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My old baby sitter and her family has been on food stamps, section 8 housing for several years now. She dropped out of school and her husband cannot keep any job he gets. In the last coupe of years he has been fired from 3 different jobs. Right now he works for McDonald's. So his 8.50 and an hour is supporting 6 people. His paycheck and the food stamp money. They also only pay $150-200 dollars a month for their apartment. They had their 4th child 2 years ago. Every year around February they manage to get thousands of dollars back from the federal government. If you were to walk into their house you would see a large, 50 " plasma TV, surround sound system. They pay over $100 a month for Comcast cable. I can keep on going.
This kind of behavior is very common and it is a lifestyle. Im not saying everybody on food stamps and government aid are like this but too many are.
I limited my question to food stamps specifically because it has the fastest-growing demand of all government programs and because for more than half of recipients, food stamps is the only social welfare benefit they recieve. Though a very diverse pool of people participate in this program, it seems to carry the same stigma as TANF, Section 8 housing, etc.
For the record, study after study has demonstrated that the situation you describe is NOT common. Possibly the worst part of being on any sort of public assistance is that people talk about these rare cases like they are the rule and not the exception. It just isn't true. If you would like the actual stats on welfare program recipients, you can get a lot of insight browsing the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services website or HUD.gov. Here's a quick official stat on the "welfare mom" myth: the most recent published data says 1 in 2 TANF-recipient households contain only one child. Less than 8% of TANF households contain more than 3 children, and many of these are blended or concentrated families of some sort, (i.e., the kids do not all have the same mother). Just one example of how your ex-babysitter's case is not the norm.
stigma??what stigma??? it's more like entitlement...the more they can get, the more they will take.....food stamps, medicaid, section 8, cash assistance (stupidest damn thing I've ever seen...they just buy gum and get $50 in cash as change and buy smokes and beer)
the whole system needs revamping..no able bodied single person should ever get a govt handout. If you have a child and get food stamps, you should be going to a food bank and they decide what you're going to get...not YOU. And you should be on mandatory birth control and any child born while on assistance doesn't qualify you for more assistance.
the card here in Florida has a picture of the American Flag..( all stores that take EBT have a large pic of the card) it's easy to tell the EBT card from a back card.
If you ever have the misfortune of needing a govt "handout", you will find out all about the stigma. If I didn't experience what it's like needing govt assistance because I didn't make enough to survive, I would be hoping that karma pays a visit to people who judge and look down on people on assistance but I could never wish poverty on anyone even if they deserve to experience it. Relying on government assistance is not living the easy life as you seem to believe it is.
Food banks rely on donations and for many there's more people who need their help then there is people donating food. Food stamps are necessary.
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Originally Posted by thinkalot Maybe you can explain to me why a person making that amount of money thought it was a good idea to have a family?
Google Great Recession (2007-2009). Many people had high incomes and could afford to start a family but then they got laid off and became poor. Becoming low income can happen to anyone at anytime.
Here's another example of a poster taking their perception of one or two people receiving SNAP benefits (or maybe just plain old heresy) and using that tiny, miniscule dab of experience to make sweeping generalizations about every poor person and person who receives SNAP benefits in every town, every state, throughout the entire country. Why, why, WHY do some people think it's okay to do this to poor people? Are rich people all the same? Are men all the same? Are women all the same? White people? People who live in Nebraska? LGBT people? Christians? No, they aren't. And to think otherwise is ridiculous.
Simply put, luzianne, you are wrong. The vast majority of SNAP recipients DO work. They work very hard, in fact. They just work crappy minimum-wage jobs that don't pay enough to get them and their families out of poverty. Something like 92 percent of SNAP recipients are families with children, the elderly, and the disabled. And as far as that other 8 percent goes, states are increasingly requiring able-bodied adult SNAP recipients without dependents to work at least twenty hours per week or lose their benefits, and have their benefit amount adjusted downward because of the income they earn. Those are not generalizations. They are facts that can be easily verified on any government website, should you care to check them.
Furthermore, I have a very hard time believing that you have never needed or taken a helping hand from anyone, anywhere, at any point throughout your life. But, if that is really the case, then you are the most fortunate person I have ever heard of, luzianne, because in the world I know, people stumble, people fall, bad things happen, and helping each other is part of the social contract.
The OP asked where we got our perceptions of the program. I answered. EVERY person I know personally who is on food stamps could work but does not and does not want to. The OP asked how our views were formed, and that is how my views were formed. Three are adult male alcoholics, unmarried, no dependents, who sell their SNAP for 50 cents on the dollar by waiting outside grocery stores and approaching people. They then go with that person to the checkout counter and use their SNAP card and the person pays them 50% of the value in cash. They then use the cash to buy alcohol.
Then I know a few families who are on food stamps. Could work, but don't want to. They now only have 1 or 2 dependent kids at home but over the last 20 years have received food stamps to feed their families. It's a way of life for them. And if you look at their parents, that's where they learned it - because they were raised by parents who did the same thing.
Why is the government's/taxpayers' job to support people? We live in the country that has the MOST opportunities of anywhere else on earth, but it does take getting off your ass and doing something for yourself. The opportunities are there if you want them. My parents were poor, but we were never on food stamps. I started out not making much money, but I worked my way up and went to school (which is available to ANYONE and poor people can get PELL grants and low interest loans if they really want to improve their lot in life).
I bet if all entitlement programs ended today, effective immediately, people would figure out a way to take care of themselves.
