Poor woman criticized for buying grapes (.99 per pound) and bottled water

[Liberal_in_LA]

story about a poor woman in Connecticut. Comments following the article are super judgemental as usual. people with tattoos always get a lot of criticism in these type of stories. "where did they get the money for the tattoo?

Connecticut's Ribbon of Hardship
Jodey Lazarus’s brown eyes follow the red grapes down checkout lane 11’s conveyor belt, then focus on the cash register to verify she’s getting the 99¢-a-pound price promised in the weekly ShopRite circular. The bill is just short of $70. Lazarus, 29, takes a breath, drops her gaze and extends her silver state benefits card. The card machine fails to read the damaged magnetic strip. The cashier squints at the numbers.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-05/connecticuts-ribbon-of-hardship

So lets see if I have this right. She buys grapes and bottled water. Owns a Van that appears to be falling apart, but is not setting anything aside to deal with the problem. From my experience, this is what will happen. The belt will give out, no belt, no water pump being pulled by that belt and the engine will over heat and possibly freeze up and stop. She will then need a tow truck to haul it to a service garage to be repaired. But wait, she has no $$ for the repairs, and I doubt she has road service membership. But she does have $$ for grapes and bottled water? The basic problem with people like her is they have no sense of priority.

She's running on a tight budget -- and buying grapes. Do these people completely lack common sense?

[DJ13]

1. Would those uptight readers preferred she bought Thunderbird & Camels?

[CatWoman]

2. thank god she wasn't shopping at Whole Foods

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. lol. her $70 wouldn't have gone far at Whole Foods.

[obamanut2012]

61. She could very well buy even more at Whole Foods

Than Shop-rite. WF has fantastic prices. A shopper just has to ignore their "high end" stuff. It depends on what she would be buying.

[meaculpa2011]

69. Agreed.

I occasionally go into Whole Foods when there's no alternative. Even the one in the Time-Warner Center has good prices if you know enough to look. If you're standing on Columbus Circle and need a few groceries, they're the only game in town. They even have a seating area with small tables. You can put together a nice lunch and eat indoors out of the cold, the heat or the rain.

[tanyev]

4. Maybe she was going to spend some time at the park with her children.

People who have state benefits cards are still allowed to do that, aren't they?

[Drunken Irishman]

5. This is why we've got an obesity epidemic in America...

People are forced to buy cheap, fatty foods that aren't healthy. This type of mindset is proof of this. Instead of buying something healthy, we'll scold her and say she needs to spend cheaply and wisely. Well, guess what's cheap? Cheap food. Fast food. McDonald's is cheap. TV dinners are cheap. Frozen pizza is cheap. It's also not healthy in the least. Healthy food is more expensive. Healthy snacks are more expensive. Grapes are probably more expensive than a $2.00 bag of Reese's Pieces.

What is priority? Healthy eating or saving as much as possible on cheap, fatty food?

The poor are overweight because of this very narrative. I know it doesn't sound like it's connectable, but she's got a daughter and if she only buys what she can afford, if she only spends money, or food stamps, on the cheapest thing possible, what she feeds her and her daughter will not be healthy in the least. It won't have any nutrient benefits and will lead to obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle.

So, who cares if she bought grapes instead of potato chips? Who cares if she bought water instead of cola? That should be commendable, even if it's a tad more expensive than unhealthy food.

[southernyankeebelle]

16. You are right. It is sad too. Why do people mind other peoples business.

I remember once going into a small grocery store and I wanted to buy my husband a strawberry short cake. I can't stand strawberries in the first place. Anyway these 2 ladies were stand in front of the freezer door. I waited a minute or two and they had not moved yet. So I said excuse me can I please get into that freezer? Oh they realized finally I was standing there and they both moved back to let me in. I picked up the square cake and said thank you and I started to walk away. One of the ladies turned to me and said I shouldn't be eating that. I looked at her and asked her what business was it of her what I buy. I asked her did she live in my home and paying rent. She said no. Then I answered her nicely since she needed to know it was a cake for my husband and I didn't like strawberries in the first place. Now that I told you I said it really isn't your business because my mother was back in the states and I told her she was very rude. Then I really stuck the knife in by telling her maybe her grandparents could have known what was going on in her own country with the killing of Jews. Then I walked away and left her and her friend dumb founded. But I bet she wouldn't do that again to anyone. People in general need to mind their own God Damn business. I already feel bad to see people who have to use those kind of food stamp cards. I am sure many people don't want to be in that position. When I see someone ahead of me using their card I usually chat with who ever is with me or pretend to be reading something.

