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    octopusoftheseaHamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 12:58pm

    “Guess what assholes” is a great one. My brother and his wife relied on food stamps early in their marriage. Now he’s a dentist and has more than repaid what he received. Sadly, he now lives in Florida and I’ve heard him talk shit about welfare recipients on more than one occasion. But sometimes, you not only save someone from dying, you lift them to the point where they can keep the system afloat.

    Anyway. Good work, lady. Glad things worked out for you.

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      Thrumboliooctopusofthesea
      7/16/15 1:14pm

      But sometimes, you not only save someone from dying, you lift them to the point where they can keep the system afloat.

      Yep, and that should be the overriding goal of this sort of assistance program.

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      vaulyreaoctopusofthesea
      7/16/15 1:41pm

      That is so frustrating. I know more than one person here in Wisconsin who is an ardent Scott Walker supporter who talk endless shit about the “freeloading teachers” but who are also on Badgercare, which is our local system meant to help the uninsured who aren’t eligible for Medicaid. Public assistance is okay for them but not for anyone else.

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    crucifictorious916Hamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 1:11pm

    To all the trolls in the grey:

    How blessed you are to sit on high and bitch about paying your taxes. How fortunate you are to make so much money that you pay $[x] in taxes. All of that can be taken from you in an instant. Unless you are much richer than you say, you are one cancer away from disaster like the rest of us. . Where you need to swallow your pride and become one of those “poor people”. Cause, as you are well aware, this country HATES poor people. You try and pull yourself up by your bootstraps when the boots of every soulless motherfucker in this country are kicking you repeatedly in the face.

    The generous part of me sincerely hopes you never find yourself in such a position where you need help. The less generous part of me says that you should go fuck yourself and that you’re a heartless piece of excrement and exactly what’s wrong with this country. The utter lack of empathy for others in the United States is sociopathic.

    And here is where I quote Angels in America:

    “The white cracker who wrote the National Anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word free to a note so high nobody could reach it. That was deliberate .Nothing on earth sounds less like freedom to me. You come to room 1013 over at the hospital, I’ll show you America. Terminal, crazy and mean. I live in America, that’s hard enough, I don’t have to love it. You do that. Everybody’s got to love something.”

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      shablamcrucifictorious916
      7/16/15 1:23pm

      Oof, very true. I make exceedingly good money and pay a lot in taxes, accordingly. Yet, I know how close I am to catastrophe. I try not to think about it and make the best decisions I can in order to avoid it, but I know it wouldn’t take much for me and my family to be way down the ladder.

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      Thrumboliocrucifictorious916
      7/16/15 1:28pm

      There’s only one that I see (EDIT: Oh, nope, one more in here), and he’s so fucking banal as to not even count. Pay them no mind.

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    NicoHamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 1:39pm

    I LOVE the first person (Guess what assholes?) - that woman should be the spokesperson for public assistance! I want to hear her debating republicans, I’d tune in every night for that.

    “Something something bootraps.”

    "Guess what asshole, public assistance was my bootstraps. Go fuck yourself!"

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      Burner613Nico
      7/16/15 2:00pm

      I guess I am a huge hippie liberal dipshit, but I am happy to pay my taxes. I am beyond grateful that I have an income that means I have to pay taxes. Like other posters, I wish more of my taxes went to social welfare programs rather than corporate welfare bullshit. I would love to see this woman arguing with Craig T. Nelson - I had food stamps, but no one helped me.

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      NicoBurner613
      7/16/15 2:11pm

      Exactly! Taxes aren’t the problem, it’s how they are used. Taxes should be for the running of the country and the well being of society - that means a social safety net, infrastructure, a much smaller military than we have now, research, environmental protection, and little else. Instead, the middle class is paying a higher tax rate than the top earners in the country because we cling to trickle down economics like a life line rather than the anchor it is.

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    SpringSprungHamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 12:58pm

    These are always tough to read, but that sentence:

    Can you please make it that our stamps don’t get reduced

    Just broke my heart. Who’s she asking?

