Posted on 01/13/2005 4:17:21 PM PST by The Loan Arranger
Like thousands of other single women living in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Brigette, 24, collects Medicaid and food stamps. Unlike most of her neighbors, she's white and a college graduate—the kind of welfare recipient rarely considered in debates over public assistance. Brigette, whose parents and two sisters run a restaurant in rural Vermont, got her B.A. in film from Bard College, a top-tier liberal arts school in upstate New York. She moved to New York City about two years ago to pursue experimental filmmaking. As young self-styled bohemians have always done, she found a neighborhood with cheap rent and cobbled together a living from various gigs—in her case, waitressing and assisting more established filmmakers. The idea was to leave time for her own projects.
But then, two and a half months ago, she lost the job at the diner. Her two film posts together pay just $140 a week, and her rent is $600 a month, so things got lean quickly. Brigette was also missing payments on her $17,000 in student loans; she is now over $1,000 in arrears.
"I was really hungry—no food in my house, no money to buy food, my pants were all falling off, and I was like, something's not working out here," she says. "Then I got this raging ear infection." With no health insurance, Brigette went to the emergency room and later applied for Medicaid to cover her bills. "I figured as long as I'm applying for this, I should go across the street and apply for food stamps." After a six-hour wait at the office on Thornton Street, Brigette was awarded $147 a month, which she spends at her local C-Town supermarket on beans, rice, greens, and peanut butter.
(Excerpt) Read more at villagevoice.com ...
Sheesh! If she is waiting tables, few are the places that don't provide health insurance.
So all you tax payers (suckers) better pony up.
Check this out.
I know literally dozens of such people where I live in Los Angeles. It would never occur to them to get a reasonable day job to fund their aspirations. Not when there is the government teat to suckle at.
Most people in my social circles view me as a curiousity, an eccentric for holding such views; which is shameful.
New York. I went to school with some girls like that ... they looked down on people majoring in business or engineering.
I am paying for this joke. Will someone tell her that's why they call them "starving" artists.
Why doesn't she go home to Vermont and work her ass off at her parents' restaurant? she wanted time to "work on her own projects" ? Hey, stupid, how about working on MY project---reducing my taxes---get a f...g job. and while you're at it...get a roomate or two..$600 a month rent?!
This makes me sooo mad.
This is just sickening. I cannot understand how any person with any self respect could do something like this. I don't know what is worse, these people, or the government giving them aid.
The government!
LA, too. I knew the same type who were "actresses."
Anny,
Re: your note #2. She lost her job at the diner.
Translation: fired from diner. Not too many diners have an abundance of over-qualified people knocking at their doors, begging for work. I would imagine losing a job at a diner takes incredible effort, or lack thereof. It's all a matter of perspective.
Bottom line, she is now on the dole. And it is an accepted way of life. I am up to my eyeballs and earballs with stories of these sad creatures who prey on the system, use the system, or simply count on the kindness of strangers as a way of life.
I want a free pony.
It is indeed tough to get "fired" from a diner.
I've done the "in between jobs at the folks' house" gig. It works!
I guess so because they are so willingly wasting everyones tax dollars. The people are just scum-suckers milking the system that's in place.
Yeah, but this gal likely wants to be "independent." Better to have the taxpayers paying for her rent and food than to have her earn it from her parents.
The system is really messed up, we need a few good CONSERVATIVE republicans (a dying breed?) to give us TRUE Welfare reform, Tax reform, Illegal losers reform!!
I don't think any politician has the brass to be a real conservative any more. Tancredo, or Paul are about as close as we will ever see.
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