[Drunken Irishman]

22. Exactly right. Who gives a shit what someone spends their food stamps on?

I hate how we have to boss other people around. Mind your business.

"Oh, but my tax dollars go to pay those food stamps!"

Okay, sure. Your tax dollars probably go to pay maybe a couple cents of her monthly food stamp allotment and that's about it.

Grow up and mind your own f'n business.

[Systematic Chaos]

36. I figured out my disability 'gravy train' for the Cave.

$1162 divided by roughly 200 million tax payers equals $0.00000581 each per month on average.

I was going to post over there and ask them how they wanted that reimbursed for their trouble, but I didn't want the admin dipshits to get my internet info somehow. But you gotta admit, that 6 ten-thousandths of a penny every month is one fucking steep burden for each of them.

Figure the lady's food stamp allotment might be $200 monthly. That's a whole whopping one ten-thousandth of a penny per taxpayer!! And ZOMG it's being spent on nice healthy grapes and water? The nerve!

[Drunken Irishman]

37. So way less than I thought...

I love how people use that as an excuse. And you know what? The people on welfare & food stamps probably paid taxes too, or at least paid taxes at one point, so, you could say their share of past taxes has gone to help fund the programs they're using now!

[southernyankeebelle]

46. I couldn't of said it any better. LOL. I am glad I have never been in that situation.

How don't blame people now who have to get food stamps for their family. How dare people judge others who can't find jobs. Funny now there are alot more people on food stamps so many aren't so judgemental as they once were.

[Mimosa]

20. ^ Exactly so! ^

The numbskulls blame some poor people for being fat. Heavy carb foods along with high fructose high fat snacks fill bellies cheaply but they aren't good for people.

[eShirl]

6. What's wrong with grapes and water?

I don't get it.

[Duer 157099]

9. That's for the wealthy only

Screw the poor!

[pinboy3niner]

10. For the poor, it's...

"No grapes for you!"

[southernyankeebelle]

17. yes they want the poor to eat cake.

[haele]

27. I guess grapes are "treats" like cookies and the bottled water - guess she should get it from a tap.

Would this person complain if she got bananas (which causes constipation in some people) or oranges (which might be too acidic for some people)? Are Red Grapes too "adult" for someone who has kids?

Y'know, depending where she lives, if the pipes are old and she can't afford a "Britta", bottled water is probably safer for her children to drink than tap water.

Since the commenter was bitching about her buying food for her family instead of fixing her car so she could "go to work" or whatever, my verdict is the commenter was just being an ass. The type Bruce Hornsby sang about - "Man in a silk suit hurries by, catches the poor old lady's eye...Just for fun he said "Get a Job"..."

Haele

[hughee99]

31. It depends on which thread you ask on...

Here, they're okay I guess, but on other threads you may hear about the carbon footprint of bringing grapes form Chile to Connecticut or how plastic water bottles are destroying the earth.

[GreenPartyVoter]

45. Seriously! That's a healthy choice.

[Scootaloo]

51. You want the answer?

It's not about grapes and water. it wouldn't be about apples and kool-aid, and it wouldn't be about TV dinners and milk, either.

It's about a woman and her daughter who look like this;

receiving government benefits.

At the end of the day, that's what all the bitching and kicking and screaming over "welfare" is about - especially when you realize that many of the people doing the kicking and screaming are themselves recipients of TANF and other aid programs.

Just like their hatred of Public School, it stems from their hatred for the idea that black people are deserving of equal treatment by our government.

[Blue_Tires]

59. +1

[Quantess]

75. The truth.

[Romulox]

71. It basically has no nutritional value, beyond some fructose... nt

[JackRiddler]

7. They're going to die from eating sausage and no fruits.

Not buying grapes? What are their priorities!

[HopeHoops]

8. Ever drink the water in Connecticut? That, N. NJ and DE are three places I'd get bottled water.

As for the grapes, what the hell is wrong with that? Even WIC covers fresh fruit. And hell, ShopRite is a SHITLOAD cheaper than Giant or Safeway. Why the hell is this even an issue? There's no shame in using public assistance and a lot of items aren't covered under "food stamp" cards. Grapes are.

