should i share? i'm tired of sharing.

[rockriver]

i was at biggy mart tonight and something snapped.
checking out i couldn't help but watch two obama supporters discuss their purchase with the check out fella..
the two males were using a credit card i wasn't familiar with. we are in georgia. known as the peach state. it was green and had peaches on it. my wife advised me this was the welfare card.
--
behind them were two more obama supporters. mrs. neckline too low, 290 # i'm proud to show off what i got with her buggy. and then her man. mr 300# i can talk the street feller with a full buggy.
the cashier's first question was.. "do you have 2 cards?" to mrs. neckline. "yes" was her response.
--
mrs. neckline and then mr. 300 processed through and used the green peach card.

ahead of us was a mom and daughter team. they used the green peach card.

something snapped in me. where is my green peachy card? so i can get groceries free to me, but paid for by the good folks in this town that work.
--
i used a credit card, i'll have to pay at the end of the month.
-
i've worked a long time. paid taxes for decades.
--
when the shtf, i've always figured i'd share as i could. rawles cause it generous charity, or something similar.
--
but it dawned on me real clear tonight. i, my wife and all you folks reading this that work and pay taxes are already sharing. sharing big time. and if you've been paying taxes for over 40 years.
you've been sharing a long time. and what is the result? the President/king and all his supporters want me and you workers to share even more, cause they ain't gonna work.

i've shared for over 40 years and the results are not good.
i don't think i'm as inclined to share any more.
nope...
mrs. neckline, and mr. 300 and mrs. mom and daughter, best bring something good to trade.

rr

[BioG8r]

Yes sir, Been there, Felt that!
What you were witness to, is one of the biggest reasons we are financially melting down from the inside out.
I do not have a problem helping when someone is down or for those who really don't stand a chance of getting back up.
You see ex-mil that has two legs and one arm gone, from serving our country, he is up and doing his best to make a small fortune using determination and grit to overcome his physical issues.
Then comes the question, could Ms. Neckline and Mr 300 be doing something to remedy their situation or have they grown accustomed to their entitlement?
I'll not be sharing....

[Daelith]

I agree RR. It's so very aggravating. I bet their carts were teaming with junk food and colas instead of healthy food that could be stretched over a period of time. Makes it even worse.

[Irish-Tech]

yeah i will only share with neighbors i have talked with before shtf and know they are good people but just didnt prep. it will be hard to turn away mom's and children, so i dont know if ill be able to have the resolve.

[1Admin]

i've shared for over 40 years and the results are not good.
i don't
think i'm as inclined to share any more.
nope...
mrs. neckline, and
mr. 300 and mrs. mom and daughter, best STAY THE HELL AWAY.

Fixed it for ya ;)

Five stars, great thread!

It sounds callous when I say it, but I've told everyone, including like minded friends- "I'm doing my sharing and generosity NOW." Whether that means giving you some gear you might need, training that might save your life, etc. Or for extended family, putting up food for you. You may not like the rice and lentils, but my family has survived off of it just fine for 13 years so it's good enough for them it's good enough for you. In other words I'm essentially telling them "don't expect anything out of me later, I may not be able or willing to help then." But I will help you NOW.

On the public side, we do our share also, most of which is done via the "don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing" type model. We need to give of our time, talent and treasures if we are going to give IMO. Giving of our family's time, talent and treasuries has also yielded quite a few learning experiences with exactly the type of thing you are discussing. I've always been a student of two things- Violence and human nature. Unfortunately both go hand and hand....

Help 100 people out in a mass setting and here's what you'll find (approximates)- about 5 will help you (keep in mind they are getting something also), at least 10 to 15 will be absolute arseholes expecting something not at all thankful and a jerk when it isn't all EXACTLY the way they want it. And the other 80% or so once they get something will be fine. And do NOT read that as saying we should appease them. I'm a firm believer in "if any man would not work the same shouldn't eat."

The 10 to 15% will grow and grow over time. It's probably higher than that on a national level. That 10% will stir up the rest when the time comes. Hell just the 10% will be enough problems.

