We did the same. Whenever I'm at a store and the cashier hits me with the "would you like to give a dollar to...", I reply; "Obama got that dollar". If they look puzzled I say; "go ask Obama, he has all my money"
The same for us. Instead, I keep reducing clutter and donating whatever to Easter Seals. I itemize and claim the small tax deduction.
When the GOP calls asking for money, I tell them: “We are living in the Obama economy. I have no money for political donations.” The response is a shocked silence.
A few weeks ago, we hired someone to do odds jobs for which my husband’s time is limited. The person we hired is an old hippie, *down on his luck*, a former mason who says he is broke and homeless (he is 57 and lives with his adult children)due to spending years caring for aging relatives. Doing the math, he hasn’t worked for nearly 15+ years, lived off the relatives and didn’t need a house since he lived with them. We broached the idea of hiring him to his DIL, who is a physician. She was enthusiastic and said he “could ride his bike” here, since they live nearby. He agreed and insisted on cash so he wouldn’t lose his welfare (!). He showed up in his son’s car.
He showed up late, worked 3 hours,was not very productive and cornered us to talk for at least an hour of that time, did not show up the next day nor in the past weeks to claim the $30 we still owe him.
My empathy has vanished.
I'm so stealing that---thank you, LOL. Seems like every time I go shopping I get hit up for some charity or another....and if it isn't at the register, it's people outside the door.