[madinmaryland]

13. I lived in CT for 20 years. The water was fine and I did shop at ShopRite occasionally.

Nothing wrong with them and they were more affordable the Stop&Shop.

[HopeHoops]

33. I never lived in CT, but I passed through there often. The water along 84 stinks.

[Jennicut]

73. I drink my water every day from the tap in Terryville, CT. It's just fine.

But the point is, if someone wants bottled water and grapes they should be able to get it without being judged. It is better then soda and junk food, right?

[HopeHoops]

82. Yes, that really is the point.

[madinmaryland]

80. I would suggest not drinking water from an Exxon station in Waterbury.

[smokey nj]

39. Water's fine in NJ too.

[NutmegYankee]

50. The water here in my corner of Connecticut is awesome.

Please remember that there is a whole lot more to Conn. than Fairfield Co.

[HopeHoops]

58. Yeah. It's good where I am now, but who knows how long that will last with Corbett.

He's doing his best to sell the whole damn state to the fracking industry. It's killing the water supplies.

[madinmaryland]

81. I forgot, there is also Litchfield County!

[Initech]

11. This only further cements my definition of conservatism - a glorious lack of empathy.

Buy food to live or repair the rust bucket - gee which would come first?

[jberryhill]

12. Grapes!? Oh HELL no

Grapes ferment and and are converted to ethanol. This is obviously a ploy by this woman to get around the fact that she can't buy booze, but instead was going to let those grapes ferment and go on a bender.

[kestrel91316]

14. Shame on her for not behaving in a way that fits the drinking/druggie/

twinkie-and-cheetos-eating lazy slacker freeloader stereotype.

I hope she bought $70 worth of fresh produce and unprocessed food. Even if she didn't, good for her.

[Robb]

15. Judgmental AND idiots. That's a great price for fruit.

Grapes or otherwise. Plums are going for $.99/pound in my grocery right now. Grapes are $1.99/pound, and they think it's a good enough deal to brag about it in their circular.

[Texasgal]

18. She's not buying cheezy poofs!

That's what they are pissed off!

[GoCubsGo]

60. Yeah, and if she bought cheezy poofs...

...they would condemn her for buying junk food. These shitstains just hate the fact that she's on food stamps, and they're going to bash her regardless of what she buys.

[craigmatic]

19. People need to eat fruit. What kind of bullshit is this?

[Mimosa]

21. Commentators didn't even 'get the point' of the article

You just know all they saw was the woman's color!

However, the Business Week article was unusually candid. Here's an excerpt:

In Lazarus’s lifetime, the wealth gap between rich and poor has widened significantly. A growing body of research now suggests that this may be hindering her ability to rise through the ranks and escape poverty. In the decades following the Great Depression, incomes in the U.S. grew more equal. Lazarus’s birth in 1982, however, coincided with the beginning of a stark shift to a period in which the rich would gain wealth at a spectacularly accelerated rate compared with everyone else. According to a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office, after-tax income for the top 1 percent of the population (adjusted for inflation) grew by 275 percent from 1979 to 2007. For the bottom fifth, where Lazarus’s family resides, it climbed by just 18 percent.

In the recently published The Great Divergence, Timothy Noah suggests that the growing gulf between rich and poor may be the most important change in the U.S. in our lifetime. The world’s richest nation, he writes, has gone from one that viewed “the prospect of growing income inequality to be unacceptably antidemocratic” to one that’s economically beginning to “resemble a banana republic.” In The Price of Inequality, released last month, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz points out that, at $90 billion, the combined wealth of the six Walton family heirs to the Wal-Mart (WMT) fortune is equivalent to that of the entire bottom 30 percent of Americans. Stiglitz argues that even the rich will be hurt when we reach the point “when inequality spirals into economic dysfunction for the whole society.”

[demwing]

23. The problem here is simple. The women eats fruit and lives...

when conservatives would rather her eat shit and die...

[liberalmuse]

28. Hahahaha!

[fishwax]

24. yeah, why was she spending money on food instead of a road service membership

[freshwest]

32. Yes! Her priorities are all wrong! Keep that car running, not yourself!

[Incitatus]

25. It doesn't matter what they buy, some scumfucks will find a reason to criticize

just because they are on food benefits.

[A Simple Game]

41. Yup, I've seen it happen. n/t

[liberalmuse]

26. May all those who criticize her...

Have the opportunity to walk in her shoes.

