Amazon Offers Prime Discount to Those on Government Benefits

Croak said:
You're seriously stating that a $27 per year savings will prevent people from looking for productive work?
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No, not at all, but it might make some people think well shit why do I need to better myself if companies are going to cater to me.....i'm not getting specific on prices. This type of trend from companies turn people more and more into sluggards rather than motivate them to work harder.
I live near section 8 housing where these guys drive around brand new cars with 21's and don't work.....WTF...$5k rims on a new car AND on welfare?!
 
Oh shit, this forum might literally explode. Can't... fight... the... social.... justice...

I guess if you don't like their policies you can just not use their product, am I right? Yay capitalism. Too
 
GlowingGhoul said:
The context was that he is 'fortunate to be' prosperous. Not "he's prosperous to be prosperous". Therefore the primary definition of 'luck' was how the word was used. I know the guy is merely being humble, but there's no need. If he hadn't gotten off his ass it would have never happened. (or her, not dismissing the women who serve).
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Contextually. You're right. I did my service, I'm lucky in the fact that the education programs exist when I got out where I can "take a break" and focus on my schooling. Through those programs I was able to complete two associates and I have two semesters for my bachelors. Supporting a child as a single father is tough and without the education program, I would most certainly be on SNAP and other government assistance. Although, to be truthful, it grates on me that the only reason I'm comfortable right now is through government money.
 
yyv_146 said:
You'd be surprised at how many people live in areas with no easy access to grocery stores or shops. Prime gives you an easy way to obtain cheap food and cleaning supplies.

Not saying it's for everyone, and there are legitimate concerns with the state of welfare in this country, but Prime does have a lot of usefulness.
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You don't need to be a Prime member to shop at Amazon so your argument is invalid.
 
NickJames said:
Yeah but no, the largest users of these services are NOT the disabled. Welfare is largely abused in this country by able bodied and working people who just make up excuses to not have to work. People like this should've decided to stop having children 6 kids ago.
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Good for your prejudice, so because of others I don't have the right to be helped, gotcha, you're a really awesome person, not.
 
TheSoldier said:
There is nothing wrong with having things delivered, but does free two day shipping necessitate a need? Does unlimited movies and music? If they stripped some of the things that are accessibility, I'd be all for it.
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2 day can be the difference for a lot of people, you're basically saying they shouldn't have it, essentially. So also saying that people who like me, were bed ridden aren't allowed basic entertainment, the only kind they can get in cases? That -is- what you're saying, or that we should, despite not being able to afford it, pay through the nose for it, thus, not having it anyways or suffering even more elsewhere, that is what you're saying, -think- man.
 
Bandalo said:
It's not the government giving it away, it's a private corporation. This isn't your tax dollars being abused.

Why the hate on this? A private corporation is trying to help out the people at the bottom of the ladder, and everyone in here seems to hate the idea. 2 day shipping is great if you're stuck at home due to injury or have no money for a car or similar. Some streaming services at a reduced cost might be nice since all the good content has moved off public broadcast. You might as well crap on your local grocery store or other business for feeding the homeless on the weekends.
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I didn't insinuate on any of my posts that a) it was government assistance and b) that anything was being abused. My statement was that the inevitable increase of shipping costs when some odd million people begin shipping products to their home through this discount, the price I pay will go up. I'm not stating that any discount for the low income is terrible, I'm just saying access control should be a thing. Two day shipping? Great, set it for prime pantry only. Control the costs of shipping. Control the costs of licensing all of those movies and music. Humanitarian-wise, everyone has a right to eat. I will always support that. But to give the whole run of the place for cheaper, irks me.

I will say that during my initial read through of the article, I misinterpreted 7.99 a month as 7.99 for the year. Reflecting upon a couple dollar discount, I see *some* value to this for the less fortunate.
 
sadsteve said:
So does this mean Amazon makes greater than $40 profit per Standard Prime user? Or, do they gain some type of tax benefits by providing this.
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Exactly my first thought, what kind of tax break are they getting for this? I am sure it's going to amount to a charity contribution.

