Why should I support someone else?

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-27-2006
Why should I support someone else?
4426
Sat, 12-30-2006 - 1:24pm

Let me start by saying that I"m new here so this may have already been discussed, but this has come up in my office several times and I wanted to get some other views of this.

I do payroll for a rather small company so I know most of the workers and their wives (most of the workers are men due to the nature of our business). There are two in particular who's wives SAH. These two are up to their eyeballs in debt. I have bill collectors constantly calling for them. That part is really their business, it is annoying but I enjoy being rude back to the bill collectors, lol.

The part that bothers me is that both wives have been in the office wanting copies of X amount of check stubs so that they can go and get public assistance (I know because they told me that is what it is for)! Why should my tax money go so that these women can SAH? I know that not all families that one parent stays at home are like this, but I know lots that are. Heck, growing up we were always broke because my mother refused to work, but we weren't on any public assistance.

So, why should I pay for a woman to SAH? Why can't she go and get a job to support her family just like anyone else?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-04-1997
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:09pm
Why yes, she DID say that....her millionaire friends are "mostly millionaires by using coupons and discounts on clothes at regular stores." I think it was post 647. It's not a touchy subject, exactly, but I would like to know how it's done. As I said, it was a lot harder for us.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-27-2005
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:09pm
The point is they are HER germs not anyone else's. While you can't stop getting other people's germs when you go out, you can by not buying something someone else has worn over and over in what kind of house, you have no clue.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2003
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:09pm
Well I'm not a millionaire, and I don't shop in thrift stores mainly because I don't have the time to look through everything, although I have bought things there in the past. But I don't label people who do shop there as low class, caring more about themselves then their kids, etc etc etc. I donate all of my boys' items there (I give my daughter's outgrown stuff to my cleaning person who's daughter was absolutely thrilled to get about 15 barely used - in one case never worn - Gap items and obviously didn't seem to mind that they were USED).
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2007
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:10pm

Don't be so defensive. It's quite possible there are people out there who revel in clothes and enjoy them more than you do. Many people simply have fun and enjoy nice clothes - without ever giving you or your hurt feelings a thought! Imagine that.

There's no way this season's new Yves Saint Laurent black-and-white line is equal to a used thrift-shop mix-and-match.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2003
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:11pm
New clothes don't have any germs on them?
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-27-2005
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:11pm

Well I have worked with many many people over the years and my gf is the only one I have known to shop at one. And yes, we do talk about clothes and shoes at work and what we buy.

Like I said, the shops here are not geared towards the middle class.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-27-2005
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:13pm
Are the jeans from the Gap?-lol!!
The point is as we get older, we make more money and are able to afford more things.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-27-2005
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:14pm
Why not? Because I have met all types of people from all areas, I still do not know anything? Doesn't everyone have experiences like me? How do they know how people are then and I don't?
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2006
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:16pm
i'm a millionaire,in spirit. :). but really,the real millionaires i know do not shop thrift.......they're kind,modest,less impressionable folks who don't go around flaunting their wealth or volunteering their financial status,either. go figure.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-27-2005
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 1:16pm
THANK YOU. That is exactly my point. Thrift shops have always been (at least in my area) for the poorer people. I personally never pay full price for anything, I always buy on sale, clearance or use coupons or money off certificates.

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