My Encounter with EBT (welfare/food stamp card) Discrimination

This is my first time on welfare/food stamps via CalFresh and already, I've encountered many roadblocks when shopping for food.

EBT (food stamp card in California) doesn't cover:

• Household items: toilet paper, soap, cleaning supplies etc.
• Medicine, medicinal supplies
• Liquor products
• Tobacco products
• Certain cold prepared foods/hot foods
• May not be accepted at small stores that mainly sell liquor

If half the store's gross income comes from the sale of liquor, then you probably can't use your EBT card there. I also found out certain POS systems will not accept EBT such as Clover, Square, etc.

Only now have Amazon and WalMart opened up their stores for online purchase using an EBT card but it's not clear how people will pay for delivery and extra charges. Many people can't afford to order food online and have it delivered and the government is slow to make an exception for EBT card holders.

There are also limits depending what state you live in and I was surprised to find California excluded from most of these options.

When I first went to Trader Joe's and used my EBT card, I just bought food and non-taxable items. No toilet paper, soap or anything else. It was about $44, which is what I spend per week for:

• rice
• soup
• vegetables
• fruit
• juice
• milk
• eggs
• salsa, rice mix
• cheese
• meat
• tofu

However, there was a really long line at the Trader Joe's today and I guess I have to go around noon to avoid the horrendous wait time.

I went to CVS to pick up toilet paper and some cleaning stuff like alcohol etc.

When I got there—no toilet paper, only napkins and baggies, so I grabbed those. There was no rubbing alcohol or sanitizer, so I grabbed a tiny bottle of hydrogen peroxide for $1.49. Not too bad. A 3 pack of baby wipes 72 ct. went for $7.29.

The worst prices at CVS? A 50 ct. brown lunch bag set for $3.09 and 1 pack of napkins 40 ct. for $3.29. Big time rip-off. But I figured in case I ran out of toilet paper it would be necessary.

All together my semi-necessary splurge cost: $16.46.

It was not EBT eligible.

Do cashiers know you're on welfare when you use the EBT card? YES!

The guy asked me if it was hard to get the card and I said “No, go through CalFresh.” Then he saw my card get declined and I think he'll think twice about applying for EBT now.

Next up, to avoid the hideous lines at Trader Joes, I went to a small mom and pop shop that used to be a liquor store. So, I opted to go small and local. Not so great an idea...

Clover milk whole quart $1.99.

Corn tortillas small pack $1.79.

Toilet paper: $7.99.

$8 for toilet paper? Yes, that's what I paid because I was on my last roll. Toilet paper by fiora, 264 2-ply sheets, 12 rolls.

San Francisco tax: 8.5%

Total purchase: $12.45

Not EBT eligible on their Clover device (it said it was Declined and unable to process card) but they boasted an ATM which I didn't use. I think there's a charge to use an ATM on the EBT card so I didn't bother.

Then I went to another smaller shop in Nob Hill, which probably gets most of it's sales from liquor because when I tried to use my EBT card, it was declined.

Eggs: $7.99. Nothing is priced in this store and the last time I went there for eggs, they were $4.99, so I know they're ripping people off.

Tomatoes: $5.00 ($1.00 for each tomato from Mexico)

Total purchase: $12.99 (good news: no tax!)

So, I seriously had to spend $41.90 for essentials in today's world of COVID-19.

This was an interesting lesson for me to learn and luckily I have savings to pay for these exorbitant items.

Trouble is, not everyone has this luxury.

I live in San Francisco, so all I had to do was take a small bus ride up (I wore my mask the entire time while in the bus and shopping, as not everyone did this). The areas I shopped at were close together, so I didn't have to go far and I walked all the way down the hill to where I live.

Imagine if you're a person with a baby, in a baby carriage and other small kids with you—it wouldn't be so easy and it would likely take an extra 30 minutes per trip to each store while waiting for the bus, which is another 10-15 minutes per trip. No way can you do this while working.

Also, take another scenario where you live in an area devoid of actual super markets such as the Tenderloin or out in Hunter's Point, where the grocery shortage is well-known and publicized. You can't use your EBT card in liquor stores. You would have to use an ATM—assuming that there is an ATM in a bad, crime-ridden area and that you can afford the extra charge. There aren't many buses out in those areas either, so it would take twice as long to get someplace to buy food if those liquor stores will not accept your EBT card.

It's a rigged system against people who need social services the most and when the government takes punitive action against citizens for using food stamps—there isn't much people can do.

Many state and federal laws have now put limits on using ATM and cash payments through EBT.

This on top of a massive food shortage widens the gap between the fed and unfed.

In a country that spends billions of dollars on corporations and military weapons, this is inexcusable.

It's not like the rich care or help poor people or average citizens. I tell you, not many can escape the horrid scrutiny of the rich upon the poor.

This morning, I got a lecture from a rich person online who had never been on food stamps and they said,

 “There should be limits to what you can buy—don't buy junk food!”. 

This troll had no idea that I don't buy junk food at all and really can't eat any donuts, etc. because I have Celiac Disease. This person unknowingly attacked me when I mentioned that for the first time in my life, I had to apply for food stamps because of the COVID-19 crisis.

It's this kind of narrow-minded, ignorant thinking that has led to punitive measures against the poor and people who are in need of social services when a broken system lets them down.

Not everyone is a “welfare queen”. Your wealth is not self-earned but is dependent on the work of others, on your families' wealth and government breaks you get—which are many for the rich and few for the poor.

I wrote a lengthy paper in college concerning the stereotypes of the poor and the discrimination they face—oftentimes at the hands of criminals who have taken money from the poor (see also: rich senators who sold their stocks during the COVID-19 crisis). Legislators have no business regulating us if they can't regulate themselves.

