Katrina Debit Cards

H

harleygirl

Working for the weekend
Interesting article I read.......

Yesterday, I was shopping for my mother in Dillard's at Lakeline Mall in Austin, TX. I admired a suit, but it was too expensive for me to purchase. You can imagine my shock when I witness the suit being purchased by a Katrina "refugee" using the government-issued debit card!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought certainly there must be controls on these debit cards that would preclude recipients from using the money to purchase items other taxpayers cannot afford, but I was mistaken. I heard the sales clerk call the Dillard's business office and confirm that the "American Red Cross Debit Card" could be used for the woman's purchase. After the transaction was completed, I asked the sales clerk to confirm this and she did.
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
harleygirl said:
Interesting article I read.......

Yesterday, I was shopping for my mother in Dillard's at Lakeline Mall in Austin, TX. I admired a suit, but it was too expensive for me to purchase. You can imagine my shock when I witness the suit being purchased by a Katrina "refugee" using the government-issued debit card!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought certainly there must be controls on these debit cards that would preclude recipients from using the money to purchase items other taxpayers cannot afford, but I was mistaken. I heard the sales clerk call the Dillard's business office and confirm that the "American Red Cross Debit Card" could be used for the woman's purchase. After the transaction was completed, I asked the sales clerk to confirm this and she did.
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What is your "source"...:confused:
 
migtig

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
There is a "limit" on the Katrina debit cards, however what the individual may choose to use it on is their personal choice. Perhaps the woman needed a suit for job interviews or to even go back to work for a professional organization.

I recently lost just about everything I owned. When my first advance insurance check arrived, I purchased an Ann Taylor Suit and some Bandolino shoes. Was that wrong of me? I needed appropriate work clothes more than I needed anything else. I had already bought my neccesities (toothbrush, soap, etc) out of pocket.

Glad to see judgemental people who don't know all the circumstances of someone elses situation and just presume the worst.
 
H

harleygirl

Working for the weekend
migtig said:
There is a "limit" on the Katrina debit cards, however what the individual may choose to use it on is their personal choice. Perhaps the woman needed a suit for job interviews or to even go back to work for a professional organization.

I recently lost just about everything I owned. When my first advance insurance check arrived, I purchased an Ann Taylor Suit and some Bandolino shoes. Was that wrong of me? I needed appropriate work clothes more than I needed anything else. I had already bought my neccesities (toothbrush, soap, etc) out of pocket.

Glad to see judgemental people who don't know all the circumstances of someone elses situation and just presume the worst.
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Another person bought an $800 Louis Vuitton bag, I guess that will get them a good job!? :confused:
 
H

harleygirl

Working for the weekend
Also, another person was using his card in a strip club in Houston. Maybe he was job hunting..........
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
harleygirl said:
Also, another person was using his card in a strip club in Houston. Maybe he was job hunting..........
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Depends on what kind of "job" he wanted!!
 
migtig

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
Why are you judging? :confused:

If I lost my Louis Vitton bag, I'd sure as crap want it replaced.

If I had lost everything and just wanted to sit around and get drunk in a strip joint, hey more power to me.

Oh I get it, you are better than everybody and you have walked a mile in their shoes and you alone can pass judgement on what they are going thru and what they consider valuable and worth replacing. Good for you. I am glad you are better than everybody else.

I personally am not better than anybody. I know when I lost everything, I was a basket case. I couldn't think, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep and I couldn't move. I was absolutely destroyed emotionally. However, once I got moving, it was almost a hysterical whirlwind of energy and emotion. I purchased a lot of things I didn't want and didn't purchase the things I did (Anybody want a pair of suede 3 inch Chinese laundry knee high boots?). I would cry at the drop of a hat and I am not a cryer. I broke off relationships and if I had been a big drinker I probably would have crawled into the bottom of a bottle and not moved. Once I was able to become grounded again, things for me began to fit back into place, slowly. They still aren't back together. Yet, I know my own personal drama is trivial in comparison to what the hurricane victims are going thru. I am not going to pass judgement on what they choose to spend money on right now.
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
migtig said:
Why are you judging? :confused:

If I lost my Louis Vitton bag, I'd sure as crap want it replaced.

If I had lost everything and just wanted to sit around and get drunk in a strip joint, hey more power to me.

Oh I get it, you are better than everybody and you have walked a mile in their shoes and you alone can pass judgement on what they are going thru and what they consider valuable and worth replacing. Good for you. I am glad you are better than everybody else.

I personally am not better than anybody. I know when I lost everything, I was a basket case. I couldn't think, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep and I couldn't move. I was absolutely destroyed emotionally. However, once I got moving, it was almost a hysterical whirlwind of energy and emotion. I purchased a lot of things I didn't want and didn't purchase the things I did (Anybody want a pair of suede 3 inch Chinese laundry knee high boots?). I would cry at the drop of a hat and I am not a cryer. I broke off relationships and if I had been a big drinker I probably would have crawled into the bottom of a bottle and not moved. Once I was able to become grounded again, things for me began to fit back into place, slowly. They still aren't back together. Yet, I know my own personal drama is trivial in comparison to what the hurricane victims are going thru. I am not going to pass judgement on what they choose to spend money on right now.
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Wow... based on your personal experiences, it sounds like they would of been better off not receiving the debit cards at all.
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
Mig, not sure why you hit me with red for that comment. I was being serious, not fictitious. If such an event in one's life is so traumatic that one cannot make reasonable decisions or have one's wits about them enough to use $2500 for food, shelter and such rather than booze and ho dancers, then it seems to me that it would be better for the Red Cross to hand them a bag of groceries and a tent in the beginning....:shrug:
 
migtig

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
kwillia said:
Mig, not sure why you hit me with red for that comment. I was being serious, not fictitious. If such an event in one's life is so traumatic that one cannot make reasonable decisions or have one's wits about them enough to use $2500 for food, shelter and such rather than booze and ho dancers, then it seems to me that it would be better for the Red Cross to hand them a bag of groceries and a tent in the beginning....:shrug:
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Okay, looking at it without your wit, I personally agree. I can be honest, I really wanted my insurance adjuster to come in and do everything for me. She'd tell me I need to do something or have something done and I honestly was unable to respond. If it wasn't for Barbra, I right now would not have any furniture. If it wasn't for other friends forcing me to go to shopping and buy clothing and even food, I wouldn't have anything else either. However, on another note, I used all of my personal money paying for my food and shelter and personal items and pet care, so that by the time the first insurance check came, I went a little nuts with it. I was much better by the time the final check got here. :lol:

In my opinion, all the survivors needed to be put up in a military barracks, feed and clothed and given medical and mental care until they were able to go out and rebuild. But that's not what happened. So I don't feel it's right for anyone who hasn't been a hurricane katrina victim to judge them. Everybody reacts differently to trauma, so everybody's story is going to be different. :shrug:
 
migtig

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
I had a personal drama and lost almost everything I owned due to an unforseen event and thankfully I had insurance to replace all that could be replaced. However, sadly, some momentos and family pictures, especially of deceased loved ones, cannot ever be replaced.
 
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