"They're young, they're broke, and they pay for organic salmon with government subsidies. Got a problem with that?"
And you thought all hipsters had trust funds.
Check out this article that came out on Salon.com in their recession series, Pinched. The story begins following an art student and a blogger around in an ethnic food market in Baltimore as they pay for their exotic groceries with food stamps.
Apparently, last year's stimulus package included some changed to the food stamps program which relaxed the restrictions on able-bodied adults eligible for government nutritional assistance MEANING deadbeat artists, musicians, and the laid off non profit workers can queue up in the bread line.
I've known people who've gotten laid off from their non-profit job once their funding got wiped off by Bernie Madoff or there cuts to Arts funding. I don't disagree with their decision to go on unemployment. But I've also known people who got fired from American Apparel and decided to go on unemployment while they focus on their DJ career.
The art school grad we met in the ethnic food market echoes my concern initially:
"At first, I thought, 'Why should I be on food stamps?'" said Magida, digging into her dinner. "Here I am, this educated person who went to art school, and there are a lot of people who need them more. But then I realized, I need them, too."
I wait with bated breath to find out why, but Magida fails to explain why she needs to be on food stamps and unemployment. She does mention however that she has no shame about it and that "one of the upsides of unemployment is having plenty of time to cook elaborate meals".
Wow.
Well, if anything immediately good comes from the trend of Perrier chugging and tapenade spreading set's use of food stamps, hopefully it will be increased awareness of the nutritional options available to all people holding food stamps: and a push for life beyond processed government cheese paid for with government cheese for all.
Previously in Tangents:
- 12/28: Terrible Boyfriend/ Girlfriend Generator.
- 11/2: PHOTOS: TAXLO Halloween (feat. Chain Gang of 1974)
- 10/10: #OccupyWallStreet
- 8/10: PHOTOS: Lawn Mover Racing, Eastern Seaboard Regionals @ Bowles Farm
- 7/26: Special List: Things the BYGays Want Now That We Can Marry In DC (and NY!)
- 7/20: PHOTOS: Artscape
- 7/19: Miho Hatori's Guide to New York City
- 4/11: Cirque Du Soleil: Totem (A Review)
- 12/29: War, Reenacted
- 12/29: What in Hell is Slaughterama?!?
God loves a cheerful giver.
essentially, if we create an uptick in the economy due to consumer demand (i.e. spending money), businesses hire again, and these jokers will go back to working at wherever they were originally (if anywhere). plus they'll be healthier, as the fed continues to improve the nutritional availability of what SNAP (fancy food stamp acronym) coupons can be used for.
Anybody who's held a legitimate job or paid taxes in this country has contributed to our meager welfare system (social security, medicaid, food stamps). Don't let the conservatives fool you.
You paid for it.
You should take advantage of it.
If don't make a lot of money and need help buying groceries try to get on food stamps. If you have a shitty low-paying job that doesn't provide health-care, apply for Medicaid. The coverage is terrible, but it's worth it.
Remember, it's yours.
So, I promise that I am not usually an annoying jerk, but jeez, BYT. I assume you are smart kids. It's "queue up" and "bated breath." If you are going to get all "who's a more annoying hipster?" my vote, this time, is for you.
We're too poor to hire a copy editor.
I've repeatedly offered to do it for free but I think you're afraid I'd hurt feelings by pointing out poor grammar.
This is why terrorists hate us.
Magida says, “Here I am, this educated person who went to art school..."
So what, you went to college then you went to art school?
I have several friends who were educated at top undergrad/grad schools (Harvard/NYU) who have been unemployed or underemployed for approaching a year now. They have tried everything from field specific jobs to retail and waitressing and can't find steady employment, and yes, are on federal assistance. I see no issue with this. We live in a horrible economy and the value of their degrees doesn't equate any type of job. Obviously the person interview in this article sounds cavalier, but the position of the author is clearly mistrustful/poking fun at the situation of "hipsters on food stamps" as well. At least in NYC where I'm currently based (studying for a probably useless MA degree in art history) any tax-paying citizen who qualifies for food stamps is encouraged to go on them. and they are delegated by a sliding scale depending on level of employment. So I guess I just don't see the problem... and if someone wants to buy organic food with their stamps, why shouldn't they?
Um, contributing a small amount of your income to the overall welfare of the society in which you live and whose resources you consume does not entitle you to be a huge asshole. There are plenty of other better causes that this money could have gone to, including feeding and housing individuals and families who did not have the resources to attend a higher education institution, or improving the quality and safety of public education and housing. ESPECIALLY in Baltimore. For fucking shame.
@Laura:
That's a ridiculous attitude. Seriously. There are plenty of "hipsters" on food stamps who are on them because they can't find a job in their field and are working food service or other menial labor and can barely pay their rent some months. That's what food stamps are for.
Also, some of you make it sound like buying decent quality food is the worst possible abuse of food stamps. People should be restricted to crappy, life-shortening processed food with their food stamps? Really? Ever been standing in line at Giant and had somebody offer to pay for your stuff with food stamps in exchange for cash? Happens to me at least once a month, and it ain't "hipsters" asking. Where do you think that money's going?
If you need assistance, key word being need, then there's nothing wrong with accepting it for as long as you need it.
I do doubt, however, that someone who was so ineffectual and privileged that they went to art school, needs Federal or State assistance. Isn't Mommy and Daddy paying for their rent? Anyone whose Mommy and Daddy doesn't pay for their college goes to Art School.
As far as food stamps, they should go for natural foods anyway, not sugar and preservative laden fat products that are unhealthy ex: hamburger helper, Kool-Ade, Frosty Os, etc. Shit should only go for meat and vegetables, and no frozen entrees.
