I am writing due to my extreme disgust for a few recent events. To get straight to the point, last week I went to place an order for a dozen medium male crabs from Chesapeake Treasures. This was my first time ordering from this business but word of mouth had given it a good reputation. Fifteen dollars for a dozen of medium sized crabs is a pretty good deal, however, it is not a price many can afford on a regular basis.
Therefore, it is easy to say that a seafood meal, of quality at least, is a special privilege. However, as I waited my 20 minutes for my crabs, the value of my soon-to-be meal began to dwindle in front of my eyes. Seven out of the eleven following customers proceeded to order much larger meals than myself, and whip out their "Independence Cards" to pay for it. I was outraged to say the least. These people who had come in with their government funded cards drove cars nicer than myself, and were eating meals better than myself. You know what the worst part about it was? Most of these purchases were illegal!
I went home and looked up the guidelines of these Independence Cards and it states that they shall not be used to purchase prepared food. A half-bushel of large male crabs fully steamed and seasoned are most definitely prepared! All seven meals purchased with the cards were prepared, from fish and shrimp dinners to steamed and seasoned crabs. Whether the employees of Chesapeake Treasures are ignorant to this fact, or are simply defiant to the laws, this process is illegal. The abuse of these Independence Cards gives a bad name to all of those who use them. Obviously there are those who work hard and just cannot make ends meet, and I have the utmost respect for them. It is not fair to them that other people abuse the government funding and give welfare this stigma. I do understand that during this time our economy is suffering, however that does not give businesses the right to bypass certain laws to ensure that the sales keep coming. I know I have a right to voice my opinions on this subject because it is tax-payer's money that supports welfare.
Maybe our government should focus on putting our money towards a better purpose. The Pentagon just broadcasted that four months ago our security was breached, however we still want to cut defense spending??? That's right, cut the funding that protects our country, but make sure to allow many to abuse the welfare system. That is definitely a good way to spend our money....
Let me reaffirm that I am not against welfare, I am only appalled by the misuse of it. Is it right that I work hard and some of my money is taken to support those who do not work but still eat better meals and drive nicer cars than myself? This is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed.
Sincerely,
A Responsible Tax-Payer
43 comments:
Well said, and I totally agree!!
I totally agree also. It does not shock me though.
Obviously you don't earn much and don't pay a whole lot of taxes. They could just get the cash from the card and no one would know.
How is it that so many people know what means other people are using to pay their purchases?
AMEN!!!!!!
My blood pressure rises every time I go grocery shopping for that very reason.The irony is that alot of those "poor people" on food stamps are morbidly obese,even the kids.
If you can manage a car payment for a late model vehicle,you can darn well buy your own food.
Furthermore,as a country,we simply cannot afford this abuse much longer.What is going to happen the day that EBT cards stop working because the system is drained?
My blood pressure rises every time I go grocery shopping for that very reason.The irony is that alot of those "poor people" on food stamps are morbidly obese,even the kids.
If you can manage a car payment for a late model vehicle,you can darn well buy your own food.
Furthermore,as a country,we simply cannot afford this abuse much longer.What is going to happen the day that EBT cards stop working because the system is drained?
and this is why our country doesn't have any money.
I've posted comments about this same issue before. You think this is sick, sit in on a school "free breakfast or lunch". Your head will spin. The majority of the kids push and shove to get their "free meal" only to sit at the table and totally destroy it to the point it is inedible, or just simply dump the tray in the trash. Now, there's good use of federal money! Primary, middle, high schools, no difference. That program is such a waste.
And on your Independence Card issued, people in th grocery line have told me they are buying steak for their dog because they can't use it to buy dog food.
This infuriates me. How our government can use taxpayers money to fund a program that is not monitored and with effective enforcement procedures is beyond me. I'd like to fire our government - the whole lot of them. They obviously are not qualified to perform the jobs they were voted in to.
I like the name: Independence Card.
