in our state (I believe it was state-by-state). You'd have to reeeeally be scrimping to afford what you're talking about on that income.
How can someone afford to go to Disney and be on government assistance? Tickets to the park are so expensive and then drinks, food, hotel, etc. And going to Vegas? If you can afford to gamble, you can afford to pay for your own way in life.
Government assistance is for people who are in need and unable to provide for themselves, not people who want things and want to have it all.
Then again I am probably in the minority. I think if you are on Govt. assistance you shouldn't have a tv either- if you can afford a tv you can afford to buy $50 worth of groceries- and also it will give you motivation to get out and find work, even if it is just at McDonalds.
FWIW I grew up poor and my parents earned $12 too much to qualify for govt assistance. We didn't have vacations growing up. I didn't have any birthday parties. What I did get was an education in self worth and entitlement.
Family vacations are not a right, they are a privilige, in my opinion. I am 30 years old and still have never had a birthday party because my mom back then couldn't afford the $10 cake, or party gifts. I remember being limited to a $5 toy for birthdays.
I also know people on Govt assistance from my previous job. Most deserved it. But I also know that about 1/3 of them were scamming. One guy was making $52,000 a year but getting food stamps and housing assistance.
I wish people would quit judging those who use wic or any other form of assistance.
Do you know for certain that she pays for her the clothes, dolls, coffee, and trips? I SAH and my parents are very supportive of this decision. They know it means that finances are tight, and they like to give us more because of this. My mom loves to shop for my boys, so they actually dress much nicer than I could afford. They also buy them bigger gifts at holidays than my husband I would pick out. And I have some friends that if their parents did not pay for their air fare, they would not take the entire family on a vacation. But it is worth it to the grandparents to pay, so they can enjoy their grandkids at Disney. You just might not know the whole story.
I think you need to get some pre-conceived notions out of your head before beginning your research.
I believe that those programs are for those that need them and it's based on income, so she must qualify for them as she is needy and I don't see anything wrong with that. Like the PP said, maybe they save their money so that they can take a trip every once and awhile with their kids. When I went out on maternity leave (without pay) I actually qualified for WIC. I was the breadwinner in my family (as my hubby works pt and goes to school) and when I went out on maternity leave the loss of income really hurt us. Thus, WIC really helped us out a lot. I am much appreciative of these programs as they help out when a family has a major change in income.
To the PP: WIC is a program for Women, Infants, and Children that provides healthy staples like milk, bread, cheese, etc. Where as, food stamps are money given to a family to buy what ever food they choose at a grocery store (it could be healthy or unhealthy food).
I agree with pp.
How do you know that they pay for their vacations? Could it be a gift from family members? Or they possibly got a discount? When my husband was in the military we could get vacation packages for pretty cheap, especially if it wasn't the "season" to go to, say, Disneyland.
I don't know how they could afford to have all of those luxuries and be on WIC at the same time. My kids are currently on WIC and we are still struggling to make ends meet. There is no way we could take any sort of vacation right now.
Maybe I missed something in the OP, but I'm not seeing where she was judging.....
The Bee Hive Blog
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
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Thank you. I didn't have judgement in my OP. I was just curious to other opinions. I am not 100% positive that she pays for it on her own, but her parents are not alive and his parents are estranged. But I was asking more a generality of it all, rather than just her particular situation. Thanks again for opinions!
I haven't, but I will certainly do so! Thanks!
The Bee Hive Blog
"So I sing a song of love, Julia"
06.10.10
BFAR:We Defined Our Own Success!
25 Weeks - GOAL MET 52.2 Pounds gone! 27 Weeks Total Pounds Lost: 54.0
I would say that it's not judgmental to look at a family who is asking for assistance but living a better lifestyle than many families not on government assistance. My sister and BIL struggle to make ends meet and have 2 kids. Yes my parents help A TON with getting the kids nice things and making sure they have what they need and occasionally taking the family on trips. However, you can still tell on a day to day basis that they struggle to get by.
I don't have any problem with someone who is working hard and trying to provide for their family to get some sort of assistance. However, I do have a problem with people who are receiving assistance taking advantage of it. I was a teacher prior to SAH and I'd have kids who swore they couldn't afford field trips, lunch, etc and received assistance. These same kids would get brand new cell phones (nicer than mine!), nice computers, video gaming systems, etc. It seems a little bothersome when they have nicer stuff then other kids who do not get assistance.