My encounter with welfare discrimination is a mere slight against me and I'm hoping this will not be long-term for me, though it is a tough reality for many others around me, including some of my friends. For people who need these social services the most, it is a disaster to navigate.

Let's not make it any harder on people who we should be helping, not harming.

We're in this together, let's show some respect and stop the discrimination.

It's October again...

Friday October 6th, 2017 11:36 AM

"Museums are for dead things

I would put all my stuff in them

They can look but no one can touch

I would be inside my museum

With all my stuff

So no one can take it away

and ruin it

It will all stay the same

Nothing will change"

--My Private Collection by Emerald A. Behrens (c) 2014 

It's October again. Soon it will be Halloween, my favorite time of year.

I'm still stuck in poverty here in Chinatown, San Francisco. But as I keep saying now, I'd rather be poor in San Francisco than anywhere else. Even Chico.

My Grandparents are dead. They died last year. It was a terrible ordeal that split our family apart. I'm no longer on speaking terms with the rest of the family. I've come to accept that this is what happens in life. All I have left are their things.

I currently pay $180 for three storages in Chico that I rarely visit because I have a full-time job. It's the first time in my life I have a job that pays the rent and bills. At 33-years-old (soon to be 34-years-old), I have finally become and adult. Better late than never, right? I know this journey has been hard. I could never have gotten this far if I hadn't made the decision not to rely on others.

I think of all I've been through and still can't believe I'm here. I narrowly missed having a life of my own and having everything taken from me. I know better now not to sacrifice freedom for so-called security. The life I had in Chico is not for me. My bills and rent were paid by my grandparents and after suffering three jobs at one time with not enough money, I soon realized I would never have a proper life in the small college town I had to grow up in.

I'm thankful for the good memories I've had in that town, when my grandparents were still alive, when I was allowed to go to college for over eight years and travel and be with friends. Never again.

I miss the nature and the easy-going lifestyle there of college kids who could waste their lives away, smoking pot in the park (I never smoked pot and still can't stand the smell). I miss being able to sit in cafes and write all day. I miss my car. I really miss my car. I miss driving around and listening to music. I miss the freedom of having my own car. Having my own car was also expensive.

I can never have a car in San Francisco. It's too damn expensive: gas, maintenance, insurance, parking, did I mention insurance? That alone would put me over $5,000 in the hole--which is what the IRS demands from me every year. You might say I sold my car to the IRS, every single year.

Taxes are terribly expensive. I pay over 20% of my paycheck and make less than $30,000 a year after Big Brother and their ilk snatch most of my paycheck away. Very little goes to CA disability or even Social Security. It takes about $40,000 to live in San Francisco. I pay more than 35% of my income on rent alone. Without my savings and money from my grandparents, I'd be screwed.

The lucky people can live out of their cars. I've seen them, parked along streets in San Francisco, usually near the closest 24-hour gym. But there are car break-ins every night and it's not safe here. I've already been attacked by a crazy homeless dude who wanted to pick a fight for no reason. Living in a tent is hard to imagine, though I've done so in the safety and security of someone's backyard. I was not a welcome guest there and people's patience wears thin.

San Francisco has no charity or patience for the homeless. Crimes against the homeless are rising. If I become homeless, I will no longer have a life.

I think of these things every day as I attempt to fit in with normal people and live a normal life. I wonder how much longer I can keep pretending. Life is so much harder without parents, without family and support. I feel like I'm the only one without parents.

I've seen many people here in San Francisco, many of them rich. A lot of the rich inherited from their rich parents, and continue to live their rich lifestyle without ever worrying about being homeless. I don't need to be rich; I only ask for enough to live. This is not the motto for the rich. I've seen the lucky youth who came here with techie jobs in hand from a good college paid by their parents and their part-time jobs. The lucky youth usually make $60,000 a year; double what I make without any college degree or techie job.

As a woman, I'm not sure it would make much difference in the techie industry. I've seen how things are for working women here. The rich girls in their high-heels who follow the men old enough to be their father's older brother, carrying their salad as they hobble along listening to the men do all the talking.

I've seen many things here in the city of San Francisco. I've seen pimps yelling at their girls and heard the girls crying, "Give me my money! It's my money!". I've seen women suffer abuse at the hands of their boyfriends because they have nowhere else to go. It happens a lot in my building. I've seen old people die alone here because they had no family to care for them. I've seen their things dumped outside for the trash people to take.

I know my things will end up in the trash when I die. No one will care about my things. I wonder what it's all for when I waste my life to pay for rent, only to be stuck with things I can't take care of: my grandparents belongings, their pictures, their writings, their furniture, their books, their photos. It's all in storage in Chico, plus taking up space in my closet, in my 8X10 room I pay over $850 for with rent control.

Also, my things are in there too. My pictures, my comics, my writings, my furniture--all the things I used to have in Chico, packed away and never seen again. All of my stuff here is a mess and packed away as well. Without my computer, I wouldn’t have anything.

The life that everyone else has is not my own. I realize how quickly those things can be taken away though: a house lost to fire, a city lost to a hurricane, a whole country in debt and destroyed with no help from the outside as with Puerto Rico. I know security is temporary.

The life I have now may change. It may be gone. All the things I do now won't matter. My stuff will be thrown away and destroyed. I know this and continue to write, to make music, to make movies and shorts, along with Grim Goblin Jack. 

What else would I do with my time?

Stuck in an SRO

For the past year I've been living in an SRO in Chinatown which I found off Craigslist. 

At the time I was homeless and staying with my grandparents who were in a residential living facility but I had overstayed my welcome on the 14 day limit and was desperate to find a place after my other relative told me to leave due to their household problems so I had no place to go.

