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Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

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Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#131

Post by gridlockd »

ForHackernews wrote: post #76
BurningFrog wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the UK also have price gouging laws in this crisis? Those are what produce the empty shelves.

yeah, much better to have £100/dozen eggs. That way, at least they'll be on the shelves so rich people can still have them.

Nobody is going to buy eggs for a hundred pounds, unless they're literally at the brink of starvation, in which case they're worth that much.

However, let's just say eggs are five times as expensive: You're going to think twice about buying a whole shelf of them "just in case".

Rich people are going to get their eggs either way.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#132

Post by syshum »

peteradio wrote: post #74
syshum wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not saying your situation is like this, but I know many people that say "I dont make enough money to save" but then if you look at their daily life they eat out often, stop a Starbucks routinely, have the latest iPhone, have subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and a 100 Channel TV Line up, have massive credit card debit from buying things they did not need, etc etc etc Again you may actually be in a bad spot…

There are shit loads more people in a position where they don't have the money. You probably just encounter more of the type who are frivolous because of where you live and who you interact with. Step outside your neighborhood, your county your state.

It is more my experience working with Housing Authorities in 5 different states, and the stories from front line Social Workers that see some of the abuses of these systems first hand

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#133

Post by TallGuyShort »

peteradio wrote: post #129
TallGuyShort wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've worked with homelessness and welfare programs in 4 states and 4 countries including Zimbabwe. If you're using the word 'state' in a sentence and aren't a clinically insane or drug addicted homeless person, then FOH. You have such a ridiculously huge leg up in this country and so many resources to buy groceries, get meals and get help. People are in sucky situations. They're hard. They don't deserve it. But excus…

WTF are you even responding to? I'm responding to a person other than you first of all. State as in New Jersey or Ohio, not state of mind. Chill the fuck out. What is the intent of your messaging here?

I'm responding to your comment. Scroll up to see my initial interest in this thread. Yes, State as in New Jersey. As in, you're in the United States. Where there are far better WIC-like programs than many other countries. You are better off than people who are happier than you are. Poverty is relative. It sucks, but if you are eating when there's no pandemic, a very slight change over a long time will prepare you for pandemics, job loss, other such events. You will have more freedom, more well-being.

If you don't like that, great, be unprepared in the next pandemic if you insist, but I actually do a lot of work with and donate a huge amount of money to various shelters, kitchens, and other assistance programs. But every time I comment with actual common sense advice, there is always some comment like, "well ACKTUALLY... there's just people who make less money than you do now, so clearly you lack compassion and understanding".

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#134

Post by _jal »

BurningFrog wrote: post #105
ForHackernews wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, much better to have £100/dozen eggs. That way, at least they'll be on the shelves so rich people can still have them.

Market prices keep items on the shelf, and also incentivizes increased production, and redirecting supplies to where demand is highest. Price fixing incentivizes hoarding and empty shelves.

> redirecting supplies to where demand is highest

Which is what the gp said.

> they'll be on the shelves so rich people can still have them

Complaining about word choice is a tradition around here, I know.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#135

Post by [deleted] »

TallGuyShort wrote: post #58
jniedrauer wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is good advice for people who make a living wage. But for many people, an emergency fund is a luxury. I remember not too long ago when I had to decide between paying utilities and buying food. Every single month. Saving just wasn't an option. Many of my friends and family are still in this position, and they've all lost their jobs simultaneously. I'm not surprised that people are scared right now, because they'r…

You're literally commenting on an article called "Eat for $1.50 per day". If you can't, over years of plenty, build up a few weeks reserve then we're having a different discussion because a mere broken bone or car battery failure will then wipe out your independence. And yes there are people in that situation. But most people are a little beyond that. And even those WAY beyond that are helpless and dependent on rushe…

[deleted]

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#136

Post by sabujp »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #34
hobofan wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a quarantine not an apocalypse.

Truth. But, people aren’t thinking clearly. Two things could make this situation a lot worse. 1. A worker strike because of panic, or overwork, or opportunity, or inequality, or whatever. I hope everyone has realized the truck drivers and shelf stockers are way more important than Hollywood celebs. But I wouldn’t “rely” on shelves just being magically stocked as panic increases. There is unfortunately a smug level of…

upvote for terries getting froggy, is that from key and peele?

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#137

Post by emerongi »

chantelles wrote: post #106

I left home at 15 and some adults who worked together let me move in with them and be their maid. I paid $150 a month in rent and got $10 a month to live on. I worked out how to live off Milo (a Jamaican malt supplement), Chips Ahoy cookies (1/2 a cookie a day for a treat) and dumpster dived vegetables (mostly cabbages and carrots). I lived like this for years, when I got my first real jobs I made sure to save at lea…

My personal requirements are very low as well (maybe not as low as yours), but I think if I had a family with kids, my minimum requirements would increase substantially. All the material stuff starts to make more sense once you have a family to take care of.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#138

Post by yowlingcat »

6510 wrote: post #81

I ended up cooking for next to nothing by accident one time. I didn't notice it until I discover all my money was still in the bank end of the month. To make things more ironic my goal was to create superior food which absolutely worked. The main invention was this: For most meals we take a bunch of ingredients and mix them into a deliciously flavored mix and give it fancy names. The grand mistake we made is that the…

Very cool approach. Using combinatorics to create a recipe space is kinda inside out from how people conventionally approach cooking, but it makes sense that it is actually a far a more frugal way to prepare food assuming you can actually come up with a suitable space that yields tasty outcomes.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#139

Post by amasad »

If you're on a keto diet and/or want to eat well and save big, I suggest going to McDonald's and ordering 1/4lb patties which, depending on your location might be $1 to $2 tops each.

Despite what they say, McDonald's patties are a 100% beef and they're relatively good quality.

More info McD keto hacks here http://www.zerocarbhealth.com/zero-carb-ordering-from-mcdona...

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#140

Post by gridlockd »

mellavora wrote: post #98
TallGuyShort wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're literally commenting on an article called "Eat for $1.50 per day". If you can't, over years of plenty, build up a few weeks reserve then we're having a different discussion because a mere broken bone or car battery failure will then wipe out your independence. And yes there are people in that situation. But most people are a little beyond that. And even those WAY beyond that are helpless and dependent on rushe…

You might want to check official govnt stats on this. A surprising number of american households are not a little beyond that, they are exactly there, where a $400 expense would put them over the edge. Or, in this case, $400 in lost income. Looking at the person you are replying to, who for many months had to choose between utility bill or food, please show a little compassion for how difficult saving can be when you…

> You might want to check official govnt stats on this. A surprising number of american households are not a little beyond that, they are exactly there, where a $400 expense would put them over the edge. Or, in this case, $400 in lost income.

That just says people don't save any money, not that they can't save any money.

That's not to say that saving money isn't difficult for some people, but by itself that number doesn't prove your point.

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