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This Just In: Hipsters Turn to Food Stamps to Eat Healthily

From WalletPop.

"Is the recent upsurge in college-educated individuals applying for food stamps a social trend, the way the recently popular Salon.com article, "Hipsters on Food Stamps" supposes? Or is it a reflection of economic distress and the depressing job market? And how easy is it to actually qualify for food stamps?"

Yes to all. Food stamps are income-based, and with no income, anyone qualifies. Assets aren't counted.

"Lately, more college-educated individuals are qualifying for assistance, and they seem to buy nutritious--albeit more costly--food with their subsidies. The hipster recipe, in a nutshell? Go on government assistance, then shop at Whole Foods for cilantro and shittake mushrooms."

Great. They're living it up at our expense. Typical college commies!

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"I wondered if others in my situation were perhaps bending the rules. Take "James Marters," who two years ago was in a stable job, pulling in $40,000 a year and receiving health benefits. Today the spec-sporting, 27-year-old college-grad works temp jobs to pay the bills and leans on the government to put food on the table.

Marters, who chose to use a pseudonym over a fear of losing his food stamp benefits, is enrolled in SNAP. But does he really need it?

"If I paid for my food now, I'd be on my own in the gutter," Marters said during our interview at Two Prudential Plaza in downtown Chicago, where he currently temps. "This is survival. I'm going to do what it takes to not let my life deteriorate, even if it means not playing by the system's rules."

Spoken like a true zombie. The something-for-nothing crowd gets younger and younger!

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"...when someone is leaning on food stamps, just because a part-time blogging gig or bike messenger job isn't supporting his or her lifestyle, it may be time to find a second or third job. One AmeriCorps worker responds to the increasing amount of young adults receiving food stamps because their jobs aren't paying the bills this way:

"If the economy is bad and you need money, sometimes [you] have to do jobs [you] don't want to do," says Courtney Chambers, a health educator in Chicago who qualifies for food stamps through AmeriCorps. "It just sounds really bad when [college grads] are signing up for food stamps because their visual art career isn't taking off. That is totally different from the young mother who lives in a neighborhood where there are no restaurants to even work at."

Welcome to Zombieland, Courtney. Obama brought it on, and he isn't taking it away any time soon---it builds DEPENDENCY and a stable voting block.

Obviously, these college gourmands haven't read the fine print on the food stamps--it allows for SEEDS, which can be planted to grow THEIR OWN cilantro and mushrooms. By doing that, they'd have more food stamp money left over for the free-range organic buffalo, ground elk, and the mercury-free wild salmon! Well, okay...the silken teriyaki/cheddar tofu is probably more up their alley.

Jeez...send 'em to college, and they STILL can't think!

Posted by Cute at 8:05 PM

Labels: financial (non-tax), food purchases, taxes