Food Stamp Abuse- disgusting!

And Illegal Immigrants get free healthcare

"was wearing D+G sunglasses and carrying a Louis Vitton bag"

Right, like you can't get knockoffs of these things for $5 on Canal st.

evnyc: so friggin what if they were knockoffs? Lets say they were. Why should this change my anger at an able-bodied person getting shrimp and steak for free, on the public dime?

maybe the food stamps belonged to her maid, or someother worthy person, and she was kind enough to exchange them for cash. Quite frankly I think we should abolish the food stamp program and replace it with dignified cash payments, it would save us of this kind of stigmatizing.

A) even I know steak comes in some darn cheap cuts
b) even I know shrimp is cheap.
c) her impairment need not be physical. She might have lost her job. She might have children to feed. I fail to see the social value in letting people starve. Please enlighten me as to how that would improve anything.

Thank the Democrats who take from the working classes and give to the non-working classes. At least even though the Republicans are mostly for the rich, they don't take away from the middle class.

Well, I know someone that gets Medicaid... food stamps...some cash... help with monthly rent...total healthcare coverage including dental...and other extras on and off. This person never paid any taxes, never worked, was rich at one time and had a grand old time spending millions of dollars, never saved a penny and now WE THE TAXPAYERS have to take care of everything!!!! From what I understand, there are so many that go to Social Services and fool everyone to get all their care. They know how to work the system because it's a taught behavior. This person's home has never been visited by any gov't agency to see if the information given was correct to justify all this free help!!! I don't that they call it Social Services now....it's WELFARE!

yep...lets get worked into a frenzy. if it weren't for all the freeloaders, everything would be great! but, then you would have to add a big part of wall street into the freeloader category and then all that money wouldn't have driven real estate prices through the roof and then...

well, to hell with it. its the bastards on food stamps for sure.

So report this person for fraud, Prada. Don't just whine about it online. I seriously doubt you know any such person, and just enjoy feeding into neocon rants.

Right on, CC. What about those freeloading bankers?

"At least even though the Republicans are mostly for the rich, they don't take away from the middle class."

No, they take from their grandchildren.

Oh give me a break.....I'm just saying there is fraud in the system since I personally know someone abusing it. I would just like some oversight!
I don't know why I even got involved in this conversation...this should only be for REAL ESTATE discussions!

I see this alot in the supermarkets in chinatown. The majority of people I see doing this are clearly not on the poverty line. nice cellphones, shoes, clothing.
Many in china town are legal residents but collect welfare and free health benefits BUT work under the table for cash in the chinatown restaurants

Pretty disgusting as it takes away from those who are TRUELY poor (disabled, sick, homeless .. unable to work)

take a wild ass guess---take all the cheaters and add it up --- what percent of TARP do you think that number is? what percent of the iraq war do you think we're talking about?

And there is oversight. Here, I'll even help you turn in this miscreant:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/FraudAbuseforConsumers/02_How_to_Report_Suspected_Fraud.asp

God knows no one ever needs help with anything in life.

let me help you figure this out.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/annual.htm

in round numbers 27 million people rec'd $37 billion in assistance. lets assume that 10% are cheaters. that's 3.7 billion...tarp was 750 billion...you do the math.

and by the way the average monthly spend per person is about $100.

Just because someone had money for a LV purse at one point (and assuming it didn't cost $15 on Canal street which it probably did), in today's economy they could easily be hurting now. Even those who saved and spent responsiblily have issues after a prolonged period of unemployment and deprecriated assets. (Not to mention the fact that how much "government aid" has gone to AIG, TARP etc). I'm hardly the last of the great white liberals but I would walk a mile in someone elses need resoling Jimmy Choo's before you start making accusations.

WOW evnyc....you are on a rampage....

I'm sure that Social Services helps many needy and deserving people!

Let's leave it at that...I am not turning anyone in...I'm not big brother!!! Just posting a comment like everyone else on this board.

Maybe you know someone that's abusing the system and you can turn them in since you so readily have a site for it!!

No, you're the one on the rampage, Prada. Unjustifiably, I might add. I offered assistance with a problem that clearly bothers you. You don't want to take it, whatevs, but complaining anonymously about someone and that there's no oversight is just plain moronic.

i once knew a woman who always looked impeccable, and her three children did as well. her youngest son was in my daughter's preschool. after two years she invited my daughter and me to a playdate. her family of five lived in a one-bedroom fifth floor walk-up, with all three children sleeping in the living room. she later confessed that she hadn't bought an article of clothing, other than shoes and underwear, for the family other than at a thrift shop in over a decade. as president of the PA of the preschool the next year i learned that despite significant financial aid, this family had never paid in a timely manner, or been able to pay the total amount due at all. the director of the preschool had the latitude to allow such a situation. the family story is too complex to detail here, but it was full of ill-advised efforts and lack of returns. in line at a grocery store you never would have been able to tell.