Just thinking out loud here;

Is it maybe better than I first gave it credit for being?

Amazon could donate to any charity, and many charities might be more deserving. But is there a case to be made for helping poorer people? Obviously people will take advantage and there are those who really just don't deserve it. But Amazon prime's shipping benefits make online shopping just a bit cheaper. Not having to pay for shipping let's a poor person order goods at cheaper prices and this is foods, over-the-counter medicines, and other household goods, clothing.... almost anything really.

For those who really deserve this, is it actually a good thing for Amazon to do?

And this could amount to potentially much more than $27 a year because it's the savings for the service + the savings that the Prime service allows. If one turned to Amazon for everything they realistically could, it would come to a good chunk of money year's end.

Not that it should influence whether someone chooses to work or not, I'm not disagreeing with that. But DigitalGriffen is not wrong in pointing out that the aggregate of multiple assistance programs can really add up.
 
GlowingGhoul said:
LOL, you know NOTHING about me, or who I care for.

It's very easy for SJW's like you to be generous at the expense of others. Your virtue signaling should be at your own expense, not mine.

I care when ABLE BODIED people are demotivated to keep them shackled by dependency, by those who benefit from that dependency at the expense of working people who often have to sacrifice the very things those people being subsidized are free to enjoy.

No critical thinking, it all emanates from your ovaries.
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Case and point proven, thanks for doing my job for me.
 
Its obvious our system is being used by people who don't need it. Now they are providing more incentive ... nice. I hope Trump can find a way to remove these scabs and punish them for taking from us who work for a living.
 
Vercinaigh said:
Case and point proven, thanks for doing my job for me.
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Sure, the pigeon who shits on the chessboard and declares victory always wins.

And you've proven you don't give a rats ass about the working families who subsidize ABLE BODIED recipients of welfare, who have to sacrifice what they've earned, so YOU can feel better about yourself. You don't care about multi-generational dependency, robbing people of their initiative, of their hope for a better future when all they can see for generations is a life revolving around the EBT card recharging day and the government direct deposits on the 1st and 15th.

I have no problem giving people in need of temporary assistance a hand, or those who are truly incapable of providing for themselves.

Until you fill your house to capacity with the homeless, why don't you just STFU? When you upgrade your video card, instead of giving the money to families with far less than you, until you give TILL IT HURTS, STFU.
 
TheSoldier said:
I didn't insinuate on any of my posts that a) it was government assistance and b) that anything was being abused. My statement was that the inevitable increase of shipping costs when some odd million people begin shipping products to their home through this discount, the price I pay will go up. I'm not stating that any discount for the low income is terrible, I'm just saying access control should be a thing. Two day shipping? Great, set it for prime pantry only. Control the costs of shipping. Control the costs of licensing all of those movies and music. Humanitarian-wise, everyone has a right to eat. I will always support that. But to give the whole run of the place for cheaper, irks me.

I will say that during my initial read through of the article, I misinterpreted 7.99 a month as 7.99 for the year. Reflecting upon a couple dollar discount, I see *some* value to this for the less fortunate.
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I don't see Amazon as passing the cost of this on to their other customers. They're going to eat the cost and possibly get some tax breaks and advertising out of it. Plus getting a bunch more people hooked on Amazon Prime.

Why should there be ANY controls on the access? Unlike the government, Amazon has no mandate to ensure their dollars are spent wisely. If Amazon wanted to just give away bags of cash to people, they could. Realistically, this is Amazon trying to grab money from Walmart and the like.
 
yyv_146 said:
Yes. And even those on welfare need recreation. This is something that people don't often bring up - to not be miserable, everyone needs access to some way of relaxing at the end of a day. In this case, Prime video makes more sense than having a cable subscription or Netflix, since it's essentially a free feature on top of the fast shipping.
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Ahh yes, the good ol' excuse of "Everyone deserves and needs to have fun" narrative. As if not only paying you as an income replacement wasn't enough,