I was debating between finding a room with a roommate who could be potentially dangerous... because of past problems I had I was very mistrustful of living with a stranger. But then I found a place on Craigslist in Chinatown and decided to check it out. 

In the end it was a good decision. Being in the downtown area helped my chances of employment and soon after I got a well-paying job, something I was never allowed to have as a single unmarried woman without rich parents in a small rural college town. San Francisco held many opportunities for me as a woman though still much less than a man. 

To my surprise I was accepted in the SRO via many emails frantically sent over the smartphone. 

But this new place held many challenges.

It would be the first time living in the city on my own amd with so many strange people around me. It wasn't the language that challenged me, it was the culture of generations of people, of immigrants living on the margins. 

There is poverty everywhere. Not just homeless but residents struggling to get by. There are many societies here, Christian and Chinese to help people with food and housing. 

At this SRO though it was cheap for me, there is no private bathroom but a shared Woman's and Men's bathroom (which isn't always clean). There is a communal kitched but only has a stove, no fridge or other appliances.

It was a huge shock to me. I was used to the good life, having my own apartment with private bath and at the time, a car that I had to give up to move to SF. Only the threat of being homeless scared me into accepting this new situation. I could not afford anything else. 

All my stuff is in storage along with my grandparent's stuff. I got stuck with everything. There is no room in my 10 x 10 room with small closet. I will never again have room for a bed as I've been sleeping on an air mattress for close to two years now. I will never again have room for my rocking chair which I used to sit in for hours while listening to music or watching movies. 

Eating is a major challenge. Eight months later after moving in I finally bought a fridge from Target, having to take a cab to deliver it to my place. I also have Celiac Disease and Safeway got rid of all the gluten-free food I used to eat: chocolate muffins, soup, bread, sweet loaf cake. Gluten-free food is terribly expensive and costs five times more than regular food. For a small loaf of bread I pay $5.99. I do not cook food in my room but use a hot water pot and rareley a rice cooker. I have lived like this for over a year. My weight went down ten pounds at one time. 

Getting sick is also a problem. Though there are plenty of markets and drug-stores open I hardly feel like going out. Climbing two flights of stairs every time for the bathroom wears me out as does climbing three flights of stairs to get to my room as the elevator is just as difficult and breaks all the time. Many old people were stranded in my building when it took two weeks to repair it. 

Noise is a bad factor here. The neighbors make a ruckus with their yelling, banging on walls and ceiling until 3 am. The alleyway cleaners come around past midnight to spray and their machine is horribly loud. Then comes the street cleaner at 2 am. It's a miracle I get to sleep at all.

Also... bad smells. I have no idea what people cook here or what goes on but there is a terrible stench at times along with the pot smokers off the fire escape and the guy below me who is always smoking pot. Everyone ignores the non-smoking law here.

Bathing is hard. The showers are dirty and the old people wash their piss buckets in them. I had to use the Men's shower because there are two stalls to shower in and all the doors are papered for privacy. I also had to use their toilets when the Woman's stall was full. You get used to not having any modesty pretty quickly. Though lateley this has been a depressing experience for me and I opt to go to the YMCA instead. There is one in Chinatown and another at Embarcadero which I take the bus to. I got a membership as soon as I moved at the SRO and it has been a lifesaver. The only problem is that it's not open late.

Keeping up appearances. I don't like telling people where I live because it reeks of poverty. I am sure many second dates were canceled because I had told them where I lived. It's a fact of life that you will be hated because you are poor. I have a good job but I must keep up appearences so that no one knows I'm poor. It's hard when everyone is buying new clothes everyday and shopping all the time. I am the only one who can't afford anything. I prefer to spend money on food which is a luxury for me. I have no support other than the money I had saved since childhood. Since my grandparent's died, I haven't had any outside support. I have to rely on myself to survive.

I don't hear of many single woman like myself living in an SRO without kids. Mostly there are men who move here. It's hard to explain how much this hurts me to lose almost everything in my life and be threatened with homelessness. I can never tell people how little I have or why it's so hard for me to do normal things like: eat, shower, get to work on time. People who have everything never understand what it's like to have nothing. I try not to be bitter.

A lot of my friends have been homeless. Couch surfing is the new norm. Living in a trailer or car on someone's property is the American Way now... so is struggling. No matter how hard you work you will never get by.

I am stuck in an SRO. I am afraid to move because I just paid off my lease and there is rent control here. Even Oakland is too expensive and I have no car to move to the East Bay. With my job, I don't want to lose the convenient location and it's close to many activities I love in the city where I don't need a car.

My quality of living has been drastically altered and I have to accept this. It's only when I compare myself to others that I feel pain because I don't have what they have. Though at times I feel I have much more freedom than they ever could. Somehow I have to be okay with this.

Goodwill to all...

       Miriam-Webster Dictionary

Full Definition of GOODWILL

1

a :  a kindly feeling of approval and support :  benevolent interest or concern

b (1) :  the favor or advantage that a business has acquired especially through its brands and its good reputation (2) :  the value of projected earnings increases of a business especially as part of its purchase price (3) :  the excess of the purchase price of a company over its book value which represents the value of goodwill as an intangible asset for accounting purposes

2

a :  cheerful consent

b :  willing effort

 

"Orientation" 

I went to Goodwill today for an orientation that would allow me to use their facilities to look for a job. I figured since I couldn't find a job on my own, and since I have zero income, they could help me out. Alas, I was five minutes late and then was told they don't have orientation on Fridays because they close early.

More and more I realize our government is shutting down on Fridays and now so are non-profit agencies. 