Yikes. Just goes to show, appearances can be deceptive. I think a lot of people have been keeping up appearances for a very long time, which as you have argued elsewhere, AR, masked the macroeconomic problems in wage declines.

Sounds like NYC is filled with fronting citizens.

Are there food restrictions on what people on food stamps are allowed to eat now? So, if you're financially distressed and on food stamps it's no steak or shrimps for you - perhaps chicken scraps is also to good? What about pet food... should they be restricted to eating purina dog chow (but not steak or shrimp flavoured)... ?

1 in 9 americans are in food stamps, but only 40% of the elderly that could ask for them don't do it. the less stigma the better imho.

they did try to restrict types of foods not so long ago, but they backed off as they saw that people would buy them anyway but with cash (food stamps never cover the entire grocery bill, so what wasn't allowed with food stamps was the stuff bought with cash).

I think my original complaint has been lost here. True, I was irritated by a seemingly well-dressed, healthy person getting something for free. The thing I was truly angered by was that she got to eat much better than I do.

CTM: yes I do believe there are foods that should be off limits to food stamp people. Why should they get to spend $10-12 on shrimp when they could be buying a lot more chicken or tuna for that amount. Aren't we also supposed to be eating more fruits and vegetables? Well, I'm pretty sure they could have bought some apples or oranges for the money they spent on soda and chocolate bars.

It doesn't matter if TARP was an order of magnitude greater raping of the american public, I still think we shouldn't allow this complete fleecing of the taxpayer, even though it's on a smaller scale.

and how would you suggest that we stop it without stopping the entire plan?

Well, your original complaint smacked of nosiness and self-righteousness. What business is it of yours what she buys? She has presumably paid into the system, and does not deserve you staring over her shoulder and criticizing her food choices when she uses the benefits. Get a grip. She is a taxpayer too.

maybe she adds two or three ounces of cubed beef to rice, or dices shrimp and adds it to a couple of days worth of salad. that would be both highly economical and healthy. doctors recommend only limited consumption of tuna. and chocolate is healthy. the soda, not so much. but i guess the poor need to make only wise choices. just like all the rest of us do every single day.

three packages of chicken wings to fry up might be cheaper.

Taxpayer is not of relevance.

The only relevance is if the person is a United States Citizen or other person who our government has decided to bestow limited rights upon.

AR,

Why can the three packages of chicked wings be baked?

LOL joking.

I don't know if still in effect but when I was checking groceries at Dagastino's in High School (still had to enter prices...that's how long ago) you could only buy food products with food stamps nothing non-food. I always thought it was somewhat weird that you could be luxury foods (and very few if anyone did) but things like toilet paper, laundry detergent etc that couldn't be more essential were off limits. Also you couldn't buy imported food. I know that restriction was rescinded fairly soon thereafter.

"I think we should abolish the food stamp program and replace it with dignified cash payments, it would save us of this kind of stigmatizing."

Actually, the opposite is in order: Our society needs a good dose of SHAMING for behaviors that, while legal, are minimized. Teen pregnancy is a good example - now we have nurseries in high schools, and single mothers who bring their little bastards in get made a big fuss over. The other girls in the class say "Ohhhhh- I WANT ONE!" and the cycle perpetuates. Ask any high school teacher. When, earlier in the last century, teen pregnancy was stigmatized, we had a fraction as much of it -- and this was BEFORE birth control! We need to make these little sluts the pariahs they once were. You'd sure see those little legs close up in a hurry...

EVNYC: who says this person is a taxpayer? I highly doubt anyone qualifying for food stamps actually pays a red cent in taxes. And your G-d damn right it's my business what she buys with MY money! That is your money too. I just don't get it when people don't care that they are being raped by the system.

aboutready: if she wants to slice and dice something to add to a salad, it doesn't have to be sirloin and shrimp. It can be chuck or chicken. She doesn't deserve to eat sirloin when I can barely afford chuck.

Somehow I doubt the poor feel they are gaming society when they get food stamps. but maybe we can blame Diane Ross for teen pregancy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MDzoOF0FvA

chuck in a salad? gross.

nycrobot, if she wants to use her food stamps to buy some sirloin and shrimp and then eat rice and beans the rest of the month it's none of your g-d business. look up what the food stamp allowance is, why and who gets it, and then try to budget for a family with it. maybe someone in her family had some extra money for the month, and she got a treat. well damn her to hell, she doesn't deserve a treat, not now, not ever, even if she is using her food stamp "currency" because she's bad and she's poor.

nycrobot, on another thread:

"I can't wait to see what all the bleeding-heart liberals have to say when they throw up some affordable housing units in their neighborhood. I know you jumped at the chance to vote for a black man for president- just curious to see how you feel living next to one. Oh the delicious irony!"

Makes some of the original post seem disingenuous, doesn't it?

I can barely afford chuck.

Meat is for peasants. Try buying some Radicchio or Alaskan Sockeye.

i agree its our money. i dont understand why you're not angrier about the bigger dollars. as noted earlier, if 10% are cheating and i think thats why high, that $3.7 billion compared to $750 billion for wall street to pay out bonuses that are 10 times my inflated estimate of the so called cheaters. why doens't that get you upset?

Farm subsidies, Oil subsidies, food stamps. I don't see the difference.

Let's add TARP money to that as well....

He's not angry about the bigger dollars because he's a loony right-winger with an axe to grind. Apparently individuality and privacy only apply to people who have jobs. Get laid off, and you're no longer a human being. Unsurprising.

Aboutready: I fail to see why my comment in another thread discounts what I have to say here. The 2 threads/comments have nothing to do with one another. I was pointing out the hypocrisy of liberal whites who think they want to help blacks in any shape or form, until that is they want to live next door to them.

ColumbiaCounty: I AM definitely very upset about the TARP and wall street bailouts. But it's a little more blatant when it's right in my face at the supermarket.

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't have a problem with this...
this bloodsucker who didn't even speak English gets to have shrimp and sirloin steak for F#$king free?!?"

i'd say they have something to do with each other.

AR - thanks for posting the "other thread" - seems we have yet another bigot on this board - prehaps someone should introduce him to Stick_man.....

NYCROBOT - again, it really isn't your business what the person spent their food stamps on. The fact is she received them and is entitled to but whatever she wants. The fact that you claim you can't afford chuck is YOUR problem. You have choices - get a better paying job or make yourself eligible for food stamps too! The two of you already shop in the same store....

Perhaps if you were less concerned how other people pay for things you could channel your energies to something useful in life.

If you really are concerned about the broader nature of food stamp abuse (and the above post is not really evidence of abuse bc you have no idea about the woman's situation) then perhaps you could channel your energies to legislative reviews. But I suspect that's too much for you. You just want the attention here since you really don't have real friends to talk to. Why else would you post something like this on a real estate forum?

Aboutready: re-read my first post - I ordinarily don't have a problem with people using food stamps to pay for REGULAR FOOD. Buying regular food is what I don't have a problem with. Buying shrimp and steak I have a problem with.

CTM: are you a complete imbecile? "You have choices - get a better paying job or make yourself eligible for food stamps too!" Did you really just write this? Oh yes, I choose to not make more money. Yeah, I guess I could earn $50,000 a year more in another job, but I choose not to. Idiot.
Oh, and since when are ALL discussions on this board related to real estate?

Let them eat cake.

NYCROBOT -

1. Where do you get off hurling abuse to me or anyone else - anonymous board or not.
2. You DO have choices. The fact that you keep whining about not being able to afford chuck and other people get to buy steak and shrimp on food stamps just goes to show that YOU are the idiot. What next, you'll start complaining that "these" people should not be shopping in the same grocery as you? Oh yeah, cus you're the special one. The one that can't afford chuck. Perhaps yes, you are the imbecile for not looking for a better paying job so that you can afford to buy chuck.
3. Steak and shrimp are REGULAR FOOD.

Who says you get to define what "regular food" is?

Sorry, poor timing, my comment was directed at Der Robot.

Dwayne, is this person worse or better than a broker?

If she spoke english would it make her surf and turf consumption better? or was that just a throwaway comment for fun and emphasis?

I live in a pretty new rental building where the developer got a huge tax break by allotting 20% of the units to low-income (section 8?) housing. It's very interesting. There are some here who maintain jobs (important jobs, like a special ed teacher), and one mother who has two children with disabilities who works her ass off to get them to therapy and still manages to keep a job. These are people who TRY and just must rely on the government to make ends meet. I am ALL for that!

