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Now I'm not talking in some back ally in the dark of night, I'm talking straight from the government, totally legit, dollar for dollar ... why, you may ask curiously or not?

Well it seems in food stores, at least around here you get a 20% discount with food stamps! Yes ... I did not know this until today when I saw someone buy something and it cost less than I knew it cost, so I asked and I was told that people on food stamps get a 20% discount ... I was like WHAT? The tax payer is paying for there food and they get a discount? Where the hell is my discount for paying cash? Where the hell is my discount for providing jobs? Where the hell is my discount for being a tax payer and not a tax taker? What the crap!   

So here's the deal you go to the store and buy a $120 worth of food, you pay only $100 in food stamps whereas if you are using real money, green back, bucks, cash, moolah, dough etc you pay $120. Don't exactly seem right that's those funding the food stamps get screwed twice, because you know the cash customer is paying more to pay for the discount those using food stamps are getting. I know it's my compassion that sets me apart ... well screw compassion. This is the kind of stuff that keeps people on food stamps, why would you want to get off them if you'd not only have to pay for your food but you'd have to pay more on top it. It makes no sense? You want people off that government tit, let them pay more than those paying cash that's incentive to get off the stamps.

So not only am I and you paying taxes to provide provide food stamps to some people, we get to pay full price while those on stamps get a discount. So I want to contact the government and arrange to buy $1000 worth of food stamps per month for $1000 and then I can buy $1200 worth of food for a yearly savings of $2400.00 dollars. That seems reasonable doesn't it? I know I could use a extra 20% off my food bill every year, couldn't you?

So I'm writing my congressman and I'm going to ask I'm where I can buy food stamps, because I need the discount to pay for gas.

No wonder all the people I see using food stamps weigh at least 20% more than I do, they can afford it.

You can probably buy food stamps $0.50 on the dollar.  Most states have switched to systems with names like EBT, which is like a credit card that has the foodstamps credits.  Some shady things count as food stamps items.  But if you knew what to be properly outraged about, it is EBT cash, which isn't foodstamps but actual cash money given each month that they can withdraw like an ATM.  So instead of paying rent, the money withdrawn at the grocery store goes right towards cigarettes or beer.  Also, no tax with foodstamps, so any discount is more than 20% with that added.  When I worked grocery stores we did not have foodstamp discounts, so I don't know whether that is store-specific or something new (or even a scam by the retailer)

Actually, if you do the math, a 20% discount means the money goes 25% farther. If you spend $800 on the same food it normally costs $1000 to buy, that leaves you $200 to buy more food at the same 20% discount, and $200 is 25% of $800, so that's 25% more food for $1000 worth of food stamps, see?

I don't know whether the store is acting legally or not to give them this discount. Gaming this system has been around a while, though, as you can see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdj-g3wnj7U

I was considering getting food stamps as to help with the rising cost of food, but when I looked at the form to fill out, I gave up since there were several things I didn't know (like what my household makes, etc).  Plus the fact that I live with my rents and pay no rent I just said f' it I'm not going to worry about it.

They have those ATM cards for for food stamps here, and there was a minor scandal when they found people were using them at the casinos.  Yeah, so typical.

What makes me mad is the grocery store apparently thinking they're acting "charitably" by giving people with food stamps a discount.  You know damned well they just pass those costs on to the paying customers.  They're not being the least damned bit charitable.  It's like me going over to the neighbor's house and stealing their barbecue grill, and then giving it to a poor person.

Ah feel your pain, wonder bread. (http://5g8.net/smileys/whipping-001.gif)

(http://5g8.net/smileys/violin-001.gif)

Well, for anyone who doesn't agree with stores who use this policy, the answer's easy: don't patronize stores that offer the discount. My guess is that stores who offer this kind of discount are either getting some kind of support from the government for doing so, or they figure that the additional customers they bring in by offering the discount more than makes up for the loss by providing the discount. If you notice that your grocery prices seem to be going up more at these particular establishments than at other stores (likely because of such a program), then by all means, go elsewhere. If the discount hurts their sales by driving off non-stamp customers, then they'll have to reconsider whether their policy benefits their bottom line or hurts it.