I signed in, thanked the young woman and left.

"As Is"

Right next door to the huge building of Bank of America (Market St. & 11th) is the Goodwill Industries "As Is" store and warehouse sorting facility, where you can buy boxes of pre-sorted "as is" items in bulk. 

As I perused a box outside a man told me, "That's my stuff." 

Oops! I stepped back, taking in the 4-5 boxes, all my height and three feet wide, stuffed with an assortment of housewares, luggage, pictures and useful-for-other-purposes-bric-a-brac.   

I saw a woman taking out a bundle of hangers and wondered if the guy had a store of his own.

"You can buy your own boxes inside." He informed me. 

"Wow! Thanks!" I replied, though I could never buy in bulk as he was doing or have a place to put it all. I thought of my own stuff I was paying for in my three storage sheds. 

I went inside the warehouse and was stunned at the amount of stuff inside. It seemed as if over a hundred boxes (my size height) were around, along with mile-long tables of clothing which were sold by the pound. 

The man at the front desk register informed me there were items like Italian brand shoes, etc. 

"All good stuff!" He assured me. 

I nodded, still awestruck at the sight. 

I meekly poked around, mainly at oil painted pictures before two men came around to tell me that the boxes were for "wholesale only". I guess other people pick through the boxes and rearrange items all the time. 

The sheer number and mountain of boxes, shoes, clothing and housewares astounded me. To my disappointment, I saw a lot of oil, pastel, acrylic handmade pictures that had been thrown out, a.k.a. "donated". 

"That's where my oil paintings are going." I thought ruefully.

"Not-so-good Goods"

I also saw a number of awesome movies on VHS, "Edward Scissor Hands", "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and other Disney films that looked like the ones I had given away previously. 

Clothes, purses and shoes were the most disposable and took up over a quarter (if not half) the warehouse. I guess fashion in this country is very disposable. 

I couldn't imagine anyone wanting dirty purses, or old, scuffed-up shoes to wear. Clothes have to be washed (or dry cleaned) which is a pain. 

There was a lot of electronics being disposed of: microwaves, TV's (made obsolete by the government and corporate mandated digital cable), blenders, foot baths, vacuums, lamps, tons of computer e-waste. 

I wondered what you'd do with it all. Perhaps they could be stripped down for copper wire scrap and metal parts. But that would require extra labor... so much waste!

Also, I saw childhood toys thrown out, as childhood is so temporary, we spend a lot on toys that later become worthless.

"Sorting out the rubbish"

Working in a place like this must put consumerism in perspective. I know I'd buy a lot less "disposable" goods if I worked at Goodwill... or maybe not. It could turn you into a hoarder, I suppose, since you have easy access to all the goods. 

There were a lot of office and school supplies that if sorted correctly, could be of use to non-profits and schools. But there's so much red-tape involved and the boxes were meant to be sold "as is". So likely, it would be thrown in the trash later. 

I wonder if they have to sort things twice, if people dispose of the "as is" they don't want? 

Then I came upon the sight of the sorting facility where again, another man warded me off. "That's our sorting facility--off limits. Please stay behind the yellow line." 

"Yes, I see it." I said, obviously. Did he expect me to just run out and wildly start grabbing clothes off the rolling conveyor belt? Maybe other people had done that...

As I watched, I was amazed and then depressed.

Men on forklifts brought metal crates of clothes around to be dumped into a sorting area where women with masks and gloves on went through them and dropped them onto a conveyor belt to be further sorted by other women in various boxes. 

On the other side, people took clothes from the boxes and hung them up on hangers into respective areas: cashmere, vintage, tops, etc. I didn't see them cleaning the clothes but I guessed that would be done after--maybe by a giant dry cleaning hose of some sort. 

There was very little interaction between the workers. Most of the women sorters were: Asian, Hispanic/Latino and Black. I saw no White women sorting. 

In the hanger rack area, other women were working. Only two were men (White), one of whom was a man much older than retirement age. I know how little social security pays in this country--not enough to live on, and with employment and age discrimination at an all time high, it may have been the only job available for him. 

No one spoke to each other. No one wore earbuds or listened to music, there was no music to break the monotony and it was quite loud in the sorting warehouse. A clock was stationed in center to keep track of the time: 10:30 a.m.. 

All the workers were working at a very fast pace, standing on their feet and doing repetitive movement for hours at a time. Not all the women wore masks or gloves (I'm guessing those item cost extra). 

"Refuse"

I thought of the sort of work I'd be doing, if I had to work in the warehouse. Most likely, it would be the only job offered to me, even though I have retail experience, etc. 

How boring it would be! What reward on the job could I look forward to? No interaction at all with any employees. Did they talk over lunch? Were they given lunch at all? Or perhaps their shift ended by then (as is often the case when employed only 20 hours a week or less). 

It would not be a job that has a lot of respect. If I were to apply to another job and an employer sees "Goodwill warehouse worker" on my résumé, what impression does that make? Not a good one. 

"Oh you're not a team player!" They would say, nothing that there's no interaction between the workers. 

"What do you do at your job?" They would also ask.

What do you say then? Even working at Goodwill (known for training the down-and-out) looks bad to employers. You'll never get a job at Macy's that way.

The upward-bound jobs Goodwill does provide are only open to: 18-22 year-olds, as I found out when I applied to a job with Levi-Strauss, who said that at 31-years-old, I was "too old" for the position. 

I guess Goodwill is good for those who really do need a hand up, those who never got the chance they deserved due to socioeconomic restrictions based on: race, location of birth, poverty, current living situation and schools available. 

But for those who've had opportunities available but were denied any chance of advancement, working at Goodwill may be quite a fall from teh employment ladder.

