That was a Vapor translation, right?

He's too busy hating me. "sniff" All liberals are hateful, and mean, terrible, wicked, bad and nasty.

@vaportrail said:

Wooooo! Not that you xxxxers care, but I got the job with Kaplan. 18/hr... holy shit. Definitely NOT going to be using food stamps, plus this will look much better on my resume'. I love kicking life's ass.

Congratulations. I wish you the best, no matter what you may think of me.

Heck could have a big role as Nurse Betty. MosquitoZits could play the role of the rickshaw mechanic,

The audeince would be spell bound waiting in suspense... to see how they ever get anywhere when they always turn left... @@

he would join the Peace Corps and live in some jungle hut in some Chinese communist farm area, and get malaria,

and typhoid fever and bit by some poisonous snake, and then he'd be flown all the way back here for

medical treatment, yelling about how our medical system is the worst in the world, @@, but he will have amnesia, go on welfare and food stamps, and he'll pile sand up around

his little kiddie pool in his section eight housing back yard, and sip pina coladas on our dime for the rest of his life, and Michael Moo-er would be his roommate. And the rest of us will foot the bill.

@pumpkin-eater said:

Yet when he graduates he will be in a tax bracket that actually has to pay more than a few thousand dollars in taxes. You're measly tax amount doesn't go to pay much. He'll be paying for the services you use daily.

WOW, you know how successful he will be when he graduates AND you know how much income tax I pay every year. (And apparently how much income). You sure are smart.

******************

self centered, atheistic mooch. @@ No, you can't have a rickshaw with two chinese runners at your disposal, either. No nanny, but maybe

we could chip in for a 24-7 tutor for you.

This is the car that you need and then you will be famous/popular.

I'm sure every greenie weenie at your school will be sure to talk about you.

@diehardbrownsfan said:

Just what we need, another fooking leach off me.

Yet when he graduates he will be in a tax bracket that actually has to pay more than a few thousand dollars in taxes. You're measly tax amount doesn't go to pay much. He'll be paying for the services you use daily.

Hey tron, question for you. Who, in your opinion, is entitled to food stamps?

@calfoxwc said:

Good luck, there's a lot of unreliable junk out there. I don't know diddley about Buicks.

Here ya go. 2001 Buick Century, very reliable according to JD Power.

It's only been a couple years ago that Buick topped Lexus to be the most reliable make in JD Powers' long term (3 year) vehicle reliability study. Take from it what you will. These studies are not a guarantee of anything. But they are a good starting point.

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/Buick/Century/2001/Sedan/

@vaportrail said:

I went to grad school, as did my sister and that's how ours worked. Room and board was paid if you choose to be a grad assistant. However your situation is just as good if not better. If your class load is paid for then all you have to worry about is room and board.

Wait, did you have to pay for your classes, then?

I still think using food stamps is completely bogus whether you're below the poverty line or not.

I respectfully disagree.

No one is forcing you to go to grad school is my point.

And? My job search turned up nothing. Applied to about 15 jobs. If I weren't doing this, I'd be unemployed or doing landscaping (eff ever doing landscaping again, one summer was enough).

Room and board likely translates to just about the same as a full grad school schedule so in my opinion it's a wash. As I said previously you may be making out better.

Room and board last year was just under 6000 per semester, so yeah, it's about even.

Soooo 14k to cover room/board and you can grab a beater for under 500 I'm sure. If not get a bike and stick close to campus.

I'm just worried that if I buy a POS for 500, that to keep it running will cost an arm and a leg. My brother just did that, actually, and his xxxxing wheel fell off while he's driving.

Your research also shouldn't take up so much of your time that you couldn't grab a job for a couple days a week.

You clearly didn't graduate in the sciences. I'm currently on 3 separate projects with experiments that need data in 12 hour intervals, so I'm not in lab from 9-5. I'm interviewing for a part time job with Kaplan as an MCAT instructor, but if my research or classes need my time, I'll be kissing that job good bye (if I get it).

I'd be ashamed to use food stamps if I didn't truly need them. It is abusing the system. People that use them daily AREN'T going to grad school for 30k a year.

That's for the case worker to decide.

Scholarship money and financial aid and you can 100% live off your stipend without dipping in to additional government assistance. I personally think it's totally bogus and would never do it. I personally would be ashamed because grad students aren't supposed to be on the "program". They pay you just enough to get by so you should be able to make your stipend work and if you'll be at the school that often your car won't be driven that often anyway. Look for a used Honda Civic/accord and stash money away when you get it for future vehicle repairs if necessary. It should also be noted that employers like to see kids get away from the student life and work a little bit even if it's no in their desired field. They don't like to see people graduate with a B.S and jump right in to grad school. 15 jobs also isn't a lot, especially in this economy. No guarantee that when you finish your masters you're going to find a job. My sister has her's in Special Education/community mental health and just found a job and she graduated last December. The position also isn't permanent so times are tough. You may end up paying 30k plus a year for 2 years or longer only to find yourself in the same position. You also need to know that when you fill out job applications etc and send in resumes they are going to see that you took food stamps. They'll then have the same questions. "Why were you going to grad school and living off food stamps?"

Do what you gotta do. It's abusing the system in my opinion.

@vaportrail said:

When I was in the service many decades @@ ago, there were a few guys who got food stamps. They got them by saying they were homeless, and relying on soup kitchens. But they were in the Air Force, getting paid, and living with a few friends. And they would trade their food stamps for booze at the local state store, quite illegally.

