Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Overheard

After my class at the "Y", while sitting in the lobby, there were four of us talking. I was conversing with Victor about his business, auto repair for foreign vehicles. We became silent as we overheard the other two talking. Jeff is an Obama supporter and Fred is non-partisan. They were talking about how poorly Obama is doing. Jeff thought he was doing great and Fred was rebutting. Since I was only overhearing their conversation I cannot be certain of all that I think I understood. Fred was talking about government waste and Jeff had asked for an example. Fred said food cards are a good example because many people that have them do not really need them. Jeff thought that was a crock. Then Fred said, "Even I get some benefit from them because my neighbor has a card and I get $100 worth of food by only giving her $50 for using her card." Jeff asked what she does with the $50 and why doesn't she buy food. Fred said, "She buys cigarettes and other things, she really does not need the card." I was aghast at what I heard because I thought highly of Fred. This caused me to change my opinion of him, lowering it. Victor and I did not look at one another. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was, this is not right.

7 comments:

  1. And how many more do that?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yesterday a caller on Glen Beck radio show said that once a month, when the food cards are distributed, there are a few people standing outside their supermarket selling their cards.

    ReplyDelete
  3. One of the things Fred said, which I discounted, was that the cards are automaticly charged, each month, late in the evening, and Walmart, at that time, has many coustomers with their baskets filled with groceries waiting for the time of the card recharge. I thought he was talking through his hat.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A question I would like to ask Fred is why he is rewarding the behavior of that woman. If he knows it is a wasteful behavior to give this woman a food card, why is he giving her cash for it so that she can buy non-food items?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sean,

    I was not a participant in that conversation, it was what I overheard, so asking a question would not have been a proper thing to do. However, if he had asked me what I thought of what he had done, like you, I would have told him it was dishonorable.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7:42 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete