Posted on 10/02/2010 4:58:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Take a trip to one of those 24-hour Walmarts on the last day of every month, and you'll get a glimpse into the lives of low-income families trying to get by. At one location in Fredericksburg, Va., at around 11 p.m., families start to load up on necessities like diapers and groceries.
People like Tracy and Martin Young live nearby, and for the pair in their early 30s, it's a chance to shop quietly without their five children, two of whom are teenagers. Each is pushing a shopping cart overflowing with food. There's mac and cheese, bags of cereal and cans of evaporated milk. Most of this has to last for the whole month.
A Midnight Run, Come Rain Or Shine
Despite torrential rain outside and flash-flood warnings across the area, the couple arrives to shop. Tracy Young says they've been doing this midnight run on the last day of every month for so long now that they're on a first-name basis with Gloria, their cashier.
"It's been about a year. We used to go to Bloom, and then we found out we were saving more coming here," Tracy Young says. At a stroke or two after midnight they begin unloading their carts at the checkout. Tracy says they set aside $500 for groceries a month. With five kids, the money they get never lasts until the next monthly check.
"It's usually about a week and a half," she says. "We try to figure out what we need to do about a week and a half before the end of the month."
That's why they're here at midnight: It's when their food stamps and government checks for their 3-year-old daughter kick in on the first of every month.
Tracy works in retail and Martin works two jobs. One of those is as a waiter at a fast-food chain, so their monthly income goes up and down all the time. Tracy says all their income goes to groceries, the rent and the bills, and hardly anything is left over.
Living Paycheck To Paycheck
That's not unusual, says Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute. "There's no question that there's going to be more people living paycheck to paycheck now," she says, adding that more and more families are living on the brink of poverty.
"They see wages get cut or not grow at all, so family incomes suffer, and when they take a hit some fall down" below the poverty line, she says.
Last year, 3.7 million Americans joined those already living in poverty, meaning families of four living on just under $22,000. That's 14 percent of the population. The government says the price of food has risen in the past year: Eggs cost 44 percent more and milk is up 21 percent, mainly because of fuel prices.
Shelf-Stocking Patterns For The First Of Every Month
Wal-Mart noticed that sales were spiking on the first of every month. In a recent conference call with investment analysts, Wal-Mart executive Bill Simon said these midnight shoppers provide a snapshot of the American economy today.
"And if you really think about it," Simon said, "the only reason somebody gets out and buys baby formula is they need it and they've been waiting for it. Otherwise, we're open 24 hours, come at 5 a.m., come at 7 a.m., come at 10 a.m. But if you're there at midnight you're there for a reason."
And so Wal-Mart has changed its stocking pattern. It brings out larger packs of items in the beginning of the month, and smaller sizes toward the end. It makes sure shelves have plenty of diapers and formula.
"It's definitely an indicator in terms of people who are struggling," says Charles Fishman, journalist and author of The Wal-Mart Effect. "That tells you there's a large swath of America that is still very carefully calculating how much money is available and how they're spending it on even the most basic things like diapers and milk and bread. That's not the sign of an economy that's shaken off the recession."
Checking Out Under Budget
At the checkout, Tracy and Martin Young see the total. It's $485.49. And they're under budget. Martin Young says they'll use the extra $60 to buy more canned vegetables from another store.
Tracy says their children know when the end of the month is approaching, because what they like to eat is gone and the kitchen shelves have emptied. The children are all home asleep while the parents are out shopping.
In the morning, Tracy says, they'll wake up and be able to have what they want for breakfast.
I don’t do it so much now but when I worked 2nd shift I did all my shopping in the middle of the night. I learned to prefer midnight shopping.
Meanwhile up the road a bit in Fairfax County, Virginia government workers, bureaucrats, and quick buck professionals are living like kings on the taxpayers dole. This a sad and pathetic situation we face. The jobs are shipped to China. Almost all the products at Walmart are made in china except food and household items. This is part of the problem.
It ought to be: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2600507/posts
media-echo-chamber-alert.
put in your earplugs.
Next will be Obamaville’s springing up all over. We either take the country back or become something like East Germany, Zimbabwe or Argentina. My late father and his generation would have never stood for this, nor would his father’s. Why are we?
That is pretty much the story in my neck of the woods.
I’d guess the 3yr old is disabled and that is why they receive public monies.
evaporated milk? That’s for rich people.
My mama bought powered milk.
Does not compute:Three jobs, government checks, and food stamps. At minimum wage, that totals more than $4000 per month, $50,000 per year.
neither did the woman who called Rush Friday saying her mobile home was about to foreclosed.
Some of the folks on that other thread caught more than I did.
I pretty much think the media is in the bamboozling business all the time.
First off, for the truly needy I do have compassion, but i really dont think that the majority of the these people are truly needy.
On my last visit stateside, I was amazed at the size of many of these so-called poor people. Many were simply obese and in their carts were not filled with staples like flour, rice, and vegetables but a lot of sweets and processed food.
America's poor would be considered wealthy in many parts of the world.
I also noticed that there are not many Asians on food stamps.... or did i miss something
Waiters/waitresses are only paid $2.13/hr., if tips are involved. Plus, are the jobs full or part-time? We don’t know that.
Probably because the jobs are part time. Also, wait staff at restaurants make less than minimum wage, with tips to push it over.
I drank heavily back then so midnight shopping was always an adventure and the next morning was always like Christmas.
I swear last week I was behind a “guest in our country” and her two kids who bought frozen pizza with her Food Stamp card (does pizza qualify as bread?) and then paid cash for the rest of her order including candy for the kids. They all hopped into her recent model SUV and roared away afterward. I felt like my pocket had been picked.
“I drank heavily back then so midnight shopping was always an adventure and the next morning was always like Christmas.”
That was my chuckle of the day!
(Only because I can relate!)
Powdered milk is better than fresh milk to bake with.
And powdered milk does not look that cheap to me. About 1 time per month the local grocery store here has 2 gallons of milk for $4.00 (they will sell you 1 gallon for the 2$ price). I prefer condensed milk for biscuits (better crust) and when I make cheesecake.
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