Poor Man Survival
Self Reliance tools
for independent minded people…
ISSN 2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
How Our Family Survived Being Poor
Without Food Stamps or the Nanny State
How I grew up without
government breakfast, lunch, food stamps or the Nanny State & Survived!
In
response to a woman on twitter who is bemoaning the fact that during the
government shutdown, government schools might not be feeding children breakfast
and lunch I mentioned how churches, food banks and charities in our community
banded together to provided extra food to those who needed it, providing
distribution even on Saturday mornings at our high school. Our community newspaper published a schedule
of daily free food distribution and reinforced the message that food stamps
were NOT being stopped and indeed the Feb ’19 distribution was already included
in their SNAP card.
This
wasn’t good enough for this woman who publicly chided me saying these children
were victims of food insecurity. I told
her I grew up poor – BEFORE food stamps existed and lived on tomato soup,
powdered milk and peanut butter sandwiches, wore hand-me-down clothes… that my
mother was a child of the Great Depression who took in laundry and cut hair in
her kitchen to make ends meet. Apparently,
that didn’t impress her as she never responded.
To
this day I gag at the thought of mac n cheese or tomato soup! I still recall my mother arm wrestling angry
squirrels who squatted in the backyard and scolded Mom over who had the rights
to our apple and pear tree! I swear
their offspring live in our yard today scarfing food from our birdfeeders and
nut trees.
Today’s
“poor” usually have expensive cell phones, autos [we had one car, an old one
which constantly needed repair], big flat screen TVs, get their hair and nails
done, get food stamps, ADC, WIC, Section 8, heating assistance, etc. – all
handouts my mother never received [I still have vivid, disturbing memories of
my mother crying when the electric was shut off and she called my Dad on our
‘party line’ to inform him].
We
were fortunate that had an apple tree in the back yard and many of our
neighbors had gardens. My mother would
trade haircuts or laundry work for some of their produce and our neighbor, who
was better off, frequently gave us clothing.
There was little stigma attached to being poor as pretty much everyone
on our street was in the same boat-White, Syrian, Italian, etc. [By the way, no one ever bitched and moaned
about the others ethnic heritage].
Our
elementary schools didn’t offer breakfast and lunch programs in those
days. We did get a snack usually
consisting of a carton of milk and an apple in kindergarten and brought our
sack lunch in later years. It wasn’t
until I entered junior high that we had a cafeteria and I do recall they
offered programs for low-income students but it was kept quiet so no one could
make fun of those students. Still, the
majority of kids brought their own lunch.
As
we became teens and more self-sufficient and found part time jobs of our own
[each in our family bought their own school supplies and clothing by this
stage] my mother found outside work at an area hospital as LPN and then for our
family doctor and eventually, our family achieved the American Dream of Middle
Class. Never during our “poor” years did
we feel stigmatized or disadvantaged by not having help from the Nanny State. In fact, our mother, as a child of the
Depression represented a tremendous role model to each of us in terms of hard
work.
Each
of us grabbed part time jobs at a young age to earn extra cash for the things
we wanted such as our first auto or summer trips and the like.
By
the 1960s LBJ launched his anti-poverty program in America and soon millions of
citizens discovered they were “poor.”
Food stamps and government cheese were distributed -and corruption as
our nightly news began airing scenes of so-called ‘welfare queens’ who had
fraudulently declared several ‘ghost’ children in order to collect more welfare
dollars and food stamps were hauled off to jail- to what became a
multi-generational system.
As
my mother and others in her neighborhood [who had by now achieved, through
their own bootstraps, a Middle Class status] openly discussed, welfare seemed to
breed welfare and their thinking was it fostered a growth in out-of-wedlock
children with multiple fathers, not good for a strong central family…perhaps “ if
the government stopped providing payments after the first child that would make
these women re-think having more children which they could not support?”
Of
course, today the Progressives would somehow label that racist thinking. How dare we limit the number of illegitimate children
that taxpayers subsidize!
Later
in life I learned valuable lessons about storing up at least a year’s worth of
food and cash from Mormon friends I met in Mesa, AZ and that practice led to
the creation of our Poor Man web pages and philosophy.
Freedom. Self-Reliance. Action.
Special Offer for
our Readers
72-hour Emergency Meal
kit that's being offered contains 16 total servings of such delicious meals as
Blue Ribbon Creamy Chicken Rice, the always-loved Granny's Homestyle Potato
Soup and the stick-to-your-ribs breakfast favorite Maple Grove Oatmeal.
