Why Americans are going hungry despite a strong economy
Why Americans are going hungry despite a strong economy
With unemployment low and wages rising, the struggle for basic necessities like food should be easing. But those on the front lines of feeding the hungry say they are seeing the opposite.
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We were over at my mother's yesterday and we were talking about grocery prices and my mother asked my wife how much we paid for milk and my wife says she doesn't look, because it doesn't matter when we need milk regardless. I don't look either. It's the same with gas prices. I hear they've gone way down, but I've honestly stopped looking. What difference does it make what a gallon of gas costs when I need that gallon no matter what it costs?
I like to pay attention though so you can see firsthand how bad things are getting. I remember selling shoes to old people and all the employees would joke that they all had no sane grip on the fact that prices go up. They'd say at 80 years old, well when I was 30 that used to be $X thats way too high of a price! Its funny though because we will never experience that. We are used to it being this way year to year much less 30 or 40 years from now. So much so that some people dont even check the price anymore, we just know its higher than it used to be automatically. It's sad.
You don't need milk. You do need gas though.
We don't "need" milk in the sense that it is not necessary for our survival. We need milk in order to keep eating and drinking the things we enjoy eating and drinking. And I don't think it is unreasonable to expect milk in your tea and your cereal.
No, you do need milk. Don't let the capitalist propaganda engine tell you that comfort and contentment are not necessary for life. To even insinuate that having milk to put on cereal or in tea is some sort of luxury or indulgence that you should be able to cut out is lunacy. Human beings need comfort as much as we need socialization for emotional and mental maintenance. We need fun and enjoyment. That is why even in modern hunter-gatherer tribes the workload is less than half of ours and they all have full bellies and spend the rest of their time pursuing leisure activities and spending time with their family/community.
(not accusing the person you are replying to, they are a victim too)
I don't disagree with you at all. I was sort of trying to say that myself but you put it much better than I did. I can live without any comfort if it means that or death, but it sure would take a toll on me. That's why solitary confinement is such torture.
I guess my sleep-deprived ass is just lurking lemme looking for good lessons to which to attach a little eloquence.
It's not about comfort. Humans need calcium, lactose, various bacteria to not, eh, have reduced mobility conditioned by the toilet always being nearby, and so on.
Capitalist propaganda engine? Do you hear yourself? Say those words out loud and tell me your not a looney conspiracy theorist. What propaganda? XD
Is it propaganda to say most mammals do not keep drinking milk after they're babies? Is it also propaganda to say things like broccoli, kale, nuts and seeds are calcium alternatives? Is it propaganda that the vitamin D can be obtained from fish, sunlight, and liver? Explain what this propaganda machine is. 🤡
I wish we were on Reddit so I could /r/woosh you. Did you even read the comment? The comment has literally nothing to do with the milk. I also acknowledged that you weren't some asshat shill, but perhaps I was too forgiving.
You talked about milk for most of the comment. Also, people on Lemmy unironically talk like you did so I assumed you were one of those "capitalism is the reason for every bad thing" kind of people.
I indicated that the idea that something trivial being considered a luxury or indulgence that could be eliminated was asinine, milk happened to be the pertinent example in the discussion. Everyone else seemed to get that.
Also, most people seem to understand what about our world is propaganda. Just out of curiosity, how old are you? I'm making no judgements, just wondering.
Not every bad thing. Capitalism has its place, but the extent to which most of the populace idolizes it is unreasonable. My economic philosophy is what is known as Moral Capitalism. Essentially, make money, but don't do it at the expense or detriment of people or the environment. Don't abuse employees, don't abuse customers, don't abuse the community, don't abuse the planet. And I am using the dictionary definition of abuse here: to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way. We the public are offended by the number of ads we have shoved down our throats every day. We the employees are harmed by the stress that unrealistic deadlines and low wages cause. We the community are injured by the manipulation of legislation such that we are not allowed to protect ourselves from predatory and aggressive contracts that we are forced to sign every day that we have no choice in if we want to continue functioning in society.
And there is 100% a propaganda machine operating in the foreground of our world that is acting on behalf if the amoral capitalist institutions that are in control of everything. Republicans, marketing, PR. Articles being posted telling poor people that if they are struggling to make ends meet they can just start skipping meals instead of demanding fair pay. The whole Avacado Toast misdirect. Anytime you see the working poor being blamed for their existence instead of outrage at employers who siphon off 33-50% of the irreplaceable hours of their employee's day and don't pay enough for those hours that said employee is not destitute, that is the Capitalist Propaganda Engine. Everyone who works full time should be making enough that they can survive easily. Not lead a life of luxury, but not have to worry about the next 3 months rent, save for a vacation next year, not have to use food stamps to eat, and not have to skip meals so their child can eat. Period. End of discussion. If an employer can't pay their employees at least that much, then they should not be in business. This is the floor, the bare minimum. Just because you started a business does not automatically mean it should succeed. The same is not true to be a worker. Just because you work full-time, you should be able to survive with minimal financial stress. If you have additional training, certifications, specialized skills, etc. you can claim you deserve the lap of luxury.
k
Capitalist propaganda tells us that we don't "need" anything and that all of those things you're talking about are luxuries. Food? That's a luxury. Clothes? That's a luxury too. Water? You better believe you don't need that, you selfish little piggie!
(also, tbh they didn't specify the milk has to come from an animal. plant milk is milk!)
You can still afford to eat cereal?
For now. We'll see. We're down to a single income, but we're going to keep putting milk in our tea as long as we can. Because I've been drinking tea with milk almost as long as I have been alive thanks to an English father and grandmother. It's like heroin for me except with milk and just a little something to sweeten it a bit. I don't want to go through tea withdrawal.
And don't tell me I can just drink tea without milk. That's like non-alcoholic beer. You have to be desperate. I'd rather get the tea shakes.
I cut my sugar in half by adding cinnamon and nutmeg. Works for coffee as well.
We use stevia extract instead of sugar. It works very well for tea.
I’ve tried stevia before. Can’t get over the cotton-candy flavor. I do make sure to use brown sugar, though. Sitting by the back window as I log in for work, contemplating if Anericans have a final straw or if we’ll just keep growing more and more bitter without functionally snapping due to the socioeconomic pressure like steel bars balanced on a beam with steady pressure on both sides, warping and weakening us.
Then it’s time to start my shift.
I would describe it as more of an anise/licorice flavor, but a very mild one, although that may be because I use extract I get on Amazon and not what they usually sell in the supermarket. You dole it out with a tiny coke spoon sort of spoon and it lasts like 3 years for less than $20, so it's a pretty decent investment if you don't mind the taste.
You’ve emboldened me. I’ll give it another go and report back! Thanks for the description, as my family does tend to enjoy anise!
I decided to give it a shot. Maybe it’s different now, but I do taste the anise flavor. The problem is that while I thought I would like it, it distracted from the flavor. I continued on, thinking I’d adjust but it just kept growing more noticeable until I finally decided it wasn’t for me. Thanks!
This is so wholesomely human.
You don't "need" it to keep eating and drinking. I don't know what you mean.
There are plenty of people for whom this is not a true statement.
Like?
Everyone who doesn't own a gas powered car.
There are more people who need gas for their cars than electricity. If you want to be the "akchually☝️🤓" guy then sure you're right. But you know what I meant and you're just being annoying.
