Target DOES NOT allow EBT/SNAP bottled water purchases!!!

So, let’s get this straight, they do NOT allow customers who are on the foodstamp program to use their cards to purchase bottled water? That is exactly correct. But why…when they allow EBT RECIPIENTS to purchase:

Candy, Cake, donuts, cookies, sugary cereal, processed foods, soda, all sorts of juices, kid snacks, icecream, frozen pizza,chips, etc…

So what’s the problem? Is it the Target Brand that they don’t want to sell that’s on the docket for todays blog or is it all bottled water? 

But seriously, why do they have a problem with customers purchasing water and have no problem with purchasing a bunch of fatty unhealthy shit!?! What is that about?  Are they locked in with the healthcare industry? I mean, to the point where whenever someone gets treatment for diabetes or high blood pressure, that they get a cut of it? They act like they have a vested interest in poor people not drinking water. 

http://www.fns.usda.gov/SNAP/retailers/eligible.htm

That is the link to tell you whats purchasable under the Welfare/Snap/EBT program.

OctoMom, Nadya Suleman, Are these Nude photos her way of supporting the kids?

So, you might have heard of Ms. Suleman bka Octomom. She was recently on Dr. Drew and she gave a good story. Not quite a sob story though. She spoke of a job opportunity that she was supposed to embark upon as a trainer. Dr Drew was quite upset with her and wanted to help her get the assistance she would need to support her family. 

Octomom said that she appreciated that offer, but that in a nuttshell, she doesn’t like handouts. Well, who could blame her? She wants the world to know that she created her life and that she would be responsible for supporting herself. Unfortunately, the kids will suffer. Her house is foreclosing. 

While watching the show, it was apparent that Octomom received an unexpected visit from Dr Drew and she hadn’t cleaned house as of yet. 

My number one problem. In the back of the house, there was a room with the door shut. And in that room held a little boy who looked about the age of 5-7. He was alone and the room was dark. She was asked why he was separated from the rest of the children and her reply was, “‘He’s special Needs and needs to be quiet.” Wow!! Seriously? Poor child. 

Lets go further. 

So this is how she supports her children? 

 

 

Nadya Suleman (Octomom)

Nadya Suleman (OctoMom)

This isn’t about knocking someones hustle. You gotta do what you gotta do to get paid, right? But Damn Nadya! What makes you think your tits are so special? Because they’ve been gnawed on by 14 kids? Seriously girl. Get a fucking job. A real job and let people help you. It’s obvious that you are overwhelmed and looking for stardom! First of all, what woman gets rich by having a bunch of babies? If you were smart Nadya, you would have met a sexy man who was rich and then got pregnant from him! You did it kinda backwards. I don’t think there’s a man in America who can support your fucking village. Nadya was a fast talker on TV and kept out talking the host. She didn’t miss a beat. The audience scolded her at times and she sat there with a smirk. She thinks she knows exactly what she’s doing. Octomom, you better hope that a rich man comes along, because you’re not too bright in the head sister. You really fucked up this plan. And you look better with clothes ON.

Governor Rick Scott Proposes testing Some Welfare Recipients for Drug Use. Fair?

This is a good plan and perhaps if they could cut down the cases where the system is being abused, then perhaps Medicaid can be more available to others who need the healthcare. Right now 1 in 8 Floridians receive public assistance, (Food Stamps) and the number presented was an onset from the Financial crisis in 2008.

Florida (R) Governor Rick Scott

Before that, it was considered embarrassing for most people to get the assistance. There is every race who hold up the lines or who crowd the grocery stores with their purchases on the EBT card. Website…www.myflorida.com/accessflorida (Here you can sign up for benefits or determine whether you qualify).

So, what Governor Rick Scott is proposing is a good idea, and let’s talk about why.

This bill is long over due. There are hard working women and men out there who actually qualify for Food Stamps and Medicaid who refuse to get it. There are the same group of people who actually do receive them. The greatest misconception of Food Stamp recipients is that, they are lazy bums who don’t work or won’t work. The truth in the matter is, most who choose to get food stamps do so with the knowledge that income is necessary. Yes single women who are pregnant do qualify. A single father who works and meets income guidelines would qualify. A married couple who works but falls under a certain income guideline would qualify.