HOWEVER, and I'm sorry if this sounds prejudiced. The majority of the low-incomes in this building take SUCH advantage. We border Chinatown, so many of those in this zipcode won the lottery to live in $4K market apartments for $600 per month. Most of this contingency doesn't bother to work - when they are paying 15% of market rent - why should they bother? They sit around the community room in the basement playing pool and watching TV all day. Funny - very few of them have bothered to speak English. And the rudeness. The shocking rudeness.

I bust my ass to pay my rent each month and it absolutely kills me that my tax dollars pay for so many people who choose not to work (most I'm speaking of are relatively young and healthy) to live in a new, doorman building. Nothing frustrates me more when they are carrying in huge amounts of shopping bags from Whole Foods.

Again, for the folks who are under serious hardships, or who TRY their hardest to get out of poverty I am all for government assistance and for middle-income earners like me to contribute to their plight. But I go POSTAL on a daily basis walking through this building each day watching the majority of the sycophantic low-incomes laze around and spend their money at fancy grocery stores rather than English lessons so they can GET A JOB.

"regular food" you mean peanut butter and jelly? If someone is allocated say $200 a month for food stamps and he/she decides to spend the entire amount on shrimps, how would that impact you or me? If that person was spending the money on dog food, would that make you more at ease?

And please don't give me that she seems to be in good health bull shit. Someone in my family had colon cancer and social security told her the same bull shit, she seems healthy enough to work so no assistance. She passed away 3 years later.

"I bust my ass to pay my rent each month and it absolutely kills me that my tax dollars pay for so many people who choose not to work (most I'm speaking of are relatively young and healthy) to live in a new, doorman building. Nothing frustrates me more when they are carrying in huge amounts of shopping bags from Whole Foods."

how do they make a living?

CTM: I can tell that you are incredibly sensitive and easily rattled. Maybe you were picked on as a child, I don't know. Sorry to bring back memories of the playground when you were picked last for kickball. But the fact that you would think I have a problem for not getting a better paying job is laughable and also incredibly hurtful to those on this board who don't even have a job or are stuck in subpar jobs through no fault of their own.

Who do you think you are, all high and mighty commanding me to get a better job? And exactly how does my complaining about how I can't afford steak despite working hard to make ends meet and being angered by those people who do not work and get it for free make me an idiot?

Is your biggest problem that your $2.3 million condo is now worth only $1.9 million? It probably is. Go back to you ivory tower.

saraj, how do you know who is low income? and just because one member of a household isn't working, does that mean the entire household isn't?

also, you border Chinatown but the tenants shop at Whole Foods?

saraj, i don't mean this as a joke at all, this is my very serious suggestion because it is what I would do. Have you consididered pushing these people when you see them with the Whole Foods bags or when they are lounging around instead of working? A good push won't really change them with anything but it will make you feel better and punish them a bit, and set a good stage for ongoing relations too.

Admin:
"I bust my ass to pay my rent each month and it absolutely kills me that my tax dollars pay for so many people who choose not to work (most I'm speaking of are relatively young and healthy) to live in a new, doorman building. Nothing frustrates me more when they are carrying in huge amounts of shopping bags from Whole Foods."

how do they make a living?

Well they are taking government assistance for just-about-free rent, and it would be fair to assume other government assistance as well. Many do not work - no idea how they 'make a living.' My assumptions that they do not work regular jobs are backed up by building staff. Strange that they can't pay market rent, but many carry blackberries and Sidekicks. I completely share the frustration of the original poster in that people who are accepting money and breaks from the gov't should live frugally when it comes to choosing Shrimp or Chicken or shopping at Payless vs. Prada. If they for any reason have an extra money to throw around (from WHATEVER the source) at the end of the month, they shouldn't be collecting foodstamps or be entitled to reduced housing costs.

NYCROBOT - There you go again with your assumptions. I do get easily rattled by chumps like you who believe that their arguments must be correct if followed by insults and mega assumptions passed off as fact. You know NOTHING about me or my financial situation or how I make my ends meet on a monthly basis but that didn't stop you from using that as your defense to my comments just the same way it didn't stop you from making a judgment about the person with the food stamps.

Again, your assumptions are wrong. Seems like you have a problem with making wide generalizations and attempting to speak for everyone else with your prejudiced ways trying to be the victim here. Speak for yourself and don't make assumptions.

I am not picking on anyone else on the board who may have financial hardships - they're not the ones that are complaining here - YOU are (and I don't know your financial background and don;t really care quite frankly - you threw out the comment that you couldn't afford chuck above and I am quoting that).

saraj - I share your frustration as well. But it is very different to what the OP has commented on. Seems like you are able to see with your very eyes the "abuse" and free-loading - a big difference to the initial thread which is just based on assumptions and envy.

