Am I the only one infuriated by this?

[redlin67]

Getting back on topic. I know there are situations that might be confusing when eying someone using government subsidies, but I know of one first hand. I used to live in a trailer park, that's right, white trash. But I was working and supporting my family to the best of my abilities. My neighbor was a single mother, but her children were old enough to care for themselves while she could have been working. Long story short, she was on welfare and food stamps. She would have cook-outs with steaks and all the trimming for her family and friends almost every weekend. I was struggling to keep enough food in the house to feed everyone, and juggling the bills between paychecks trying to keep all my utilities from being turned off. So, while there may be exceptions, there are many more abusers of the system. I complained to someone about it, he flat out told me that the system is so easy to scam, all you have to do is lie. Fortunately for me, I am no longer in those dire straights, but I had to work hard and long to get there.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

However you feel about welfare, WIC, LoneStar, whatever, here is what bothers me. I just got home from Kroger, "Murder Kroger" as it is affectionately called by the newer residents of my neighborhood ("Disco Kroger" has better meat but its too far for a quick run). Anywho, the fella infront of me is buying his stuff, mostly groceries, maybe 3 or 4 Busch Tallboy 6-packs, no smokes. They have bagged his cart full of stuff, put the bagged grceries into his cart, and he pulls out his LoneStar card...whatever. He is repeatedly asked for his PIN and finally enters a number...no good, asked another 3 or 4 times to put in the PIN. Attempt number 2 is also a failure so the cashier asks him to tell him the PIN so that she may enter it for him. 6439....nope, 4693......not it, 2719....not even close. I already have my purchase on the belt, and there are lines, so I stay put.

As we stand there, I notice he has some cash in his wallet (perhaps 6 bills of various denominations) as well as a Visa. His purchase is $63.17 and he obviously doesn't know/remeber his PIN.
So what does he do you ask?????
You guessed it, he pays for one 6-pack of Busch and leaves the full cart of groceries for the staff to deal with.

[Charles L. Cotton]

This is exactly the type of thread that may get the "Off Topic" section deleted. For almost two years the Moderators rejected requests to add an Off-Topic section because they are always the source of more problems. We decided to give it a try as an "experimental" section and for a good while it worked well and we had only a few issues. Recently however, people seem to be ignoring the rule to stay away from hot button issues. If it keeps up, the Off-Topic section will be closed.

There are plenty of boards where immigration, abortion, religion and anything other feud-starting topic can be discussed. We really don't want to close the Off-Topic section folks, so please take this post as seriously as are the Moderators.

Chas.

[StewNTexas2]

Very well said sir.

[glbedd53]

Here in Alvin we are working toward a cashless, lone star card based economy. When our ultimate goal is reached, the stores will be giving lone star cards as change. If I'm able to get my hands on some of them I'm gonna buy ammo at Walmart with them.

[Grog]

I've brought my sister to the store when she was on WIC, so if someone was watching her (weirdo) and then seeing her get into my truck might think she was scamming the system as well. They didn't know that I worked full time to help her and her newborn when the "father" ran away.

[joe817]

I think this thread has run its course. Can we lock it now, please?

[longtooth]

This is exactly the type of thread that may get the "Off Topic" section deleted. For almost two years the Moderators rejected requests to add an Off-Topic section because they are always the source of more problems. We decided to give it a try as an "experimental" section and for a good while it worked well and we had only a few issues. Recently however, people seem to be ignoring the rule to stay away from hot button issues. If it keeps up, the Off-Topic section will be closed.

There are plenty of boards where immigration, abortion, religion and anything other feud-starting topic can be discussed. We really don't want to close the Off-Topic section folks, so please take this post as seriously as are the Moderators.

Chas.

I may well be the Mod that was & still is the most against this off topic section even for trivia that is not so "hot button" & contraversial.
This board is Texas CHLforum & the quality reputation was built on just that.
With 7100+ member this is a lot of work just to help folks that need it.
In the last 24 hrs there have been 48 posts in the off topic section that we have to read to Moderate for problems such as this, all the way to cartoons of squirrels w/ belt feeds.

