An example of how not to foster support for welfare
The Huntsville Times ran a story today about changes that are being made to public housing. Accompanying the story was a picture of a lady named Alexandra Reed, a recipient of taxpayer funded housing assistance. Sitting on a table in front of her: a Starbucks cup.
Ms. Reed is on the precipice of escaping the welfare roll (for public housing at least) and for that she should be commended. Let’s just say, though, that if I were in the unlikely position of relying upon taxpayers to pay my bills it would be a cold day in a hot place before you caught me buying overpriced coffee or other such unnecessary luxuries. And yes, if my tax dollars are paying part of your rent then a $2.50 latte is an unnecessary luxury.
I would encourage Ms. Reed and all other coffee drinkers to take a look at this online calculator and determine just how much you could save over time by giving up expensive restaurant coffee. You can keep patronizing Starbucks daily if you so desire (please don’t if I’m paying your bills), but at least you’ll have a better idea what it is really costing you. As a point of reference if I were to drink all of my coffee at Starbucks it would cost me just under $14,000 after ten years.
And if you’re going to go ahead and buy overpriced coffee at least do it at a locally owned and operated establishment.
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I agree with that in principal Brian….but I have to ask how you know that she is the one who actually purchased the cup of Starbucks coffee? Could be that one of the reporters bought it for her. They almost always offer to purchase my lunches and coffee when I am engaged in interviews with them.
Just curious!
I don’t, of course. Whether she bought it or not, it isn’t a good image for someone on welfare to be drinking Starbucks coffee. It’s a perception thing.
Note to the Huntsville Times, I’m available for interviews around 11:30…
Back on topic – using vouchers for housing assistance seems like a better program than building and maintaining housing projects. It looks like the City is trying to get out of the public housing business, except for senior citizens.
I can buy the perception angle. My big beef on people receiving taxpayer assistance in the form of an EBT card is allowing them to shop like 8 year-olds.
I wish I could sit on my ass all day and spit babies out of one end and suck crack and ripple down the other while getting laid 24/7 and a check shows up in the mail with food stamps and I dont pay any rent or even need a car. Dont tell me blacks got it bad. They have an entire legal system, created just for them. What did the do? They broke it, just like the steel ball jokes.
Gee Nick, you could be a host on BET, with your remarkable affinity for African Americans, and your cutting edge insight into the Black Experience. You could be their token inbred white trash redneck.
Or maybe you should run for Grand Dragon, so you can send all dem mandigos back to da Dark Continent, since dey’s whut’s rong wit dis cuntry.