While I can't speak for everyone, I don't think people will argue that freeloaders should be able to get away with abusing the system - as long as it's based on fact and not an assumption.

CTM
2 minutes ago

While I can't speak for everyone, I don't think people will argue that freeloaders should be able to get away with abusing the system - as long as it's based on fact and not an assumption.

*** EXACTLY. ***

i'm fairly certain the 80/20 program doesn't involve section 8. "it would be fair to assume." saraj, i think your assumptions are way off, and assumptions about other people are often quite unfair. nobody is living well on public assistance.

and again, i ask you how you can magically divine who lives in the 20% of the apartments reserved for low to middle-income tenants. you gossip with the building staff about individual tenants, what do you do, say hey joe, what about the guy who wears the red visor all the time? or do you just point at them without any effort to hide your discussion? i find your story to be lacking in credibility.

as to the WHATEVER the source, wow you're bitter. if someone receiving $200 a month in assistance for food manages to have a couple of dollars extra one month they should be cut off from all aid? nasty.

"punish them a bit"

for not conforming to what you are expected from them? change your expectations, that might be more effective.

you are expecting...

"freeloaders should be able to get away with abusing the system"

uf, here is a big list of freeloaders that should be added to your anger list: people that play the public school zoning to get their kids into the best possible one instead of getting involved in the one they should use and trying to improve it. a whole generation is getting away with collecting much more into SS and medicare that what they had pay into (rates were a third of what they are now, prescription drug benefit $8 trillion is totally unfunded, ...). older taxpayers are getting away with getting services paying lower wages to those public employees thanks to shifting the pension burden to the future generation. even worse when they pass prop 13 types that shift tax burden to the young.

enough? well, i can find many more examples if you want... while your anger is focused on a young guy playing pool, the system is abused in a massive scale, probably to your detriment too. adjust your expectations if you can.

CTM: do you read what you write before you post it? How did I not see with my own eyes the abuse and free-loading? I friggin saw someone pay for high end food with food stamps!!!! It doesn't get any more clear cut than this. I am citing a specific example of something I saw with my own eyes!

So you agree with saraj who sees people freeloading in her building, but doesn't quite have direct proof of their freeloading status, but you completely take issue with me who saw someone abuse the system with their very eyes? What planet are you from?

Aboutready: public assistance should prevent people from starving in the streets, not prop them up to any semblance of a comfortable lifestyle. No, they don't deserve a "treat" at any point. They can buy themselves "treats" when they pay for it with their own money. Nobody should live "well" on public assistance - they should merely be able to live.

saraj: I feel for you - if I lived in a building with freeloading people like that I would go berserk.

"My assumptions that they do not work regular jobs"

a ton of people don't have regular jobs. it's more common in 3rd world countries though, for young people neither to work nor study. wonder whether that's coming here too. if they were my kids i'll kick their ass, but it's a personal decision.

btw, how come being close to chinatown you think those prada have a chance of not being cheap copies?

admin - not sure who you directed your post to but if it's me then you should note I am NOT angry nor was I directing any comments towards any chap "playing pool".

NYCROBOT - at this point you should probably give it a rest. Your posts here are FULL of assumptions.

Let's see:

1. "this woman who appeared to be in good health and not disabled" - Appeared? so based on visual inspection?

2. "was wearing D+G sunglasses and carrying a Louis Vitton bag" - Genuine articles of clothing to your discerning eye? Couldn't be knock offs?

3. "this bloodsucker who didn't even speak English" - Insult and assumption

So, yeah - not much credibility there.... and of course, I won't even quote the posts where you accuse me of living in a multi-million dollar condo... why did you assume that? disgruntled maybe? perhaps that is what you are aspiring to have one day but can't?

CTR, disregard my comments, went severely off topic

admin: 'btw, how come being close to chinatown you think those prada have a chance of not being cheap copies?'

Prada was used as alliteration to Payless in my prior post. What I do see in my building's low-income tenants are new Blackberries, new Nike sneakers, Whole Foods shopping bags to name a few. Seems to me that if my personal situation was so dire as to apply for government help, I would probably not have a cell phone (or at least not a spankin' new Curve), I would probably not splurge for $75 sneakers and I would probably buy no-frills groceries instead of Whole Foods. Wait a minute - - I shop at Old Navy and H&M, I buy my groceries at the Met (cheapest grocer in my nabe) and my Blackberry is 4 years old and I pay $3300 per month MORE than some the sycophants living large on your and my taxes.

admin - thanks!

"Dwayne, is this person worse or better than a broker?"