Being fat and lazy isn't a disease. The cure, however, isn't for someone to send you a check in the mail and to send you a food stamps credit card. There is a clear correlation that making it easier for people isn't going to help them. I'm not saying to make it difficult, but how do you expect someone to get off their "disability" when you outright support it by giving them convenience of staying at home? Does that somehow support or push them to go to a gym? To take a walk around the neighborhood? To become employed so they aren't on a couch all day? Of course not. It is ultimately contributing to the problem as our obesity rates continue to go up because we are indirectly supporting it.

As someone that has actually had to go to a social security office, I will never forget the most ironic image that will forever be in my brain... As if simply taking a 360 look around the room and identifying how ironic it was of the types that were in there, I was sitting waiting for the interview I was there for. While the person interviewing me was grabbing some papers and putting some items together I just see an old man using a walker escorting 2 obese people back to his desk right next to ours. He began to interview them for a disability claim they were attempting to apply for. The irony was just too good... Someone that is halfway close to being a "disabled" person is interviewing 2 people that were the furthest thing from disabled. We have some huge psychological problems in this country, that's for sure.


EDIT: And just to clarify a bit further on "having fun".

Ever since getting employed out of college my "fun" has all but diminished. If I'm not working, I'm commuting, traveling, cooking, cleaning, or sleeping. That it. This is coming from someone that was a huge gamer growing up.

In the end, things thata are seen as "essential" for poor people are all but gone for me. Somehow as a upper-middle class citizen I can still survive just fine without these essentials.

Basically:
-I have no cable TV at home. Or satellite. Just over the air antenna that anyone can buy for $10.
-Bottom of the barrel pre-paid cell phone plan. I don't upgrade every year or 2 years, only when things get desperate and it won't affect my monthly bill
-I stopped gaming almost entirely. I switched to games like DOTA because they are ~30 minutes and aren't continuous. I think the last time I played was ~2 months ago.
 
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This is Amazon's way of getting food stamp money going to them instead of your local businesses. If Amazon raises prices to others to compensate, if the price is wrong, you should go elsewhere.
 
GlowingGhoul said:
Sure, the pigeon who shits on the chessboard and declares victory always wins.

And you've proven you don't give a rats ass about the working families who subsidize ABLE BODIED recipients of welfare, who have to sacrifice what they've earned, so YOU can feel better about yourself. You don't care about multi-generational dependency, robbing people of their initiative, of their hope for a better future when all they can see for generation is a life revolving around the EBT card recharging day and the government direct deposits on the 1st and 15th.

I have no problem giving people in need of temporary assistance a hand, or those who are truly incapable of providing for themselves.

Until you fill your house to capacity with the homeless, why don't you just STFU?
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Keep going, still proving the point, this doesn't effect abled bodied people in the least, but keep on going. Next you're going to say just slaughter the weak and injured.
 
Crosshairs said:
Government benefits are paid for with tax dollars.so receiving benefits and buying a prime membership is indeed using tax dollars.
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Reductio ad absurdum mate. That argument could be applied to anyone getting some form of assistance spending cash on gas, hygiene products, internet access, or a myriad of other "quality of life" purchases that aren't explicitly meant to prevent starvation, illness, or death by exposure.
 
Cool. There are some people that will find a benefit with it. Others probably wouldn't use it enough to justify the $5.99 a month cost. But, it's there if they need/want it.

For all I care, they could send free fruit baskets to illegal immigrant gay marriages while smoking some doobies. It's their deal, not mine. Not the government.

What I don't get is that some people have mentioned they are against the welfare state and let private folks give charity. Yet, when a company does give charity in the form of a discount, they get shit on.

