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Old August 14th, 2009, 07:49 PM
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Duhhhhh

Went to the grocery store tonight to pick up a few things. What I saw just blew my mind away. There was this woman buying all kings of crap, doritos, pop,m & m 's., pop etc. No fresh meat, milk or eggs. And a $4.99 bag of dog food and a carton of OJ. She whips out a voucher from Children's Aid for $50. She had bought too much stuff. So what goes back, the dog food and the OJ. Her obese kid was wearing expensive shoes and she had a lot of jewellery on. I told her perhaps she should put some junk food back and get the poor dog some food. She just said he can wait until payday????? I bought $60 worth of groceries , salmon, chicken, spaghetti sauce, hamburgers milk and some veggies. ( so there were deals to be had) Man I hate seeing the system taken like that..... ( i feel sorry for the dog )
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Old August 14th, 2009, 08:29 PM
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I agree.

I keep hearing that those on welfare can't afford healthy food because it is too expensive. Well I don't know about whoever is writing the article, but it is much cheaper to eat healthy, fresh carrrots, potatoes, turnip, lettuce (not pre packaged) meat (OK not tenderloin) and make meals from scratch than it is to buy processed junk. I make my spaghetti sauce from scratch, lots of stews, soups and pot roast for only a few dollars a meal. I even make my own bread for pennies a loaf. If you are not working, what else do you have to do all day?

Oh, and I work 40 hours a week and manage to cook everything from scratch.
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Old August 14th, 2009, 09:34 PM
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Well i guess the US isnt the only one with free loaders.
When i got out of high school i worked at a grocery store, you cant imagine the people i have seen. People with leather jackets buying food with foodstamps, and then dishing out a bunch of money for marlboro cigarettes.
I am tired of strugling and them sitting on there doing nothing and getting paid for it.
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Old August 14th, 2009, 09:42 PM
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I was at a grocery store a few years back and someone was buying packets of kool aid at 10 cents and using a $20 gift certificate each time. He ended up spending .50 and getting 99.50 back in change
The money probably went to clothes as he was all decked out in expensive exercise gear......
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Old August 15th, 2009, 01:33 AM
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And then there are those who could really use the help. I remember once when I was shopping and I overheard a mom telling her little girl, who was asking for some kind of fresh veggies "No baby, we're too poor to buy that". Her cart wasn't loaded with junk, just the bare necessities. If I hadn't been so strapped for cash myself at the time I would have been tempted to buy whatever it was the kid wanted and give it to her. It's really too bad when those who need do without and the others waste the money away. I never spend much time in busy downtown areas of the city but I can remember a few times going there with my mom and seeing people begging for money. My mom would never give them cash, she said she'd prefer to buy them a meal so she knew where the money went.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 03:18 AM
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I hate the fact that I had to drop out of school because I couldn't pay for school and afford to live. I refuse to go on food stamps because I don't need them. I have a full time job that wasn't hard to get and if I can't afford something I go without.
I hate seeing people who refuse to get a job (I am a manager at McDonald's and I did not want to go back into fast food when I moved away from home) because the only one they can get is a fast food position. My opinion is, get a job or live on the street, you should not get free money when there are really people who need it (of course there are exceptions like when people can't work. They are fine with me). I live in Utah and even in the smaller cities you have people on the side of the road with signs asking for money...why don't they spend all that time to go look for a job?
If I asked 5,000 people for $1 I would be able to pay for my school, but instead I am working and saving until I can afford to pay for it (can't get a loan for it) so there are definately alternitaves to having the government pay for your stuff...I do it every day...once you get dependent on something you will most likely never wean yourself from that dependency, so the only one you can be dependent on is yourself and your loved ones (in some cases)
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Old August 15th, 2009, 06:35 AM
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welfare is in place to help people when needed.........if it only worked that way, children I keep, well the majority of them live off the "roll", they have better clothes than mine ever did, in the winter if they are school age they receive two sets of winter outter wear, one set for school and one to play outdoors in, you'll see them for sale on line "new winter snow suit", they get vouchers for free lunches at school, top of the line lunch kits/back packs and the moms usually are driving new cars...I had one mom that had two little girls, worked in an office and drove an escalade!!!! her daycare was paid for her by the city........imagine that....and did I mention she owned her own 2 yr old home, 3 bedroom/2 bathrooms? yeah......poor deprived mom. ok, this is the end of my rant *L* its hard to work for social services and keep my tongue in my mouth.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 07:55 AM
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I see this ALL the time. Every visit to the grocery store I check out what other people have in their baskets. I'm nosey!! lol