Well my wife pointed out to me that if you look at the screen on the register it has 2 totals, 1 for those using food stamps (FST - food stamp total) and 1 for those buying with their hard earned money (CT - cash total).

They use those EBT cards here in KY, which I don't agree with in the least I know they started using the EBT cards to stop abuse which just opened up a entire new can of abuses.

The store in question and there are others is Food Giant, and I've sent a letter to them asking if this is something the store does or the government regulates, if I don't get a reply I'll call them until I do.

I don't think that would be too practical in reality.  Store A has a lot of items that are cheaper than store B, while store B has a lot of different items that are cheaper than store A.  Those additional costs get lost among a zillion other factors.  We try, as much as possible, to buy stuff that's cheaper at one store, and other stuff that's cheaper at another store, buy you know, I'm not going to spend all day typing grocery bills into a spreadsheet just to save six bucks.

What makes me a bit p**sy is the whole idea that they'll be charitable by taking money from other people and helping out the poor.  If they want to help the poor, set up a food drive or have management donate some of their actual paychecks to charity or something.  Don't sneakily swipe the money from their customers and then act as if they're the ones being good samaritans.

Careful Menard, you don't want to make him any angrier. (http://www.websmileys.com/sm/mad/1106.gif)

I don't know about buying food stamps from the government, but through the end of July, Kroger stores have a program going on where if you buy a $300.00 gift card, 10% is added on for free. They add $30.00 for a $300.00 card, $60.00 to a $600.00 dollar card, and $120.00 to a $1,200.00 card. If you're going to spend money on groceries anyway, why not buy the gift cards and get free funds? Since most large Kroger stores have gas stations, it's basically like getting free gas for shopping there.

You could consider offering a rebuttal, rather than scorn...  Why do you find his complaint to be so unfounded?

Ah, I forget.. the Menard is bad!   :teddyr:

Then you're pretty much stuck with one store or the other. And if it turns out that both stores offer the discount incentive? Well, that's between you and management to decide in Thunderdome! :tongueout:

You're assuming I have a Kroger near me, the closest one in about 30 miles away. Any saving is negated by by gas cost and time cost. I know I can't buy food stamps from the government buy it would be nice that those people paying full price didn't have to get slapped by seeing folks that get it on our tax dollars get a discount on top of it, as I have it give people the incentive to stay on the government tit and not get on there own feet. The system is designed to keep people dependent and that is good for no one ... some people get it and clearly some people don't.



Someone has to be the angry white man, it's apathy and spinelessness that has got us here.

You're assuming I care whether there's a Kroger by you. I inherited stock in the company, and I'll plug it anytime, anywhere if for no other reason than a shameless attempt to make myself richer.

Well you don't get rich, owning stock. You get rich knowing when to buy and sell it, Kroger is a safe stock, you're not going to lose your shirt nor are you going to be dripping in diamonds, it's a hold at best. Since June of 2000 it's up $4 a share, that doesn't keep pace with inflation. If it hit's $32, sell it and buy growth Mutual Funds and put it in a ROTH IRA, diversify your holding, never keep all your eggs in one basket.

 

There might be a possible tax benefit in giving a discount to those on food stamps. I know up here, if you give away any kind of goods, to charity or a store promotion, you get to write off the full retail value, including your markup. Could be that the tax savings of giving a 20% discount on something that cost you considerably less to buy might possibly cancel out the loss. They might also have some sort of arrangement to pass the cost on to their suppliers, who likewise get to write off more than the discount would actually cost them. I know nothing of the tax system in Kentucky, so this is just speculation.

It's grocery stores that get write-offs and business providing any discounts. Your tax dollars have nothing to do with this; they would still find a way to get write-offs with or without discounts or specialized programs.

Would it make you feel better, however, if a single mother or disabled person who needs assistance were to stop getting it?

Would it make you feel better if billion dollar corporations could just shred money and get a write off rather than using any of it for the needy?

Maybe grocery stores and other retailers should stop senior discounts for people on fixed incomes whose cost of living increases to their benefits are in no way keeping step with inflation while increasing prescription costs are cutting back on what they have available to spend on food. Would that make you feel better?

I kind of doubt any of those would make you feel better. I rather doubt that if you knew a family that needed assistance because of a bad situation that you would refuse to help them.


