I read this, and at first I thought they were talking about washing dishes, and I thought "hell, I don't have a dishwasher, you find time, damnit" and then I realized that the person writing this article probably never has had a dishwasher, and that she was talking about washing clothes by hand, and yeah, nobody has time for that.

So let's talk about washing clothes. Hubski is smart, so many this will help those who don't understand. Back in the day I made roughly 200 a week after tax. Rent was 350/month which included utilities, but I shared a house with 5 other people to pull that off. We had to go to a laundromat to do clothese to the tune of roughly 8.50 a weekend. Keep the math simple and say 440 a year. that is two weeks pay, just to do laundry. So, we had a house, why not get a washer and dryer? They started at 300 each, so they would pay for themselves very quickly, not mentioning the time sink of hanging out in a laundromat on the weekend. How in the hell am I to save enough to buy a 600 appliance (washer and drier) when I'm barely holding on? Now lets say you are young and healthy and have the time and energy to work on the weekend. an 8 hour shift at most places back then nets you $50. So cool an extra 400/month, right? But that means committing to working 7 days a week for a month. And you need to do this at least two months to buy the appliances. then you get used to the extra income and start fixing the car, or buy a new bed etc. now you burn out because nobody can work 7 days a week very long, we need time off for mental health and sanity reasons. the temp job is now a vital part of survival, now what do you do?

Also, I'll admit that I'm wholly ignorant here, but how do people go hungry when we have food stamp programs? I'm not skeptical so much as I'm confused. I had thought that that program worked....

I left the church and eventually all religion when I was told flat out that I did not deserve food stamps or food pantry aide when there are hungry children in more need than I. Single adults with no kids are pretty much boned in the US when it comes to poverty relief, and I get funneling these programs so that kids don't suffer. They didn't choose poor parents after all. The US spends billions on anti poverty, but IMO they waste so damn much of it, and use most of the rest enforcing a poverty cycle.