I just think it's unfair for families who might really truly need the help - when someone else takes advantage of the situation. I do think that there is a time and place for assistance and I don't think it's fair to judge everyone on WIC or foodstamps by the same measure - BUT if they are taking advantage of the situation or making more than they are saying it's completely unfair to other families who don't get assistance and are struggling to get by!!
So no you don't know where they get these luxuries - maybe it is a family member or friend but I'd say with the number of luxuries they experience something else is going on. If it was a few nice things, etc you might chalk it up to gifts, but that many lavish activities seems a little strange.
Also for your paper you may want to research some of the mormon communes. I'm not saying anything about mormons in general - please do not think that...my SIL is mormon. But some of the extremist polygamist groups do take major advantage of the system. Because their marriages are not legally acknowledged - many of these polygamist wives can claim single mom status and receive government assistance. The book "Under the Banner of Heaven" addresses the topic. Again I am not bad mouthing Mormons at all but there are some extremist groups within mormonism that take advantage (just as I am sure there are extremist Christians, Jewish, and Muslim people who take advantage as well!)
I agree! It's amazing how many people live off credit cards & just charge everything! Someone can look like they have money when they are really just charging everything and getting further and furthen in debt. So sad, but I know many people that live like this. Unless you see someones bank account & credit card statements you really don't know how much a person is worth.
If the trips are gifts, I am okay with it.
If the trips are being put on credit cards, I am okay with it, BUT they will have a lot of problems in the future trying to pay it all back. CC are very expensive when you consider the interest rates and fees. I know first-hand because I made financial mistakes when I was younger. I'm paying for that now....
If they are scamming, that is WRONG and BAD. I hope they get caught if that is the case.
As for the pp that said people on assistance shouldn't own a tv, I disagree. Maybe their tv is really old and they don't have cable.... The tv in my living room was a gift I received in 1997 (but I am not on foodstamps or WIC). Nothing wrong with that. For me, the first thing to go if I couldn't pay my bills would be the cable. It is not necessary at all. Maybe that is what pp intended.
You are being very defensive here - I don't think the OP was judging but stating circumstances. The fact is that some people DO abuse the systems that are meant to help people - not everyone abuses it, but some do, and that hurts everyone.
I do think you have a good point about not knowing the whole story though when it comes to judging benefits.
I have a family member that terribly abuses the system. I try not to let that cloud my judgement when it comes to questions like this. The facts are: they receive assistance but still spend money like no-one's business on electronics, clothes, etc. My theories is that some of the money comes from credit cards, some comes from their parents (who don't have the heart to tell them no), and some comes from proceeds of drug sales.
I can't tell you how often we see people making two seperate transactions in the check-out line. They'll use their WIC/link cards for the food and then whip out cash for their beer and other useless crap. Talking on their super cool cell phones while wearing expensive clothes and shoes. DH saw someone get out of a Navigator on chrome 22s (wheels, lol) and then use his WIC/link card.
My sister works pt at McDonalds, and she only recently got this job. She's been jobless for well over a year. Her fiance is useless and doesn't work either. They have a 1 year old. My sister lied and says she still lives at home with my mother (they live in a cheap apartment) and has no contact with the father. She gets more benefits this way. Buuuut, her fiance spends God knows how much on pot every week.
I think they need to do drug tests and home checks for people on WIC. Period.
And for unemployment as well. Many jobs now require drug screening and I feel it should carry over to unemployment payments as well.
I agree 100%!
I SAH and we would qualify for WIC, but I feel like we made the decision for me to SAH, so it isn't fair to use those benefits when there are people who need them. Now, if I had been laid off, or if we decided I need to work, but I couldn't find a job and we really needed it, we would use WIC.
In college, my mom didn't want to apply for scholarships because they worked very hard to save to pay for my education and they felt that scholarship money should be left for people who need it. Now it did really annoy them that my friend's parents (4 kids), ran out of $$ for college on the first kid!! Yet they go on a month long vacation every year. I give them the side eye
But, you also have no idea how they are paying for those trips. They might be racking up debt. I find it's better to not think about those situations, you don't what's going on, and it can just cause resentment.