When I lost most everything and was without work, it was suggested, quite strongly, that I try to get food stamps. I didn't. I'm not too good for them or anything else, but I am a single male without tiedowns who is physically capable of working.

There are quite a few people because of unfortunate situations, family responsibilities, physically disabled, or otherwise, who are not so fortunate to be able to work and need some kind of assistance. If a store provides someone in need with a discount (certainly not for purely altruistic reasons), especially in a time when the cost of living is far outpacing any increases in benefits, that's not such a bad thing to me.

If that sounds spineless to you, then how does it sound when someone in their white bread world complains about someone in need getting assistance?

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(http://5g8.net/smileys/tongue-047.gif)

My father would have agreed with that, but not publicly, and I mean a long time ago.  For many years before he died in 1992, he could not speak well, nor was he able or compelled to express such opinions.  The apple falls not far from the tree, and I'm well for the moment, so I can relate to what you write.  Yet, I do not agree.  We've not all been apathetic nor spineless.  Us white boys are just not top dog anymore. 

Well my brother would suggest "dollar cost averaging" which has done real well for me.   :teddyr:  I don't sell stock at all, but I do buy, I didn't realize I was still logged in...  :hatred: at me

Kentucky doesn't tax food, but they do tax revenue (gross profits) however any tax benefit one person (or company) gets is made up by another. Food stores have not of the lowest profit margins of any (profitable) business at about 1.5%.



Tax dollars have nothing do to with food stamps, really? I did not know that.
If the cash payer buys a gallon of milk for $5 and the food stamper pays $4, what's wrong with both paying $4.50? Can every person with cash better afford paying more, simply because they're not on food stamps? What about those right above the line, they make just a tad to much to get food stamps, OR as in your case didn't want them, could you better afford the $1 without government assistants than you would have with it? Would a reduction of 10% in your food bill not help you by splitting the 20%?

But Robin Hood is a live and well take from those that did something with their life and give it those with excuses. 



Oh yes, single moms, disabled people and the elderly the classic liberal argument, when all else fails throw the single mom, disabled and elderly at the heartless evil Republicans don't you know we're immune to that argument, it's worn out.

I have no problem with those that need TEMPORARY help getting it. But when you buy your food with government money and put it in your Lexus, I've got a problem with that. Get your priorities straight. There are people on food stamps that need help and there are as many on them that are milking the system.
Welfare and food stamps SHOULD be a hand up, not a hand out.



The store in question is not a billion dollar corporation, be that as it may any corporation first obligation is to the share holder not the consumer, sad but true. Now I know that flies in the face of what the left believes but it's called capitalism. To make money to invest money to make more money and as added benefit you provide jobs and inject those monies into the economy and add revenue to the taxable base. Corporate taxes which the US has some of the highest in the world, do nothing more than move money off shore and jobs over seas

Corporation have no problem finding right offs, as corporation do not pay taxes, they merely pass them on to the end consumer. (which is the lunacy of the windfall profit tax)
Yes the old people eating cat food, most old people I know could buy and sell most people over and over, they aren't broke and those with no money are victims of their life long poor money management. You are given at least 50 years to save and build a savings, plan for the future and insure you have money to live on in old age.

Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. 



No, I wouldn't and haven't refused to help those in need. What I will not do is enable those that want to remain dependent. 



Menard there is nothing wrong with a hand up, I've said it a 1000 times. It's a the hand out I don't like, there is a difference. Sometimes people need help, and help should be there for them. When it becomes a generational way of life it's a problem. The system is screwed there are those the want assistances and will work twice as hard to keep it as they would have to if they got off it.
I'm self employed and can lose it all at anytime, everyday I don't know where my next paycheck is coming from, where the next job is coming from, and everyday I have to absorb more and more increased cost of supplies to remain competitive. Everyday I have get out there and find more and more work just to stay level. So why I may see in increase in the gross the net goes down just to stay in business. Whoopty-do that's just the way it is, I deal with it and adapt and overcome, most people do.

The only people is this world that have never failed, have never tired.