Are the users really "independent" - of what?
Aren't they actually DEPENDENT?
Some of the people receiving these services lie to qualify to begin with so why would you think they would be honest about anything. Some say they live alone with their children but actually they have their "Babies Daddy" living with them, therefore, making them eligible for services.
The thing that makes me the maddest is when they come up to you while you are grocery shopping and ask if you will let them pay for your groceries on their card and you give them cash! Being from a small town I know the people personally so thats right, I call Social Service and report it to them, but apparently nothing is ever done because it keeps happening. I think the answer would be is to train these people to enable them to gain employment that would at least subsidize the monies that they are receiving from the Good Ole Government!!!
That place would go out of business if they stopped taking the card.
If we just could get the illegal immigrants off of the Food Stamp and State Heath Care system we would have a surplus of money. Do you realize if a kid comes from a "migrant worker family" they get free school lunches and don't have to prove that they are legally...no questions asked not even a SSN is needed.
Many of the seafood places know its illegal and they don't care. They an purchase unprepared stuff on their card then they just pay cash to have it cooked. Something needs to be done so that the people that actually NEED help get it and don't abuse it.
Anon 1428 -
I'm sorry for being rude, but try and get some facts next time! Illegals SHOULD NOT receive any type of welfare benefit. On this I think we are in agreement. However, to claim that we would have a surplus if we took illegals off of welfare (liberals refuse to even acknowledge that they receive benefits) that we would have a surplus is ridiculous.
Don't lower yourself to their level. I'm sure you're capable of making a factual argument. Try it next time.
Funny Story: Stopped by the new grocery store in Cambridge earlier this week. The one that took over Super Fresh. It looked completely empty. No one was there. On the door there was a note stating "Independence Cards and Food Stamps not accepted at this time". No wonder the store was empty.
The seafood place on Eastern Shore Dr. next to Sobo's takes EBT cards. Ridiculous. I can't afford the crab meat for the dip I wanted to make for a birthday party.
History has shown that when times get hard, people attack each other.
you guys realize that the independence card isn't just for food stamps?
So much for the "prepared food" clause. I was in McDonald's South Salisbury Blvd. last week and watched someone in front of me pay for their entire meal with an Independence Card. While I work every day and just took an office-wide pay decrease just to keep my job!
Steamed crabs go great with a free cell phone.
Anonymous 3:28pm LOL
this. is. genius.
I've heard some places get around the rule by saying they only charge for the crabs, that the prep is done for free. I don't buy anything from the place I know of that does that.
well me froms pemburton komplex and eyes ride my calade over to seefood place and gets me some krabs and scrimp. my brother prez obamie sends me a check and i card bennies on 3 of month so me and my sheeboons can eats gotta be well fed to make more lil lits so de check gets bigger mans i luv this kountry.
Anonymous said...
History has shown that when times get hard, people attack each other.
July 15, 2011 3:12 PM
So you think it's OK to give money to undeserving people?
GA I'm not 14:28 but it would be a good start if we could get the anchor babies off the welfare system. Their parents don't get benefits but the children that were born here to illegal parents do. Think of all the money we would save. How much does each one of those children cost to be born. Look at how many hospitals in California have closed because people weren't paying the bills. Then we have to pay to feed these kids for 18 years and to educate them and also provide medical care for 18 years. Meanwhile the parents are here illegally and working under the table and the money that most of them make is being sent back to Mexico to bring more people over here. When you sit back and look at it that is A LOT of money each month/year/decade that we are spending on something that was illegal to begin with. If your parents are not here legally than you should not automatically become a citizen if you are born here.
If the government wants to tax something they should put a hefty tax on money being sent to other countries. Western Union is making a killing in fees every Friday.
6:06 PM
Nope. Just pointing out the obvious.