Which person? The person using foodstamps? I don't have much experience with people on foodstamps and so I am unable to form a meaningful generalization.

I do, however, have lots of experience with real estate brokers (now, broke-whores!), both in transactions involving the purchase or sale of real estate, and as a child growing up in suburbia, where i would occasionally overturn a rock and watch all the little slimy things crawl away from the sunshine. A realt-whore would need two promotions just to be one of those little slimy things! LOL!

robot, you're an idiot. nobody lives well on public assistance. there are some cases of fraud, but comparatively they are rare. and yes, if for some reason one month is a bit better than the last six, even someone on public assistance desesrves a bit of something.

CTM, read saraj's post, carefully. she doesn't have a rat's ass clue, her building workers have confirmed the disgusting idle status of her neighbors. saraj, i ask you again, how do you know which of your neighbors is in the 20%? do they have 20% branded on their foreheads?

it's the poor who are to blame--they are lazy thieves who skim off the top of our highly productive society--if only kenny boy, vikram, mr. mold/fuld, lloyd blankchek and all the rest could function unfettered by our thieving poor

if it werent for the poor our middle class would be rich!!

And if saraj can see her neighbors idling, doesn't that mean that they can see her idling? Maybe next time saraj is eating dinner after work (if any), she can look at all the restaurant staff and contemplate shift workers. Some are even Chinese.

Robot's posts are so reptilian that I won't even dignify them with a comment.

I think the key words in saraj and Robot's arguments are "My assumptions." Emphasis on the "ass" part.

There was an interesting court decision the other day, a dispute over somebody being turned down for a 20% apartment in a Related building on Roosevelt Island. It seems Related, and any landlord with those kinds of buildings, has to keep a staff to vet applicants, assign points for being disabled, make sure the needy are needy, and all the other rigamarole. Much more complicated than I'd have thought, had I thought about it at all.

Oops, I forgot the lottery part. You have to beat the enormous odds to even be considered for an 80/20 apartment. Then you have to prove eligibility.

"Wait a minute - - I shop at Old Navy and H&M, I buy my groceries at the Met (cheapest grocer in my nabe) and my Blackberry is 4 years old and I pay $3300 per month MORE than some the sycophants living large on your and my taxes."

i do get what you are saying (although it goes to show the almost total lack of privacy one can have with a neighbor like you). you are clearly paying too much in rent given your income, so it doesn't leave you spare cash to buy the occasional fake prada discretionary item. this makes you angry and pushes you to the limit when you see that others that should afford less than you (in theory given our pecking order in society) can actually afford more than you.

my solution for you is to get a rent stabilized. there are a ton, and "lotteries" are not really lotteries on that range, more like short waiting lists. those tough to get are the lower income ones (for which you will not qualify anyway), you should get a middle income one and pay around $2k instead of $3.3k (as in mkt rate).

use your anger to improve your situation, instead of thinking "they are not deserving" think "great for them! i'm deserving too" (although i think yours might be the middle income "subsidy"). go get it!

saraj,

Just to make to feel better, I have relatives who know plenty of people who take government assistance and live in China town. And a many of them are scamming the system. Here's what they are bragging about. Yes bragging, they encourage their neighbors and friends to do the same

- Apply for greencard for relatives in China. Takes Many Many years but here's the rub. They have dual residency. They live in US to collect benefits and go to China for 3-4 months to collect their benefits there (IF they used to work for the Chinese government they have a very generous pension)
- They claim welfare, foodstamps and free medical but yet work for cash under the table at Chinese restaurants
- They encourage their kids to work low-end jobs. YES encourage! because once the household income exceeds X they loose benefits. Sickening and depressing at the same time

I'm not against government assistence but the scams must be wiped out as its taking away from the real needy.

"- They encourage their kids to work low-end jobs. YES encourage! because once the household income exceeds X they loose benefits."

wowowowwwww they take for granted that uncle sam will be able to pay those benefits forever? what if it goes broke? what a gamble, cause even if it doesn't pay to have a decent career now, it might pay in the future. the old members gambling on the future of the younger ones. why are the young living with the old ones? why not living on their own so that those wages don't count as household income?

talking about how expensive childcare is, a friend that's a nurse in chinatown told me that there are plenty of old women willing to provide childcare all day long for $20/day CASH ONLY. lol

anyway, how can you change the system so that this doesn't happen? no idea!

"my solution for you is to get a rent stabilized. there are a ton, and "lotteries" are not really lotteries on that range, more like short waiting lists. those tough to get are the lower income ones (for which you will not qualify anyway), you should get a middle income one and pay around $2k instead of $3.3k (as in mkt rate). "

What kind of mindset is this? You're a yuppie but can't afford the Manhattan apartment you want and the clothes you want and still go to the restaurants you want, so go look for a SUBSIDY!

Seriously, is this really what we want to be doing with government money?

if saraj cannot afford a fake prada, chances are she's paying more than a third of her income on housing.

"Seriously, is this really what we want to be doing with government money?"

if subsidies weren't wasted into housing pushing prices out of line with incomes, then subsidies wouldn't be needed to make rents affordable. sure, get rid of them (good luck with the home builders and mortgage lenders lobby though, ... and voters that are homeowners-debtowners...).

and therein lies the problem with the OP's tirade and saraj's - don't want to do anything to improve their own situation, but sit back and complain about how everyone else is doing something wrong.

let's see:

NYCROBOT - angry becuase he can't afford chuck yet "other" people manage to get steak and shrimps
saraj - angry about paying $3,300+ in rent and must shop at H&M/Old Navy/Met but sees "lazy" people shopping at Whole Foods and wearing Prada

Clearly the food stamp people and rent subsidised are doing something right..... they get to eat and live better than some of the complainers here. So, who are the lazy ones here? lol

saraj, now i have getting you a decent home for a lower rent as a project. gave this link to purple, but she doesn't have a need for a 2 br (you could share it with a friend too and lower your rent by 2/3rds... sweet!). anyway, that website has tons of availability and not only uptown:

try k&r, they rent without brokers fees around that area (mostly rent stabilized).

http://gonofee.com/no-fee-apartments/agentType/View/PropertyID/33.aspx

a 2bd/2bth with balcony, walking closet for $2,350. not too bad!

"Stainless steel appliances, including dishwasher stove, and a microwave. Building has a live in super, common backyard and roof terrace. Apartment also includes laundry, storage and indoor parking also available"

NWT, can you post a link to that court decision about Related's Roosevelt Island building? I'd be very interested to read it. Thanks.

ADMIN: use your anger to improve your situation, instead of thinking "they are not deserving" think "great for them! i'm deserving too" (although i think yours might be the middle income "subsidy"). go get it!

Wrong admin! I was really clear in that I am all for government assistance for the people who are deserving. I referenced neigbors - a public school special ed teacher and a woman who takes expert care of her two disabled children. I have become friendly with these women and respect them tremedously. So yeah, great for them indeed! The majority of the sycophants here, YES, are the lucky bastards from Chinatown who do not bother to learn English and therefore will never get meaningful employment that would potentially get them standing on their own two feet. And sure, I am bitter about it.

While I really appreciate your taking the time to locate the above info, I make too much money to qualify for that. I have been paying much of my father's medical bills for the past two years- which leaves me little money left over for Prada and fancy groceries.

I like my neighborhood and have no choice but to live in a doorman building - I am self employed and have a lot of packages and hand-deliveries going in and out related to my business, so I have few choices as I do not have the budget to hire a full-time assistant.

Honestly, I have never seen so much raping of the system as I see with my own two eyes as I do at this building. In fact, a low-income tenant here was just arrested for keeping TWO apartments - one here and one in another building. And many of my assumptions are backed up by facts and sights I see with my own eyes. If the haters want to condemn me for being bitter about it, that's cool. I think that people who do nothing to pull themselves up or try to persue the American Dream legitimately are beneath contempt. And that translates to any language or background.

Bugelrex:

Sadly this does not surprise me in the least. And it's despicable.

bugelrex
about 2 hours ago

Just to make to feel better, I have relatives who know plenty of people who take government assistance and live in China town. And a many of them are scamming the system. Here's what they are bragging about. Yes bragging, they encourage their neighbors and friends to do the same

- Apply for greencard for relatives in China. Takes Many Many years but here's the rub. They have dual residency. They live in US to collect benefits and go to China for 3-4 months to collect their benefits there (IF they used to work for the Chinese government they have a very generous pension)
- They claim welfare, foodstamps and free medical but yet work for cash under the table at Chinese restaurants
- They encourage their kids to work low-end jobs. YES encourage! because once the household income exceeds X they loose benefits. Sickening and depressing at the same time

I'm not against government assistence but the scams must be wiped out as its taking away from the real needy.

"If the haters want to condemn me for being bitter about it, that's cool."

i do understand your bitterness, that's why i was trying to help.