Define physically disabled? If a guy with no legs can work at True Value, or a mongoloid clean tables at Wendy's then define disabled. There are the disabled and the unwilling. Two words, Steven Hawkins and for those that do not have a genius IQ there are sheltered workshops. Now before you go having a cow I have no problem help those that are doing all they are CAPABLE of to help themselves. There is a difference between those that are doing all they are capable of and those that are just flat out lazy.
No I'm not saying everyone on food stamps, section 8 and welfare are lazy, far from it. But if you enable able bodied people to do nothing and get paid for it, many will take it. Pride is fleeting.   



Once again you missed the point.

White bread world ... right ... let me polish off my silver spoon. I've never lived on rice 3 meals a day, didn't have money for gas or repairs, went without electricity, phone, water or even a place to stay and cable, cable was for the rich folks ... right? Wait a minute, I did do that and I didn't like it so I got a education, got job, saved up and made my own damn bread instead of taking it from others. So I have painfully little sympathy for 'I can't' when what they mean is 'I won't.'
Hunger is a hell of a motivator. 

I'm all for charity and I give plenty, $1000's every year, but the difference is simple I'd prefer to decide who I give my money to as opposed to the government taking it from me and divvying it up on my so call behalf. Check out the book, "Who really cares?" it out lines how the evil conservatives give 30% more to charity every year than the deeply caring liberals.

http://talkingpoints.wordpress.com/2006/12/01/conservative-vs-liberal-charity-donations/
 (http://talkingpoints.wordpress.com/2006/12/01/conservative-vs-liberal-charity-donations/)

I'd give you karma for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and turning it around, but alas I can't.

I didn't survive for karma or to have a story to tell for an at-a-boy pat on the back. I survived because I didn't like the alternative.


BTW...(http://5g8.net/smileys/mockery-022.gif) (I'll bet you just never tire of that) :teddyr:

What's with this all saints day game you are playing ...

Anyway it's not black, white, red, yellow, man, women, straight, gay ... it's about haven't enough self pride to want to make your own way in the world and not have to ride on the coat tails of others.

I see able body people setting around fully able to work complaining they can't find a job and I just drove past 20 "help wanted" signs on businesses. They need to wake and realize that their not going to start out like as a CEO making $200K a year, you have to crawl before you walk, you have to walk before the run.
One of my friends started working at Wendy's in high school, that was 25 years ago he is now a North American manager making well into the 6 digits living the good life, and he started washing trays and mopping floors.
My uncle just retired from RJ Reynolds as a VP, he started sweeping floors of the warehouse straight out of the military.

Fact are people don't want to pay their dues anymore, they feel they'll owed something ... well news flash, the world owes you nothing but opportunity and it's there in abundance.   



Why you could have had housing, food, money and all it would have cost you was your pride.

It's not a game.  Who doesn't know it's me?  I'm sharing InYourRear's punishment of 10 days banishment.  Let me tell you know it's much more work for Menard-type contributors, as I have tried to be, having to identify, and label, and verify with indiscernible text for each posting... it's a lot less fun!!  It's punishment.  Think of it as penance. 

You definitely need an editor.  "...haven't enough self pride...?"  Well, I guess we know what you mean.  I don't see your point, but don't disagree with anything you wrote. 

Perhaps you need the experience of going out and looking for work again after having been dragged down in the middle of life. You're not speaking from experience, but opinion.

I am in my forties. I quite literally pounded on doors to get my first job again; over 60 resumes and applications later. A lot of businesses want to hire someone able-bodied, and with a future ahead of them. I applied at several places that ended hiring someone just out of high school.

Of course, I never had that problem when I was young and just starting out in the job market.

A friend of mine basically told me I was full of s**t and put me in touch with the HR department where he works. He shut up about it because as soon as they found out how old I was, they nixed my application.

If I were someone applying for management or some professional position and something to bring to the table, then that would be different, but someone having to look into an entry level position is going to find that the designed age range for entry level is young.

Yes, there are definitely companies that will hire someone in their forties, but they are fewer and far between and just to get a foot in the door involves a lot more walking and talking than it would if you were ripe and out of school or out of the military.

My friend thought he knew the answers; having the same job for years moving into it from another job in the same field that he got through the college where he took classes in for that field. He even had a bad day and took it out on me with liberal use of 'bum' and several other words I shall not repeat (it is quite amazing what people, even friends and family, will do to you when they look upon you as basically homeless).