8 out of 10 people I see junk food in their baskets. Frozen dinners, chips, candy bars and other pre packaged, manufactured "foods."

I don't buy premade spaghetti sauce, but instead a decent brand of pureed tomato which is like $1.19 a can and it takes 3 big cans to make a nice pot of sauce that feeds three adults for 2.5 meals. The leftover sauce gets frozen and when there's enough we make 4 big veggie pizzas. Sometimes we make our own noodles but most of the time we buy grain pasta which is pretty much the only packaged food product we buy other than cheese. I also make bread twice a week. Locally a good crusty loaf of fresh bread is $2.99.

Anyway I know people on welfare here in Quebec. They are English and ever since the language police (yes there is such a thing) cracked down on businesses over 50 employees and made them operate in French. So the English folks lost their jobs. Instead of trying to better themselves by learning French they decided to go on welfare and have been on it ever since. (20+ years)

They don't even make the smallest attempt to find work and just stay on the system. How they are allowed to remain on the system I'll never know. They are perfectly capable of work but don't even try. Then again there is a lack of employment in this area. But still...
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Old August 15th, 2009, 08:16 AM
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I actually grew up on welfare,with a very sick divorced mom,in those days she had to beg for it every month:sad:
Maybe here in Ontario mothers with kids gets enough money for luxuries,but I know for a fact a single person gets $520/month,for rent and food,maybe it's a little more now,hardly enough for luxuries.

What I am opposed to is the government housing,where it seems to me,mothers are having one child after the other,often with different fathers.
There is a waiting-list miles long,for affordable housing,but somehow some people can get ahead of everyone else.
There are shootings and drug-business in that area every day,why do they still get subsidized housing???
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Old August 15th, 2009, 08:24 AM
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Ok...I have to chime in here!

I have been out of work for longer than ever in my whole life :sad: (start a new job Monday though )...surprisingly, I couldn't even get a job at McDonalds cuz I was "overqualified" (different rant there ).

I did not qualify for EI or welfare, so I had to depend on my mom, my savings and the odd job here and there...it was hard.

When I would go shopping, it would simply amaze me at what people would buy I have always been somewhat thrifty, but the money wasted...as if these people had no idea they or their husband could be out of work tomorrow and if they were buying this crap on assistance... The thing that got me was when I would see a woman with three kids + buying all this crap and complaining that the price of apples was too high Some people have no sense.

Now, here in Alberta, SSI doesn't give vouchers for food (a long time ago they decided it was undignified)(sometimes for clothes though), so I have no idea of how many of these folks were on assistance, but judging from it being a recession, I can imagine a few were.

Now, in my younger days, I did take from EI or SSI on ocassion (until I got into school), but I did not sit around complaining...I looked for a job...I had neighbours though who used ot actually laugh at me cuz I wanted to get away from my "free ride"...I am so glad I don't live in that environment anymore...it is a cesspool...I can certainly see why it is so hard for weak people to get away from a ghetto.