Actually CTM, I make a pretty decent living. At some point I will be in a position where I will have some help with a family member's medical bills and I will then have a lot of expendable income. How would you think I do nothing to improve my situation? I am self-employed and rarely work less than a 50-hour week. I have wonderful, loyal clients. I bust my ass and I am thrilled that I can help my father be comfortable and well-taken-care-of. That said, I feel that I have a right to complain about people who do little to improve their situations but still get the privilege of living in a luxury building. And the majority of their rent comes from the hard work of you and I.

Sorry to have hijacked this thread but I feel really strongly that there ought to be stricter oversight on those collecting this type of assistance.

CTM
about 2 hours ago

and therein lies the problem with the OP's tirade and saraj's - don't want to do anything to improve their own situation, but sit back and complain about how everyone else is doing something wrong.

"there ought to be stricter oversight on those collecting this type of assistance"

or a phone number you could call to place an anonymous complaint?

"there ought to be stricter oversight on those collecting this type of assistance"

or a phone number you could call to place an anonymous complaint?

The problem is that even if one knows people or a person (as I know) abusing the system, one does not really want to be a snitch. It's not my job to investigate someone, it's the city/county's job to do so.

What I object to is a person receiving incredible social services benefits (when the person could really get at least a part time job but refuses to) and the county never once checking
WHERE this person lives and HOW this person lives.

Just incredible to me...so where is the oversight? All this person did was fill out alot of papers and was just given everything.
If it's happening with one what is going on with all the people on assistance? And don't tell me that there is only one person abusing it!!!

actually, asians, as an ethnic group, have the highest per capita income of all here in this fine melting pot we call home (USA)--my asian friends and colleagues are industrious loyal and honest--and they speak english quite well--these are people who have embraced the american dream and, in spite of serious disadvantage, are living it---heartens me as an american

saraj im gettin the stench of bigot offa you

no, this is the problem:

hello, i'd like to register a complaint.

yes, how can i help you?

there are these asians in my building that are gaming the system.

well, what are they doing and what is your evidence?

they don't speak english (that i know of at least), they live in a building that is 80/20 (although i've never seen their rental agreement), the guys who work here in the building tell me they are shiftless and don't have employment (although i have no actual knowledge of whether any of their family members who live with them might be employed), i see them hanging out all the time because i work from home and also don't leave the premises often, and they have the temerity to wear better rip-off designer labels than i can afford and EVEN SWAN AROUND CARRYING BAGS FROM WHOLE FOODS!!!

i see, well, i'll make a note of it in our records. no, you don't need to call us to follow up, we'll be in touch if we need any more information. well, yes, you have a nice day also.

Ubottom,

What you say is true, however its the 'newer' immigrants and ones that came from the poorest villages that tend to scam the system. There is no bigotry here just calling a spade a spade. I;m sure the percentage of scamming is similar across all race and political boundaries.

Tax payers have a right to be disgusted by people scamming the system. The only complaint are with the scammers who deserve no pity

> if saraj cannot afford a fake prada, chances are she's paying more than a third of her income on
> housing

Oh, I feel so sorry for that dude with the mansion.. .he's spending 1/3 of his income on housing!

Seriously, if you can't afford fake prada - apparently thats a goal here - perhaps consider not spending $3300 on an apartment!

Subsidizing folks who can afford $3300 apartments... SERIOUSLY?!?!

"The majority of the sycophants here, YES, are the lucky bastards from Chinatown who do not bother to learn English"

Before accusing people of not learning English, please look up "sycophant" in a dictionary.

"Subsidizing folks who can afford $3300 apartments... SERIOUSLY?!?!"

in my defense i thought it could be that she couldn't afford that. but if she makes more than what the income limits are for the apartment (link is above) she's not paying more than a third in housing. the problem is the other "non-discretionary" big ticket item (health care for her dad).

Here's another popular scam that I'm aware of in Boston amongst Asians with public housing assistance:

They RENT out their public housing to other immigrants while living with other family members.

Parents who have adult aged children who have since moved out will live with their kids while collecting rent money off the public housing. Very little oversight going on in Boston.. sickening.

All this talk of "scamming" the system by lazy welfare recipients, illegal immigrants, etc is both troublesome and short-sighted...How come none of this anger and disgust is ever directed at the top 5-10% of the population that hold a majority of the country's wealth. Those folks have, in the vast majority of cases, certainly scammed they system or skewed it to their benefit.I could care less about some poor soul wearing knock-off designer duds and eating cheap cuts of meat...I am worried about the corporations that don't pay taxes, the inept scions of prominent families who secure powerful and well-paid positions based on family connections, non-bid contracts that are awarded based on political patronage and not competency (see Blackwater and Haliburton)...Quit crying over freaking pennies and look at the real dollars that have gone out of the door...