The program does have it’s kinks. For instance if you work and earn too much money, you get less benefits. That could keep a lot of people stagnant, especially if they cannot afford their own health care.  If your income falls below specific guidelines, you could get Medicaid for your children. Example, a married woman whose husband earns $10.00 an hour and he works full time could get around $400.00 a month. That could be with 3 children. Also his children would have Full Medicaid benefits and he and his wife will have a SOC, (share of cost). His children can have all of their medical taken care of , but he would need to provide for he and his wife. Sounds like a good plan. Or your wife could work and her money would eat up a large portion of Day Care costs and Medical costs. It is your choice.

Some families find it impossible to live on Foodstamps. The problem now lies with those that, and it’s tough to say Fraud the system, but there really is no clear term right now.

If a man or woman who has children finds themselves in hardships and need welfare, that is all well and good. However, what if the same adult has drug issues? What if the same adult is a recipient of Welfare? What will he or she do with their benefits each month?

How many of you have ever seen a person sell foodstamps? How many of you has ever purchased food stamps? What that means is, during the course of the Food Stamp program, they have changed the method of payment from Paper Stamps to a card. That was supposed to cut down on selling them. A person who received them would sell their stamps for 1/2 of the market value. In desperate situations, a person would sell for less. Let’s say, $100.00 in stamps for $35.00 in cash, just to get some drugs. Meanwhile, the reason they applied and qualified in the first place was because of their child/children.

What happens to that child? Does it go hungry? Oftentimes Yes. Having a bill of this sort would allow the state to keep tabs on what’s going on in that house and with those children. The state should not have to pay for someones drug habit. You have other parents who purchase Marijuana with their money and purchase beer with their money. Women getting expensive manicures and pedicures, and they are on public assistance. That is not what the program is for. It is meant to subsidize your family, not to enable anyone to live the high life on the governments dime.

How the plan works out in the long run, we can only speculate and hope for the best. But this is a start in the right direction. It is unfortunate though, the children will suffer. How will the state cut off the benefits of drug abusers who have children and not hurt the actual child? Will that child be removed from the home if the parent is unable to care for him/her?

Read the Story below…

A proposal by Governor Rick Scott to drug test some welfare recipients was one step closer to becoming a law Thursday. It would require those with a criminal drug background to submit to drug testing in exchange for public assistance.

Central Floridians WFTV talked to were split on whether the bill is fair.

“I think it’s a great idea, because I think eventually they’re going to have to apply for job positions out there and many employers do drug testing,” Orange County resident Barbara Morlock said.

But others think the Governor’s plan is unfair.

“I think it’s unfair. They should just go ahead and give them the service,” another resident said.

It’s called House Bill 353 and it’s sponsored by State Representative Jimmy Smith. It is one of two drug testing policies the Governor wants to implement.

The Governor’s proposals don’t just affect people on public assistance; they also affect state employees at agencies like the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

The Governor already signed an executive order to test state employees, but the welfare proposal will take a full vote from the House and Senate.

Many who work in the drug and alcohol addiction field question whether either law would be a deterrent, and whether taking away welfare would just compound problems for those who need help the most.

One GOP house member tried to shift the cost of the testing to the state, but later withdrew the amendment.

Anyone testing positive would be ineligible for public assistance for one year.

Florida EBT Card

Chicago, Illinois Chase is charging $5.00 for non customers ATM Fee.

Well, you probably remember when I ran the story a few weeks ago about Chase Bank charging $6.00 monthly for customers whose balances fell below $$1,000 at any given time during the month. Well they have sunk to another low. Now for their customers this is no real threat right? Not until it hits you.

Think about it. It used to…you know what? I’m not even going to write this story, I’m going to share an article with you from someone whose done the work…Read the Story below…

It’s from Red Tape Blogs @@@www.redtape.msnbc.com

“Total Checking.” “Value Checking.” “MyAccess Checking.” What do they all have in common? The word “free” is missing from the name.