It's a lot harder to climb up toward the top when covered in mud. Your feet keep slipping on the rungs and your grip isn't as strong when covered in the blisters of mistreatment and constant disappointment. It's especially hard to reach the top when the employment ladder keeps shaking on the unstable, muddy, ground. And when society takes its foot and kicks your ladder off from its point, you can't help but fall down, into the filthy muck below. Try climbing your way up from that. How many times can you stand it?

Goodwill makes jobs out of people's waste. It's a shame that with all this country's wealth, we throw away so much without a second thought. 

Our society has thrown its greatest asset and resource away: our human potential. No amount of goodwill can ever make it right.

What "Opportunity"?

I don't know what President Obama means by having more job "opportunities" for people. Obviously, he (or any other American President) never had to clean dirty toilets for a living. 

Telling people there are plenty of job opportunities cleaning toilets isn't very encouraging. Yes, there are plenty of low-paying, undesirable jobs available--that doesn't solve the problem though.

I was offered to submit my résumé for the grand job of Housekeeping, after I applied to a hotel position with Marriott (and those other affiliates: Ritz-Carlton, etc.). I was applying for Front Desk, Guest Associate position--but apparently, I'm not qualified (I don't "have friends or family working at Marriott", so my answer to this job application question is: NO). I don't even qualify for bellman position.

Colleges aren't improving the situation either. The only jobs available at my "welfare" community college, a.k.a. City College of San Francisco, is: valet/driver (Luxe, Über, etc.), housecleaning, janitor and the ever-popular-among-the-poor, dishwasher position. These were listed at the main campus.

Did you want to see what's offered in Chinatown? No, not Accounting, Computer Science, Engineering, Teaching positions or anything like that. Bar tending, janitor, food service and personal care attendant positions. 

These are the fields that students are encouraged to enter. They are one of the lowest paid positions in the country, other than: farming, fishing, and forestry.

Also, there were sewing classes, you know, since Chinese people deal with laundry so much... all they can do is sew, serve liquor at their bars, massage feet and if they're lucky maybe work at a hotel in Housekeeping. Hey! That was the job I was offered to submit my résumé to... oh but wait, I don't speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Filipino, Lao, Thai, Burmese, Khmer, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, or Spanish... never mind. 

Notice also that your employment depends on your "expectations" for the job...

 
"attitude toward work"... "expectation on wage and job location" and "specific requirements of employers".

So if you want to be treated with respect, have a living wage while living in the city... no job for you then?

You've gotta be kidding me! These are extremely low requirements and assumes the people who apply for these jobs are ignorant, lazy, fools who just want to gamble all day and lie about. 

But maybe that's the problem! Are these jobs only for such low-skilled people? 

I guess that's the point and it's been hammered into these people with the "expectation" that they conform to our American society and our low expectations of them. 

Here was a list of rules to abide by while going to school at City College (Chinatown/Northbeach campus). 

 
'Cause you know, foreigners are rude, ignorant and dirty folks who don't care about cleanliness and need to be taught American mannerisms.

In reality, I've seen plenty of White people who don't abide by these rules.

It's true, some of these people come from horrid conditions, like those I've seen online:

Hong Kong's 'caged dogs': Poverty-stricken people forced to live like animals in one of the world's wealthiest and most densely populated cities

• More than 50,000 people are thought to live in 6ft by 3ft iron and timber shanties, many of which are run illegally
• British-born photographer Brian Cassey visited a hot, dank community of cage-dwellers perched on a rooftop
• Inhabitants pay HK$1,500 (£117) a year - compared to HK$16,000 (£1,240) a month for a small one-bed apartment

By Dan Bloom

Published: 06:22 EST, 13 February 2014 | Updated: 06:40 EST, 13 February 2014 Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2558403/Hong-Kongs-caged-dogs-Poverty-stricken-people-forced-live-like-animals-one-worlds-wealthiest-densely-populated-cities.html#ixzz3g0o9RV00

But for the majority of people living in the United States of America and San Francisco now, we're all just trying to survive and being treated as if we're filthy, unskilled, undesirables does nothing for our state of mind, well being or desire to work. 

Blaming us for the dire conditions in employment does not help us get jobs--it makes it so much worse! We are not the problem! 

So wake up, Obama and American economists... our economy is in dire straights but it's not our fault. Blame Capitalism, blame the Fortune 500 companies stealing our money, blame the 1% who put us in dire financial straights in 2008, blame the damn employers who cut wages and jobs, blame the corporations who take their tax breaks as "Individual Entities"...

Whatever you do, don't point your finger at us, we're hard-working Americans trying to survive. If this country can't face that fact, maybe it's time to re-do the constitution and make a new country. 

It will take a revolution... and it will NOT be peaceful. By the time our government, Pentagon and "Powers that Be" wake up, it will be too late. 

Welcome to the New Land of Opportunity! 
(If you survive it...)

The Ugly Truth About Job Searching

Part I

Here I am again, looking for a job. I thought by moving to the bay area my chances for employment would increase. I was wrong.

"Work History"

This is probably the most difficult topic to explain. My résumé goes back to 1997, when I first helped out as a teacher's assistant for sign-language in elementary school. I was also the librarian's assistant, using the computer system for: checking out/in books, data entry, typing, etc. I was twelve-years-old.

I was always very helpful in my childhood. My first 'job' was teaching other kids to read as well as I could and to tutor them. I was volunteer of the month twice at my school. I also wanted to draw a comic book and sell my hand-made clay figurines but I never was able to.

Before that, I tried selling my toys, and drawings to the neighbors for $0.05 each. I was a very outgoing child and had a great entrepreneurial spirit.

