The number of food stamp recipients has climbed...

saddest

I think I just did. And I enjoyed it.

Hey, what time is your shift over?

No seriously, lets, uh, get together when you are off.

Ok good, keep up the act, but call me, I'm waiting. No one needs to know.

I just did. But CALL ME girl.

call me!

sad, hfs doesn't seem to be smart enough to get it.

nice play, keep it on the DL

its a pathetic idiot.

Thanks

By the way, when you called, I couldn't believe how manly your voice sounded. Sexy!

grrrr!

hey, lets switch topics back to your sister's toilet seat and the toilet plunger she borrowed.

There are a bunch of old men on HBO pretending to be "rock stars."

Hi, hfscomm

Sorry Jim, those old men, and I admit they are depressingly old...what does it say about those of us who know all the words, are the ones around whom the rock star mythology developed. No classic rock, no Guitar Hero video game.

Hi Alan, did you have a good holiday?

cc -why do you even engage with hsf? Why bother? He (she) is a damned idiot. Please don't give her(him) the pleasure of getting to you.

Some of the oldsters look iconic (say Dylan, BBking, maybe jagger),some just look old (paul simon).

ph41, you truly believe that cc is any less a "damned idiot" than me?

And aboutready who abhors you is someone you should allow the "pleasure of getting to you"?

Started this discussion about 12 hours ago. Thought that the news that so many of us meet the minimum requirements and are receiving government aid in the form of food stamps would yield some interesting insight. What are the implications for the real estate market, particularly in high priced NYC? Real estate, more than perhaps any other personal investment, is an investment in the community. It also requires the payment of taxes - something to think about when so many other are in need of gov't assistance. Finally, is real estate in a state of "permanent bubble", oblivious to the real state of affairs - especially because it is so highly leveraged? What we find instead is the jibberish you see above. I thought the Times article was depressing....

there you go ph

columbiacounty

Hi, Liz. Yes, very good. I hosted for the first time, and it went well (but than a bit behind-schedule).

And you?

Hi, hfscomm

Well, I never!

precisely.

oh hi alan, well you aren't quite the heavyweight support that columbia needs, like upperwestrenter, but you'll do until someone else arives

hey columbia

hey columbiacounty

Hi, hfscomm

tickle tickle

posts are disappearing

This is fun to watch in real time

only a few more of your repetitive posts left

wow, about 20 of your expletive filled posts, interspersing every one of my posts above, were deleted

Hi hfs.

hello, will you be replacing columbiacounty for the rest of the evening?

Now all of the posts on the first page where you cursed are disappearing. Wow, this is like George Bush's non-traffic accidents from 25-30 years ago.

Thanks Alan, congratulations on your successful dinner. I was quite overindulgent this Thanksgiving so I guess I should be glad my food budget will insure that it will be properly balanced with deprivation this week, unless I apply for Food Stamps which I understand at least in Ohio I may be eligible for.

Which brings me to the topic of this thread before the village idiot took it his level. When I was growing up and working as a supermarket checker, from that esteemed minimum wage perch we totally look down on those who used food stamps or other government assistance (unless they were elderly or visibly disabled). "Your mommas' on food stamps" or "I saw your momma at the welfare office" were insults deserving of a violent response. Had I read the Times article two or three years ago I would have probably have reacted with detattched compassion to disdain depending on the situations described. Now I have to say I still have a problem with having five kids unless you are truly wealthy. Two, three at the max and then spay/neuter..how tough is that? (And yes, I would I would include the Hasidim in Brooklyn who are major utilizers of public programs for their exteremly large families).

Otherwise, I now know ANYYBODY can end up in need. Anyone. People who work hard, have strong commitments to their careers and were considered to be reasonably successful by any measure. People who were very conservative with their money and had no debt outside of a mortgage. People with a significant savings "cushion". Sometimes its not enough. Whole industries have been decimiated in this recession and "communities" within New York (large enough to populate mid-size markets but lost within this metropolis) are as devistated as Detroit.

How does this effect real estate? The obvious are the forced sales and smaller buyer pool. I think the bigger issue is anxiety unemployment and need are creating in the larger community. I have friends who still have jobs who are cutting back "just in case". If they don't own their apartments they aren't buying. No one is renovating. Or redecorating. I wouldn't "run them a benefit", as my mother would say, by I'd be willing to bet ABC Carpet and Home revenue for 2009 is behind 2007 at a much larger delta than Wal Mart or Target.

Yes there are scammers on food stamps, but what are some of the best brains on Wall Street if not scammers? Beating the system is not a game exclusively for the poor and hesitate to think they are the ones who are best at it if the "prize" is living in NYCHA housing and eating off a food stamp allowance.