You are likely painfully aware that big banks like Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America have ended no-strings-attached free checking accounts. But if you had any questions about how restrictive — or expensive — those strings can be, consider Chase bank. Scarcely two years ago, we marveled at banks’ efforts to inch fees up to $3 per withdrawal. Chase bank is now test-piloting $5-per-withdrawal fees for non-customers in Illinois. That’s in addition to fees the consumers’ bank charges. Soon it may cost $10 to grab $20 in a pinch.

Once upon a time, consumers could expect to earn money by leaving their cash sitting in a bank. Today, consumers must worry about their bank slowly bleeding money out of the account. The change is happening swiftly. Chase says it’s converted around 8 million free accounts — many former customers of Washington Mutual — into “follow-our-rules-or-pay-up-to-$144-annually” accounts.

It costs banks about $300 apiece annually to offer checking accounts, according to a recent study by Bretton-Woods. They used to recoup these costs by helping themselves to some $30 billion worth of overdraft fees from consumers. But now that the cash cow has been largely eliminated by new consumer regulations, banks are trying out new techniques to recoup this lost revenue.

Just how far will banks be able to push fee-weary consumers? That’s unclear. Earlier this month, Bankrate.com released a survey showing 75 percent of consumers earning $75,000 or more would rather switch banks than pay higher fees. Overall, 64 percent of customers said they’d bolt.

That ire may not translate into action, however, and banks know it. A J.D. Power study released on March 1 found that, while consumers are switching banks at a slightly higher rate than in the past (8.7 percent last year, compared to 7.7 percent a year earlier), fees and interest rates have almost nothing to do with their choices. “Pricing” impacted only 4 percent of consumers, the study found.

This would not be a surprise to behavioral economists. Consumers almost never consider fees — particularly punitive fees like overdrafts or “your balance fell below $1,000″ charges — when making purchase decisions. Nearly everyone suffers from what’s sometimes called “magical thinking” — as in, “I’ll never misbehave and get hit by that fee.”

It’s the shallow things that matter
So what do people consider when switching banks? Big, impressive buildings and billboards seemed to matter most, the survey found. Here’s the depressing quote from the JD Power press release:

“For customers evaluating and ultimately selecting a new bank, the most important factors driving their decision are advertising; branch convenience; products and services; promotional offers; and direct and indirect customer experience,” it said.

That means you can expect higher fees, more buildings and more kooky ads from banks.

There was one positive note in the J.D. Power research. There is evidence consumers do have their limits. About 17 percent of consumers who switched banks said high fees or low interest motivated the breakup.

Banks argue that it’s not fair to say free checking has disappeared. OK. Let’s just say NSA relationships with big banks are dead, replaced It’s by accounts wrapped in red tape. And remember, many of these rules can change at any time. So here’s five Red Tape Traps you’ll find along the way to a free checking account.

1) Soaring ATM fees
We’ve already mentioned Chase’s $5 experiment. Plenty of folks now pay $6 or $7 per withdrawal, when the ATM machine fee is added to their own bank’s fee. These fees are perhaps the best example of magical thinking at work. Most folks think they’ll be good about walking the extra block to access cash at their bank’s ATM. But when there’s a screaming kid in a stroller or an impatient date on the arm, you’re likely to just pay the fee. Even one so-called “foreign” ATM transaction with a $5 hit every month costs $60 annually. Be realistic: If your bank charges for such transactions, you should just budget $100 annually for ATM service. But a much better choice is to find a bank that doesn’t charge you. For those ATM emergencies, you’ll at least cut your ATM fees in half, and some banks — USAA Federal Savings Bank, for example — refund the ATM bank’s fees. There’s no law preventing you from getting a secondary checking account with a new institution that you use primarily for accessing cash on the fly. I recommend this kind of “allowance” account structure in Stop Getting Ripped Off.