Falling down and getting up is a lot more work as you get older. This is not the same place it was when you took a help wanted sign out of a window, handed it to the storekeep, introduced yourself and got hired. Companies use various methods to profile people for potential employment. Among those considerations are age and recent experience (like the past year or two).

Despite my career as a photographer which I gave up (I thought of it as putting it on hold at the time) to take care of my mother, or my previous experience in management and sale, none of that mattered in a job market only looking for recent experience.

I have work now and due to staying with it for a while I have been able to get additional work by having recent experience. Interestingly, the only managers who have hired me are my age or older.

I can only tell you of my experience; but I can tell you that your stories of someone coming out of the military or school years ago and starting fresh is nothing but bull. It's a hard road to come back from a fall, and a lot of people out there, for one reason or another, are trying to do just that.




Tell me, would you hire them?

   


Quite frankly, that's a slap in the face, but I don't (hopefully) think you meant it that way.

Things are not easy to acquire, services or otherwise, but peoples' opinions are.

There are qualifications, despite what you think, for getting these services. Being able-bodied without dependents does not qualify you for a lot. Being someone's caregiver is not considered a reason for not having been able to keep a regular job. Taking care of someone becomes progressively more difficult as the disease itself progresses, mentally and physically, and even trying to go out for an hour or so you return home to a bloody nose, or worse from falls, confusion and crying, or even having to put out a fire.

There's a smugness in looking down on someone without any idea of what they have been through or what they are going through. The people you presume are nothing more than bums that will be good upstanding citizens if they just follow your miracle advice based on cute little stories from years ago, many of them are probably going through a lot just to keep up.


Just my two cents worth, and with inflation, I doubt it's worth anything.


(http://5g8.net/smileys/kiss-106.gif)

Edited to add: I have no opinion on food stamps either way; I know they get abused but it does help some folks who need it and I just hope there are far more cases wehre it was used wisely rather than cases where they were abused.

As someone who's damn near homeless myself, I can totally relate.  I've been through collage, have 10+ years of XP in my field, have done a plethora of other types of jobs from factory work to farming help, to hanging gutters, to libraries, to shipping and receiving jobs but none of it is helping land anything right now (or within the last year really)and I'm having trouble even affording the weekly interviews over the last month.  It's a numbers game; get calls from the temp recruiters, they talk you all up, you go interview, all 8 temp recruiters trying to submit ya for the same job where 50+ people applied, ya get selected in the top 5 but are always somehow out-experienced by one other person and results in no job and a waste of all that money.  I've been through this cycle so many times that I'm so used to interviews that I'm not even nervous anymore.

So I've basically about gave up on my career, something I do very well and have had great reviews even recently, but there just aren't enough of those jobs for it to matter.  I've taken many courses on resumes and interviewing, etc.,  -got great reviews on my prior projects, was just told my references were outstanding...it's just that my job almost doesn't exist anymore...few and far between they are and there's too many out-of work people competing for the same thing.  So I figure it's time to start over and take yet another 60% pay cut and find a new career.

So I've resorted to applying at everything imaginable...mostly you have to apply at some dumb terminal computer where you don't even get to "meet" anyone.  I've applied at McDonalds, Meijers, Kroger, Walmart, Wendy's, Arby's...etc,.  I would have applied to the local factory like I used to when I was younger and looking for work but they moved to Mexico.  It's been six months or more since I first started applying at fast food and surprisingly, I haven't heard a word.  I've even dumbed down my applications, job titles, and skewed the amounts I used to make as to not look so intimidating.  Hell I have at least 3 customized resumes for different types of jobs, depending on what I'm applying for.

I just don't know what I'm doing wrong.  I haven't resorted to any type of assistance but I'm getting really worried.  I'm behind in all my bills for once (not too bad yet but I anticipate more worry if I don't find a job soon).  I am more worried about my family; I have a child with medical issues and it's hard to be able to pay child support let alone medical when I can't even support myself.  I can't move too far away from my child either, so up and moving out of state isn't an option even if I could afford it.

Still, I have never asked for a hand out from anyone...but I really don't know how long I can survive like this.  I was lucky enough to find a contract job in the last year that lasted a whole 3 months ...not enough to qualify for unemployment.  Luckily I have friends who let me bounce around from place to place, circling 3 metro areas and trying for jobs in all of those places.