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      MuscatoSpringSprung
      7/16/15 1:23pm

      Who’s she asking?

      We, the people. That’s supposed to be our job.

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      PhyllisNeflerSpringSprung
      7/16/15 2:15pm

      I just teared up at work, reading that one in particular.

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    justachickHamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 2:27pm

    “Guess what, Assholes?” is my nominee for person of the year.

    All that public assistance got me a college degree, you fuckers.

    I love her. She’s the American dream. We don’t give up. We make it work, we make ourselves better. I’m sorry she had to go through so much of a struggle to get there, but I hope her kids understand how awesome their mother is, if not now when they get a bit older.

    I was raised by a single parent in a very difficult financial situation. I remember when she tried to get food stamps and they were refused. Anyone who thinks those things are easy to get approval for is soooo wrong. We should have qualified, but we didn’t. So we ate beans for months. My mother was in so much physical pain she used to cry every morning as she struggled to get her clothes on and get out the door to work. But she did it every single day.

    Now, I’m driven and successful. I have appreciation for everything I have, something that many of my more well off friends don’t have. I learned how to stretch a dollar like no body’s business. I’m so proud of where I came from and I hope that her kids will see it the same way someday.

    Also, she’s freaking hilarious.

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      guesswhataholesjustachick
      7/16/15 8:05pm

      Thanks so much for this comment. I screencapped it just to look at on days I’m feeling low. My kids are cool as hell and at an age now where they see how I struggled and appreciate it. The feeling of walking across the stage at my graduation and seeing their faces is the best thing that ever happened to me. I want them to value education and know they can do good things in this world. Your story is great. I’m glad you’re doing well. And thanks again.

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    SavingPrincessHamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 1:00pm

    “I would not be here, my kids would not be here.”

    Spoiler Alert:

    That’s what they want.

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      Sia's Oversized WigSavingPrincess
      7/16/15 1:17pm
      GIF
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      TheTruth3459SavingPrincess
      7/16/15 1:19pm

      Ugh, that made my heart sink cuz I think you’re right... :(

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    Life is a PlaylistHamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 1:43pm

    I love how condescending the first person is in her letter.

    Yet, she seems so shocked that the person that beat her while dating would also beat her (and their child) in marriage.

    She’s not the brightest.

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      flamingolingoLife is a Playlist
      7/16/15 3:43pm

      You should be set adrift on an ice floe and given to the starving polar bears.

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    There Be Dragons HereHamilton Nolan
    7/16/15 1:18pm

    I received MedicAid during my pregnancy because even thoughthough my husband and I worked full time we couldn’t afford health insurance and didn’t get any through our employers. It ensured my kid got prenatal care and a safe delivery without putting us in ridiculous debt for years after. I was fortunate enough after my company closed, to find another full time job that paid better and had affordable insurance. But getting off welfare was so frustrating. Hoop after hoop with legalese jargon and no help from overwhelmed and overworked social workers. Even when you become a success story, the struggle isn’t over as you try to get off the system. I’m beyond grateful for what I received in my time of need and will gladly continue paying taxes to help those who need it.

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      JezebelledHamilton Nolan
      7/16/15 2:30pm

      I recently graduated and landed a well-paying job to where I’ll spend the rest of my life HAPPILY paying taxes to help people like me. I wish I could give MORE than the little bit of my taxes that go to public assistance.

      That’s GODDAMNED RIGHT. Thank you, you are my hero. I was on foodstamps twice in my late teens and early 20s. I make 6 figures now in my 30s and I am HAPPY to be taxed to death. Take more I beg you! Everyone deserves to eat, and to eat WELL. Fuckers.

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        hitman1379Hamilton Nolan
        7/16/15 1:14pm

        As I wrote on another post last night, in the last week Wisconsin Republicans proved again how they look at this issue. Our state budget requires people to take drug tests to get their food stamps, but the legislature is handing $250-million to the Milwaukee Bucks’ owners for a new stadium. Where is their drug test?

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