A few other creative efforts can cut your ATM fees. Get cash back when you shop at grocery stores with your debit card, although that’s not my favorite way to use debit. Better yet: Find fee-free ATMs. They’re out there. The WaWa convenience store chain offers them, and it recently performed its one billionth fee-free cash withdrawal.

What it costs: Two “foreign” withdrawals per month — $120

2) Keeping your minimum balance
Most account holders are familiar with the idea that they might have to do something — maintain a minimum balance or direct deposit their paychecks — in order to keep some level of service.

But now, a single slip-up, such as a flurry of cashed checks that sink your balance to $998.43 for one afternoon, can be costly. With fees of $12 or more, the experience is not unlike getting hit with an overdraft. The same advice you followed to prevent overdrafts applies here. Some banks let you link your savings and checking accounts to make sure you don’t dip below that minimum. Sign up for text message alerts so you can get early notification of a dangerously low balance, and log on to online banking to check your balance often. Stagger your regular payments so they hit after your paychecks.

The biggest Red Tape Trap of all, however, is the dreaded movable minimum balance. Consumers who once enjoyed fee waivers for keeping $500 in an account can see that minimum raised to $750 or $1,000. It’s easy to miss a warning letter from the bank, and end up with one or two months of $12 fees. The clearest hint a balance change is coming is an account name change (see below).

What it costs: Two slip-ups — $24

3) Overdraft fee marketing
The voracious overdraft fee animal isn’t gone, it’s just been put back in its cage. Until recently, consumers could incur $35 overdraft fees by making small purchases with their debit cards. Today, those transactions are simply declined by the bank, or approved without the fee — unless the bank has received explicit opt-in permission from the account holder. Banks have driven hard to trick consumers into giving up this permission, which is inappropriate for the vast amount of consumers. They’ve given it pleasing sounding names like “courtesy pay,” “Buffer Zone,” or “debit card advance,” and plastered bank windows with pictures of smiling, attractive men and women who say they are relieved to have this peace of mind. If you’ve been tricked into signing up for overdraft protection, un-sign up immediately.

What it costs: Two overdrafts — $70

4) The name has changed
The surest sign a new fee or restriction is coming is a name change — either the name of your bank has changed because of an acquisition (like Washington Mutual becoming Chase) or the name of your account has been changed. Former Washington Mutual customers have seen their account names changed from “WaMu Free Checking” to “Chase Free Extra Checking” to “Chase Total Checking,” which is totally more expensive than free. Ironically, a Google search for Washington Mutual still sends consumers to a Web page at Chase.com with the title “WaMu.com, home of WaMu Free Checking, is now Chase.”

Chase customers can avoid checking fees through a variety of methods — maintaining a minimum daily balance, a high average balance, making at least one large direct deposit, or by paying a bunch of other fees.

The amounts required — at least one $500 deposit — aren’t Draconian, but the rules mean consumers have a lot of new things to keep track of. They will slip up, and pay. And of course, the rules can and will change. Beware the notice that you’ve just been upgraded to “Complete Awesome Checking” or “Value Asset Acquisition Checking.” You almost certainly are about to be hit with a new fee or rule.

What it costs: Two mistakes — $24

5) The hidden cost of no interest
Of course, requiring a minimum balance of $1,500 or so is itself a fee. That’s money you could park in a high-yielding money market account earning interest. Even a 1 percent interest rate would get you a smidge more than $15 on your $1,500, so that kind of minimum requirement amounts to a $15 annual fee.

What it costs: Missed interest — $15

TOTAL TRAP COST: $253 annually.

This entire column has been a not-so-subtle suggestion that you consider banking alternatives. Online banks like ING Direct offer higher interest and fewer fees. Credit unions and small banks still offer really free checking. In fact, BankRate.com just released a survey showing 38 of the 50 largest credit unions have free checking with no strings attached, and about half of them don’t even require a minimum balance. Their ATM fees are, on average, half of traditional bank fees and one-quarter of the large credit unions charge no ATM fees at all.

