The Hungry find hope

I live in a small town that only exists because two main highways meet here. Everybody's store to hate (Walmart) has pushed its share of smaller businesses out of the area, but we still have a small selection when it comes to grocery shopping. Included in that selection is two Safeway stores (Known as Von's in some areas) which I found out today offer up the fresh food that cannot be sold to the local food bank.

I cannot say what the unemployment rate is for our small town, but the food bank here sees a lot of business. At least half of everything the grocery stores end up throwing away is still safe to eat but will not sell because it is attached to, or in the same bundle as something that is no longer good to eat. While those who can afford to be picky about their meal selections can select something of better quality (which coincidentally is rarely eaten before it goes bad), those who have no choice in the matter are more than grateful to find fresh fruits and vegetables in their bag (or occasionally box) of food.

It is also good to note, that a hungry person will waste far less than a person who has too many choices for food. This is the case for a large portion of the people in the United States who have become accustom to having everything they could possibly want at their fingertips. I do not know if Safeway and Von's stores in other areas do the same thing, but I applaud our small town grocers for taking an interest in helping our community remain healthy.

I can only dare to hope that their example will be followed and that no one will have to go hungry while food is nearby and unwanted by those too full of themselves to accept a partially sub standard product. 

Helping those who can Help Themselves

This subject is one that is a tender one for me to negotiate. Being a Disabled Veteran, I receive a monthly stipend as well as my heath care taken care of. The amount I receive is reviewed every couple of years to look for improvement, or worsening. I am currently rated at 80% Disabled. I often feel I do not warrant the amount of attention I receive from the Government, but I also have phases where I feel it is not enough. The difference in these two feelings is in how I am doing mentally, physically, and emotionally, which for me seams to change on a dime and with little warning. So that anyone who may read this can know where I am coming from today, I am of neither mind, which is why I chose to write this article at this time.

I mentioned part of the problem when I wrote about unemployment. Being on unemployment requires the person to "actively look" and report on places that applications have been turned in. The same person is also required to follow up on any possible job leads and is forbidden to reject a job offer. This system is incredibly easy to navigate around if the person does not wish to work or does not like a job that they would be able to do. I cannot speak for every state, but I know that Nevada only requires 3 job applications a week. There are more than enough jobs in the newspaper and at job sites like Monster.com to get past this part easily. The next stage is an interview, at which, should you have no desire to take the job, you can sabotage the interview to guarantee you fail in getting a job offer. In most cases, the reason to fail an interview is due to economics. Person X is making Y amount on unemployment. The job person X applied for is paying amount Z, which is slightly higher than amount Y, but requires travel to and from work. Work = traveling to and from the location "A" as well as "B" amount of hours per week. Suddenly, the unemployment amount "Y" looks a lot more lucrative than everything that is entailed to do job "Z". Sorry about all of the variables, I used to be a math geek as well. To simplify:

Y > or = Z - [(A * 2) + B]

What it works out to is people who "fail" job interviews because the pay is not enough to make a difference. If it were to clear it up even more, think of unemployment as paying you minimum wage for doing very little every week. You are asked to interview for a job that pays minimum wage or just above but you figured you will have to drive 40 miles a week along with having to work 8 hour days. Would you make the jump to make less money and still have to work?

What I would propose is to make unemployment a set amount just below minimum wage instead of basing it off of your previous pay. The amount will be enough to sustain you in whats important (food, "modest shelter," and clothing) but still be a strong motivational factor for people to actively want another job. A job in which making minimum wage would still grant them a larger income than unemployment.

From there, it would come down to people swallowing their pride enough to do what NEEDS to be done. We live in a different time now. We are incredibly wasteful of everything including space. If your living room is large enough to house a small family, you have too much space.

If a person can maintain a "rich" lifestyle than I congratulate you on being one of the lucky ones. However, if your world is crashing in around you and find that you owe more money to people than you can make in a year, it is time to start downsizing. You would be surprised what you can live without, and how far serving the proper portions of food will shrink a grocery bill. As a family that used to spend 600 to 800 a month on food, I spent 200 dollars at the beginning of the month on groceries and have only had to go back for milk once. We could easily make it to the third week of the month on my initial buy. How wasteful were we before? I look at and tell my wife: "I told you so." to which I still have not gotten a: "Your right dear." When the world downsizes around you, you need to downsize with it to survive. 

I hope that someone finds this to be a good idea and puts it into implementation.