I work for a non-profit program where families have to financially qualify for services through us, so I see this all the time. The majority of these families have nicer cars, clothes, cell phones and even homes, than our staff. This is just the way the social service system works these days, it is rewarding to those who do not work. Sometimes the famlies who try to qualify
I work for a non-profit program where families have to financially qualify for services through us, so I see this all the time. The majority of these families have nicer cars, clothes, cell phones and even homes, than our staff. This is just the way the social service system works these days, it is rewarding to those who do not work. Sometimes the famlies who try to qualify
forI work for a non-profit program where families have to financially qualify for services through us, so I see this all the time. The majority of these families have nicer cars, clothes, cell phones and even homes, than our staff. This is just the way the social service system works these days, it is rewarding to those who do not work. Sometimes the famlies who try to qualify for
I work for a non-profit program where families have to financially qualify for services through us, so I see this all the time. The majority of these families have nicer cars, clothes, cell phones and even homes, than our staff. This is just the way the social service system works these days, it is rewarding to those who do not work. Sometimes the famlies who try to qualify for
ourI work for a non-profit program where families have to financially qualify for services through us, so I see this all the time. The majority of these families have nicer cars, clothes, cell phones and even homes, than our staff. This is just the way the social service system works these days, it is rewarding to those who do not work. Sometimes the famlies who try to qualify for
This is very respectable
Ughh Stupid websites... Sorry
I work for a non-profit program where families have to financially qualify for services through us, so I see this all the time. The majority of these families have nicer cars, clothes, cell phones and even homes, than our staff. This is just the way the social service system works these days, it is rewarding to those who do not work. Sometimes the famlies who try to qualify for but are over our income guidlines will apply again in a few months and they decided to quit their job in order to qualify for our program.
The honest truth is that our system does not work the way it was intended to.
I can see both sides.
I SAH and we're on WIC. However, my H has 2 jobs, and he makes more at his jobs than I could. With no degree and all my experience being in retail, I could get a PT job making min. wage. But I'd have to work around his schedule or we'd have to pay daycare which would use all of what I'd be making. We also only have 1 car.
Growing up my mom went on WIC when she had my littlest sister. She was a single mom working to raise 3 girls. Our vacations were limited to weekend trips to Frankenmuth, Mackinac, or the UP to visit family. And she wasn't using CCs to pay for them. She scrimped and saved and we managed to have some fun.
However, in our area I know the big deal is college kids applying for food stamps and not acknowledging that they are supported by their parents. It has been in the news, and apparently the gov't is looking into the issue.
The good thing about WIC is that while you may abuse the system by saying you qualify when you don't it's not like you can buy junk with the money. You are limited to very specific items each month. You get cereal, but you can't buy sugar crap. So, that is the one good thing.
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I would have to agree with most of the PP. The system is flawed. It sucks that families have to skrimp and save to provide for their families and other families are spending money on beer and cigarettes while the government is paying for their kids' food. If they saved the $100/week on the luxeries they could feed their families.
What we have to realize though is that things are never going to change. It sucks, but it will continue to happen until our children have children because of the sense of entitlement that has overtaken this country.
I don't get it--how can someone be on assistance and "save" enough money to go on a vacation? If you have enough money to save, shouldn't that negate the fact that you need help financially?
I grew up without a lot of money. We were not on assistance, but my parents made enough to keep us fed and clothed (granted, we got a lot of hand-me-downs from my mom's friends). We never went on vacations.
in 08, between income, state, federal and property tax my husband and I paid 40,000 in taxes. we both worked very hard to move up the ladder for 15 years . I got pregnant and we both lost our jobs within two monthes . When I called for help with health insurance, wic or foodstamps I was denied because I made to much money on unemployment. They don't figure in morgages , cars payment s etc .
I must admit I was resentful of that fact I know people that take advantage of the system . Generations of families abusing it and the one time I need it I was denied .
Side note - Just read a report that in Mass, we spent 36 million on healthcare in 09 on illegal immigrants . I paid into a system for 11 years that I couldn't use , doesn't seem fair to me !
That is the same way in Texas, there are so many illegals using the public assistance programs, that the legal citizans can;t get the help needed. Most of these illegals are also getting cash paid daily labor jobs, so their income goes undocumented.