AR - NYC10023 - lives in an apartment (brownstone?) you would kill to live in, but you like her. I live in an apartment you would kill to live in, but you seem to totally distrust me.

All in all - too bad so sad!!!

forgive the last post - still recovering from jet lag (love to travel, but the jet lag is a killer - scrambles the brain)

Lizyank, I'm glad that you brought this conversation back to its original starting point. I attempted to do the same much earlier in this thread because this is a very important topic. And you are right that anybody can end up in need. I've known several people who ended up in terrible circurmstances really beyond their control and giving them food stamps would be certainly the right thing to do. Not everyone has the brains or strength of character to escape diffifcult situations.

lobster, i think this goes beyond brains and strength of character for many. jobs have simply disappeared, by the millions.

the following is thoughtful. my only comment is that i'm not so certain that the development going forward will be occurring in the US, even if US intellect is involved. also, it is impossible to tell at what rate development will occur, and who and how many of the currently unemployed will be able to be retrained if such development occurs in the US. obviously there is money looking for innovation, but i wonder how much, so much has been devoted to real estate development. anyone have any good numbers on R&D over the past few years, and currently, compared to historic levels?

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/11/why-i-am-an-optimist/

Is that from Barry Ritholtz?

No. a frequent contributor

And another very interesting comment that was brought up earlier is why can't teenagers get access to condoms? I don't have children so maybe it's unfair for me to comment on this, but it's still amazing to me why teenagers, many of whom are definitely sexually active, need to put themselves at risk because they are unaware or it's too difficult for them to get protection.

To me, it can't be easy to escape from poverty or incredible debt. And I don't make a distinction between adults and childen in terms of access to food stamps. Yes, children are more sympathic and need protection, but I think that some adults do as well. I'm not a fan of the sink or swim mentality. Being hungry is a terrible way to live.

I will now shut up on this topic. Homelessness and hunger are issues that upset me greatly.

Lizyank: I agree with you. Food stamps may be abused by many, but they genuinely benefit a great deal of people, esp. children who need help. Can't throw out the baby with the bathwater. What we need, though, is some way to break the chain of poverty/lack of education/teen pregnancy/child "abuse".

Lobster: Sex education and birth control access for teens in this country is abysmal, unless you have parents who are willing and able to provide. Catch-22 - those who need it most can't get it. Also there are state by state laws that make it impossible to provide either to teenagers (bear in mind it's 10+, we're not talking 16yos) w/o parental consent.

Ph41: Would appreciate people not commenting on my housing situation. I prefer to be private online. Happy to share details in person at get-togethers.

nyc10023 - sorry if you were offended - but you post many details about your housing situation on-line

privacy means an individual can discuss (or not) what they choose to about themselves. gossip is passing along information given to you in private.

Thanks for the definitions.

(( yawn ))

cc- though I am not sure why this is any of your business, please be informed that I was not "gossiping". No information was given to me in private- think I just lightly discussed renovations in person, particularly the fact that I abohor them, nothing else.

SE posts, particularly from those who post extensively, wind up revealing (deliberately, or inadvertently) a lot of information about the individual.

I agree, yesterday I learned about conversations that aboutready's 12 year old daughter had 2 years ago (when she was 10) with her family doctor. It went a whole extra level above knowing about the toilet seat or the McDonalds dinners or why she doesn't work for a living.

hf-scumm, it must have been the highlight of your month.

Quite the contrary. Unlike some people here who would make fun of children like aboutready making fun of a 4 year old's name, I would never do so. I wish that the medical history / conversations regarding aboutready's child would not have been posted.

"I agree, yesterday I learned about conversations that aboutready's 12 year old daughter had 2 years ago (when she was 10) with her family doctor. It went a whole extra level above knowing about the toilet seat or the McDonalds dinners or why she doesn't work for a living."

what is this all about? aren't kids off limits? just think AR is running for most prolific contributor to SE.

Yes, I strongly believe children should be off limits here.

No, hf-scumm, you were delighted that they were posted. Because you have absolutely no life of your own. It's truly pathetic, much much more so than someone being open about her life, and about opinions on issues.

Hey, clever play on my name.
But no, I was not delighted. I much prefer when she tells stories about her toilet because her child's medical history or sexual history should not be a topic here.
But I'm glad you agree that all of the details about her (not her child's) life and opinions are pathetic, even if a couple notches below my supposed lack of life of my own.

Hey, I have a name for you, let me know what you think:

alamefart

You might as well just cut to the chase and write "I know she is, but what am I?"

No alamefart, that's not what I said.

hi hfs

hi w67th

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/10/12/us/ap-us-food-stamps-outage.html?hp&_r=0