Being a single unattached person means that you have to work and earn just to satisfy your own needs and luxuries. When you get married and when you have your own family, then the things change quite a bit.
You have to work very hard and earn enough money to satisfy everyone’s basic needs. However, we have witnessed cases where some people do not do that and they are actually misusing the system just like that they claim their bread and butter.
The US soldier Patrick Gibson, a father of two kids, witnessed a situation similar to that one. He got so frustrated that he had to share this event on his Facebook page.
One day, on the way home, Patrick stopped at the local Walmart. This normal and usual daily routine was supposed to be nothing special. After he got the basic products that he needed, such as few food items and diaper, he stood in line in order to pay. But, he saw something quite unexpected.
The couple that stood in front of Patrick looked like a normal married couple that earn quite a lot. This notion was triggered by the fact that the couple had two full carts, and two full carts nowadays cost a lot. This would have gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for the thing the couple paid with. Patrick got angry and took some photos of this couple’s carts.
Once Patrick got home, he could do only one thing – post on Facebook about his story. Patrick posted two pictures, one of his cart and one of the couple’s cart.
About his own cart he wrote:
“The picture you see on the left is the amount of groceries including diapers that I was able to afford this pay period for my family.”
About the other picture, he adds:
”The picture on the right is of the purchase in front of me in line. If you can’t tell in the picture there are 2 full buggies of groceries including such items like steak and some other very nice choices of food.”
However, according to Patrick, the problem is not in the carts, but something else is very problematic. Patrick paid for his little amount in cash, money that he has earned by working long hours in the Army. On the other side, the couple paid all those groceries with food stamps. However, that was not the only thing.
The couple also used EBT card in order to pay for the $800 bill. The impression you would normally get is that both of them are physically or mentally disabled so they use some state’s benefits. But, that was not the case. They were totally fine and physically fit.
The last drop that spilled the cup is the couple’s private vehicle. Believe it or not, the EBT card and food stamps owners drove brand new Hyundai Genesis. The car costs up to $20.000. That fact finally frustrated Patrick.
Patrick also adds:
“I just thought I would take the time to tell this person/family that you are very welcome from all of us hard working/struggling to buy food Americans that have to foot the bill for your fancy steak feast while I skip breakfast and lunch every day (so) that way my wife and children have food to eat every day because $50-$75 dollars doesn’t go very far. So, you enjoy your $800 free grocery purchase.”
Patrick’s post reached many people out there. Large number of the people who saw the post agreed with Patrick and expressed their support. One of them wrote:
“I agree with you Patrick 100%. There are a lot that really need it, but as you said, there are a lot that abuse the system and a lot like yourself that need them and can’t get them, especially you and your family.”
However, not everyone agreed with Patrick. Many stated that he is judging people without even knowing them for real. One comment stated:
“Do you really know their backstory? Don’t be quick to judge someone because you’re angry. How do you know if that person works and their spouse doesn’t work because of problems? That all the money in their pocket is to pay their bills that the new car was a gift? How do you know that’s not the case?”
To this, Patrick responded like this:
“Let’s just call it what it is. We can all sit around and believe in sunshine and rainbows saying the old don’t judge a book by its cover crap, but the reality of it is that so so so many people are abusing the system that was put in place for struggling families. If we can’t even acknowledge that there is a problem, then how can it ever be corrected. And a brand new car as a gift? Really? If they have friends or family with money like that, then its a shame they still need $800 a month in food stamps.”
What do you think? Do you agree with Patrick? Would you also be frustrated and angry like Patrick? How would you react?