Crosshairs said:
Government benefits are paid for with tax dollars.so receiving benefits and buying a prime membership is indeed using tax dollars.
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Then petition your representatives for welfare reform that pays their bills but does not give them cash. As it stands right now, like it or not, they are getting cash to do with as they choose. Pay bills, buy meth, pay for Amazon Prime and order a 55 gallon drum of lube (is that Prime?). It's easily abused, but that's the way it works right now. I'd rather they spend the money on bills, their kids, etc.. We all know that's not happening across the board. I do think things need changed a bit. Those that need it are usually more responsible with it and do buy the necessities and pay bills until they get back on their feet. Those that don't really need it (can find a job, etc., but choose not to. Don't mind living in low income trailers or whatever) spend more frivolously.
 
Bandalo said:
I don't see Amazon as passing the cost of this on to their other customers. They're going to eat the cost and possibly get some tax breaks and advertising out of it. Plus getting a bunch more people hooked on Amazon Prime.

Why should there be ANY controls on the access? Unlike the government, Amazon has no mandate to ensure their dollars are spent wisely. If Amazon wanted to just give away bags of cash to people, they could. Realistically, this is Amazon trying to grab money from Walmart and the like.
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-They get no tax breaks, this isn't a charitable organization or campaign.

-Public Corporations set profit targets. They don't take 'hits' to their bottom line by things under their control, they shift the expense of this to other areas, ie, other customers, otherwise they'd be in direct violation of their fiduciary duties to their shareholders.
 
Prime is slowly devolving from a nice perk into simply being a fee required to get normal service.

I only subscribed to prime a few times because even when I ordered stuff using lowest-tier USPS, it was getting to my house in 2-3 days anyway. What is the big deal with 2-day shipping when you are already satisfied with your shipping times?

More recently, every time I order something, Amazon sits on it for several days before even shipping it. Prime users, of course, still have their items shipped immediately. So it really has little to do with shipping speed anymore. Now it's "subscribe to prime or we'll artificially delay shipping your item for several days".
 
Croak said:
Reductio ad absurdum mate. That argument could be applied to anyone getting some form of assistance spending cash on gas, hygiene products, internet access, or a myriad of other "quality of life" purchases that aren't explicitly meant to prevent starvation, illness, or death by exposure.
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Absolutely , but that does not make my statement any less true. I was simply pointing out that saying tax dollars are not being used is false .
 
Crosshairs said:
Government benefits are paid for with tax dollars.so receiving benefits and buying a prime membership is indeed using tax dollars.
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So Amazon taking the money for people buying food and other household items is an abuse of those benefits? What about when Walmart does the same thing? Amazon is essentially trying to take those lower-rung customers from Walmart, and that's all this is. A price war between Amazon and Walmart for that market will HELP those people in the long run, by driving down the prices even more and letting those people get more for their limited money.

Consider it this way...some mother on WIC needs a huge box of diapers. She can either pay for the gas, bus or whatever, take the kids to Walmart, buy her $20 in diapers and then use gas, take the bus or whatever to get home. Or she can spend $20 on diapers at Amazon, and $2 for her Prime membership, and not have to make that trip or spend money on gas/transportation.

Or consider people on these programs because they're injured, sick or otherwise unable to move around. This would be a lifesaver.

Yes there are people who abuse these programs, and yes those people are assholes. But remember the NON asshole people too when you're passing judgement.
 
Vercinaigh said:
You're probably one of the bigger dicks I've typed to lately, no concern for others but yourself, that's clear. When you can't work, you need help, period. Just because some game the system doesn't give you, or anyone else the right to tell what people like me who simply can't, have the right to have. That's prejudice, period, and it's a pretty scumbag way of looking at things. You may not be saying people like me are just like them, but you're acting it.
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But the number of people who claim disability as a percentage of the population has shot through the roof in recent years. A lot of people are claiming mental disability and claim things like fibromyalgia (which is usually associated with those with psych disorders, as the immune system in the body attacks itself as people suffer from depression, causing pain (the leading theory))

So either the nations mental health is declining or more and more people are gaming the system because they perceive it as okay. I'm not really sure what it is.