[Not_Yet_Prepped]

It hit me shortly after Katrina. When I watched a family take thier "FEMA Check" (really a preloaded debit card) to purchase a Large flat screen TV. Then turned around and gave an interview to the local news crew about how hard it was to make ends meet and they did not have enough money for food.

I knew the family hab been on food stamps for decides and no one in family ever held a job more than a couple of months. They just wanted more of a hand out after taking the LARGE FEDERAL HANDOUT to buy stuff they did not need... But they felt the deserved... That TV was nicer than any TV I ever had and I have not been more than 3 days without work since I turned 16. I mean really? Once they get into the "HANDOUT" system they never get out of it (usually). And then they will VOTE for who ever promises not to take it away or to give them more!

Those handouts have become a way for Politicians to buy votes, all paid for buy our money!

[Hit or Miss]

Someday we will all stand and be judged, those who give and those who take.
We will care for our family, help our friends, and give to what we think are worthy charities.
I understand the frustration in what we all see as wasted tax dollars spent, but somewhere out there is someone who truly needed that help and you were the answer to that prayer.

[SeldomSeenSlim]

I understand the frustration in what we all see as wasted tax dollars spent, but somewhere out there is someone who truly needed that help and you were the answer to that prayer.

I agree. It's not the charity that is the problem, it is how people are determined to be in need inside of a large bureaucratic system. People are fallible, so the systems they create are fallible as well. I don't mind helping folks that really need it. Lazy, stupid or bad life decisions doesn't qualify in my book. There are people that genuinely need the help and then there are those that milk the system. When the system is no longer there, then it is up to everyone to separate the wheat from the chaff. I have no idea how to 'fix the system', but I also don't want to become so jaded by it that I forget what my mother taught me.

[Not_Yet_Prepped]

somewhere out there is someone who truly needed that help and you were the answer to that prayer

I am all for helping those in need. But I should get to choose who gets my help. And when I do help someone, I feel I should HELP someone, not trap them in system that makes them helpless.

The STATE should NOT be the one to be the "Charitable" organization. It has to much red tape, loop holes, and much larger overhead cost. Charity needs to be handled by individuals and charitable organizations that can deal with people abusing the sitution, changes to economic climate, local needs and more easily help those in need get back on their feet. The government system (mostly) does not help you get back on your feet.

My family was poor when I was a child. And when I say poor I mean there were times without electricity and running water (and this was in the 80s) and when we did not know what we would eat the next day. My mother could have made more money by getting on the government system than working for min. wage at KFC (it was Kentucky Fired Chicken then), but she knew that once in the system, there was not much way out. So instead we had to suffer while she worked us out of that hole because while the Food Stamps and other "Handouts" look like they help, they actually come with a hidden cost as they often "trap" the ones they are "trying to help".

And I think back now and am so thankful my mother would not take that help from the Government because if she had, I most likely would be there with my handout to this day.

I knew we were poor and at times things were tough on us. But I had a wonderful childhood. My mom came home from working everyday and because she knew tomorrow (or next year) would be better (or might be better) she gave us (all our family) a since of hope and I believe that hope allowed us to be happy.

If your getting your food from the government you dont have that hope of things getting better, because if things got better than you would not get your hand out.

The government system has major limits on what you can earn, how many hours you can work, and rewards you for having more children. This encourages those "In Need" to stay in need of help. Where an individual or charity will not put those types of "rewards" for "bad behavour" in their system. They will give you a hand out and a leg up at the same time. If you dont take the leg up you will not get any more hand outs. They will help you help yourself not reward you for watching day time tv.

Poverity is not really that bad, it is what you do in your poverity that can make or break you. If you feel bad for yourself and demand your income/food from the government than how do you ever expect to get out of it. But if you try to help yourself, you ask for help (instead of demanding it) from your local community and you work hard, than most likely you can over come the poverity (My family is living proof).

In short the People are better at helping others than a centeral goverment can ever be.

The Communist thought the could employee and feed everyone... But we often forget that they starved millions to death and out rite murdered millions of others before they could even think about doing it.

