Free lunches at school

[eric&gen 0]

If i ever win the lotto it will be free lunches for everyone lol right

[Clarky and Tarah 0]

And no, there's NO legitimate reason for anyone on any assistance to have acrylic nails

There is no way of regulating people's spending while they are on welfare though, and there shouldn't be either in a free society.

The simple point is that if a person has $50.00 to spend on a nail job while on public assistance, then that person is definitely receiving at least that $50.00 too much in public assistance. It's really not that hard to understand.

I definitely understand what you're saying. Many people who aren't receiving assistance can't afford to splurge on their wants. Public assistance should be used to pay for basic NEEDS until the individal/family can afford to pay for these needs on their own, then they can start focusing on their wants.

So how do we go about making sure that people use public assistance for needs rather than wants? I know, why don't we have something like a free lunch program at public schools for those with a qualifying income, so we're sure that these children are fed as opposed to that money being spent on manicures? Oh, wait...

I'm FOR free lunches for children, but I'm not for people pampering themselves with money given to them to pay for their basic needs. Last time I checked eating was a basic need. Getting your nails done is not.

[Jenn! 918]

I'm FOR free lunches for children, but I'm not for people pampering themselves with money given to them to pay for their basic needs. Last time I checked eating was a basic need. Getting your nails done is not.

I would agree. I'd like to see more programs being implemented in this way, actually. Giving assistance in the form of goods, rather than cash.

I don't think anyone is FOR people pampering themselves with public assistance, aside from those pampered people, that is. You can't by iPods with your free lunch. This is the direction that public assistance should be going, IMO.

[Marilyn. 340]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

[KarenCee 3]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

Where DID this get started anyways?

[KarenCee 3]

I'm FOR free lunches for children, but I'm not for people pampering themselves with money given to them to pay for their basic needs. Last time I checked eating was a basic need. Getting your nails done is not.

I would agree. I'd like to see more programs being implemented in this way, actually. Giving assistance in the form of goods, rather than cash.

I don't think anyone is FOR people pampering themselves with public assistance, aside from those pampered people, that is. You can't by iPods with your free lunch. This is the direction that public assistance should be going, IMO.

This would be the ideal way of handling things...if the government would only DO it.

[Marilyn. 340]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

Where DID this get started anyways?

ET/BigDog mentioned that he saw some women at the store who had their hair and nails done and they were using food stamps and it kind of spun out from there....

[KarenCee 3]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

Where DID this get started anyways?

ET/BigDog mentioned that he saw some women at the store who had their hair and nails done and they were using food stamps and it kind of spun out from there....

Oh yeah....

[eric&gen 0]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

Where DID this get started anyways?

ET/BigDog mentioned that he saw some women at the store who had their hair and nails done and they were using food stamps and it kind of spun out from there....

Oh yeah....

I would like to add the big cadillac escalades they drive to have there nails done WIC shopping lollol.

[sensitive_euroman 0]

I guess if we take this argument to it's logical conclusion "people who can't afford to have kids shouldn't have them" we should do away with tax deductions for having children.

Any of you with kids unhappy with your taxes going towards school lunches willing to give up the tax deduction for dependent children?

[kisschick1976 0]

Who feeds these kids during the summer months? Do they starve? He!! no. Being low income has lots of bennies. Wheres the incentive to get responsible? Its easier to stay dependant.

No we didn't starve but sometimes the only hot meal we got during the summer would be pancakes for dinner with no syrup.

My family went through some rough times but if it weren't for the free/reduced program, I wouldn't have eaten anything more than a slice of cheese and crackers. I remember we qualified for food stamps and we were only alloted $12.00 a month. I walked to the store (NO FANCY CAR) and would buy $12.00 worth of ground beef for the month and people would roll their eyes at me cos 'OMG the little Hispanic girl is buying food with our tax money!' I ###### hated it. I hated being on reduced lunches too, but as I said, if it weren't in place I wouldn't have eaten much else all day.