At 13, I tried to get a job with the local animal shelter but when I entered the facility (it had been closed), there were a bunch of dead deer animal carcases that had to be disposed of, courtesy of animal control and reckless highway drivers. I lost the urge to volunteer with them after that.

In Jr. High, I helped design a math tutoring slide-show using Power Point on Macintosh. The teacher was very impressed and gave me extra credit. Other students were able to use the program to help their skills in math. I was also using a Windows 3.0 and was studying on my own with Microsoft Encarta. Those were the days...

I was writing poetry, drawing graphics on the computer and wanted to start my own graphic design business by making pictures for anyone that needed them. I was handing out flyers to local neighbors until finally I got discouraged by lack of interest and lack of know-how to complete my "start-up" venture. Needless to say, nothing came of it.

In high-school, I baby-sat and did pet-sitting and house-sitting for the neighbors. I got a pretty good sum of money for it and in those days, I had enough to get my first Certificate of Deposit at the bank in my own name (back when interest rates were 5%!!).

The only other job I had to do was get my CA Driver's License (after taking courses at a traffic school), and help take care of my grandparents. I also had a dog then. Besides school, there wasn't much else for me to do in the small town I lived in.

I wasn't encouraged to get a job. My grandmother wanted me to be available to help her and always told me, "We have enough money, you don't need to work!". So I never tried getting a job while in high-school. My grandmother supported me through high-school, having raised me as a child. Then after home-school was, more school. She decided it was best for me to go to community college, since I had been home-schooled and a state college would require advanced math, which I didn't get through home-school (back in those days, there wasn't an algebra test to graduate). Also, she didn't want me leaving town since I had to help take care of her and grandpa and do things for them: errands, hospital trips, emergencies (which there were a lot of), etc.

I vaguely had an idea of going to UC Davis to 'become a veterinarian' which was every girl's dream at the time. The only thing I had to do was finish community college. It turned out to be harder than I thought.

2002 came around. I graduated home-school with honors and was valedictorian. Then came community/junior college with all their rules, red tape regulations and enrollment processes. I almost didn't get in. Which classes do I take and why? So I enrolled in classes I wanted to take, instead of the 'required for graduation' classes. Grandma told me, "Just take what you want. You can do the rest later." That's what I did. For several years.

Community college is supposed to be done in two years, maximum. You aren't supposed to take easy classes unless you're retired or... retarded. I had no idea 'the powers that be' were keeping track of my classes. I had a talk with a counselor who asked me why I hadn't taken required classes and that's when I figured out I had to get something done.

I registered for algebra I (which said I was qualified based on their assessment test), Japanese, Honors, English, Science. I was taking 18 units. Needless to say, I failed algebra I (the teacher told me to drop the class), barely passed English (teacher quit to become an actor in New York), dropped Science (it was too hard because of the advanced algebra required), barely passed Honors (teacher was an ass who told me, "I only added you because I needed to fill seats for my class".), and passed Japanese with flying colors, go figure!

Also... because I was with State Farm and on my grandparent's plan, I was required to take 12 units every semester to get a discount. I never wanted to do this but my grandmother insisted because she didn't want to pay extra money to insure me. So no matter what, I had to sign up for 12 units any way I could. Eventually, I burned out and failed a few classes because of that stipulation.

I didn't think any of this mattered until I tried to get a job as a college orientation leader. Some kid, younger than 18-years-old I think, looked over my 70+ unit transcript with a dubious look and asked immediately why I failed math and astronomy. I explained the situation but he wasn't convinced. I didn't get the job. I think his drunk frat buddy got the job instead, even though I knew way more about the college process than either of them combined.

My 'inexperience' in the job field would come back to haunt me, as I tried to look for other entry-level jobs. In a small town, unless your parents are rich, or you're really popular and have friends who can get you jobs, you don't get hired. This was my problem. My grandparents weren't rich. I didn't have many friends and wasn't popular enough to know important people in high places.

Other kids had part-time jobs in stores, restaurants, etc. Mostly because their parents hired them or their siblings got them the job. On every job application it asks, "Do you have friends or family members currently employed here?" That should be illegal. That is called DISCRIMINATION!

Finally, I got a job working at an animal shelter after volunteering there for several months. That job didn't last long. It was my first job. I knew nothing about time cards, sick-leave, taxes, etc. Sometimes I would finish all my tasks and ask my supervisor, "Can I go now?" And the supervisor, totally caught off guard, would say, "It's not time yet. Sweep or do laundry or something."

Other times I worked past my allotted time in order to finish the job, like for the endless amount of dirty laundry that had to be done. Finally they told me, "We can't pay you over-time. You need to clock out now." In my innocence, I replied, "It's okay, I can do this off the clock." I had no idea that was illegal, that it would conflict with employer insurance, regulations, etc. I stayed only a few months at that job. I just got burned out (plus all the other horrors I witnessed: animals abused, community service workers neglecting their work, etc.). I saw many a Director come and go at that place, so I'm guessing I'm not the only one who suffered burn-out.

Years later, I tried a stint in Thailand to teach English. That didn't work out either. It was a scam. Like most "Teach English Overseas" jobs, they are meant to entrap tourists so they can put out a bunch of cash to these so-called 'degree providers', give them a crappy job, deny them a working visa and pretty much screw them until they have to leave, which is in three months (Passport must be stamped every month by leaving the country and through re-entry). I got the certificate but very little job experience.

After this I realized my life wouldn't change. I enrolled in community college again (seeing that I couldn't enter state college with my limited math and science) and changed majors. With all my theatre experience, it wasn't enough to enter a job field in a small college town surrounded by farms. There were no jobs for actors, or theatre majors. It was time to do something practical. I tried journalism with the same result... nothing. Then broadcasting.