[rice paddy daddy]

We live in a poor section of the country. It is nothing to see obese women at the local grocery (south georgia) with three carts: one full of young kids, one full of food to be purchased with the Peach card, the third with the beer, tobacco and other products. Which they pay for by peeling bills off a roll of cash.
I've worked hard all my life, never been on any type of welfare or even unemployment, and I'm really sick of this behavior too.
Four more years of The Obamanation will spell the end of all that WAS good in this country.

[trkarl]

It is my belief that not one dime of public money should ever go to any private individual for any reason what so ever. Taking care of charity is the responsibility of family first then neighborhood and friends, then church and community all done with private monies and resources.

It is our responsibility to take care of each each other not to vote someone else's money from them to take care of other people. That being said we also need to be careful that privately we don't foster a "give me" mentality from those on the receiving end either.

I volunteer at a community garden that a church in my ao started with the goal of teaching people how to do something to make them more self sufficient. Also produce grown would be sold to support the cost of supplies and the rest given to the poor. This church has an outreach where every third Saturday of the month they give away huge amounts of food for the poor and haircuts and other things.

The food is distributed in a large building where it is bagged and gotten ready for the people and all they have to do is show up, get a bag and leave. Well guess what they have now been trained to do? They have been trained to be taken care of this way now without exerting much effort at all.

We decided to move the food distribution out to where the garden was so the people would become more aware of it and maybe learn something. Also they would have to bag their own. What happens? Almost none of the people would even walk across the parking lot to where the garden was to get their free produce. Since it wasn't bagged for them in the building most just left.

To be fair a few actually did volunteer some times to work in the garden and are interested in learning but it is not even 1 in 20 and that is being kind. Just goes to show how soft and selfish a society many people have become. It is a struggle to not get so angry and jaded when I see this but to remember one of my missions as a Christian is to keep serving my fellow man no matter what.

I dread the day tshtf because so many are going to be in serious trouble.

[miked2345]

i was at biggy mart tonight and something snapped.
checking out i couldn't help but watch two obama supporters discuss their purchase with the check out fella..
the two males were using a credit card i wasn't familiar with. we are in georgia. known as the peach state. it was green and had peaches on it. my wife advised me this was the welfare card.
--
behind them were two more obama supporters. mrs. neckline too low, 290 # i'm proud to show off what i got with her buggy. and then her man. mr 300# i can talk the street feller with a full buggy.
the cashier's first question was.. "do you have 2 cards?" to mrs. neckline. "yes" was her response.
--
mrs. neckline and then mr. 300 processed through and used the green peach card.
rr

I see stuff like that all the time too. You wonder what these people will turn into if the SHTF and their gov't nipple runs dry.
While most of us here are prepping for a SHTF moment that we hope never happens, when I'm standing in line behind these kinds of folks, I can't help but think that maybe a "culling of the herd" via a SHTF event might be over due...

[Georgia_Boy]

RockRiver, thank you Brother, thank you friend. Here I was stewing about the very same issues that had you snap.
Your writing style got me to laughing so hard that not only did I spill my Diet Coke on my 'puter, the dogs are mad because they couldn't understand why I was hollerin and hootin, laughing spilling coke and food, and I swear my stomach still hurts. So Thank you, my snapped spell is broken.......
GB

[Bob92]

Just left wally-world seen the same thing. This is getting out of hand. On my way to the store I saw 4 help wanted signs and 2 people with a sign asking for money to buy food. I understand times are tuff but been watching these two in the same spot for two weeks never have the same clothes on and always have a big 44oz cup of pop, and they work banker hours on the corner.
Dont mind food stamps we had to go on them when I was young and my dad got hurt on the job and didnt have insurance, but he refused to stay on them. I can remember going to the store and tearing them out of a booklet, mom hated that. Now there is no shame everyone thinks they are entitled. Now they have the credit card and they issue the funds on 3 different days of the month, so they dont overwhelm the stores.
Did see a great sign on the fountain drinks "Cannot purchase drinks with foodstamps". maybe it is a start.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

http://newsok.com/federal-law-limits-welfare-debit-card-use-at-casinos-strip-clubs/article/3691212

drug testing for welfare recipiants now and soon they will limit where they can spend that money even more
we are tired too