No one ever got their nails done while we were poor, we didn't even get hair cuts. Growing up in the 80's was hard cos since I was my mother's oldest I had her and her sister's hand me downs from the 70's. That was NOT FUN. Things eventually got better for us and we never abused the system, so think about that. There are loads of kids who really need the program who are getting ###### over by the ones who could do without.

Reform perhaps, don't just wipe it out all together.

[Donna A 4]

these programs have their ups and downs. u know theres the ones who truely need the assistence like the single woman/man who goes out to work everyday and does their best to provide but just dont have enough. then theres the ones who live off the system cuz they are just to damn lazy to go out and work and that is what messes it up for everyone else. so its like a no win situation.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

That's not what's been said. But this applies to more than just a fringe element within the supported population. I invite you to head to subsidized housing complexes and count the vehicles that the residents should not be driving. I invite you to observe just how many people pay with food stamps that would appear to be quite capable to pay for food themselves. And so on and so forth. The abuse is everywhere. It's not just a one-off type deal. Not everyone but way too many for my comfort.

[Fandango 1,439]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

That's not what's been said. But this applies to more than just a fringe element within the supported population. I invite you to head to subsidized housing complexes and count the vehicles that the residents should not be driving. I invite you to observe just how many people pay with food stamps that would appear to be quite capable to pay for food themselves. And so on and so forth. The abuse is everywhere. It's not just a one-off type deal. Not everyone but way too many for my comfort.

Yep...I saw it myself all the time when the customers wanted to pay for their nails with WIC.

You shoulda seen some of the cars & the systems....

[Caladan 19]

yes, because all people on assistance are getting there nails and hair done all the time

That's not what's been said. But this applies to more than just a fringe element within the supported population. I invite you to head to subsidized housing complexes and count the vehicles that the residents should not be driving. I invite you to observe just how many people pay with food stamps that would appear to be quite capable to pay for food themselves. And so on and so forth. The abuse is everywhere. It's not just a one-off type deal. Not everyone but way too many for my comfort.

I guess I feel like it would like someone hearing me complain about the fee increase and saying, 'well, you just bought a new computer and you had enough money to go overseas, so surely an extra $300 doesn't mean anything to you.' Or someone complaining because his wife wants to send $100 a month home to her family and he doesn't have the cash, and responding by sneering, well, you obviously have enough extra cash for internet access. Or arguing that the retiree doesn't really need his Medicare because he has that 57 caddy that he lovingly restores that he should just sell.

When you're poor, all your bad decisions come into question as a reason for people to sneer. When you're middle class, you can make as many bad decisions but no one sneers because you look respectable. And then we wonder why the income of poor people often goes to quasi-luxury image goods.

And it's certainly easy to believe that people are just irresponsible. Quite a lot of being poor is mismanaging money. So is quite a lot of being human.

Poor people do make bad decisions with their money, but the studies I remember reading in college didn't show that middle class people were more responsible, but that they had more room for error when they screwed up (more relatives with money to bail them out, a higher paying job so that credit card bill can be paid, that sort of thing)

I'm not sure where these housing complexes with the Lexuses are. No Escalades either. The one near me (four blocks) people don't have cars or have relatively old cars. And sometimes people have nicer cars (this is usually outside of the projects), but it's hard to say whether it's their car, the car of their boyfriend, a project they've put together over a couple of years, or something they bought when they had more money and kept when they slipped below the poverty line, or a car that's shared by many people.

In any case, I'm not sure why it matters to the questions of school lunches. Suppose the child has an irresponsible... ooh, let's make her a single mom with a nice car and false nails. You might think it would be better if she took the $15 it cost to get her nails done and spent it on lunch. But she hasn't, and it's clear she's not going to. How does cutting off her child's lunch program help? Is she going to have an epiphany? Chances are the kid just ends up getting a bag of chips and soda for a lunch and then doesn't have the proper nutrition to be able to learn. I figure we're better off as a society with the free lunch program than without it.