I also agree about the government housing...we too lived there when I was young and there were a lot of women who would shack up with some guy, not declare him and live the life of Riley! Calgary Housing didn't care...they only cared if they found a cat in your suite.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 08:58 AM
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chico, here a mom of two gets her daycare free ($300./week for 2 kids), my niece with one child has her apartment free, 2 bedroom/2 bathroom (600 rent) she pays her 25 dollar electric bill and her own cable,she gets 250 a month for groceries, doesn't include weekly eggs, milk, oatmeal and juice, those she gets vouchers for free at our early yrs center, her son will get free dental till he is 18, she is given vouchers at xmas for stores, a ham, turkey and veggies and at easter. she recieves 400 dollars a month from mothers allowance, 100 child tax credit a month, 900 gst every 3 months, and her baby bonus per month is 380. now with all that, would you be encouraged to get a job? remember, her rent is paid.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 10:12 AM
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In Ontario, out of all the investigations of welfare fraud only 12% are proven to be legitimately fraudulent. Anyone on welfare, ODSP OR making minimum wage is living below the Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO) as set out by the Government of Canada. Violence is rampant in subsidized housing because poverty breeds gangs and poor people are literally being ghetto-ized like the Jewish were in the Holocaust. Most people on assistance have mental health problems or learning disabilities of some kind, or they were born into the "system" and never had a positive role model to teach them how to live differently.

I grew up with my mother who was single and received ODSP as a result of epilepsy, two heart attacks and a mental health problem. She didn't know how to budget money well, so I did it. Trust me, it did not go far. We bought groceries at the dollar store (Mr. Noodles, etc.) and picked up day-old bread and doughnuts every other day that the grocery store donated to the Salvation Army store. She didn't drink or use drugs....the money went where it was supposed to but there was still never enough.

At 15 I moved out on my own because I couldn't handle taking care of her while trying to finish school. I went on student welfare....$520 per month. That's it. And their "dental plan" only included "emergency extractions". So basically, they wouldn't clean or fill your teeth, but would remove them for you once they started rotting out of your head. I lost four adult molars thanks to that.

I think sometimes we are quick to judge others before taking a minute to think about what their experiences may have been growing up. It's a hard time for everyone right now but helping each other is more useful then being bitter. And it's important to remember that the system may hand over money, but the programs to support people in other ways and teach them to do differently in their lives are few and far between.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 10:49 AM
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dental programs for children
(its changed since then Chases mom, my nephew, 8 yrs old, just had two filling put in, free of charge, you have to make an appointment with the health unit first, they determine if your child needs to see a dentist or not, then if they do they hand you a form to give to your dentist.

The Children in Need of Treatment (CINOT) program provides basic dental care for children and youth (up to their 18th birthday) who have urgent dental needs, no dental insurance and the cost of treatment would create a financial hardship.

All of Ontario’s 36 public health units provide free of charge, or pay for, the provision of topical fluoride, fissure sealants (a clear plastic placed on the biting surfaces of back teeth to prevent decay) and scaling (cleaning) for low income elementary school children who meet defined eligibility criteria. To find out if your child qualifies for one of these services, or to learn more about free and low cost dental services available in your area, contact your local public health unit at: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/...phuloc_mn.html

The City of Toronto has a municipally-funded children's dental treatment program.


here also, you can find your own apartment up to a certain amount of rent and the low income division will pay for it while you are on a waiting list, I think the top limit they will pay is 550 for a two bedroom, if you have one child of each sex you have to have a 3 bedroom if they are over 5 yrs of age
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Old August 15th, 2009, 02:43 PM
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Chase_Mom, none of us here are bashing people who need it. I grew up poor , i know what it is to do without. We are bitching about the people who wont even try and find a job, will get assistance and then have expensive cars, clothes, and buy expensive cigarettes , etc. I know there is alot of people out there who need it, that is another reason i am bitching, because alot of them are not getting it because of these kind of people.

I never really minded growing up poor, i got good morels out of it, and my priority's were strait.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 04:08 PM
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I'm nosy at the grocery store too!! It amazes me what people buy for food. Now I'm not skinny by any stretch..but rarely do I buy junk food. I don't have a metabolism (hehe)well actually I just like meat too much!!