At this time, I found a job at school. Working in the cafeteria was probably the most practical job ever and I wish I had done it sooner. I had seen my other friends work there and knew it paid enough to cover college expenses (after financial aid). It was the longest, highest paying job overall in my life. The only thing I regret was that I didn't get to do the café, smoothie bar or grill, which would've helped me pursue other jobs outside of college. My supervisors and co-workers were great. I only had two incidents of harassment on the job by customers but other than that, it worked for me. But I quit the job to pursue the broadcasting internship.

Broadcasting was interesting in that it allowed me to use my public speaking skills by interviewing people, use my creativity when it came to writing and editing stories, and still be in the spotlight when I read the news story live, on-air. There were some problems with technical issues, politics and internal conflicts but by this time I had worked out another internship at a for-profit radio station.

This other radio station wouldn't have much of the technical issues but still had a lot of politics involved. Turned out, I would lose the job to a younger guy who helped out with sports announcements (I was the news substitute person at $8.00 an hour). I don't even remember signing any "end of employment papers" but they never called me again for the job and I got the idea that I wasn't working there anymore.

After that I focused on volunteering, thinking that eventually it would lead to a paying job. It never happened. Time and time again, I was refused a job because I didn't know the right people or didn't have a husband to get me a job. All the people I volunteered with were retired and didn't have to worry about income and they didn't have any job contacts for me to call.

So I did what every un-employed American does in this country, I went on Craigslist. I found a job as a caregiver, the lowest paying job I ever had (after forced union dues were retroactively taken from my paycheck), I made less than minimum wage. I found out caregivers make around $18,000 a year... compared to most jobs at $27,000+, it's a terrible sum. The only jobs below this are: farming, fishing, and forestry.

Then, seeing that my caregiver job wasn't enough to pay for rent or my bills, I got another job: sign waver a.k.a. a human billboard. This job paid better though for less hours, it still didn't pay much. Less-than-ideal working conditions, harassment on the job, and smoke inhalation/exhaust fumes, made it a not-so-great career move. I knew it was a temporary position since the other guy had quit before me.

It was time for a change of pace. I decided to do freelance and change my interest to: retail and fashion. I tried for a time doing referral services in town for local shops and stores. Due to the terrible economy, many stores were going out of business and my referral service was quickly out of date. I then veered toward the fashion industry and found a nice niche in women's fashion.

It was a job but not a W-2 job, so I didn't make enough to pay taxes on it. In fact, in all of my jobs, I never made enough to pay taxes... ever. According to State of California Franchise Tax Board website: "You have a requirement to file a California Personal Income Tax Return if your Gross Income is $15,702 or more; or your Adjusted Gross Income is $12,562 or more."

Did I make that much, ever? Nope.

"Was your gross income for 2014 $3,950 or more?", asks IRS.gov. (Single-household, non-disabled, etc.)

No, it was not.

I never made either of these amounts in MY ENTIRE LIFE!

My grandparent's money has supported me my entire life. I consider myself lucky and unlucky. It won't last forever though.

Part II

There are some people who've worked since 16-years-old. These are the people who've had to work through high-school and put themselves through college: flipping burgers, dealing with people's trash, and with other crummy low-wage jobs that barely pay the bills.

Some people are lucky enough to marry and become housewives and have children and get money from the government. Some start their own business and make even more money.

Others... others have gotten divorced, have had to fend for themselves, have had to live on the street.

This is what I'm looking at since I may not qualify for welfare, due to the red-tape process and huge waiting list. Even unemployment is tricky business and you need to be very savvy in order to get any benefits.

I don't like the idea of having to do this. We are taught in America that if you work hard, you get paid and you can survive. Unfortunately, the reality is very different and many people have two jobs and are still homeless.

There are many ugly facts that contribute to this. A bad economy, bad working conditions and unfavorable employment opportunities (or non-opportunities) don't give people much to work with. The truth is, it has always been this way. There have always been crappy jobs for those not-so-fortunate people, mainly: immigrants who don't speak English, ex-felons/prisoners, mentally ill, disabled, former foster youth and un-educated, poor people in poor communities.

The only difference is now, people with BA's and MA's are competing for these horrible, low-wage and degrading jobs too. The middle class of America has disappeared and the gap between the poor and the rich is getting bigger.

With such terrible conditions, it's no wonder employers are taking their knives, sharpening them and slicing away at the population (and wages). They have no compunction about deceptive hiring practices, misleading job processes or outright lying. They can fire at will with no reason, say bad things about you when you leave the job and deny you future opportunities for employment. Think I'm making this up? Think again!

Discrimination, sexual harassment, ageism, unfair wages, unsafe working conditions... these are all the things that happen when employers are given free reign over desperate people who need jobs. Since people need the jobs so badly, they will do anything to keep it and not complain, even if it kills them.

In Japan, salary men are lucky to live past 40-years-old due to the stress they suffer under their job. High blood pressure, diabetes, ulcers, cancer and other health problems are common. These are just the salary men who suffer this in Japan. In America, it's much worse for everyone else and we're considered the most developed country on Earth.

"You Are Who You Work For"

The job identity associated with your employment is inescapable and you must be very careful to get the "right" job or you'll be stuck flipping burgers for the rest of your life. The odds of you improving your work "experience" from food service to let's say, hospitality, is zilch.

"You don't have hospitality experience!" a snotty HR associate will chide as they look at your 10-year-curriculum vitae at McDonald's. It doesn't matter if you managed to become Senior Manager and lead a crew of 10+ ever-changing high-school kids, supervise the: cooking, cleaning, orders and deliveries of food while maintaining a healthy environment (and bathroom) for the job. At one dollar above minimum wage, your job doesn't qualify you for any other job other than: Senior Manager at Burger King. That's it.

