@Dino29 wrote:
@kisekinecro wrote:
@amyann2 wrote:
Wow, I had no idea that so many mystery shoppers were so lacking in compassion.  There are any number of reasons people may need assistance.  Suggesting that they're fat and losing benefits would be a good thing is beyond the pale.
Compassion? Not really? If they want people not to feel that way maybe they should not allow SNAP to pay for snack and soda to begin with .......it is meant for food not snacks and soda right?
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I remember as a child, soda being a luxury. We grew up in a holler in Eastern Kentucky. My father had black lung, and my mother was his caregiver. We got foodstamps, and there were some things that were just luxeries. Soda, and snacks were not allowed. 
That is when they paper stamps. Now, with it being a debit card, they could start auditing these people and eliminate those with a 10k balance. My sister told me her $137 will roll over. I saw a mystery shopper who had an $11.5k balance on her card. I thought that stuff had to be used up monthly.
And you have to wonder how much of that "rollover" account is being used to barter for other items, maybe drugs. Like I previous said, limit the purchases to items on the Med diet and NO rollover. Use it or lose it monthly.
Now for an empathy story...
So while I'm in a suburban/rural supermarket parking lot I witness the following events. A man with loose fitting clothing, long facial hair and pushing a shopping cart (from a different location not this store) filled with trash (belongings?) is arguing with the clouds in a loud voice to no one, as no one is nearby. Clearly a person with mental disabilities.
As I watch this for about one minute, a large German automobile pulls up and a woman exits the vehicle while it is running and delivers a bag of food from McDonalds. She says something short to the man and she gets back in her car and drives away. I watch for another minute and notice the man takes just one bite of something from the bag and then discards the item and the bag on the side if the sidewalk. He continues to argue, shouting at the clouds with no one around. Clearly he needs help.
It begs at least one question. Who is this woman? Is she a relative? If so, does she feel guilty that he is living "on the streets" at the moment and delivered the food? She didn't stick around to see that he discarded the food. Knowing the area of rural, higher than average priced homes, I'm sure social services got involved.
For me the moral of the story is this; you must take care of your immediate family. Sometimes your extended family as well. It is not morally acceptable to drop off your relatives to the rest of society for daily care.
(This is not my usual supermarket. During my occasional visits I never have seen this man again.)