The General CHL section that this board was set up for had 86.
The off topic section had the 2nd most post yesterday of any section on the board. That is probably true for the vast majority of our work days & w/o any doubt it is the section we have the most problems with.
I really fear we are quickly becoming an "Off Topic Forum" instead of a CHL forum.

This Mod makes no bones about this section. It is WAY more work than it is worth when it is not a contraversial issue. When it was set up I was out voted then & my vote has not changed.
LT

I am off my sop box now & back to the serious questions of CC.

[flb_78]

I like off topic sections on forums. Yes, I know this is a Texas CHL board, but there's only so many times I can read, "where can I carry" "what kind of gun" "what kind of holster" "my significant other does like" "is this a legal sign" "what kind of ammo" " can I have a beer" "do you carry one in the chamber" threads before the forum is boring. I like being able to discuss other topics with like minded people just to see the range of thoughts.

Maybe the answer isn't to get rid of the off topic section, but to make it a hidden section that you have to be a member to see and then have 2 volunteers to moderate that section only to keep the workload off the original moderators.

[mgood]

I like off topic sections on forums. Yes, I know this is a Texas CHL board, but there's only so many times I can read, "where can I carry" "what kind of gun" "what kind of holster" "my significant other does like" "is this a legal sign" "what kind of ammo" " can I have a beer" "do you carry one in the chamber" threads before the forum is boring. I like being able to discuss other topics with like minded people just to see the range of thoughts.

I can certainly see both sides. I moderate a musical equipment forum. We used to have an off-topic lounge. Many of the folks who were bored by the same old newbie questions were held together by socializing in the off-topic section, but were still around to answer questions. When the off-topic forum became too much of a hassle, the powers that be decided to remove it. (I became a mod shortly before the demise of the off-topic lounge, so I was in the middle of all this. Yes, it was a HUGE pain to moderate. I personally felt that a few bannings would have solved most of it, but people above me decided to just get rid of that forum.) Shortly thereafter, many of the old-timers moved to alternate forums and continue their friendships today. But they took with them a wealth of information and experience that is no longer available to help out the new guys.

[pbwalker]

I like off topic sections on forums. Yes, I know this is a Texas CHL board, but there's only so many times I can read, "where can I carry" "what kind of gun" "what kind of holster" "my significant other does like" "is this a legal sign" "what kind of ammo" " can I have a beer" "do you carry one in the chamber" threads before the forum is boring. I like being able to discuss other topics with like minded people just to see the range of thoughts.

Maybe the answer isn't to get rid of the off topic section, but to make it a hidden section that you have to be a member to see and then have 2 volunteers to moderate that section only to keep the workload off the original moderators.

Why punish an entire group for the actions of one? The folks who saw the deleted posts know exactly what happened. One forum member attacks an entire religious group and ruins it all...we were having a civil discussion before that. No one was being argumentative or insulting. Why not punish the offender instead of an entire forum? I didn't think Welfare Abuse would be such a hot button issue.

And like flb said, being able to discuss other topics is nice. Guns and CHL's are NOT the only thing I like to talk about. I enjoy the "This Day In Texas History" posts. With no "Off-Topic section, these are gone. Without an Off-Topic thread, I wouldn't know what others on this forum use for home security systems. And it goes on...

I don't see the aversion to an off-topic section. If moderating it is a pain or an inconvenience, flb's idea might be worth looking at.

[74novaman]

If I am down in the dumps, I 'downsize' where I can. I sell my Honda Pilot for a Kia. I sell all the stuff I don't need. I follow Dave Ramsey. And so on...but that's what these cards are for. Not for people to live on forever. And folks who buy them for cash are just as rotten. Economical, but rotten.

I just don't see that today. People are cool with being a slave to the man.

I'm another big follower. All I have is student loan debt (acquired before I began reading his stuff). Don't use credit cards, don't even have a credit card in my own name. Parents insisted on me having a copy of one of their cards, but its laying unused in the file folder.

The amount of money my fiance and I were able to put away in a 7 month period with a combined total salary from both of our full time jobs of UNDER 50K per year was astounding. Following a budget and not buying stupid things sure do amazing things for your finances.