So, Ummm, Yeah

Current mood: aggravated

Today I drove a client to an appointment for herself and her son. Not a big deal, but we got on this topic and I ain't done with it yet.

Last week, I was in line at Big 5. That is a grocery store near our house here in El Paso. I was standing there with three items, all of which I needed. I would have paid less for them, were I shopping at the commissary, but that requires me to drive much further, thusly using more gas. So, saving and conserving one way bites me in the butt the other. Between our home (for which we are still paying the mortgage note) and the grocery store is a low-income government housing complex. I don't have a problem with that. This is the problem- As I drive by the neighborhood, I see several newer and quite fancy cars and trucks. I know the price tag on many of them, as I am window shopping for a new-ish vehicle now. So, some of these folks can't afford housing at the current going rate and need low-income housing, but they can afford cars that cost well over $30k? OK.

And, I guess that sent me into a tailspin which drug me far from the prior point. Back to the line at the store. I had three things, all of which I had a real need for. I had bread, eggs, and some nanners. I was standing there in a pair of older jeans, a nice t-shirt (which I have had for at least a year), and tennies, my wedding band, toting my WalMart purse while wearing my nerdy prescription sunglasses. I was tired and had worked all three of my contracts that day. The woman in front of me had two cartloads full of groceries- mostly stuff from the frozen foods department and the cereal aisle, but a healthy supply of meats and soda as well. She was wearing some hooker shoes, a pair of Baby Phat jeans (those are the ones with the cat embroidered on the back pockets, right?), she had enough makeup to make Tammy Faye (Lord rest her Maybellene soul) shudder and enough perfume to gag Queen Elizabeth I, a super-flashy top, about five gold chains around her neck, each with its own gleaming medallion (to include a Cadillac symbol, a Virgin Mary, some other religious medal, her name, and a cross), about five inches of bangle bracelets up each arm and a ring (or two) on each of her fingers, with a dye job that was about a week old (yeah, that obvious), and a huge Coach bag (fake or not, still- Coach?). Her bill was giganticus. I think it was somewhere in the area of about $350. She pulled out her LoneStar (Texas food stamps) card and paid. She did not pay with any cash, a check or a debit/credit card. The LoneStar paid it all.

Does anyone else see a problem with this? I do understand that goverment assistance is in place to help people get on their feet so they can build a life for themselves. I take no issue with that.

I think it is a good thing, as long as it leads a person down the path to real independence. Something tells me this woman was happy with the status quo.

So, are we really helping? Are we doing what we should? Are we making sure that the money we are putting out to lend aid to those who need it is really winding up in the hands of those with true need? When can I expect social responsibility and common sense to merge?

That just gripes me to no end.


Currently listening : Will Work for Food Stamps By American Gothic