And no one on this blog knows who is deserving or is not deserving. Unless of course the one issuing the cards is on here. :)
For those who dont know you can buy alot of food items with an indpendence card just not hot foods and most of these places charge a seperate fee in which the person has to pay for the seafood being prepared....have a great day
Last week I was standing in line at the Shore Stop in Pittsville when a man paid for 4 cans of Alpo Dog Food and 1 Mountain Dew with a Independence Card. (I hope he reads this). I came home and looked up the guidelines as well and pet food was definitely not allowed. The system is so broken that we are not only paying for cadillac food like crabs, but now we are paying to feed these people's pets as well. If you can't afford to feed your pets, don't get them.
July 15, 2011 1:27 PM
These people are independent of work. and that's why they can shop all day and eat all nite, not a care in the world.
July 15, 2011 9:31 PM
Maybe he was buying his own food, did you think about that?
Just for fun...
everyone reading that does NOT have an Independence Card go open your cabinet and post how many packs of Ramen you have. I'll start. 2
10:31 PM
You're kidding right? Not about the food but about someone on here thinking. Very, very few on here can think for themselves.
Mostly they repeat what someone else has told them. Usually they don't even take the time to look it up and see if it's true.
So you think it's OK to give money to undeserving people?
Who is deserving to be given money? Certainly not the poor, they don't need it, right?
>>>>So you think it's OK to give money to undeserving people?
Who is deserving to be given money? Certainly not the poor, they don't need it, right?
IF YOU ARE "POOR" because you have children you can't afford to take to the doctor or feed, you are abusing the compasion and generosity of taxpayer--SCHIP medical insurance for you careless breeder's brats up to 18 is availablle for families making up to $80,000 a year.
The first half of every month, fat people are often seen in a frenzy, piling junk food in a groaning cart--sometimes two carts--at the Walmart grocery where I shop in Seaford--and if yiou are in line behind them it is impossible not to observe that the card they pay with says "delaware" at the top.
Recently I was behind a fat breeder with her three brats, all dressed in "designer" clothes, with fancy painted fingernails and braided hair, buying a custom decorated birthday cake from the bakery for $28 .
I called the foodstamp office to complain and was told that birthday cakes were specifically included in the federal guidelines, and sent me an email link to read for myself.
That day I happened to be buying a 79c Pillsbury cake mix and a 1$ can of frosting to make for my granddaughters birthday.
The welfare mooches should never be able to live better than the working-class taxpayer who subsidizes them.
This Country needs to take a serious look at what these programs are actually doing.... making them "Dependent" instead of training them to become productive members of society. It's a cycle that their children have no intentions of braking because its just easier to continue!!! So Sad.
I work in a package store and not only have people tried to "sell" me their benefits for drinking money,some are dumb enough to ask "can I buy licka with my EBT?"I have overheard customers lament the fact that they could not use food stamps for liquor & beer.WTH?
And the arguments that "just because they have an Independence card doesnt mean they get food stamps" are retarded because the income limits for TANF (when they actually put spending cash on those cards for you) are way lower than food assistance,which for those of you did not finish school means if you qualify for "cash assistance" you most certainly would qualify for "food assistance" first. Don't assume that those of us who do not suck off the governemnt teat are ignorant of how the system works.
Mr Albero was pleased to see the Daily Times going down. Consequently I lost my job and went on food stamps to which I say, HEY ALBERO, I EAT BETTER THAN YOU !!!! ROTFLMAO ! !
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!
Its a shame people will stand up against something thats not hurting you. Stand up against our goverment committing murder and treason via 9/11. And who says cause i drive a car i own it. Sounds like yall are to busy seeing what the next person is doing o really see what the goverment is really up to and when you realize it will be to late
You sound so educated and so stupid at the sametime....so sad
Healthy food cost more than unhealthy food. People buy whatever they can afford.
The cards are now being used in Baltimore's municipal parking meters by the less fortunate to buy $20 parking tickets which are then sold for a few dollars to passers by. Irony? Illegal? Ask yourself why nothing's in place to prevent this.
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