That means there’s no reason not to open a credit union account, even if it merely serves as a secondary checking account.
——————-

So…Think about it, Just what HE said. Who pays the execs for their hefty bonuses? YOU DO! Keep up the good work America.

9 Things to do if you want to get fired. So try these.

So, you’re sick of working and you’re in desperate need of a vacation, I have the remedy for you. So you’re sick and tired of not getting a vacation and when you do get he vaca, the boss calls you and says, “I need you back” , only two days into it. I got a remedy for you. Say you’re fed up with getting up for work in the morning, tired of the constant applications of makeup, tired of the heels and hard bottoms, sick of your nosey coworkers and really need to get away from a bitchy boss, I have what you need.

Have you been wanting to quit and don’t know how, and then you think, “WAIT IF I QUIT, I CANNOT GET UNEMPLOYMENT!”, I GOT what you need. Ok, enoughs enough, but I was having tons of fun rehashing some of my feelings and sentiments about work and that horrible 15 mile commute everyday in downtown traffic on I-4 and ending up behind a huge semi who refuses to let you by even though you know they see you trying to merge to get off for the exit! Sorry, I did it again, here are your ways to get fired. Good luck in your endeavors.
story below…

Writer from Careerbuildeer, Anthony Balderrama (funny name)
Mistakes help us grow as individuals and make us better people, or so we’re told. At work that’s definitely true. Call the CEO by the wrong name once and you’ll never do it again. For this reason, level-headed bosses aren’t looking to fire anyone for the occasional gaffe.

Still, even the nicest of bosses will reach a limit. Oversleeping one morning probably won’t get you fired; doing it three times a week probably will.

In the spirit of keeping you in your supervisor’s good graces (and employed), here are nine moves that will get you fired.

1. Being sorta punctual

Each company has its own culture, which might mean stumbling into work 10 minutes late is no biggie to the boss. When it comes to deadlines, however, punctuality is non-negotiable. When other people — and consequently their reputations — depend on you to complete work in a timely manner, excuses don’t work. Arriving late to a meeting or not at all is a high-profile way to show you don’t respect other people’s time, too.

2. Hang on, I’ll tell you after I update my Facebook profile

Jobs that rely on the Internet provide ample distractions for employees who would rather play online Texas Hold ‘Em than work. Many employers allow workers to spend some time checking personal e-mail accounts and catching up on celebrity gossip. A reasonable amount of time. When your duties take a back seat to updating your Facebook status, the boss won’t have a problem giving you a pink slip for neglecting your duties.

3. Not knowing what your job is

When bosses hire people, they want them to fulfill their job duties so that the team can run smoothly. You’re allowed a few growing pains when you’re new, but if six months (or years) into the job, you’re still asking people what you should be doing or how to perform an elemental task essential to your job, something isn’t right. One of the quickest ways to lose your job is to be deemed unreliable.

4. Needing the spotlight

Children have the honor roll to recognize their outstanding work; adults have paychecks. The employee who demands praise for every bright idea or successful quarter he has will gain a reputation for being needy and distracting. Of course we all like to have a pat on the back now and then, but making sure every person in the meeting knows the boss just pitched your idea shows that you’re more concerned with yourself than with the team.

5. Being too honest

Your parents and teachers probably taught you that the truth is always better than lying, and they were right. Nevertheless, remember to keep some thoughts to yourself, especially when those thoughts are that the boss has no clue what she’s doing or that you could do her job better with your eyes closed. Having an honest exchange of ideas with a boss is one thing; insulting him or her, albeit with good intentions, is another.

6. Going on vacation when you’re needed most

Although you have every right to use your vacation days, a quick way to damage your reputation is to be in the Bahamas during crunch time. If you have to take some personal days at your department’s busiest time, plan ahead so you don’t inconvenience your team. If you’re gone every time a major deadline approaches, however, your reputation will suffer.

7. Proving you can’t be trusted

When a co-worker or boss shares private information with you, the quickest way to risk your job is to tell everybody what you know. Not only do you betray that person’s trust, but you also make that person look foolish for having confided in you in the first place. Employers have no trouble cutting ties with someone who blabs secrets.

