1. #1

    why does people have money to buy Cigaretes but don't have money to buy food

    Ok i've experienced this from waiting in line in a 7/11 store where i saw a person buy 2 packs of cigarets and used his foodstamp card to get some food separately; what is going on? if they have money to buy cigarets why do they need foodstamps to get food? is this just another sign of America going downhill?
    Last edited by Elian; 2012-04-07 at 04:21 PM.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Elian View Post
    Ok i've experienced this from waiting in line in a 7/11 store where i saw a person buy 2 packs of cigarets and used his foodstamp card to get some food separately; what is going on? if they have money to buy cigarets why do they need foodstamps to get food? is this just another sign of American going downhill?
    No, it just shows how drastic an effect nicotine has on one's judgment.

  3. #3
    People certainly abuse food stamps, but they are there for low income households to not have to worry about whether they can afford food or not, a smoker makes a few bucks to drop down on a pack of cigs, not gonna hurt the food stamp cycle, just means he's probably never going to be able to afford anything worthwhile.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Elian View Post
    Ok i've experienced this from waiting in line in a 7/11 store where i saw a person buy 2 packs of cigarets and used his foodstamp card to get some food separately; what is going on? if they have money to buy cigarets why do they need foodstamps to get food? is this just another sign of American going downhill?
    Because most people will abuse the system if given the opportunity? If your low income and can get food stamps you will find many people struggling to make ends meet go for it. There's no reason not to. Food is expensive. Even if you never eat out the average persons food bill will easily add up to a few hundred a month unless your eating ramen noodles all day or anorexic. Now just think if you have to provide for multiple people what that could add up to.

    I have worked with guys that eat out for breakfast lunch and dinner. Their excuse is "hey its only like $6 who cares". But when your spending over $20-30 a day on food by going out it certainly adds up to a lot. They were not exactly making a ton of bank either. I learned my lesson a while back. I was spending close to 700-800 a month just on food for myself, mostly high quality sources.

    Secondly I'm not saying that this is the case but that person may have been buying cigarettes for someone else.. which I have done before and I have never smoked.
    Last edited by avx81; 2012-04-07 at 04:27 PM.

  5. #5
    Your vocabulairy doesn't do America any justice either. Aside from my inner grammar nazi and most likely hypocritical since my english vocabulary is nowhere near perfect. - And also against the rules, please do not comment on people's grammar unless specifically asked to.

    This has been going on for a long time. Its called an addiction, some people don't want or can't deal with it.
    There are plenty of examples out there, junkies, alcohol addicts. People with no homes and still get high or drunk all the time. Thats where all their money goes.
    Cigarettes are a drug and addictive. I for one am a smoker, not proud of it, although i have no financial problems.

    However, Cigarettes are not the same as hard drugs in terms of addiction and costs. This is mainly the combination of people not having a job and having an addiction.
    Not having a job because they don't want to work or their addiction cause them to get fired and keeping them from getting a new job.

    This is no excuse however, but this is not new and it happens all over the world.
    Last edited by mmoc8b7a14d456; 2012-04-07 at 05:52 PM.
    There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by avx81 View Post
    Because most people will abuse the system if given the opportunity? If your low income and can get food stamps you will find many people struggling to make ends meet go for it. There's no reason not to. Food is expensive. Even if you never eat out the average persons food bill will easily add up to a few hundred a month unless your eating ramen noodles all day or anorexic. Now just think if you have to provide for multiple people what that could add up to.

    I have worked with guys that eat out for breakfast lunch and dinner. Their excuse is "hey its only like $6 who cares". But when your spending over $20-30 a day on food by going out it certainly adds up to a lot. They were not exactly making a ton of bank either. I learned my lesson a while back. I was spending close to 700-800 a month just on food for myself, mostly high quality sources.

    Secondly I'm not saying that this is the case but that person may have been buying cigarettes for someone else.. which I have done before and I have never smoked.
    I'd hate to live in your economy, because I can eat like a king for about a hundred bucks a month. The trick is to buy food that has minimum level of pre-preparation done to it. Pre-packaged foods are expensive.

    Chicken microwave dinner (contains maybe 150 grams of chicken) 3 dollars. 3 kilograms of Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts, 30 dollars. 20 times the chicken for only 10 times the price(edit). (The other ingredients in it such as pasta are dirt cheap unprepared, and right now in my economy chicken is the most expensive common protein source). The bottom line is that I whole-heartedly disagree with your estimate of an average persons food bill. I feed myself on about 100 bucks a month. Provided I live in a fairly significant agricultural centre of Canada, which does keep food prices a little lower than some places.

    But I agree with your secondly. If you're on food stamps, and some kid handed you some bills and said you could keep the change if you buy him smokes, I'd imagine that might be a pretty tempting offer.

    EDIT: Sorry, just woke up, I fail at forum right now.
    Last edited by Gheld; 2012-04-07 at 04:34 PM.

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