When Bayley was eating raw I'd buy the on-sale marked down turning brown on the edges stuff. I'd have to make a comment that the dog is eating well tonight usually if someone ahead of me in line was buying a bag of floor sweepings for their dog!! Especially if they were buying steaks etc for themselves!!
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Old August 15th, 2009, 06:25 PM
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chases-mom. I don't have a problem with those in need, not at all. In fact if the ones who were too lazy to work and yes there are those out there, would work, there would be more money for those who need it. Don't complain that you don't get enough money to eat healthy, but do have enough to eat junk food.

I remember 20 years back, I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled. No dental insurance, so I had to pay 400 bucks out of my pocket. As I was handing over one week of my after tax salary (and trust me I didn't have any money to spare back then), there were welfare people who couldn't speak english that didn't pay a friggin cent. The dental assistant just asked for their welfare card. That made me mad.

I personally know two people whose sisters have babies from different fathers who won't go to work and keep having children to stay on welfare.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 06:39 PM
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I guess I get to look at this from the other side so to speak.
It's amazing how many people wait till the meat is on sale. They say just before the date has expired is the best time to buy it. It is just right to eat - a little on the "ripe" side.
I see the food that goes past me. I see the crap that passes for cat food and am hard pressed not to say something. Sometimes, especially if the person looks a little more well to do then some of the other customers, I do say something. It is surprising to me that for the most part people are unaware that the cheap dry food is not good for their pets. So, I get a chance to educate people. I know in one case the woman went and got a refund for the food she had purchased and immediately went to the pet store to buy a better quality food. She thanked me for it later.
FYI - The gift certificates from the food banks, at least at my store, have to be 100% food products. No cigarettes, no change. The certificates given as gifts or purchased from schools as fundraisers have to be at least 50% of the bill. Most of the time my customers get very little change back.
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Old August 15th, 2009, 06:44 PM
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That's my point though.....some people have never learned how to live a more productive lifestyle. Entering the workforce can be a daunting prospect, especially for someone who never learned from their elders the importance of a hard-earned dollar. I am realistic, and recogize some people could do better for themselves and simply choose not to....but I truly believe a lot of people don't really know how or there are a lot of barriers in their way.

This is especially true regarding the main point of the post - relying on junk food. My mother was so sick all the time she basically fed me out of a vending machine. Her mother was mentally ill and never taught her to cook either. I had no clue how to cook until I was in college. Since I was putting myself through school I realized that eating out all the time was not an option. I love cooking now....but if I hadn't found a way to go to college, I would probably still be one of the people buying junk at the supermarket. Cooking was completely foreign to me....something wealthy people would do, but "the rest of us" should just eat kraft dinner.

Just my point of view and ...
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Old August 15th, 2009, 06:50 PM
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Seems to me that, as in a lot of things, a few bad apples spoil the whole bushel. The people who are using the system and not trying to better themselves make it bad for the rest of us who have, at one time or another in their lifetime, had to make use of it. Unfortunately these days the bushel is getting pretty full of rotten apples.
I try to see the best in every person that I come across. It is quite possible the person buying all the junk food truly does not know how to cook.
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Old August 16th, 2009, 08:34 AM
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14+,you are so right.
My son tries to survive on a disability-pension,he would give anything to be able to work,drive a car etc...but to no fault of his own,he will never work.
Yes,we help him out of course,but he is stubbornly determind to survive on his own.
Granted,a disability-pension is almost double of what welfare is,but it took him almost 2 yrs and 5 doctors to verify to the government how sick he is.
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Old August 17th, 2009, 05:49 AM
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my niece is the bad apple....the take advantage type, my sister also had to go on it while she looked for a job, she was left with two children under the age of two at the time, she re-entered the school system and has held a wonderful job with a doctor for 22 yrs now, no I am not putting down anyone that needs it, thats the reason we have it, to help those that can't help themselves, but you have to admit some do take advantage and use it as a lifestyle.
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Old August 17th, 2009, 07:07 AM
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You are right Melinda, it should be there to help those in need, kudos to your sister for rising about and making herself a life.
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Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

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