[etherealtruth]

29. For me ... my sig line expresses what I believe

[treestar]

30. They got the money for the tattoos before things went south financially for them

This is what the right wing insists - there are people who pay taxes and people who get welfare and they are never the same people. They convince themselves of this by constantly repeating it. That and the multi-generational myth. Then, in their insanity, they go on to claim the Democrats want "everyone dependent on the government" so they can rule.

[Brickbat]

34. Online comments are stupid?

Unpossible!

[gollygee]

35. Very sad statement of where we are at when fruit is considered a luxury.

And poor people (and particularly poor people of color) seem to get blasted no matter what they do. If they get the cheapest food they can find, they're blasted for buying food that isn't healthy. If they get healthy well priced food (like these grapes) they're blasted for not getting the cheapest food they can find. They have been placed in a no-win situation, where people can blame them for their misfortune no matter what choice they make.

[tabasco]

48. The grapes of wrath... n/t

[GoCubsGo]

65. Or, maybe her critics don't consider grapes to be "real food".

You have to remember that these assholes are all sitting in their parents' basement living on Cheetos. Now THAT is "real food" in their book.

[SammyWinstonJack]

38. ugh.

Priorities...............like refusing to create jobs and not allowing for a living wage so people like Ms. Lazarus aren't subjected to judgemental assholes.

Yeah the teaparty controlled House of Rep should have those priorities, but they're too busy trying to repeal health care benefits for people like Ms Lazarus.


That is some sense of priority, there.

[appleannie1]

40. Food and water are the number one need of survival. But because she buys food she has her prioritie

mixed up? WTF is the matter with their brain cells. She can live without a car but not without food.

[The Doctor.]

42. What an idiot.

Yes, she's buying grapes on benefits she can't 'set aside' for car repairs.

God I wish we could make these douchebags walk a mile in the shoes of the poor. They are utterly clueless.

[HockeyMom]

43. Rice and Beans?

Well, if that is all she is supposed to eat with food stamps, she will definitely need to buy grapes, or prunes. Are prunes acceptable?????

[meow2u3]

47. Those selfish idiots think food stamp recipients are living high on the hog

We have to take their food stamps away and let them starve. Otherwise, they won't build moral character.

[GoCubsGo]

67. They're just parroting Sean Innanity.

A few weeks ago, he stated that he had "friends" on food stamps, who were able to survive by eating beans and rice.

[limpyhobbler]

44. food stamps are no picnic.

Well strictly speaking you might be able to have a picnic with food stamps.

They don't specify that you can't eat outside or anything.

They aren't easy street or whatever.

[HockeyMom]

74. No Baby Forumla either

My sister-in-law was on Food Stamps 40 years ago. She was horrified that it would not pay for Infant Forumla, or diapers (disposable or cloth). While nursing a baby is the best, what if you can't do that? Let your child starve? Find a job, they say. Well, if you have an infant, and can't feed it forumla, or put it in day care, what do you do?

Oh, and not all women on welfare/food stamps are "unmarried, sluts". My sister-in-law was married, and her husband disappeared after the twins were born. Oh, yeah, a wedding ring solves everything. Tell me another one.

[nobodyspecial]

49. You can't use food stamps for car repairs

You can only buy food, not even basics like toilet paper or shampoo with them. If she had tried to somehow convert her food benefits to cash, she would be guilty of fraud. Fruit and water aren't exactly champagne and caviar. I'm just surprised she wasn't wearing a fur coat or had a kid in Nikes with her.

[obamanut2012]

63. I was just going to post this

SNAP is for FOOD only. I think it should also be very toiler paper and toiletries, but it sure as hell won't get you a new timing belt.

[dionysus]

52. god, reading the comments sections you can tell who the repukes are...

[FarCenter]

53. Bottled water is a ripoff; the grapes are OK.

The problem with the van needs to be taken care of before it becomes MUCH more expensive.

[obamanut2012]

64. Maybe she needs it for work

Some jobs do not allow you to bring in unsealed containers of liquid, so you can't drink in a water bottle, you have to have unopened bottled or canned drinks. Friends and relatives who work in corrections and for certain government agencies have that rule.

[FarCenter]

70. I doubt that Marriott has that requirement.

Lazarus works at the nearby Marriott (MAR) booking appointments at the spa for $14 an hour and no benefits.

