Open Thread

“there is no law requiring landlords to accept Section 8.”

Denton;

Just such a law was enacted last year, “thanks” to Bill DeBlasio. Look it up. Someone showing up to an apartment with a Section 8 voucher cannot be turned away.

a good tip for anyone interviewing, before your interview sprinkle a little bit of ladybug bean, jequiruty, crab’s eye, and precatory tea on your fingertaps and the behind your ears. those can be found in various magic shops around the city or just ordered online. i think the concoction itself called abrus seeds which people carry in amulets for good luck, but i think crushing it all up into a fine powder and wearing it to your interview will yeild better results. dont worry, it’s odorless.

*rob*

Butterfly *Rob* you might be right about younger people willing to work for peanuts.

I never heard of a Moonface, but my guess is those recent mid-twenties mid-western, mid-complextion, mid-height, mid-weight, totally featureless and non distinct, from the failure to launch generation recent New York transplants? All looked like uncooked dough?

Becuase they are willing to work for peanuts, they need momma and dadda support to maintain the mid-western lifestyle they are accustomed to instead of toughing it out?

“Gem: Don’t wear pants to an interview. ”

i tried this – it didn’t go over well.

benson, re food stamps, surely you are old enuf to remember what came before. The USDA bought up surplus agricultural commodities and distributed them in the hood. I remember blocks of American cheese and massive tubs of peanut butter. The food stamp program was a big improvement as it gave more choice to poor people while enforcing some minimal nutrition standards (no soda, prepared food, or non-food products). They also got businesses on board by allowing retailers to deposit them every day like cash. Before EBT cards there was a lot of chicanery going on (like rob sells his metrocards, people would sell their food stamps) but ebt cards have cut down on that fraud as well.

All in all, it seems an example of one of the better-run guvment programs. Consider, most conservatives, and here I’ll put on my fiscal conservative hat, state that the private sector should deliver the actual service to the poor, with the guvment subsidizing the product/service. So, instead of tubs of peanut butter delivered by the guvment, we get individual choice offered by businesses directly to poor consumers. Instead of massive housing projects built by the guvment, under section 8 we get housing delivered by the private sector directly to the poor.

The private sector can choose to pass over these subsidies if they desire. There is no law requiring the private sector to accept food stamps (note that the Costco store in Harlem is coming under fire for that) and there is no law requiring landlords to accept Section 8.

So I wouldn’t characterize these as guvment programs, I’d characterize them as public/private partnerships.

Giving people copious amounts of cash quarterly to buy food sounds like a great idea in principal, but in the real world will result in a lot of children going hungry. Can’t blame the kids for the lack of individual responsibility of the parents.

Actually, what really pisses me off more than a family with Hawaiian Punch in the basket paying with food stamps is broke hipsters buying a bagel and paying with a credit card.