She has said she works for a newspaper I think. If she is an intern, researcher or stringer, I could easily see the requirement and the low pay. She also mentioned that if she did not have internet use she would be knocked done to $8 per hour. She expressed hopes of getting promoted to Reporter in six months in response to my query about her developing growth skills. Sounds like she is doing her best and hit unexpected hard times.
Jim
Surely you see how this analogy doesn’t apply to her particular situation? If we take her at her word (which we may as well do, since we have little to go on otherwise) then we see her decisions that put her in this crunch were made prior to said crunch time.
Considering eating is a matter of survival, I find it hard to believe there’s many people out there giving up food for pleasure. People generally look for pleasure once they’ve already found their necessity. Aside from addicts, of course. But they’re a whole 'nother story, since their pleasure is their necessity.
Still, shouldn’t her employer have resources she can use, at least let her have some desk space and use the internet? She hasn’t even said that she’s brought this up with her employer. Even if it’s a necessity, she could keep the laptop, ditch the internet bills and drive out to a cafe or store with wireless access. I don’t care what you do for a living, if you can’t pay for food then a laptop and internet access is a luxury.
And Tasha, it’s never too late to decide to go back to school, and if you have to use student loans your payments are deferred until after you graduate. Just a thought. I hate to see anyone say they ‘missed out’ on an opportunity to get an education.
I guess it is strange she cannot do the internet part of her job at work and/or after hours. I did not think about that part.
Jim
It’s comments like Cheesesteak’s that confirm to me that without social welfare programs, this country’s poor folks would be totally ignored.
If the woman didn’t have a laptop, she’d be working just above minimum wage. Then we’d have to hear comments from the peanut gallery about how she should invest in a computer and develop some professional skills. If she was still living with her parents, those same people would be waving their finger at her for being a leech. If she dumped a good man just because he’s injured, they’d be calling her a mean-spirited, gold-digging bitch who missed out on a potential husband. She can’t win.
With your boyfriend working now, do you think you’ll be alright, tashabot?
Actually, I believe she already stated that her employers refuse to pay for her internet expenses, despite her asking them to.
But there’s a difference between someone asking for help, and demanding it, as the OP is doing, to the point where she is wishing terrorism on the innocent people in the welfare office.
After reading this all, I must say that I’m sure every thread in the pit is absolutely void of sarcasm or hyperbole. I mean, this is the Pit, right? I think that I have never come into a thread here and expected the OP not to speak out of anger and usually I understand that they don’t literally want those bad things to happen. Should we start a witch-hunt for posters who have claimed they “wanted to kill” co-workers because of the situation (or anything similar, hell, I don’t discriminate)? I honestly don’t think so.
tashabot - good luck with the situation you’re in. I’ve been in that kind of place before, specifically, when I worked two jobs and was paying off my debt, but watched people with twice as much debt work absolutely zero jobs and come in the store I worked at and blow their $400 a month on a food card. It sucks, but when you get ahead again (trust me, it’ll happen sooner or later), it’s something to be proud of.
Brendon
I agree, I only brought up the newspaper analogy to contrast your statement, which I thought was a bit too sweeping.
Well, tashabot IS putting her credit score above her diet. The laptop is, in her own words, not a necessity, and she’s continuing to pay so she won’t ruin her credit for the future. I’m not going to claim that’s a bad decision, but clearly it’s a luxury item being (for the moment) put ahead of a necessity.
Monstro, for the record, I don’t mean to bash tashabot, or suggest she’s doing the wrong thing. I was putting out there the reason why helping out is not “always” the right thing to do. If someone is in trouble, I expect them to take the first positive step to fix the problem. I consider that the difference between “helping you” and “doing it for you”.
I’m not talking about them paying her personal internet bills. That’s ridiculous. But if she’s required to use the internet for research, to check email, etc. then why can’t she ask her employer to come in early or stay late to use their computers or wireless internet? Or, use the library. What kind of work is she doing after working hours that’s going to take her more than an hour to complete, or if it’s more than an hour, why isn’t she getting paid for it?
Might as well start doing some freelance work if she’s going to keep the computer, at least make it pay for itself.
I know it’s hard for some of you here to realize, but computers and internet access are not a necessity.
Bullshit, are you really this stupid? Are you trying for entrance to the SDMB dumbest poster award? If you read that Op as actually wishing terrorism upon “the innocent people in the welfare office” and not at letting of steam in the pit, you have some mental problems. However, I am sure you do know it was just letting off steam and you are being disingenuous and a bit jerkish. So, are you being jerkish or are you stupid. (and yes, have you stopped beating your wife yet).
**XJETGIRLX ** & Guinastasia:
**XJETGIRLX ** made a very valid point that **Tasha ** should either consider or explain why she cannot do it. Dropping internet access would help in a small way with paying for food. Dropping the Laptop, is probably not a good idea, as she still owes money on it, and if she can avoid ruining her credit, she should continue to try not to.
Now **XJETGIRLX ** what do you mean, “computers and internet access are not a necessity.” 
