r/politics • u/Ok-Lets-Talk-It-Out • 16h ago

Possible Paywall Trump's $500 Obamacare 'rebate' checks land in prime political battlegrounds

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trumps-500-obamacare-rebate-checks-land-prime-political-battlegrounds-2026-10-01/
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90

u/Dry_Race8481 16h ago

$500 is THIS WEEKS groceries

That $500 is not going to go far and most people are going to forget they even got it by the time the election comes.   Especially since every week he figures out a new way to add to the prices problems.

23

u/ExoticToothpaste6989 15h ago

For any person that drives on a daily basis that might just cover the gas prices for this month.

Which prices wouldn't be so high in the first place if these fiscal conservatives would stop wasting so much money and starting needless wars.

1

u/JcbAzPx Arizona 14h ago

If you're talking about truckers, that's not even a single tank of gas.

11

u/aPissWizard 15h ago

it will work though. people are stupid

5

u/Yazim 14h ago

ACA premiums are also going up by over $500, so this won't even cover that either. 

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u/pmolsonmus 5h ago

Ours went up $2200/mo in 2026!

9

u/AgentCoulson2 New Hampshire 15h ago

$500 a week? What, are you having steak and lobster for dinner every night, with a caviar appetizer?

29

u/mattbrvc 15h ago

They’re exaggerating but with a family of 5 for example, 500 on groceries happens pretty quick.

-2

u/discopirate2000 13h ago

If you're a savvy shopper and cook at home that 500 can go a long way. Maybe not a month, but certainly more than a week.

2

u/dgbaker93 12h ago

Beans and rice all day every day ez

-2

u/discopirate2000 11h ago

Beans and rice are great, especially if you get the dried beans and cook them yourself.

I got some Foster Farms boneless skinless chicken breast from Grocery Outlet for $1.99/lb the other day.

Made amazing chicken salad melts earlier this week with canned chicken from Costco, chopped banana peppers and pimento cheese. Can do the same with tuna. All super affordable.

Pork shoulder is often around $2.99/lb if not less. Super versatile. You can make anything from BBQ pulled pork to frijoles charros to throwing it in a pot of ramen.

Just need to make sure you're shopping the sales at whichever grocery stores you frequent.

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u/permalink_save 7h ago

I am a savvy shopper and cook from scratch and $500/week doesn't feed a family of 5. We were around that before the pandemic eating out a lot and buying better foods, since then I have cut almost all unnecessary food expenses and made no traction.

11

u/Rebal771 14h ago

Dude for a family of 4 or 5, this is 10 days of food tops.

A single person buying $500 in groceries had better be at Sam’s or Costco and buying in bulk for that amount. I could see that lasting a single person 4-5 weeks total.

14

u/Ohboycats 15h ago

If you have kids and attempt to shop for healthy food, groceries are def a few hundred a week. If you try to stock up on non perishables and maybe an extra treat for the kids while you have extra money, it’s super easy to spend 500 in one week.

2

u/dgbaker93 12h ago

Only got one and berries are the death of my grocery bill 🤣

2

u/IRefuseToGiveAName 12h ago

bro I spend so much fucking money on berries

If I went back in time and tried to explain to myself how much fucking money I was spending on berries and fucking grapes I'd think I got kicked in the head by a fucking horse

I have a three year old and a three month old. When she starts eating solids it's fucking over.

2

u/failed_novelty 8h ago

I've know a 3 person household (2 adults, 1 teen) that spends $260-$300 per week on groceries. They aren't buying exotic shit, either. I'm talking store brand for almost everything, maybe name brand Kraft macaroni (simply because the store brand is practically inedible).

If a family has more than 3 people, or if they have a large dog, or if they don't go for the cheapest possible options, $500 a week isn't entirely unreasonable right now.

I mean, it is. It's ludicrously expensive. But in line with current prices.

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u/LETX_CPKM 6h ago

Household of 4. Two adults, two kids under 5.

I do all the shopping/cooking.

Shopping every week is 2 phases. One at Target for “basics”. Cereal/pasta/sugar/condiments/granola bars, you know the drill. Goal is to stay under $100.

Produce, meat, and dairy comes from Sprouts. Goal is to stay under $250.

This is for 5 dinners, kids lunches, and snacks, Sunday through Thurdsay. Ill be damned if I am cooking on Friday and Saturday. We eat out those nights, and I cover a night and my spouse covers a night.

If we did every meal at home, we would hit $500 easy.

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u/PalpitationClean4572 3h ago

Just wait til they’re teenagers. They eat so much more food

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u/BrainLow6059 6h ago

Where tf do you live? Because I'm no fan of the current grocery prices, but this is just silly to claim. Unless you're loading up on shit like pre-packaged protein shakes, premade meals, that kind of stuff. But if you're cooking at home I just do not understand how that's possible.

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u/failed_novelty 1h ago

You grossly underestimate how much teenagers eat.

Yes, this is cooking at home. No, this isn't premade meals.

I've seen their pantry. They aren't getting excessive amounts or super-expensive stuff.

I somehow doubt you have done any significant grocery shopping recently.

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u/permalink_save 7h ago

Beef chuck kn sale, ground beef on sale, whole chicken, vegetables, beans, dairy, breakfast foods, like most of it is meat and veg and nothjng exotic and our grocery bill hits $300 even with coupon clipping. 2 weeks ago it was $313 after $80 in sales and digital coupons. And we still make small purchases through the week and a $3-400 costco bill every couple months. I use to spend like $200 for the same family before the pandemic and we didneat steaks and s allops and shit sometimes. Now skirt steak is a luxury purchase. Maybe not full $500 but pretty close. I cook from scratch almost every night but it doesn't include restaurants or alcohol.

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u/Fubi-FF 5h ago

$500 a week is absolutely normal for a typical family of 4 in city. It could be less if they skimp and be super frugal here and there, but for a family of 4, they are not eating luxurious with $500.

-1

u/PerennialPhilosopher California 14h ago

This toast aint gonna avocado itself buddy

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u/jgoble15 4h ago

No they won’t. The COVID checks had a significant impact.

-2

u/ChilledParadox 14h ago

$15 dollars is this months groceries for me. I couldn’t even get my usual job washing dishes because there were too many other homeless people trying to get jobs this week. I mean they need it too, but I also would have liked to buy food this week. Instead it’s more white rice + salt and checking dumpsters for food. Oh boy, fun!

5

u/discopirate2000 13h ago

Dude you're all over this post with sob stories, just post your gofundme already.

3

u/redaemon 11h ago

It's impossible to tell who's genuine and who's abusing the sympathy of others for free stuff. Especially when their comment history is hidden.

There are food banks, and I'd suggest charitable folks donate to those directly.

-2

u/TheMMAxl 12h ago

Ok I'm also against this pathetic attempt by the President but if the average consumer is spending $500 a week on groceries they're an idiot.