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| A bitmoji cartoon of a brunette with grey woman, pinching the bridge of her nose, as if to stave off a headache. |
I am on the client list for a local food bank, though thankfully I don't need their help right this minute. I don't have enough money or bulk goods to donate, but as long as I have an Internet connection, I can boost a signal.
Some of this is due to my own poor (or uninformed at the time) choices, but a lot of it is from things out of my control.
I donate when I can, and accept help when I need it, but it took me a long time to swallow my pride and ask for that help, because our so-called society considers the almighty dollar to be the be-all and end-all, and sees poverty as shameful. In some ways, they're right, but not for the reasons they think. It is shameful that we have such poverty in this allegedly great country, but it's not because of the poor.
It's because (most of) the rich are too selfish to share.
Most adults who can work but still need this help do work, many for companies that pay them a pittance but make record profits every year. About 65% of SNAP recipients are children or elderly folks, and/or disabled people. Sure, there are a few who take advantage of the system, because, y'know, they're people and people are fallible. But it's less than one percent, from all reputable sources. They are not the ones tanking the economy. That would be the major corporations not giving a single shit.
I see more of this than a lot of people, due to the nature of my job. Many of my students qualify for assistance of one kind or another, over and above my services.
And it's mostly due to corporate and political greed, rather than their own bad choices.
