Terra Alta (2,534 posts)
16. food stamps can't be used to buy beer or cigarettes
at least not in NC.
And why should only the wealthy and well-off have luxuries? Poor people should be allowed to have some fun, too.
At over 5 bucks a pack for branded cigs, and at least 4 bucks a six pack, going by my consumption as a young guy, that would equate to 1 pack per day ($150) per month and at least a case of beer per week ($64) per month for a average of over $200 per month. Now, $200 bucks can buy a fair amount of groceries. Not going to be eating steak and cappers, but you can eat OK.
Better yet, why not use that 200 windfall to get back and forth to the trade school and learn how to weld or do HVAC, plumbing or electrical. I can never get a contractor to come to do a job in a timely manner, seems they are always too busy
And after paying for finish carpenters and plumbers, they seem to make a pretty good wage.