It’s not fair to put this squarely on trailer park life, it happens everywhere, but I would put the majority of the practice in housing projects or trailer parks. Since this example is here where I am, I thought I would share it. In this environment, Michelle and I each have a skill. I read people, every opportunity would find me in material and classes on body language, speech nuances etc.
I spent 8 years in the mental health field (law-enforcement arm) and taught classes at 3 police academies on the mentally/emotionally disturbed. Michelle is a people person. She can have you telling family secrets, in under 2 hours. She’s amazing. It’s not done intentionally, her personality just seems to relax people.
While we keep to ourselves, we don’t purposely shun anyone. Some of them don’t like us, because we are allegedly Satan Worshipers. Open the ears and eyes, keep your verbal contributions minimal, and you’ll be surprised at what is under the onion layers. We have met a couple of what we call normal people (2 out of the 20 units?). Some are funny, some are crafty and illegal. Some are pitiful.
PGM award winner:
They live together, both are in their early 20s, have a baby. She doesn’t work. He works “under the table” $500 a week, no taxes taken out. That is so the welfare system won’t cut the food stamps they receive, or his unemployment check. They also get supplemental money and supplies for the baby. The girl and baby are on Medicaid. They often move, living with family, friends, and rentals in parks.
No job, no baby daddy = Benefits.
Here in Alabama, if you have 3 trailers in proximity, we call it a park LOL. They reveal the benefits are the reason they are not married. They just live together, and report she lives alone, and he has abandoned her. No job, no baby daddy = Benefits. No medical bills to speak of, no food bills, but they still waste to the point of not having enough for the month. Parties, and trips to the creek with friends etc. Oh, to supplement their income, they sell some food allowance to others. I can think of about 6 charges off the top of my head, without digging deeper, most of them felonies. These folks are nomad like, never in one place for very long, using someone else’s address (usually a family or friends) as if it was their official address, for the benefits.
Do you report it? Been there done that! I used to try even when I was a cop. The state workers themselves, would tell me there was no money or resources to go after the ones I reported. One suspect lived within 12 miles of the courthouse, and he could be seen standing around out in the county with sheriff deputies chatting, while having outstanding warrants or court orders on him regarding the reports. He was out of my jurisdiction, so I could not execute the warrants. These people come up with all sorts of ways to make money, most of it illegal, the easy money is generally always an illegal method, mostly for beer, or drugs, some just to squeak by.
Friends? Nope. As the line in the hilarious movie “Money Pit” goes, “Let’s not go there again”.
Now, to lighten the mood, a clip from that movie.
Do you have people in your area as devious?
Comments welcome,
For those not familiar with the movie, Walter and his wife are pouring money into an old mansion to fix it (I can relate). Nothing is going right. He has gone to the kitchen to check on the turkey in the oven, and get some warm water for their bath. At one point in the scene he says “Let’s not go there again”. I hope you have time to watch the 3-minute segment, it may brighten your day.
This is so funny, Ron. Sort of like our lives are some days.
Reading about your ” just below the law” neighbours was funny and sad all at once. I sort of sympathize with them and wish them well too. I mean, if the system is out to get them, they need to find ways to beat the system, correct ?
Susie
A woman I worked with (in an executive position) had 2 kids (out of 3) that were always playing the system. Both (one a son) had all their kids without marrying the partner because they’d lose benefits. I would try not to roll my eyes as she seemed to justify it in her own mind. The were where they were because they made bad decisions. The son turned down a great job working for the local utility so he could continue to do odd jobs and get paid under the table. He had 3 DUIs and only after he spent time in jail did he cut back on his drinking. My friend and her husband were both hard workers but I often wondered what went on that the kids felt so comfortable skirting the law.
Jail time tends to slow some down. Not all, but some.It makes you wonder what steers kids to that, as you say. Were they lavished with anything they wanted? We live in a world today, where kids suffer very little disappointment. Many grow up feeling that the end justifies the means (obtaining things). They are “supposed” to get something for nothing. Thanks for the nice comment and exchange Kate!
What is so tragic about people like this is that they poison public sympathy for others who really do need help. I am struck by the contrast between the straits you and Michelle found yourselves in and this pair. I was greatly helped at one desperate time in my life by social welfare programs and food stamps but always felt judged when spending them because of moochers like these.
We tried to get help once when we lost everything after the injuries. A church I attended for 8 years, and gave $250 to each month as a tithe, gave me $20 and a small bag of grits and cereal. At least it was something. Then food stamps assistance, offered us a whopping $75 dollars a month for 5 persons. They claimed we were privy to the in-laws income of $500 a month. the father got from SS. I learned quickly, if your honest you get nothing. Being honest and not starving, we preferred the little we had. You are so right about the moochers that make it hard for the needy to get assistance. Thanks for the nice post.
Wow.
You said it in one word.
First things first. The video? HILARIOUS! I haven’t seen that movie, so… surprise, and funny!
Re the PGMs – unreal, isn’t it? The NERVE, or as we say in Yiddish, CHUTZPAH! I have an equal story: an ex-friend of mine got her pension at 65 plus the top-up amount we have in Canada (if your income is low enough) called the Guaranteed Income Supplement. So she gets the max, about $1,500 a month, ok? She lives alone. But – get this – that’s is ON TOP of the $3,000 she gets from a rich uncle, UNDER THE TABLE TAX-FREE. I could report her but – nah.
I tried to tell her she was ripping off the government, no, the *tax-payers* like me, but she doesn’t care. For this and other reasons (perpetual drama queen and general meanness), I had to un-friend her.
It’s a really good movie to enjoy. Some people just rake it in. I know a man who retired from UPS, he gets a bundle from them, and then a good amount from social security since he made so much during his working years. It must be nice.