One of the most interesting items on the web this week doesn’t come from a politician or a political writer – it was authored by a 20-year-old college student for The College Conservative site.
Under the headline, “My Time at Walmart: Why We Need Serious Welfare Reform,” Christine Rousselle writes about her experiences “while toiling away at a register, scanning, bagging, and dealing with questionable clientele” for two summers at a small-town Maine Walmart.
Christine Rousselle
The part-time cashier and full-time collegiate Republican paints a stark picture of blatant welfare abuse committed by shameless people who have no interest in working for a living. Liberals will be dismayed by the Providence College student’s piece. Conservatives, especially tea party types, will simply say: I told you so.
But people from all sides of the political spectrum should be disturbed that this story is told 15 years after Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich came together to supposedly create welfare reform.
Here are a few excerpts:
“I’m not against temporary aid helping those who truly need it. What I saw at Walmart, however, was not temporary aid. I witnessed generations of families all relying on the state to buy food and other items. I literally witnessed small children asking their mothers if they could borrow their EBT (welfare) cards. I once had a man show me his welfare card for an ID to buy alcohol. The man was from Massachusetts. Gov. Michael Dukakis’ signature was on his welfare card. Dukakis’ last gubernatorial term ended in January of 1991. I was born in June of 1991. The man had been on welfare my entire life. That’s not how welfare was intended, but sadly, it is what it has become.”
Other things Rousselle witnessed while working as a cashier:
“People ignoring me on their iPhones while the state paid for their food. For those of you keeping score at home, an iPhone is at least $200, and requires a data package of at least $25 a month. If a person can spend $25-plus a month so they can watch YouTube 24/7, I don’t see why they can’t spend that money on food.
“… People using … (welfare cash) to buy such ‘necessities’ such as earrings, Kit-Kat bars, beer, (professional wrestling) figurines and — my personal favorite — a Slip ‘N’ Slide (for outdoor water fun). TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) money does not have restrictions like food stamps on what can be bought with it.
“…A man who ran a hotdog stand on the pier in Portland, Maine, used to come through my line. He would always discuss his hotdog stand and encourage me to ‘come visit him for lunch some day.’ What would he buy? Hotdogs, buns, mustard, ketchup, etc. How would he pay for it? Food stamps. Either that man really likes hotdogs, or the state is paying for his business. Not OK.”
To read the full story, click here.
By the way: The piece has generated 783 comments so far and that number seems to be growing by the minute.