But when my mom and dad grew up (and they were DIRT poor) they both point blank told me, "If you were taking government handouts, it was considered a mark of shame." My mom would skip lunch so she could save up money to buy a coke. (Which was 10 cents back in the day) Most people were willing to fight for what little they had and resist handouts.

Maybe it was pride, but it might be one of the reasons that generation was considered "The greatest generation ever." Sometimes a little suffering and hard work is what is needed to put pride back in yourself.

I'm not saying there isn't just cause for welfare and welfare like programs. Some people do hit bad spots. But it is also your duty to get your ass off of welfare as quickly as possible, and to quit making excuses. Close your damn legs or wear a condom and accept responsibility for life you bring into this world.
 
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Now they can pay $4 less per month for Amazon to get their pepsi and diet dew in 2 days with free shipping
 
GlowingGhoul said:
-They get no tax breaks, this isn't a charitable organization or campaign.

-Public Corporations set profit targets. They don't take 'hits' to their bottom line by things under their control, they shift the expense of this to other areas, ie, other customers, otherwise they'd be in direct violation of their fiduciary duties to their shareholders.
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They do get tax breaks if this kind of discount can be counted as a charitable donation. Which I'm sure Amazon's tax lawyers have considered before this policy was implemented.

And the board CAN take hits to the bottom line for things, as long as they've agreed on it beforehand. In this case, you'd have a lot to consider. One, what's the actual cost to Amazon for a Prime membership per year? Two, what's the likelyhood that you've really cut into any sales? (i.e., if someone is on WIC/SNAP, and they never would have bought a Prime membership anyway, but now they did because of this program, is that a loss or a gain for Amazon?). Three, how much did you gain by picking up all these sales from someone who may have only shopped at Walmart instead without this offer?
 
DigitalGriffin said:
But the number of people who claim disability as a percentage of the population has shot through the roof in recent years. A lot of people are claiming mental disability and claim things like fibromyalgia (which is usually associated with those with psych disorders, as the immune system in the body attacks itself as people suffer from depression, causing pain (the leading theory))

So either the nations mental health is declining or more and more people are gaming the system because they perceive it as okay. I'm not really sure what it is.

But when my mom and dad grew up (and they were DIRT poor) they both point blank told me, "If you were taking government handouts, it was considered a mark of shame." My mom would skip lunch so she could save up money to buy a coke. (Which was 10 cents back in the day) Most people were willing to fight for what little they had and resist handouts.

Maybe it was pride, but it might be one of the reasons that generation was considered "The greatest generation ever." Sometimes a little suffering and hard work is what is needed to put pride back in yourself.

I'm not saying there isn't just cause for welfare and welfare like programs. Some people do hit bad spots. But it is also your duty to get your ass off of welfare as quickly as possible, and to quit making excuses. Close your damn legs or wear a condom and accept responsibility for life you bring into this world.
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While I won't debate that, it still leaves no right for anyone to blanket statement shit like what is being thrown on here. For example in my case I went from working hard manual labor in stupid hot garage 6 days a week to bed ridden and in and out of the hospital. I am 100% healthy outside of my heart condition that was brought on by a passing viral infection passed off as the flu. These are the people it is for, should there be better screening, perhaps but to throw people like me and others worse under the bus is completely and utterly immoral, and anything that can be done for people who are in no position to help themselves and didn't put themselves there or ask for it should be applauded. I don't drink, I don't smoke, never done drugs, so tell me why I should tolerate people who behave this way? I don't, nobody should, should be shunned.
 
DigitalGriffin said:
All the little pieces added together add up to a lot.

Section 8, WIC, CHIP, Food Stamps, welfare, tax breaks, Medicaid, specialty payments to single mothers, Pell grants to single parents who want to reeducate, etc, etc

I wouldn't call for an end to welfare. But it's painfully obvious some people game the system to their own benefit. And some people don't know any better because they were raised in poverty and expect the same for themselves.
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Some people do, there's no doubt. But it's not the majority of people who use these programs. It's not good IMO to lump them all together and punish the larger group for the misbehavior of the minority.
 