This kit normally sells for $27, plus shipping and handling and
is rated 4½ out of five stars by customers.
While supplies last, these kits are available for only $21.95
and that includes Priority Shipping [we were force to increase prices due to
another round of USPS price hikes]. Go here for this deal:
Yours for
smarter living,
Bruce ‘the
Poor Man’
Additional FREE Resources
Every day, people clean out their garages or attics and give
away things they don't want, completely unaware that many of the items they
donate are valuable to preppers.
These items end up in secondhand stores and can often be
purchased for a fraction of what they would cost new. You just have to be
patient and search. Here you'll find a list of items you should look for,
especially if you're a prepper on a budget.
1. Boots - These are expensive brand new, but you can often
find them for under 10 bucks a pair in thrift stores. They don't have to be
pretty, but you do want them to be water tight. Inspect the boots and look for
tears in the sole. You can always buy shoelaces and waterproof spray. Having
several pairs of boots stashed away ensures you'll always have a dry pair to
put on...
More
notes of interest…
Living Frugally In Suburbia
You live differently than your neighbors.
You live differently than your neighbors.
14
Frugal Food-Rescuing Tips from Grandma
These depression-era frugal tips still work today!
These depression-era frugal tips still work today!
8 Simple Ways to Put More Money in Your Pocket
Have more money without working harder!
Have more money without working harder!
Knowing
When and How to Stockpile Groceries
Stocking up could save your grocery budget!
Stocking up could save your grocery budget!
Develop a Well-Rounded Prepper
Library
When the topic of a prepping library comes up,
what do most people talk about? Chances are the U.S. Air
Force survival manual, SAS survival manual, Army Field Manual 21-76, or something from Ragnor Benson.
When
people get into prepping they typically start with stockpiling, then may
gravitate towards self-sufficiency. For example, someone may start off with
stockpiling canned goods, then move towards mylar bags and
freeze dried foods, then finally arrive at prepsteading, farming, and
gardening.
Most people who live in the suburbs can have a small garden, maybe
some laying hens, and fruit trees. This allows just about anyone to grow some
of their own food.
As preppers progress from stockpiling to prepsteading, shouldn’t
their library also progress?
Chances are a lot of preppers do not have a single book on
gardening, homesteading, canning and preserving food… etc. Even less will have
books on literature, science, and math.
If we are prepping for a complete collapse of society, shouldn’t
we also stockpile books for future generations? If something were to happen
today – plague, nuclear war.. etc – what types of books would the reader have
on hand to teach their children, or grandchildren?
What good does it do to survive the next plague, nuclear war… if
future generations do not have access to resources? This means real books
made from paper and not electronic books for e-readers.
Why real books?
·
A real book can be dropped, and dropped several times without
damage.
·
Real books do not require electricity.
You’ve got 2 hours until disaster strikes. Are you prepared?
If you’ve watched any apocalyptic movie ever, you’re familiar
with the grocery store scene.
You know which one I’m talking about. Anxious dad rushes isle by isle gathering
water and canned food for his family while everyone around him gradually turns
from innocent customer to aggressive looter.
At my little farmstead, we have used tarps in
gardening, to cover wood, as a shade area for our chickens, and to protect our
outdoor equipment. Tarps are very useful and when you invest in the higher
quality types, they last! Read more and make sure you you add these to your
preparedness supplies!
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5 comments:
Wow-didn't know life in the USA existed before welfare! You sure are right though. A lot of 3rd world nations [which is why all those Central Americans are scrambling to sneak into this country] see our welfare system as the mother lode & Democrats encourage them with promises of milk n honey in order to secure their lifelong allegiance/votes all at taxpayer expense-no wonder they are fighting border security!
The old saw about if you live on welfare you'll probably die on welfare applies here & as the documentary about LBJ & his Great Society showed, his goal at creating a welfare class among Blacks was to make them dependent on Democrats to ensure votes...they are trying to do the same with illegals.
Saw this on Twitter-terrific piece. Good golly, how did people manage before government handouts? Right on brother!
Great piece-we have too much government and instead of a help, it has become an expensive burden costing us an arm and a leg and making Americans less independent...perhaps that is why they call it the nanny state.
Right on so many levels!
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