Forget climbing the social ladder. You can barely make it to dirt level.

Employers see who you've worked for and unless you fudge your C.V. quite a bit, you're not going to improve your career, ever.

"No Entry"

Gatekeeping software is now the ever-popular device of all major employers. Ever fill out an employment form online? Congratulations, you've just made it to the Trash Bin Pile! Software designed by geeky shut-in graduates of Stanford, Harvard or Yale make it even more impossible to apply for jobs. Unless you have keywords like: Analyst, Financial Advisor, Administration, Biotech, Human Resource, Software Engineer... etc., don't expect to make it to the email box of the Human Resources person who's supposed to glance at your résumé. By the way, what's the name of said Human Resource person anyway? Don't know? Too bad for you. You'll never get employed if you don't know their name then.

Employers are also very careful not to give out any information about: themselves, their Human Resource people, their employees, and other employment opportunities for that reason. If you're not "one of them" forget trying to get in. Consider this door permanently shut.

"Are Any Of Your Family Members Or Friends Currently Employed Here?"

This question is meant to eliminate over 90% of job applicants. If you aren't referred by someone on the job personally, then forget applying. Over 50% of hires are made through referrals and that's why you see all: Black, Filipino, Hispanic/Latino, Vietnamese, etc. working in one store. Referrals usually consist of same race, gender, age and socio-economic background.

"The Psychological Test"

Do you feel happy everyday, every single minute of your life? If you answered no to this question, it will affect your employment. Psychological questionnaires in the form of required employment tests ask you such discriminating questions and because they are developed by a third-party company, employers use them without a qualm. [See my other article: Job Hunt Spying Policy]

Even on the job, you are required to smile 24/7: while people are being rude to you, while being groped by your boss, while being groped by customers, while your co-workers are talking crap about you behind your back, while your co-workers are talking crap about you to your face, while you're secretly depressed but can't talk to anyone about it because then you'd lose your job.

See what I mean? What kind of person would be capable of smiling through all this? It's inhuman and inhumane.

"The Credit Score"

You wouldn't think what you buy on your credit card would affect your employment but in this day and age, having a bad credit score looks bad to employers who are allowed to see all your credit history through a "background check" that has nothing to do with your (hopefully non-existent) criminal record.

Had to use your credit card to pay for groceries? Too bad. Did someone steal your credit card and use it to pay for $500+ worth of clothes? Oh well. No job for you.

Employers never disclose the fact that they've looked at your credit report, or didn't hire you based on your credit report. It remains an issue that will never be solved. Even though, technically, you are allowed to view what they view, you never get the chance. Employers can easily side-step this by simply not looking at your application at all. Just because you completed a background check doesn't mean they will actually look at your application, cover letter, references or résumé.

"Make An Effort"

Imagine you need to apply for 20 jobs a day due to unemployment, etc. You need a job by next week. You fill out 120 applications, 120 different cover letters and 120 copies of résumés and references. You get 5 interviews that week. Zero call-backs.

Next week you do the same...

People tell you that you need to make finding a job your "full-time job", "dedicate 6-8 hours a day to get results". You do 10 hours a day with no results. How many jobs applications can you fill out in a day?

You get burned out. No one gets back to you. The one interview you thought went well never gets back to you. You email them and they have an automatic response, "We appreciate your time but unfortunately your qualifications don't match our requirements at this time...".

At this time, they say, as if in the unforeseeable future they may consider you again. You are told that employers are supposed to keep your application on file for six months... it's a lie. Employers don't even remember you the next month you apply for the same job that is mysteriously vacant again. You go through another set of interviews, only to have the same result, nothing. In the end you wonder what it's all for...

As a desperate measure, you apply for jobs below minimum wage, gigs they are called, in hopes that it will lead to something more. You even consider unpaid jobs just to fill your résumé with something other than community college courses.

The gigs are nothing more than a joke. The jobs below minimum wage are exactly that, minimum wage with no room for improvement, promotion or increased wages or hours. The unpaid jobs are only for high-school interns and you are far too old to apply (they try to hide their disgust at you and fail as they go through with their interview, since you have clearly wasted their time), and you are left feeling degraded, useless, worthless and ready to kill yourself.

Welcome to America.

Now put your head to the ground, kiss the sh*t stained sidewalk that will soon be your home until a cop comes around and beats the hell out of you, since this is what it all comes down to in the Land of Opportunity (Poor People Need Not Apply). If you complain it just means you didn't try hard enough and that you are a lazy-good-for-nothing-ungrateful-piece-of-filth-who-should-just-do-the-world-a-favor-to-save-the-tax-payer-money-no-welfare-please-goddamn-kill-yourself-off-now, unemployed person.

"What now?"

There are a surprising amount of jobs available for the lazy-good-for-nothing-ungrateful-piece-of-filth-who-should-just-do-the-world-a-favor-to-save-the-tax-payer-money-no-welfare-please-goddamn-kill-yourself-off-now, unemployed person. Just to name a few are: drug-dealers, prostitution, military... prison. Yes, prison employs a lot of prisoners who must work many hours to pay for their blankets, toothbrushes, phone privileges, and other accoutrements.

The military offers some benefits and assuming you survive the whole gotta-kill-everyone-so-I-don't-get-killed ordeal you get to have PTSD which can put you on disability and unemployment, after you jump through hoops of fire and a battery of assaults by psychologists and medical doctors who secretly just want to make you a drooling zombie and take all the government money they can from you.

It's nice to know there are some jobs in this country after all for others like myself.

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