Saturday, November 3, 2012

Random thoughts on WIC and Food Stamps...

Hi, welcome back to the forgot and sadly updated blog ;) I don't usually put my view out there on things because we all have our own views on things and we all need to respect that, but this is the little bit of life that I have been faced with and I though I would share for whomever wanted to read...

I went grocery shopping this morning. While at the store I was standing in the checkout line, putting my items on the belt like I always do. I put them on there in the way that I want to pack them. The cold stuff goes on the belt together, as do the frozen, produce, and dry goods. It's just the way I do things, call me OCD but it makes packing a breeze. Anyway, I was reminded of when I used to be on WIC. I remembered having to sort everything according to which 'check/coupon' I was giving the cashier so they could scan it through easily. I remembered it was slightly frustrating but I was thankful that there was help for the short time we needed it.

I also had a different memory come back. I remember the anxiety of standing in the checkout line with WIC coupons. The, fear, I guess, of being lashed at for having WIC coupons. I would hide them in my purse until the last minute and then take them out for the cashier. Then I would stand there, waiting for the cashiers to push things through and hope that I was going to be lucky today. See, I have heard so many stories about people being chewed out because they were in line at a grocery store and they had food stamps or WIC coupons and some person felt the need to yell at them, tell them to get a job, that they were lazy, that they were selfish ect ect. Now, stories are stories, some may be true, some not, but, posts on facebook of what all your friends think, those are true.

See, I see lots of posts on facebook about how people on government aid are sucking the life out of the government, how they need to just go out and get a job, how they are lazy, drug addicts, drunks, and irresponsible human beings. I also read posts making fun of those on government assistance and so on. Posts like that, from many different people, used to reinforce to me that yes, you make just get chewed out in the checkout line because even people you know are acting like or think like the people you heard in the horror stories.

I used to get so stressed out every time I went to the grocery store. Seriously, it was a nightmare. It didn't make it any better when I would get to the checkout line and the people behind me would walk away to a different line with a big huff after seeing me hand the cashier my coupon or make some rude comment under their breath. Or it didn't help if the cashier would give me a hard time that I wasn't getting something on the list because then, I wasn't being a very thankful or needy person then was I... sigh...

Josh, my husband, has a four year degree in mechanical engineering. He graduated right when the economy took a nose dive. There were no jobs for him, and, to be honest, there still really aren't. We moved to South Korea to find work, then Josh was offered a job in the US so we moved back, but when we got back it fell through and we were stuck with no jobs, a baby, and one on the way. Josh finally, after months of trying, got a job at an insurance company that paid $11.54 an hour. He worked his bum off, worked overtime, and I budgeted like a mad woman, but no matter what, could not make ends meet. We had one car, Josh's school loans to pay, and a baby on the way. We have qualified for WIC for over two years by that point but never took it because we had been able to figure things out, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not stay within budget on groceries. So we went on WIC and honestly, we didn't want to, but we needed too and we were very thankful for the help that we got.

My point is, not everyone that you see in the grocery line in front of you with food stamps or WIC is a government leach. They aren't all dirt of the earth that need to be made fun of or they are lazy couch potato's that don't want to work. Some of them, well, they are truly hard working people who can't make ends meet at the moment and are trying to do what is best for their family. So, chewing them out is not going to make them, or anybody else, feel better except for you. Writing posts about them on facebook and making fun of them or people in their class make them feel down right crappy and create anxiety and fear about grocery shopping. Seriously, grocery shopping. One should not have fear about getting food for their family.

Thankfully we haven't had to be on WIC for over a year, Josh has been blessed with a good job and we  are thankful for the services WIC offered when we needed them.

I don't like people taking advantage of the government any more then the next person. I think it's sad that people do it and that our government is set up to let them do it. I just don't think it's ok to lump all the people on WIC or food stamps together and treat them all like parasites.

Watch what you post on your walls on facebook, you might be making someones next grocery trip more of a nightmare then it already is.