Crosshairs said:
You don't need to be a Prime member to shop at Amazon so your argument is invalid.
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Primepantry is the Amazon grocery section which is indeed prime only. Also, super saver shipping doesn't completely cover the range of Prime items. Paying for shipping fees adds up very quickly.
 
Crosshairs said:
Absolutely , but that does not make my statement any less true. I was simply pointing out that saying tax dollars are not being used is false .
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Well, as Bandalo pointed out above, we don't know what the impact of this particular policy is to Amazon. Maybe they can still break a profit after the discount, and bringing in more customers is actually a revenue-increasing move.

Remember, people on SNAP won't get more to spend because of this - if they use Prime, it means that this is saving them money. They save money, a private company gets more customers, where does your tax dollars come in?
 
Vercinaigh said:
Good for your prejudice, so because of others I don't have the right to be helped, gotcha, you're a really awesome person, not.
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Go spend an hour or two hanging out in the parking lot and seeing what type of people roll up to the welfare office. Or if you happen to be in the "shitty" part of town in line at walmart seeing who whips out the EBT/welfare card and then see what they hop into to drive home. Bonus -- seeing/hearing the same people trying to sell their EBT card for cash so they can go buy booze/smokes. Sure there are restrictions on what you can purchase with welfare benefits like this, but I'll tell you one thing I've never seen... someone using that money responsibly. Buy them the necessities and they just use the money we provided for basics and their disposable (i use that term loosely) load up on Soda, snacks, and crap *they don't need*

It's a really comforting feeling knowing my tax dollars are going to help subsidize some people who have always (and will always) make shit life choices. On welfare but rolling up in an Escalade with huge expensive rims... you see that a lot around here.

Social welfare programs started in a great place, and there are people that need/use them but more and more it's taken advantage of by shitty people. Almost 1/4 of the entire country is on some form of welfare... some of them truly need and deserve it, a large portion of them are abusing the system that was put in place to help actual needy people. (https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-97.html)

If you don't have money to take care of yourself or your family the last thing you need is help getting an amazon prime membership. As someone with an amazon prime membership I'll be the first one to tell you how much more tempted you are to buy whatever/whenever because it will get there fast and 'free". I like amazon, but this policy of their's won't do shit to help poor people on welfare, all it's going to do is make it easier for them to spend money they don't have on shit they don't need. Which is a recurring theme with just about every welfare recipient I've ever seen.

My point is that it's not a prejudice when you see the same thing over and over done by the same people. Welfare fraud, disability fraud, medicade fraud, all add up to close to 100 billion dollars over the big programs, nice chart here:
http://federalsafetynet.com/welfare-fraud.html

I always get a kick out of one thing: I'd love to see random drug testing for some of these recipients, I have to take a drug test to *get* a job, it's not an unreasonable request to ask someone to take one if they want to get free money for years on end.
 
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Cyraxx said:
Ahh yes, the good ol' excuse of "Everyone deserves and needs to have fun" narrative. As if not only paying you as an income replacement wasn't enough,

Being fat and lazy isn't a disease. The cure, however, isn't for someone to send you a check in the mail and to send you a food stamps credit card. There is a clear correlation that making it easier for people isn't going to help them. I'm not saying to make it difficult, but how do you expect someone to get off their "disability" when you outright support it by giving them convenience of staying at home? Does that somehow support or push them to go to a gym? To take a walk around the neighborhood? To become employed so they aren't on a couch all day? Of course not. It is ultimately contributing to the problem as our obesity rates continue to go up because we are indirectly supporting it.

As someone that has actually had to go to a social security office, I will never forget the most ironic image that will forever be in my brain... As if simply taking a 360 look around the room and identifying how ironic it was of the types that were in there, I was sitting waiting for the interview I was there for. While the person interviewing me was grabbing some papers and putting some items together I just see an old man using a walker escorting 2 obese people back to his desk right next to ours. He began to interview them for a disability claim they were attempting to apply for. The irony was just too good... Someone that is halfway close to being a "disabled" person is interviewing 2 people that were the furthest thing from disabled. We have some huge psychological problems in this country, that's for sure.


