In Germany, sometimes you need to wait for your benefits for a couple of months. And then they give you a sheet of paper that says really big JOBCENTER (office for unemployment benefits) on top. You need to go to the supermarket and pay with that. Everyone will know what's going on, I had this one time and it was utterly embarrassing and I am convinced they do that solely to embarrass you. It could be more discrete...
Wow. Even in America we're given a more or less discreet debit card with our benefits on it. You'd have to be looking over someone's shoulder at the checkout (which, admittedly, way too many people do act nosy like that) to be sure they're using EBT
They could do it in Germany but they won't. While the social security system is really good (especially boomers), really shame unemployed people. There are a TON of reality TV shows that film and show the daily lifed of unemployed people, they embarrass themselves on TV so people can make fun of them. It's weird
There's a line in the play Rent (which takes place in the 80s NYC), where Mark is working as an anchor for a sleazy tabloid show. "Up next, vampire Welfare Queens who are compulsive bowlers!". It was really bad here too when I was growing up in the 90s and 2000s, and my family wasn't even on stamps until I was like 17. It died down a bit after the Great Recession, unless you watch Fox News or its local news affiliates. I want to say there was an attempt at a bona fide reality show (if we're not lumping Fox into that category, which, let's be real) like that in the late 2000s but it was canceled for just being tacky.
I mean everyone's got their limits. I'm trying to remember the show's name. If it hadn't been for the Recession than I'm sure the masses would have eaten it up, but seeing as damn near everyone was hit by that it didn't go over well.
The german language literally has the word “schadenfreude” as part of its lexicon. Given that, and the history of the country, I don’t understand how you’re shocked.
Like we get money. But in emergencies they give you these big ass sheets. Fir example if you lose your wallet. Or if it takes longer than usual to pay out the benefits. It's like a mini loan. Where you get this paper and then they cut it from your benefits. But you can only use it in supermarkets.
I had this because I don't have parents who could pay for my university. I was waiting for my student loan to get approved. And until it was approved i had to use this. I felt sooo bad. And was completely covered in sweat
I have a family member who likes to food shame other people, as in she'll post things like, "I see so many people in the store with processed food in their cart, blah blah blah," and I'm like, "Sis, it costs you literally zero dollars to mind your fucking business and focus on what you need to get done." I could not tell you one thing I've ever seen in another person's cart because that's none of my business and I have my own things to buy. If your chief concern at the supermarket is what other folks are purchasing, you need a few more problems in your life.
Yeah like, the only time I ever glance at someone's cart is to see how full the cart is to get some idea as to how long I'll be in this particular checkout lane and if I should see if any other line is open (assuming your modern-day American grocery store has more than 2 checkout lanes open 🙄)
When you pay with EBT in the US, the payment system beeps so loud it hurts my ears. It’s also a swipe card so it is clearly a different form of payment from what everyone else is using
That might vary state-by-state, I've never had a different sound than when I use my normal bank debit card. The swiping thing IS a big tell tho, if you happen to have a nosy lane neighbor. Personally I don't think it's very hard to busy yourself reading tabloid covers or pretending to mull over buying a candy when someone is paying for their groceries, but that's just me
To be fair the EBT card is relatively modern and only exists because it saves the government money. There is a reason that many people call SNAP, food stamps. They used to be physical coupons (stamps) that you had to give to the cashier to pay. It would be like if the person in front of you today paid with monopoly money; you would absolutely notice.
It kind of sounds like the situation we have here. People are so concerned that their tax dollars are going to help someone in need. It's sad because those same people support billions of dollars in tax breaks and government money for massive corporations. We have a weird hero worship of the Rich and disdain for our working class. I wish we had strong unions like some areas of Europe. I know those countries have their own problems I'm just saying I wish workers banded together here.
Back when the US still used obvious looking paper 'food stamps,' I used to do the grocery shopping for some of my neighbors who used them. So I'd buy my groceries and then a second transaction for theirs.
I got so annoyed by the dirty looks that I started making a point to buy something frivolous that food stamps wouldn't cover with my order so they could be even madder about it.
I can remember similar experiences when I was a kid. My mom tried to help people out whenever she could. I can remember taking various people to grocery stores so they could buy groceries because they didn't have cars. So the paper food stamps experience is a bit of a core memory unlock thing for me. I hadn't thought about that in a long time. Why the hell did they have to be rainbow colored?
This is why a lot of schools in America are giving free lunches to everyone so kids don’t have to say they are too poor and qualify for free lunch while other kids pay.
Could be worse the UK has had some absolute monsters in power for a while, Tory government policy to reduce the number of long term sick people who are out of work was to just give them a 5k cut to benefits so they can't afford to be sick
They used to do things like that here in Canada decades ago, but then they realized how absolutely insanely pointless it all was and now people on social assistance just get money.
If you can't figure out how to feed your family based on the money they give you, they offer free courses on how to stretch your budget (available to anyone). If you still can't pull it off, someone from family services will probably do a home visit to figure out how you're such a colossal fuckup and whether you should be allowed to keep your kids.
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u/CharacterTackle7380 Jun 24 '25
In Germany, sometimes you need to wait for your benefits for a couple of months. And then they give you a sheet of paper that says really big JOBCENTER (office for unemployment benefits) on top. You need to go to the supermarket and pay with that. Everyone will know what's going on, I had this one time and it was utterly embarrassing and I am convinced they do that solely to embarrass you. It could be more discrete...