Most Marriotts that I've been in are equipped with drinking fountains.

[Honeycombe8]

78. Maybe. But that's very few people, compared to the working population. She probably just got

it 'cause that's what people buy w/o thinking these days.

The bottles actually use a lot of petroleum in the manufacturing of them. We now know they're not environmentally good, besides being way expensive.

[gollygee]

72. You know, I don't usually get bottled water for environmental reasons

but sometimes I'm out and I'm thirsty and I pick one up. If she's thirsty and that's the way she's going to get something to drink, then it's a better choice than pop. I think people should not assume she gets bottled water all the time based on this one article. We don't know the specifics, and not being able to know specific circumstances is the exact reason to not pass judgement.

[dkf]

54. Isn't the problem that we've created the idea that fresh food is a luxury?

How many times have we seen people say it is impossible for poor people to eat healthily because crap food is the only thing they can afford?

Sounds like this woman is being criticized for actually doing the healthier thing. I'm just glad she decided to go with grapes when she could have gone with sugar cereal.

[Honeycombe8]

79. You are right -she's being criticized for buying healthy. But fresh food has always been more $ than

chips & junk food. Unless you grow it yourself (and it ain't cheap even then!).

[Honeycombe8]

55. Sometimes it does a soul good to splurge and get something fresh and wholesome and

normally out of reach, like grapes, when they're on sale. That's a great price for grapes.

I wouldn't have gotten the bottled water, though. She is young and probably doesn't know any better. She could've gotten a GALLON of purified water for less than $1 (the aisle that carries the gallon water jugs, incl. distilled water, purified water, spring water, etc.). They go on sale, and there are generic brands.

[blueamy66]

62. I didn't think about this....

You can't drink the tap water in Arizona....it's awful.....so I had no problem when I read that she bought bottled water...but you are right....it's much cheaper to buy the gallon jugs.....

[Honeycombe8]

77. I'm frugal, so that's what I decided to get years ago. What I do NOW: I bought a Brita pitcher....

it comes with filters. You fill it with tap water,it flows into the pitcher by going thru the filter. Put it in your fridge. Voila! CHEAP filtered water. The filters last months, although they're expensive to buy (about $7 each). But they last for months, and it's way cheaper than either bottled water OR the gallon jugs.

[obamanut2012]

66. See what I wrote above you -- she may need it for work

I have friends and relatives whose jobs do not allow unsealed containers of liquid to be brought in. If they want to drink during the day, they have to bring in bottled and canned drinks.

[xfundy]

56. Maybe she lives in the van?

So, if that's where she lives, she needs to keep it running or it will be towed away. But food stamps don't cover that.

Day to day, though, she needs to live, and make sure her daughter eats, but apparently not all the chemicals and crap in processed food. But shareholders in McDonalds or BK or Lard-Fried-Butter™ and Butter-Fried-Lard™ should be able to make a profit off gubmint-issued food stamps, right? :sarc:

Oh, she's one of "those people." Well, of course that makes a difference. All the difference in the world. Pastor said so! And found loopholes in the Buybull!

[JoeyT]

57. "where did they get the money for the tattoo?"

It might have been a gift, it might have been before she lost her job, or it might have been done for free by a friend. What it definitely is is no one's business but hers.

They're tattoos. They're permanent. That's the whole point. What the hell do they expect her to do, cut it off and sell it to buy food?

[Capt. Obvious]

68. Buying fruit and water - she should be given a medal

Sarcasm and seriousness implied.

I'm used to reading stories, er comments, about people buying junk with their EBT cards. Fruit and water instead of high fructose, over-processed garbage. I wish everyone did that.

I'm fine with tap water but not every area has potable water.

But fresh fruit and vegetables - I can't give enough kudos to people who buy those. Sad it's come to that. I feel like Chris Rock: That's what you're supposed to do.

[closeupready]

76. We live in a cruel society, with people who get a thrill out of

kicking other people when they are down. Not everybody, of course, but seems like there is too much Jackass, homeless bashing, Islamophobia, etc. because people have such dismal and unhappy lives, they can only laugh when other people are publicly humiliated.

I've been watching Dr. Phil's Celebrity Rehab on Netflix, and one of the celebrities is Heidi Fleiss, and several times she states that "people suck", without elaborating.

And on bad days, I totally get what she is saying, and what she meant.