Anyway, the job market sucks and sometimes it's now always our fault.  On my way to yet another job interview for a job that lasts a whole year (big improvement over the 3 monther at least).  I'm sorry to rant but I can't help but feel like it's a waste of time.

Although by the time I get to the actual interview I will be much more optimistic.

Edited to Add: just got back from said interview.  It felt like it went pretty well but I've felt like that before.  They interviewed three people just today for said position.  At any rate, I should know by tomorrow...so that's two good possible jobs I'm awaiting feedback.  Wish me luck.  Once I'm working again I can focus on my movie reviews once again! 

I have a hint for my next review: YO JOE!

Okay, I've read through everyone's arguments so I'm going to throw my own ramblings in here in a way as unbiased as I can make them.  Foodstamps help people who need them.  There are people who abuse them and those people are stupid.  There are also people like Menard who get shot down later in life when it's going to be almost impossible to build yourself up into a high paying position, however, some have the dignity to refuse food stamps and still manage a decent living  :thumbup:.  It is unfair that stores give discounts to people with foodstamps and take it out on more "well to do" customers.  But considering that there are people that seriously need them it is almost necessary.  Anyhoo, I suppose that the best we can do is track down people who abuse food stamps and kick them in the  :buggedout:.


I've said it already but I will again, I know very little on the subject and am quite frankly full of sh!t. 

I'm out looking for work everyday, but something I learned early on is you don't make money working for somebody else.



Sure it's work no one said life is fair, but I've had plenty on friends in these in their 40's, 50's and 60's suddenly find them out of work that have found other jobs. Did they get hired the first place they went? No, but they found one often it a unrelated field.



And for every sob story there is a story of success. You can go through life with the glass half empty of half full. My mother-in-law who moved from FL to TN is in her late 60s, having not worked outside the home in years, found a job in fairly short order, hired by a women younger than her.
Was she just lucky or was she better at job interviews? Who know, point is she found a job quickly in her 60's after being out of work for years.

In fact a article from the New York Times in 2005 stated hiring older workers is preferred.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/business/23older.html  (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/business/23older.html)

Kind of puts a hole in your claim.



If I needed someone to say "You want fries with that?" I would, if I needed them to rough in the electrical on a house I wouldn't. The jobs posted were all fast food, they were about 20, so they met your idea demographics to a tee, young job seeker.



Nope it wasn't a slap, but I think you'd admit that there is pride in doing for yourself, whereas you sacrifice some of that pride by not.



It's not miracle advice, it's common sense, which is not so common.

Most of us have a hard luck story to tell, the question is how do you use that story? Is it a story of "what was" or "why is"? It's far from smugness. You story Menard is "what was" you didn't use it as a "why is" choices in life have to be made.



I find you nit pick people grammar or spelling when you want to appear superior, but that's okay I like you anyway ... hell I even like Menard.

So I need a editor, maybe I'll hire one ... provided they're young.

So you don't agree that people need to pay their dues, that they're not going to start out as a CEO? You don't agree folks need to crawl before you walk? Interesting, well I guess you started at the top, that is truly unique. Consider yourself fortunate.


ok got to go work now to fund the system.

Now who's being paranoid?  I wrote I didn't disagree with you.  And, hey, Cheezee, I was not trying to "appear superior" and in fact I think that comment shows your own sense of superiority.  I just noticed you have alot of interesting typos in your postings, that sometimes are contrary to what you want to write (like in the pm you sent me about a week ago where you wrote: "I just read that thread and honestly I was completely aware..."  Of course you meant completely unaware.  My comments weren't meant to challenge you, so lighten up. 

OK, Cheeze, I don't want to pick on your writing either, but I just want to clarify this point. The point here is that Menard told his story of hardship as a basic account of events and not as a complaint that the world is conspiring to screw him over. Menard's problems are valid, and he has busted his ass to get by, rather than using them as an excuse to give up. You were, therefore, not complaining about him. Is that the point? If it is, I agree. That is a very important distinction.