You can find it hard to believe all you want, but I have supported myself my entire life. I have been working since I was 16. In December I will no longer have the job/business I have had since 1992. But I am already preparing myself for something else, because it is still my job to take care of myself. My husband and I have raised three kids without any help from taxpayers or anyone else.
That said, I don't have a problem with public assistance for a limited time for people who are TRULY in need. But every person I know who has been on public assistance were only in need because they didn't want to have to go to work and support themselves. It's not that they couldn't, it's that they wouldn't.
"I bet if all entitlement programs ended today, effective immediately, people would figure out a way to take care of themselves."
BS, sorry. The USA has the worst level of social mobility in the developed world. There are NOT opportunities for poor people to work up and earn enough to survive.
Many people simply have no hope. Their motivation is shot and the scapegoating of them adds to their feelings of being ostracized.
There is no point arguing with many conservatives because it's always the same stuff that gets parroted I am sure some of you would be perfectly happy to see poor people sterilized at birth and starved.
Location: where people are either too stupid to leave or too stuck to move
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the media gave it the stigma by reagan.. by attaching it to black people and "welfare queens" it made people hate it and all the poor people who use it, by deeming them greedy poor people who don't want to work and just want to make babies , be poor and get free food... its a good strategy so that the real rich people/people in charge can keep you made at them and not the system, because in the end youre all the same, at the bottom blaming each other for each others problems.. divide and conquer is great to gain control
That's just your opinion, which is tainted by ignorance and prejudice.
Perhaps you'll find yourself in a situation where you need that kind of help. Honestly, if karma exists you most likely deserve to find out the hard way how degrading and hopeless it feels to be poor. Clearly, you are clueless.
It is not my opinion, it is the truth. And as I said, I do think there should be help for people who truly need temporary assistance. That is what the program is for. But that is NOT what is happening. It is being used for people who don't want to work. I think you are the one who is clueless. The best way to get rid of that degraded and hopeless feeling is to get up and do something for yourself. It's very empowering. You think if someone is feeling bad about themselves because they are poor, that we should take pity on them and support them financially the rest of their lives? That doesn't even make sense. Why not encourage them to take care of THEMSELVES so they can feel a sense of accomplishment and power over their own lives.
Why kind of "prejudice" would you be referring to, by the way?
I take issue with your thread title, because there's no stigma and there should be.
New York, in particular, has done whatever it can to eliminate what used to be the stigma of being on "food stamps," now a benefit card to be swiped wherever one wishes and, hopefully, so taxpayers aren't aware of it (anyone, however, can easily find out what their state's EBT card looks like). These things can be used at strip joints, casinos, and a variety of other places to buy booze, lottery tickets, and edibles that, at one time, were verboten to purchase with the stamps. In addition to the food allowance (and give me a break with that oft-repeated "5-buck-a-day" amount), and the myriad of other programs offered here, there's the pesky cash allowance that many people forget about, and it's one that can curiously be carried over and allowed to accrue from month to month.
Thanks to the largesse of the taxpayers, able-bodied people who are on the dole and shouldn't be, are living a middle class lifestyle with ease. And no stigma.
I take issue with your thread title, because there's no stigma and there should be.
New York, in particular, has done whatever it can to eliminate what used to be the stigma of being on "food stamps," now a benefit card to be swiped wherever one wishes and, hopefully, so taxpayers aren't aware of it (anyone, however, can easily find out what their state's EBT card looks like). These things can be used at strip joints, casinos, and a variety of other places to buy booze, lottery tickets, and edibles that, at one time, were verboten to purchase with the stamps. In addition to the food allowance (and give me a break with that oft-repeated "5-buck-a-day" amount), and the myriad of other programs offered here, there's the pesky cash allowance that many people forget about, and it's one that can curiously be carried over and allowed to accrue from month to month.
Thanks to the largesse of the taxpayers, able-bodied people who are on the dole and shouldn't be, are living a middle class lifestyle with ease. And no stigma.
Don't spread misinformation. You cannot buy alcohol, cigarettes, or lottery tickets with food stamps, even on an EBT card. If you happen to receive a cash benefit, that's different. Most people who receive food stamps do NOT receive any cash benefits at all.
Basically, you can buy any item that has a Nutrition Facts label on it. You cannot buy things that have a Supplement Facts label (energy drinks, vitamins, etc.), alcohol, or non-foods.
Here is how much you can potentially get (note that most people do NOT receive the maximum) in SNAP (food stamps).
Basically, the maximum one person can get is $200/month. It increases to $367 for two, $526 for three, and so on. IF they are poor enough, that is.
I remember when I was the only one working, making 8 bucks an hour and I supported myself and my husband. We lived south of Seattle at the time and we wanted kids at the time but just couldn't afford it. We managed to get by fine without any assistance. After one year my husband landed a retail job and from there it just went up up up. You have to have drive. If you have no drive you might as well throw in the towel.
I remember when I was the only one working, making 8 bucks an hour and I supported myself and my husband. We lived south of Seattle at the time and we wanted kids at the time but just couldn't afford it. We managed to get by fine without any assistance. After one year my husband landed a retail job and from there it just went up up up. You have to have drive. If you have no drive you might as well throw in the towel.
Me too. I was making $6.10 an hour in 1985 when my first child was born. My husband was making about the same. We worked hard and did what we had to do to get ahead and raised three kids with no assistance. Now our three kids are working and have never been on any assistance. They don't make much money, but they are supporting themselves and they are going to school so they can put themselves in a position to do better.
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