I'm not homeless, and if I want these food stamps, then I have to interview with a case worker whom I have no intention of lying to. If I qualify, I qualify, if not, then too bad for me.

It's gotten THAT BAD over all these years. Insurance? I'm sure that your advisor in college can advise you, Vaporized, or do you want extra medical insurance free, too?

My mom's insurance is quite literally the only benefit I get from my parents, and I think they only do it because they get benefits too, but I'm not sure how much longer they will be able to claim me. So even if I'm covered now, insurance is something I'm going to need to look into. The program offered by the grad school isn't free, but it's cheap. I'm just looking for the cheapest way to do this.

How about a free car ?

Oh please. I haven't had a car since my senior year of high school.

Anyways - enough about the food stamp thing. The suggestion about a Honda Accord is an excellent one. Our friends drive one still, with well over a hundred thousand miles on it, and they go on out of state vacations with it all the time, it's so reliable. A lot of foreign cars cost $$$$$$$$$ to get fixed. If you travel back home a lot, a good distance, or plan to drive a lot - maybe a lease would be good, if it was very cheap. In a big snow environment - you should consider a Ford Escape with four wheel drive. It's a great little car, plenty of room for your stuff - good gas mileage. But the Honda Accord is very highly rated for dependability with a lot of miles on it.

Thanks, I honestly appreciate the info. I know very, very little about leasing vehicles. I know that many of them go by mileage, so if I do lease, I shouldn't be traveling very much (and I won't I'll just be going from downtown to the campus, mostly). But would anyone recommend either leasing a decent car or just buying a POS beater?

You're covered until 26 via your parents insurance. Thank President Obama.

@vaportrail said:

That's not how grad school works. Grad school, (in the sciences, anyways), they pay YOU to do research and your class fees get waived, so I'm not paying any school at this time 30k/year. Anyways, my wage is pretty terrible. I'm going to make just over 14k for the whole year. Here's how I can argue my case.

According to this factsheet

http://jfs.ohio.gov/factsheets/foodassistance.pdf

According to the National Poverty Center, in 2009, the poverty thresholds were, for a single individual under 65 years old, $11,161.

Source: http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/

Following a link on their site to the census' calculation of the poverty threshold in 2010, inflation has raised the number to $11,344

Source: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html

My income is 14,500. 130% of 11,344 is 14,747. Therefore, I qualify according to the guidelines in Ohio. Seeing that I've been living paycheck to paycheck already without car and insurance payments, the 200-300/month I can get toward food would be alleviate a bunch of financial stress. I'm going to need the car because I won't be living on campus anymore (and my contract does not include room and board, as tron said it does) so I really don't consider this to be abusing the system.

I went to grad school, as did my sister and that's how ours worked. Room and board was paid if you choose to be a grad assistant. However your situation is just as good if not better. If your class load is paid for then all you have to worry about is room and board. I still think using food stamps is completely bogus whether you're below the poverty line or not. No one is forcing you to go to grad school is my point. Room and board likely translates to just about the same as a full grad school schedule so in my opinion it's a wash. As I said previously you may be making out better. Soooo 14k to cover room/board and you can grab a beater for under 500 I'm sure. If not get a bike and stick close to campus. Your research also shouldn't take up so much of your time that you couldn't grab a job for a couple days a week. I'd be ashamed to use food stamps if I didn't truly need them. It is abusing the system. People that use them daily AREN'T going to grad school for 30k a year.

I'm not going to pull that shit.

Offhand, do not buy a VW, Pontiac, or some dipsy foreign jobbie.

I'd go older Chevy sedan, or Ford ... but it depends. You surely won't find a deal on any car lot...

check the papers etc, and try to buy one from an older owner who didn't trash it mechanically.

Good luck, there's a lot of unreliable junk out there. I don't know diddley about Buicks.

And, if you qualify for food stamps honestly, that's a good thing if you can get them. It's what they are for.

@calfoxwc said:

Liberals, generally speaking, game the system. And if they can't game it, they try to warp it so they can.

Kind of like Governor K-Sick?

Like "gay marriage" for the conveniences, in the face of any morality or principle or legality.

Food stamps? "A bunch of other grad students are doing it" ???

And we wonder why our entitlement spending is so high? LOL?

When I was in the service many decades @@ ago, there were a few guys who

got food stamps. They got them by saying they were homeless, and relying on soup kitchens.

But they were in the Air Force, getting paid, and living with a few friends. And they would

trade their food stamps for booze at the local state store, quite illegally.

I was just out of electronics tech school, and he and his buddy kept telling me I should go in with them.

It's what they do: They game the system to their advantage - and it's all part of Obamao's marxist "spread the wealth" race baiting and class warfare crap.

It's gotten THAT BAD over all these years. Insurance? I'm sure that your advisor in college can advise you, Vaporized, or do you want extra medical insurance free, too?

How about a free car ?

Anyways - enough about the food stamp thing. The suggestion about a Honda Accord is an excellent one. Our friends drive one still, with well over a hundred thousand miles

on it, and they go on out of state vacations with it all the time, it's so reliable. A lot of foreign cars cost $$$$$$$$$ to get fixed.

If you travel back home a lot, a good distance, or plan to drive a lot - maybe a lease would be good, if it was very cheap. In a big snow environment -

you should consider a Ford Escape with four wheel drive. It's a great little car, plenty of room for your stuff - good gas mileage. But the Honda Accord is

very highly rated for dependability with a lot of miles on it.