And I also agree with Cheeze that being self-employed is no cup of tea. I much prefer a job where maintaining a steady flow of revenue and balancing the books are somebody else's problem. I wouldn't enjoy the unpredictability.

I've been self employed for 8 years now.  Saying it's no cup of tea is an understatement.  But there is NO WAY I could go back to working for someone else now.  Or at least I would find it very, very difficult.

A good friend of mine was self employed a few years ago.  He built his business up from nothing, a small manufacturing concern (hey, not ALL manufacturing has gone overseas), starting in his basement. Over a year or two, his reputation built for producing a high quality product, and almost entirely on the basis of word of mouth advertising only, he was making more than he ever made as a teacher in the Community College system he worked in before.

Then one day his wife said she did not like the uncertainty of not knowing where the next paycheck was coming from.  They were better off financially than they ever had been with continued growth indicated on the horizon. But she missed the safety net of the responsibility for their financial well being shifted to another (an employer).

So, she talked him into selling his business and taking a job with the guy he sold it to.  This involved a 70% cut in his earning.  Yes, I typed that correctly.  That's 70%, SEVENTY percent less money.  Just so she knew someone else was signing the check each month.

The crazy thing is that his earnings STILL depended on the sales of that exact same product to the exact same customers.  All that happened was the benefit of his work and his ideas went to someone else.

He lasted a month.  The guy that bought the business did not really know how to work in that industry segment effectively and my friend saw the train's light coming down the tunnel. 

He's now rebuilding his business under a different name, having to rebuild that reputation and re-establish his market contacts.  But, his sales are already increasing again. He may have to hire help soon.

There are a LOT of lessons in this story. One of which you can gripe and complain, and blame others, when life hands you lemons, or you can make lemonade.  There is no doubt in my mind that in very short order, my friend will be back "on top."

"Experience is the name people give their mistakes."  Oscar Wilde

My bad, I'm dyslexic and that's not a joke, I am. I do good to make as few typo's and errors as I do.

Well catch up later, more tax to pay ... I mean work to don't do.

Please accept my apologies, if I got you wrong.

no I'm not complaining about Menard, I commend him for his efforts and anyone who has to rise above his misfortune without his hand out.

Read above, dyslexic, I have to re read my post a couple of time to correct errors and I always miss a few, always. However that is not a excuse, it's my failure to pay attention to detail ... do you think I can get a check for that? Hmmm?

I have a friend who's story is very much the opposite of Ulthar's friend. He worked 14 years in the electrical trade, doing mainly industrial work. First, he got sick of working for an established company that took its employees for granted and wasn't especially well managed.

So, he went to work for a new business started by a guy who treated him well, supplied the best equipment and was generally a good boss. Until his crappy management put him in the red and my buddy was forced to take expensive parts and equipment home as insurance against his paycheque bouncing.

He finally decided, after two strikes, to go into business himself. He had a lot of loyal customers already through his previous jobs, he got some credit, set himself up with a truck and equipment, and upgraded from electrician to master electrician. And he paid off his house the first year. He has since hired on a couple of employees, added a couple of service trucks and taken on an apprentice.

Taking a risk is definitely worth it, but I never had this guy's guts or self-discipline. He has a work ethic you wouldn't believe.

You're a good egg Cheezee.  I'll karma you when I come back.   :thumbup:

How is that the opposite?  Seems like pretty much the same story, minus a few details.

Both have a uy working hard for himself doing good, working for someone else getting hosed.

Or did I misread something?

I meant in the order things happened, working for badly run companies first, then finding success on his own. They are similar in other respects, which was kind of the point - similar story with a different sequence of events.

If I could, I'd give you karma for that. :tongueout:





(http://5g8.net/smileys/crying-022.gif)


Trying to lift my spirits? (http://5g8.net/smileys/tongue-047.gif)

No.

Retirees, of which I am not one, can find work much more easily than someone middle of the road in life; referring to entry level positions.

Why?

Many already have a retirement, social security, or other form of income but are looking for for some additional income and/or something to do. When hiring a retiree capable of doing the work, the employer is looking at someone who is most likely not looking for advancement and becomes both an economical investment and, if they like the work, who is likely to stay around because they are not seeking competitive wages.

Looking for isolated stories neither puts a hole in what I have said or makes you more knowledgeable on what I have been through than what I am.