8. Not respecting the boss in front of his or her boss

Remember: Your supervisor has to answer to someone, too. Although you should be respectful every day of the week, make sure to be on your best behavior when your boss’s boss is around. If you’re undermining authority or even just not doing your job well, your boss looks incompetent. The boss might not say anything when the head honcho is around, but you’ll probably have to answer for your mistake soon enough.

9. Thinking you’re the exception to the rule

Your parents always said you were special, but your boss doesn’t have to agree with them. That’s why you shouldn’t expect to be exempt from the company policies, like vacation day guidelines, the dress code and other department rules. Asking for some flexibility when your children are sick is reasonable, but expecting to always leave early because you have to pick them up from school crosses a line. Your boss expects you to follow the same rules as everyone else.

JPM Chase bank charging excessive fees. While CEO EARNS $17 MIL.

The latest report coming from the Lending Giant has proved to be costly for it’s own clients. Now raising the fees to $6-12 a month. Why? Because they can. Even more so, they cannot come up with any possible solution other than, if you don’t sign up for their OverDraft Protection, they have to charge you fees. Well obviously not enough people signed up for the program. It would have protected you from bouncing checks or embarassing you in the checkout line when the cash was not immediately available. So they offered on a voluntary basis. I spoke with a manager at Chase and questioned how they’d make ends meet after the banking laws changed, and his statement was…”We’ll get our money, one way or another, they think they can put these sanctions on us, but we still end up getting what we want in the long run.” Paraphrasing… I was amazed. He was sure they would. And he’s right, because there is always someone out there who doesn’t watch their account. Having these charges/fees tacked onto your account would seeming give you at least 2 overdrafts a year, per’se. Without even having them, but it totals out to that. $72.00 annually.
You had the option to say Yes or No. Many people opted out and the reward for choosing to be responsible, the bank now charges $6.00 a month for their “free checking” account. They now have stipulations to avoid being assessed these fees. Have direct deposit of a certain amount each month, usually ranging $1,000 or maintain a balance of $5,000 for all accounts held at Chase. Example, Your checking account has $500.00, your savings has $3,000 and your childs high school checking account has $2,000…that would make you exempt from the fees. (Also, you should know that Chase no longer offers “Free Checking” to their customers. It is now called, “Total Checking”) Most people don’t have this kind of money, and if you do not receive your bank statements via mail, but opted for Paperless billing, you should check to see if you’re being charged these fees. Some people are more impressed with saying that they have an account with a bank, and don’t care about the money being taken. Of course, you could put that money in a savings account. You could give that money to your childs college fund. You could take your family out to dinner. Why just give it away?

If you don’t care, then all is well. If you do care about throwing your money away, then you might want to do something. Also, if you have no problem with giving money away to make CEO’S richer, then by all means, you have the freedom to do so. story below…

The JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO just got a $17 million stock bonus for 2010. That is the richest reward for a Wall Street chief so far this bonus season and pushes Dimon’s pay back toward the levels that prevailed before the financial meltdown of 2008.

Amply compensated
The big payday comes after the bank posted a 48% profit gain for the past year. Investors are now waiting for JPMorgan to get permission to raise its dividend, a development they hope will push the stock out of its yearlong funk.

The bonus was disclosed in a securities filing that didn’t say what Dimon’s salary or cash bonus were. Those figures will be disclosed next month, when JPMorgan files its annual proxy statement.

Dimon got $12 million in stock options, half of which vest next year and the rest the year after, and $5 million in stock appreciation rights that start becoming exercisable next year. Dimon won’t be able to cash them all in for a decade.

Scraping by
Odds are that he won’t run out of money before then, however. Dimon took just $1.3 million in compensation for 2009, according to the latest available JPMorgan pay data, including $1 million in salary. But in the two years prior his compensation clocked in at $36 million and $29 million.

His 2010 haul may not approach those figures, but the Financial Times reports that Dimon will get a cash bonus for the first time in three years. If you hadn’t noticed, it is back to business as usual on Wall Street.