EDIT: And just to clarify a bit further on "having fun".

Ever since getting employed out of college my "fun" has all but diminished. If I'm not working, I'm commuting, traveling, cooking, cleaning, or sleeping. That it. This is coming from someone that was a huge gamer growing up.

In the end, things thata are seen as "essential" for poor people are all but gone for me. Somehow as a upper-middle class citizen I can still survive just fine without these essentials.

Basically:
-I have no cable TV at home. Or satellite. Just over the air antenna that anyone can buy for $10.
-Bottom of the barrel pre-paid cell phone plan. I don't upgrade every year or 2 years, only when things get desperate and it won't affect my monthly bill
-I stopped gaming almost entirely. I switched to games like DOTA because they are ~30 minutes and aren't continuous. I think the last time I played was ~2 months ago.
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Sounds like you lead a miserable and depressing life as a corporate slave. I would advise you to seek a deprogrammer as there is more to life than working for a corporation 24/7.
 
collegeboy69us said:
Go spend an hour or two hanging out in the parking lot and seeing what type of people roll up to the welfare office. Or if you happen to be in the "shitty" part of town in line at walmart seeing who whips out the EBT/welfare card and then see what they hop into to drive home. Bonus -- seeing/hearing the same people trying to sell their EBT card for cash so they can go buy booze/smokes. Sure there are restrictions on what you can purchase with welfare benefits like this, but I'll tell you one thing I've never seen... someone using that money responsibly. Buy them the necessities and they just use the money we provided for basics and their disposable (i use that term loosely) load up on Soda, snacks, and crap *they don't need*

It's a really comforting feeling knowing my tax dollars are going to help subsidize some people who have always (and will always) make shit life choices. On welfare but rolling up in an Escalade with huge expensive rims... you see that a lot around here.

Social welfare programs started in a great place, and there are people that need/use them but more and more it's taken advantage of by shitty people. Almost 1/4 of the entire country is on some form of welfare... some of them truly need and deserve it, a large portion of them are abusing the system that was put in place to help actual needy people. (https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-97.html)

If you don't have money to take care of yourself or your family the last thing you need is help getting an amazon prime membership. As someone with an amazon prime membership I'll be the first one to tell you how much more tempted you are to buy whatever/whenever because it will get there fast and 'free". I like amazon, but this policy of their's won't do shit to help poor people on welfare, all it's going to do is make it easier for them to spend money they don't have on shit they don't need. Which is a recurring theme with just about every welfare recipient I've ever seen.
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Again you're asking for screening, again what am I to do when I -can't get out of bed- Or if I can, it's only just barely. Again you sound like someone who has never been in the position so has literally no clue to understand that it feels like to be truly helpless and unable to enjoy anything in life but breathing, without these kinds of small things, breathing starts to seem like a hindrance.
 
"I was not aware that free shipping and unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows were required to survive."


What do you really care if Amazon ( a company that is single handily putting thousands and thousands of people out of work a week ) gives a break of a few dollars to people that have limited resources?


It's a very nice gesture of course done from their very large 'marketing heart of hearts' The is clearly being done to bring those of people into the Amazon Prime fold that are currently not paying Amazon anything.
 
Vercinaigh said:
Again you're asking for screening, again what am I to do when I -can't get out of bed- Or if I can, it's only just barely. Again you sound like someone who has never been in the position so has literally no clue to understand that it feels like to be truly helpless and unable to enjoy anything in life but breathing, without these kinds of small things, breathing starts to seem like a hindrance.
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I like the old quote... "Trust but verify". Nothing wrong with verifying the money is being used by the people that need it. Your situation that you describe is a slightly different ball of wax from an able bodied person who just doesn't feel like getting a job and has no qualms about sitting around all day letting everyone else pay for their basics. The programs we have in this country are needed, and I have no problem paying into them via taxes because in case I ever need help, it's a net there to catch me till I'm back on my feet. My main issue is making sure the people that need it, get it. And the people abuse it are cut off.