Uh...yeah :lookingup:

After I posted that, I thought about it and don't think it was fair of me to refer to your remark as a slap in the face.

  :lookingup:




When you have lived my life, then you can tell me what you think it is.
 



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We've gotten off topic, what are the odds? I'd say 1:1.

Anyone can start their own business, anyone. Are you chances of failing the first time around good? No they're great. Most new businesses fail within the first year, many more within 5 years. The survival rate is very low.

But the lessons you learn the first time around are invaluable. You don't need a lot of money all you need is a good idea, a nitch market and the the drive to do it. I started with a few old tools and a truck. You will be broke for a long time, because if you have a oz. of sense you'll reinvest nearly everything into your business before you ever get a real paycheck (paycheque - AndyC).


Sorry your post got lost in the topic, I do hope you find a job. So best of luck on the interview results. I think many of us have been there before. I know I have and never resorted to some government handout either.

But I believe everything happens for a reason.


I doubt it he said he was full if sh!t.


So how is it I don't know what your story is, but somehow you know what their (employers) story is? Are you trying to tell me you can't get hired because you're in your 40's but if you go back when you're 60 your hired. Please! Businesses want experience and a good work ethic.
I'd rather hire someone in there 40's that can hit the ground running than spending time and money training some kid that is more concerned with their social life than doing a good job. Some one in there 40's is more likely to stick with a job than someone fresh out of high school. There are many benefits to hiring older workers and most businesses know that. So if you had trouble finding a job, well maybe it's not your age. Ever think about that?

No I don't know what you've been through anymore than you know what I've been though. So whoopty-do.

Ah...okay.  After posting, I realized that MIGHT be the case.  Just when I first read that it was "opposite," I thought it was going to be a story about someone who had a bad experience self employed then went on to great success working for "the man."   :teddyr:

I guess I could not get past my own initial interpretation.  Sorry.

Hey, I only know of one country in the English-speaking world that needs to make words easier to spell.  :twirl:

Well you know we don't like a lot of wasted letters, at least most of the English speaking world finally lost the æ letter-thing. 

Actually I was trying to emphasize a point you made earlier, but yes I suppose my way of saying it sounded pessimistic.

Sometimes things happen and people need assistance. I for one am not going to take foodstamps out of a child's mouth. This is exactly what happens when someone receives them that shouldn't. Assistance should be given to those that need it. Programs like EBT are there to provide people with a 'start'. Housing Assistance, Voc-Rehab and all these programs are designed to help someone help themselves. Unfortunately, many get trapped in the system or take advantage and try not to pull themselves up.
The system can be used for good. I myself am on Social Security. Do I want to be on Social Security forever? NO. While my body and physically well-being is pretty much crap ( I suffer from a musko-skeletal disorder) and there isn't much call for waitresses with a gimp, my mind is still good. I'm using the system through grants to go back to school. In a few months i'll graduate with a job I will be able to perform and even though it will require some effort, I refuse to stay home 'sick' the rest of my life and will once again contribute to society.

What p**ses me off, is when you go to the store and the lady in front of you who is carrying a designer purse with some odd number of screaming almost naked kids, pays for her groceries and such with an EBT card and then goes outside and straps the kids in a cadillac. Take a hint lady, sell the caddy, the purse and buy your kids some shoes. I see this over and over in Fulton, KY.

Foodstamps is a good program for the elderly, the disabled and the temporarily disadvantaged. If there weren't programs to help people (and i'm speaking of those that need help), alot more of our grandmas would be selling their medications just to eat and stay warm.

There is a reward system established for reporting people who fraud the system. My fiancee works at a technical school in the financial aid department and has to interview people all the time who tote that fraud around like a trophy, applying for financial aid and claiming they have no income while wearing expensive clothing and jewelry and carrying around $300 cell phones. Unfortunately neither of us can report the frauds because it would be a conflict of interest with her job. It p**ses her off as badly as when I'm at the grocery watching a situation like the one Grace mentioned where b***hy old Russian women in fur coats carrying Prada bags buy their food with EBT cards. I think nobody's willing to report them though because they're all married to Russian mobsters and after playing GTA IV, everybody knows not to tattle on Russian mobsters. :tongueout: