i cant really tell if most kiwis here do not know how to budget their money, or inflation is that bad
its because prices and rules for SNAP are not the same in every state. so someone getting lets say 200 dollars in SNAP in one state might be living large and is able to buy tons of nice things and trash and whatever but in the next state over 200 dollars wont buy shit. because of things like this as well as the varying rules on if hot food and fast food is or is not allowed you will find that people have insanely different views on things based on how things are in their current location.
inflation is also just really fucking bad right now so much so that i have been trying to find new things to cook for meals because beef went from 4 dollars a pound at the beginning of the year to almost 8 dollars a pound currently. its absolute lunacy.
so combine that as well as the inflation that happens in cities compared to rural areas with a smaller population and you will find that money goes further in some areas than it does others. its why in those reality shows about crab fishermen or the dudes who go digging for gold in alaska and the yukon many of the guys who do that stuff are from out of state and they just take the money back to where they live and they get to live.
our almost 90 year old gran can only get a whopping 15 bucks a month in EBT.
a friend of my grandmothers who died ages ago only got 10 dollars in food stamps. i remember going to her house and all she had was a few loaves of bread. if not for her son who would stop by every so often she would have been in a way worse situation.
What I don't get is I have to work 30 hours to qualify for food stamps. The moment I lost my job, they're up my ass about "when you gonna start working. "
How the fuck can I cheat the system
so from my own observations in some cases i think it has to do with the social worker handling the case because i remember when i needed help with heating in the winter i was rejected but then when i called to ask why i ended up getting a new worker who told me the other worker got replaced because they were only accepting blacks and friends of theirs. its actually crazy how many social workers will just project their own beliefs onto everything and get away with it for years.
this is what i don't get. why don't people want something that they can do that has very low requirements, low expectations, and a decent check attached to it, if you have even a decent relationship with another person you can get a roommate if you're really struggling this much. it's insane that people can't figure this out.
without power leveling too much my entire life i have had an absolute awful time finding a job in my area. no easy jobs like fast food or working at a grocery store want anyone older than 18 give or take one or two ex convicts and maybe one autist that they keep around to brag about how disability friendly they are. you cannot just move somewhere else because that requires money so you are just trapped unless you happen to make friends with the right person and get lucky.
thats how my dad ended up getting a job and even then he had to drive 5 hours to work and back every day because that was the only option he had.
shits just fucked beyond belief and i genuinely think the only way to fix it is to make things like apprenticeships way more popular and accessible. i dont care if you dropped out of elementary school or were in prison most of your life or whatever the fuck you should be able to go to a construction company or a welder or plumber or electrician or whatever and they should be willing to teach you that job.
Eh, I'll power level, I've tried to get into unions and good luck. They're bastards, but they're open. Outright told "We've got 20 open positions, 10 are going to minorities because we have to, 6 are going to family and 4 are open. "
yeahh unions are like that unfortunately. its a really nice system if you can get inside because you pretty much always have a job because the union will find work for you but its terrible to try and get into one unless you are a various shade of brown or related to a current member.