And I'm a bit confused, are you really trying to say saving $20 on an amazon prime membership is the only thing that really keeps you going in life?
 
Vercinaigh said:
Again you're asking for screening, again what am I to do when I -can't get out of bed- Or if I can, it's only just barely. Again you sound like someone who has never been in the position so has literally no clue to understand that it feels like to be truly helpless and unable to enjoy anything in life but breathing, without these kinds of small things, breathing starts to seem like a hindrance.
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You are arguing with corporatist social darwinists who think that the value of a person's life is tied to how slavishly they devote themselves to a corporation.
 
collegeboy69us said:
And I'm a bit confused, are you really trying to say saving $20 on an amazon prime membership is the only thing that really keeps you going in life?
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I have certainly been in the position where i maybe have 20$ to my name a month, yes. And all that it would offer really helped, I even had Netflix thanks to family and it certainly helped pass the time laying there hooked up to all sorts of shit unable to do anything or simply not having the energy to even when I wasn't hooked up to all manners of things.
 
Vercinaigh said:
Again you're asking for screening, again what am I to do when I -can't get out of bed- Or if I can, it's only just barely. Again you sound like someone who has never been in the position so has literally no clue to understand that it feels like to be truly helpless and unable to enjoy anything in life but breathing, without these kinds of small things, breathing starts to seem like a hindrance.
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I actually despise the entitlement of the 'hard working group' more than the laziness of the non-working group.

My stance is indifferent. Amazon is making money off of this move, they are not the benevolent company people make them out to be. They are getting more shoppers by doing this and are getting more press by doing so.

I have known people to exploit our government programs and some who would have starved to death without them. Step back 50ft and it can be hard to see the difference, especially when people have to look over the top of their smartphones to see what others are buying with food stamp cards.

I would rather have more people who need help than people in the middle class wishing others would just starve.

Some people just havent had to experience getting laid off or losing your comforts in life and having to start back over. Tell me again how you survive on your own collecting a paycheck from someone else? (not you personally, just a general statement)
 
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Vercinaigh said:
Again you're asking for screening, again what am I to do when I -can't get out of bed- Or if I can, it's only just barely. Again you sound like someone who has never been in the position so has literally no clue to understand that it feels like to be truly helpless and unable to enjoy anything in life but breathing, without these kinds of small things, breathing starts to seem like a hindrance.
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Let me see if I've got this straight, because you're presumably legitimately disabled, you've got to defend welfare for the able bodied, is that right?

How about this, I think the disabled don't get enough help, largely because so many of the available social welfare resources go to those who are perfectly capable of working, but prefer not to.
 
Darunion said:
You, I actually despise the entitlement of the 'hard working group' more than the laziness of the non-working group.

My stance is indifferent. Amazon is making money off of this move, they are not the benevolent company people make them out to be. They are getting more shoppers by doing this and are getting more press by doing so.

I have known people to exploit our government programs and some who would have starved to death without them. Step back 50ft and it can be hard to see the difference, especially when people have to look over the top of their smartphones to see what others are buying with food stamp cards.

I would rather have more people who need help than people in the middle class wishing others would just starve.

Some people just havent had to experience getting laid off or losing your comforts in life and having to start back over. Tell me again how you survive on your own collecting a paycheck from someone else? (not you personally, just a general statement)
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Funny, you think able bodied people would 'starve' without EBT, while millions of often illiterate, unskilled illegal aliens manage to not only survive, but make enough excess to send back a hefty sum to their home countries.

Contempt for the bourgeois working family, who get shafted by leftist billionaires and their corporation at one end, while footing a disproportionate share of the bill for the scammers at the other end.
 
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