And fuck, I majored in Greek and Latin* and have been continuously employed, but for a brief stint, my entire working career. You can get a job doing something, anything, if you really want one.
*If some smartass wants to compare a Greek and Latin Humanities degree with an Art degree you need to stop and punch yourself in the face.
Edit: Sorry. I meant "Anyone whose Mommy and Daddy PAYS for college goes to Art School."
I agree with Michael on many levels, but one
my parents, for example, paid for my tuition, rent and food while I was in college. As soon as I graduated, however, I have been completely on my own financially. I pay my own grad school tuition, buy my own food, and pay my own rent. I think that yes, some trust-funders are able to mooch off of mom-n-dad for years after college, although in my case, my parents wanted to send me off into the adult world with a debt free education, which I'm very thankful for. But the financial support stopped there. So I started out with zero money in the bank instead of debt owed, but that didn't mean that finding employment or paying my own way through graduate school was handed to me. Quite the opposite, I did it all on my own. And, when I graduate from my MA program, if I really can't find a decent paying job to support my basic needs, I will also apply for food-stamps, and also not buy a bunch of crap with them. I don't believe that all unemployed/underemployed people who might qualify as "hipsters" are in such a state because they refuse menial labor. If my friends in Brooklyn are any indication, they have tried desperately for any kind of job regardless of their past education, waitressing and temp jobs included, and even these jobs have taken months to pan out to full time hours and wages.
I just typed in the word "labor" in Indeed.com and chose "Baltimore":
http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=labor&l=Baltimore%2C+MD
Over 1,200 job results. The problem with people who "can't find a job" is that they really don't want to work. They think that because they have a degree they're above manual labor - oh sure they'll Barista or become wait staff or something acceptable like that, but perform actual back-breaking work? No way. A problem I have seen is that they actually try to justify the money: Oh, I could only make X-amount working my ass off, I'm not going to do that when I can make the same on the dole.
Shit I paid my way carrying couches and furniture in an unheated and uncooled warehouse through college. I washed windows, I worked in a lumber yard. There's plenty of work out there - the problem is people just don't want to do it.
Shit line the fuck up in a Home Depot parking lot. Dudes come by there every morning at 5 am am will pick you up, work your ass off, and pay you cash at the end of the day.
Not everyone is cut out for manual labor. Period. Even if someone is willing to bust his ass for the first time in his life, getting hired is not easy unless you're big and strong looking or have someone to vouche for you. And yes, I've hauled golf bags and roofed houses.
Dan - sounds like an excuse to me. When I ran a construction company we used to hire people to do the menial shit like pick up nails, sweep sawdust, move worthless lumber to the dump, etc. When you have a carpenter billing $18 an hour having to stop and do that shit it makes economic sense to hire someone at $5 an hour to do it instead.
There are jobs, people are just lazy and entitled.
I can't believe that one of the economically most advanced nations in the world is giving out food stamps as a means to sustain welfare. It's costly, ineffcient and degrading.There are plenty of developing countries who reject this practise in favor of conditional or unconditional cash transfers. I'll never understand why the US is continously marketed as the land of the free. Free of what? Social Safety?
Unemployment as well as food stamps are not granted to everyone. If the state of Maryland has deemed someone eligible for benefits, who are you to say otherwise? Silly me, I know that a writer for BYT is the most qualified person to make the decision of who deserves to receive an unemployment check, which is something that anyone who has held a job has paid into with taxes to receive. The EBT program varies, but I think anyone who earns under about $19k a year qualifies, which if you have to live off an unemployment check, that's about what you'll bring home at best. Also, any company with an ounce of sense about them would not hire someone with a college degree and a background in a specific field to work a position they are overqualified for - an employee like this is not looking for a long-term job and the process of hiring will have to be done again in a few months. Please stick to your normal fluff writing.
dunno dude
its a little too easy to assume that somebodies parents pay for everything.
the state of maryland thought my parents were paying for everything until i was 24 and they held my parents income against me.
as a result i am now 20 grand in debt for unsubsidized student loans, and the interest in going up up up.
im not on food stamps cuz i make barely enough not to starve, but if something happens and i cant afford food anymore, im going on that shit and somebody might call me names about it, but at least ill be eating.
and i will probably shop at whole foods, because i am fortunate to know how to eat well.
that baltimore girl does sound like a little asshole though.
for a lengthier and more analytical discussion of the issues at work here, i suggest people read this:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/how-a-new-jobless-era-will-transform-america/7919
Apropos of this:
i use my unemployment benefits debit card to open tabs at dc9 every weekend.
Meanwhile, every corporate building in the nation is literally swarmimg with ladies and gentlemen from Hindustan and the People's Republic of China. Not that well educated, mind, to say the least.
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac have completed their transformation to de facto indo-chinese trafficing hubs as early as 2005. But damn therse two. These days the Department of Labor itself smells like a fucking indian restaurant. I don't know, man...
WE'RE A BAND CALLED FOOD STAMPS
WE LIVE IN WILLIAMSBURG BROOKLYN
WE ARE INDEED ON FOOD STAMPS
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/FOODSTAMPS
I think that the abuse of the system occurs when people fail to understand that food stamps are intended to be used only as a temporary stopgap. I'm about to be laid off after 2 years at a good job and while i am working very hard to get a new job by then, if I don't, I will apply for unemployment. But this will not be an inappropriate use of the welfare system because I will continue devoting all my time to finding a new job and when I do I will go OFF unemployment. The thing I found most troubling about the article was the complacent attitude of the subjects. The way they talked about how unemployment is nice cause they have time to prepare elaborate meals gave the impression that they were happy to just stay where they were. Unless you are disabled, SNAP and other types of unemployment support are supposed to be TEMPORARY assistance for times when you are in-between jobs.