The SNAP economy

Couple days old, but a powerful slice-of-life profile from Eli Saslow, who's been writing about the economy for the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/food-stamps-put-rhode-island-town-on-monthly-boom-and-bust-cycle/2013/03/16/08ace07c-8ce1-11e2-b63f-f53fb9f2fcb4_story.html

The opening 11 grafs -- the first page of five -- is just terrific. A seamless mixture of images, numbers, plays on words, and details.

The ending, to me, creates conflicting emotions. The final anecdote seems just a little overcooked, like the economy is conspiring against this mother fulfilling her grocery list, and it's somehow enlisted her own toddler daughters to rampage through the store. It's a pretty solid plot line -- the meltdown at the store -- and that it's so common seems to make a little unrelated, thematically, to the story at hand. And part of me wonders if a reporter trailing her around makes her a worse, more inattentive mother than she'd normally be.

At any rate, worth the time and read.

 

Quick question: Saslow started off as a sports writer, correct?

 

Paying $360 a month to lease a car? And depending on food stamps to eat?

 

Being extremely dumb about money is one of the main reasons people get in these positions in the first place.

 

I actually didn't know, but a quick search seems to suggest yes, he did.

 

Did the family's SNAP benefits go down? Originally, they were getting more the $500 a month, yet the article stated they used half ($168) on the first. Mom also needs to get the kids under control. Mine can be monsters in the store, but they aren't "just holding" food.

 

I used to work in this city, and don't doubt the figures. Talk radio is having a field day with it, obviously (pretending that white people don't have these problems).
Rhode Island cut taxes for the rich in 2006, but the "job creators" didn't fulfill their part of the bargain. This is the result.

 

You're kidding me, right? If I'm the landlord and I'm reading this, I'm evicting their asses the next time they don't pay. They can bunk at the tattoo parlor.

 

Shouldn't the tenants be warned their choices are wrong first before evicting them?

 

Depends. Are the tenants working for the landlord?

 

I think the CEO of the nearest Fortune 500 company should have to pay everybody's rent. I know Baron's with me, who else?

 

Foxboro is only about 20 minutes away. Tom Brady should play everybody's rent.