<p>At the grocery store the other day, there was a woman paying for her groceries with WIC checks/coupons. She was drinking a very large Starbucks coffee.</p>
<p>Is it wrong to be frustrated at how she spends her money while on public assistance?</p>
<p>Yes. Give the woman a break.</p>
<p>Not wrong, but maybe just a waste of energy. Without knowing the circumstances you are making assumptions. This lady could be getting the WIC stuff for a neighbor/relative/friend who can’t leave the house or she could be getting it for herself, and had someone give her a $5 starbucks card for a present. That could be the only Starbucks she gets ever and they wont give you cash for the card so she is enjoying it. The last is a bit dramatic, I know 
but it is just an example of what could be going on…</p>
<p>lol…thanks missemily. The last part was a bit extreme, but you’re right, it could be a special circumstance.</p>
<p>Whenever I see someone buying something with government issued funds, I do my best not to judge (I am a cashier, so this is a daily occurrence). Many food-stamp recipients get chastized if they buy shrimp or steak or birthday cakes. Why? I know when my family was on food stamps, we ate mostly pb&j and Kraft mac and cheese. It isn’t a crime to have a nice meal once a month or so. I know that my mom would buy a package of shrimp for her birthday or for New Year’s. Even though it may seem like a waste, we really don’t know the circumstances. Now, as a cashier I do have my regulars, and yes, I am disappointed when I see EBT customers who routinely buy steak, energy drinks, and even soda (although shrimp doesn’t bother me; it’s relatively inexpensive where I live and is a healthy alternative to other meats).</p>
<p>I know that on occasion a person on food stamps hops into a very nice car. It could be a friend’s. The circumstances could be anything. Similarly, at least at my store, cashiers have a tendency to criticize customers on public assistance who are dressed to a tee. I don’t know about you, but as a low-income person, I would much rather have a very small, very nice wardrobe than a large, overly-cheap one. When my sister was a teenager, she wanted designer purses and Aeropostle and American Eagle clothing. Well, she worked, she paid for it, she took meticulous care of her clothes and accessories, and had a small selection.</p>
<p>I know it can be tough to see someone on public assistance with a lot of luxuries. But we are people too. No, I can’t afford the electric bill. Yes, I have the internet. What we often don’t see when we make these judgements (and I think it’s fair to say all or most of us, including me, make them on some occasions) are the sacrifices being made. If a $4 cup of coffee was that woman’s breakfast and/or lunch, is it really unfair to say that she purchased it? I know that I drink caffinated beverages only rarely, but when I do, I have a tendency to splurge.</p>
<p>My purpose with this post, bobmom, is by no means to attack you for your comments. Not at all. I just want to show you that as both a cashier and a low-income student, things aren’t always what they seem. Although it is something I personally struggle with, and many people do, we have to do our best not to judge people when in reality we only have a very small snapshot of their lives. It is difficult for me to, for example, sympathize with the upper-middle income family who can’t afford tuition but owns a $500,000 home. But, little by little, I can try to stop and take a deep breath. Looking at the situation from another perspective really helps, sometimes.</p>
<p>I’m with mythmom. A cup of Starbucks is a pretty poor luxury; it’s not like she was having champagne brunch at the Ritz or something. Are you saying she should never drink coffee at all, or that she should be ashamed of drinking Starbucks when she could easily get the same size Dunkin’ Donuts for, like, 30 cents less? Sheesh.</p>
<p>Who are you to judge? Maybe she works at Starbucks and bought it with her 50% discount at the end of her shift. Maybe she was visiting her mom who slipped her a $5 for a coffee?
heck, my kids get federal money to attend college - maybe you or your kids do too. do you go around and tell them not to buy stuff? Maybe you should go to a college campuse and scrutinze the spending habits of all the kids who are on financial aid.</p>
<p>Thank you for not attacking me for my comments, but I’m not sure what comments you mean. All I did was ask if it was wrong to be frustrated. And, I’m finding out that yes, I probably wouldn’t be worth my time to be frustrated.</p>
<p>As we walked out, I just told my husband that she could have a lot more coffee if she made it at home than buying it at Starbucks. So, it was more the thrifty nature coming out more than thinking that she shouldn’t be able to have coffee.</p>
<p>Wow, you guys are harsh just for a simple question.</p>
<p>Well said, applicannot. </p>
<p>bobmom, for all we know the woman could be putting “cheap coffee” in a starbucks cup at home. Why? Just makes the woman feel good.</p>
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<p>Somewhat related, I’m not sure what I think about being able to use food stamps at some restaurants in LA County-- [EBT</a> now stands for restaurant meals | Marketplace From American Public Media](<a href=“http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/02/17/am-ebt/]EBT”>http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/02/17/am-ebt/) Generally speaking, these meals would be more expensive and less healthy than what one could buy in a grocery store. (I do appreciate that this would allow a homeless person to get a hot meal, but the majority of people on food stamps are not in that situation.)</p>
<p>Coffee is essentially flavored hot water that has 0 calories (no nutritional value). </p>
<p>Both my wife and I are employed full time and earn good money, yet I refuse to indugle in Starbucks coffee at $3 a cup because it’s wasteful. </p>
<p>I don’t care what people spend their own money on, but I do care what they spend taxpayer dollars on. If a person can afford expensive drinks that provide no nutritional value, they should return the unneeded food stamps so others who are more needy can be issued them instead. </p>
<p>Regardless of the reasons for using WIC, I don’t think it’s classy to be drinking expensive luxury drinks when using government aid to buy essentials. That gives the wrong impression to others who observe.</p>
<p>And we do have a right to be concerned with what people spend our taxpayer dollars on.</p>
<p>I don’t really care what the person in front of me at the check out lane purchases. If she acquired the Starbuck’s and her groceries legally and according to the rules, then that’s what counts. Some of you need to count your blessings and be glad you aren’t reduced to paying for food with food stamps.</p>
<p>Bigtrees I think it is a big stretch to call one $3 drink a luxury. Also, in this case there is no evidence that taxpayer funds were used to pay the “luxury” drink.</p>
<p>Would it be better if the woman in the original statement was carrying a bottle of water? A coke from McDonald’s? A snapple? Or should she not drink anything while purchasing the WIC cheese, milk, formula, and peanut butter?</p>
<p>25 cents out of every dollar I make go to support various federal government programs. This excludes sales and property taxes.</p>
<p>I think observing how those dollars are used and how they benefit various people is really important to be sure that 25 cents is being used in the most effective manner.</p>
<p>In other words, if the shopping total in my card is $75, I had to earn $100 to pay for those groceries.</p>
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<p>I don’t drink while shopping, and ask that my wife does not as well. So my answer is she should not drink anything while shopping. </p>
<p>If she choses to have a drink and asked my advice, I would encourage her to have a drink with her meals, and have a drink that is healthy like milk, orange juice, or apple juice. If she wanted juice, I would encourage her to buy the frozen concentrated juice and dilute with water because it is more cost effective.</p>
<p>Of course, that’s normal to me because that is what we do in my family.</p>
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<p>Denying yourself life’s little extras is a good way of saving money and improving your life. $3 doesn’t seem like much, but put it in the bank and earn interest for 30 years and it becomes $24 in retirement. Put $3 a week into your retirement for a a year, and it becomes $1000 in retirement. </p>
<p>Good financial management is essential to improving ones life. And, yes, this does mean denying yourself $3 cups of coffee.</p>
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I would expect–and hope–that a person whose life has enough challenges and difficulties to warrant receiving WIC would have more important things on their mind than giving a “classy” impression to “others who observe” at the checkout.
But since you can’t, AFAIK, use WIC for a cup of Starbucks, then she’s not spending taxpayer dollars on it. Presumably, if she’s poor enough to qualify for WIC then a cup of Starbucks represents a more significant chunk of her domestic budget than it would for you or me, but that’s really between her and her. It’s none of our business.</p>
<p>So what? If you find yourself in need - unemployed or underemployed with small children to feed then you can get WIC too.
Maybe it would be better if you volunteered for a variety of programs and agencies who help young families find better jobs, improve their prospects through education and encourage family planning so they and their families can get off WIC. In other words - don’t just complain.</p>
<p>You should go visit a college campus. Single out all the kids who have Pell grants or other state and financial aid and tell them they must buy all their books used, they must by the smallest meal plan and to forget those new jeans they just bought at Old Navy.</p>
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<p>That’s my problem. I did buy all my books used (unless used weren’t available). And I was embarrased about it and carefully peeled off the “used” stickers so my classmates wouldn’t notice.</p>
<p>But I wasn’t on Pell grants. I just new that buying used textbooks was good for saving money.</p>
<p>Anyways, it’s not my problem. I’m too oblivious to notice who pays with WIC / food stamps at the grocery store anyway, and I’ve never seen someone do it at the stores I shop at. (And trust me - I live in the low rent district and I’m sure there are a lot of people who use them, but I never notice anyway.)</p>
<p>I had a foster child once who was eligible for WIC for her formula. She was abandoned by a teen mom, and came to us directly from the hospital, at 5 days old. I remember going grocery shopping for our family (of 6 - we had one other foster child at the time), carrying on a polite, friendly conversation with the cashier. She was mid-sentence when I handed her the WIC coupons (for the formula only), and she quit talking. Didn’t say a word to me the rest of the transaction, and I heard furious whispering with the next customer as I left.</p>
<p>Have no idea what else I bought that day. Maybe it included cookies or chips, or sweetened cereal, or something else that didn’t pass the grocery police. But I never shopped there again.</p>