Jim {Life without the internet, geez that would be like life without Yankee Tickets}
The other mistake you made, tasha, is you came here to vent. Although many of our Dopers are very “liberal”, they are also very much holier-than-thou. The liberal side of them is available to people in general, but give a specific situation and they are all about tearing you apart. Next time, post this is in MPSIMS where you can get sympathy and constructive suggestions without the bile for those of us who happen to fall on hard times.
I support welfare programs as a safety net for anyone who falls on hard times. Therefore, I am not going to tell someone that s/he shouldn’t be able to take advantage of it because maybe I don’t think the times are hard enough.
You don’t owe us all the details. Do not bother writing a missive explaining all the things you’ve given up or trying to give nuance to your situation–it is wasted on the Pitizens. Instead, I hope you found relief in complaining about the situation. If you would like an ear to listen, my email is in my profile.
stretch–who spent 4 years on welfare and has been there, done that, including being told what a loser I was for needing the help
I must be, since I am responding to you. :rolleyes:
Yes, it is a rant in the Pit. In my opinion, it’s still an inappropriate thing to say. Apparently, your mileage varies. Whatever.
tashabot, I wish you well, but I’ve got to admit that you lost me with the whole “I’m more worthy than women who’ve popped out four kids” bit, which tells me that you fundamentally don’t understand what government assistance (IMO) is for. You may in fact be more deserving than that woman, but are you more deserving than her kids? There’s not an unlimited amount of money, and kids take priority.
I’ve been in tight financial spots several times. I was on welfare for two years after my daughter was born. (I’d have preferred for the government to pay for *daycare * so I could work, but it didn’t work that way back then.) I understand what it’s like to live from paycheck to paycheck, and how little it can take to push you into a hole.
But you have no one to support but yourself. Outside of work, your time is your own, so there’s nothing to stop you from getting a part-time job. Waitress at night. It’s extra money *and * free food. It’s a far better solution than food stamps, for both your budget and your pride.
I think you really have an excellent point, DianaG one of the things that, IMO, is inherently wrong with the system is the tendency for it to support less effort on the part of the recipient rather than more. I think one of the thing that makes me pause about tashabot’s situation is that she is 22 years old. God damn, was I poor when I was 22. It’s the rare 22 year old who isn’t. Many people that age live in crappy apartments, drive crappy cars, and eat ramen noodles. It doesn’t last forever (I believe tashabot stated that she is hoping for a promotion/more money in 6 months…and I’m sure her career path won’t end there)!
Absolutely I think the first thing to do is figure out what extra job can be done in the evening and on weekends, before even thinking about any form of welfare…babysit, wait tables, work retail, where they need more staff on the weekends. It’ll be tough, but a 22-year-old can handle it…and you are right, it will feel so much better in the long run.
That is a good point. I worked as a waitress in a grill/bar once in Washington State. Aside from the fact that I made decent tips, I was able to eat a meal there each shift if I wished. Most restaurants offer the same to their employees (Chick-Fil-A did, don’t know about now but I would guess so).
I got the feeling from what she said that she wasn’t so much criticizing single mothers who need assistance, but was just pissed at the audacity of the welfare agent who “implied that [she] should be out there popping out babies” in order to qualify for food stamp assistance. The sentence you put in quotes, apparently attributing it to her, is nowhere in any of her posts.
Everyone seems to have missed the fact that tashabot already has 2 jobs. . .
Of course we have no idea how many hours she puts in between these two jobs. There may be a few hours on the weekends when she could squeeze in odd jobs, like leaf raking or dog walking. But it doesn’t seem to me as if she has room to take on an extra waitressing job or retail job, which would almost certainly require way more time (even for part-time work) than she’s likely to have available, seeing as she already works two jobs as it is. Who knows, maybe she does have time for a 3rd part-time job, but odds are fairly good that that would leave her with no time to even eat, which, of course, would solve her problem either way, but hardly seems worth the price of her health and emotional well-being.
You are right, I did miss that, which I apologize for. But we DON’T know how many hours she works between the 2 jobs. If it’s 40 hours, then it’s no more than someone with one full-time job, and she should be able to squeeze in one more income-earning opportunity. If it’s 60 hours, at 10 bucks an hour, then I am even more surprised that an extra $20-30 a month is going to make that much of a difference…that’s about 30,000 a year.
Well, I hadn’t intended to attribute a quote to tashabot, so much as a sentiment. And that I’ll stand by.
Bolding mine.
I actually *did * see that **tashabot ** is working two jobs. And with all due respect, if two bills aren’t paying your jobs, get three. Or at least drop the one less likely to advance your career and replace it with something that actually pays you enough to eat. And if all that fails, and thirty dollars a month is truly the difference between eating and not eating, then something *has * to go from the budget. You gotta do what you gotta do.
Again, I’m not unsympathetic. I’m simply offering pragmatic advice. Advice that’s worked for me in the past, in rougher spots than **tashabot ** (again, no disrespect intended) has likely imagined, let alone experienced.
tashabot, I’m glad the boyfriend is doing better and back to work - until his checks start rolling in, though, maybe one of the Nevada food pantries can help in the meantime. There’s one at the Stewart Community Baptist Church.
And here’s more info on the Food Bank. In fact, it looks like there’s four pantries in Carson City.