Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There's an asset limit in many states, including Arizona. If you have a car that's worth over a certain amount, you will be denied assistance. In AZ, it used to be $2,000. So, if you have a car payment, your car is likely over the asset limit.
Okay, I think I already knew that but the "car payments" thing threw me a bit. When I got food stamps my car was nearly 25 years old so I guess it wouldn't have crossed my mind to wonder. In a post upthread I saw where someone had a big new luxury car in their driveway and got food stamps. I KNOW that's not right, probably anywhere a person lives. The car I have now is definitely over the asset limit but so is my income. Thankfully. I know that I had to spend down ALL my savings before I could get food stamps too and that really hurt because I had to start all over...again. Got another job just in the nick of time!
Last edited by AZDesertBrat; 04-17-2014 at 12:12 PM..
Lol, the same tired talking points. It's fascinating that I have never seen any of those instances that other people claim happens all the time. Uh huh. Can someone tell me exactly how much of your taxes goes towards the SNAP program?
Yes. $82.5 billion in FY 2013. It's right on the SNAP website.
Exactly, my points pages back. Conservatives complain about people on the dole and then they say no abortions, WTF? How stupid can you be. Encourage poor people to use birth control and make smart decisions which includes having an abortion when you can't support that child. Because when the parent can't support that unplanned child, those same conservatives end up paying and about welfare Mom's when they are part of the problem. I can't understand why people can't connect the dots, it's not rocket science.
So your belief is that a politician or political system is to blame for a personal bad parenting choice? That the person who made the choice to have a child is a victim of politics?
I turn 65 later this year; fell out of "corporate lockstep" years ago. I'm not married, have used my exposure to a number of disciplines to land a number of jobs. The last three years have provided steady employment, but from 2005-2011, I had a UC claim open every year, usually supplemented by part-time work.
But in only one of those six years did I go beyond the basic 26 weeks of Tier I Unemployment; and I never resorted to Food Stamps.
In contrast, I've seen plenty of abuse of "the system" by other people on the periphery. I know of at least two men in my age group who have been collecting Social Security disability for years, while sometimes supplementing their incomes by non-reported casual labor. When I kept the books for a gritty transient hotel some years ago, I saw any number of tactics used by the locals, from frivolous lawsuits to drug-dealing -- in the avoidance of the dignity of work, and three blocks away was a crack house which, several of the locals assured me, would take Food Stamps.
As luck would have it, I was involuntarily separated from employment earlier this week; not too much of a problem since I've already been hired for a seasonal theme-park job starting in May. Since persons aged 65-70 can now file and claim, I plan to continue pursuing opportunities for a few more years (thereby increasing my basic SS benefit when I do retire) and let UC "fill in the gaps" if need be, and I know I'm not alone in that strategy.
But one wonders how much of the "safety net" might still be available if the United States' position as the world's strongest industrial and financial super-power continues to erode? Should that day come, I regret to say that I don't see our politicians mustering the spine to separate those of us who've played by the rules from those who've turned indolence into a profession.
I turn 65 later this year; fell out of "corporate lockstep" years ago. I'm not married, have used my exposure to a number of disciplines to land a number of jobs. The last three years have provided steady employment, but from 2005-2011, I had a UC claim open every year, usually supplemented by part-time work.
But in only one of those six years did I go beyond the basic 26 weeks of Tier I Unemployment; and I never resorted to Food Stamps.
In contrast, I've seen plenty of abuse of "the system" by other people on the periphery. I know of at least two men in my age group who have been collecting Social Security disability for years, while sometimes supplementing their incomes by non-reported casual labor. When I kept the books for a gritty transient hotel some years ago, I saw any number of tactics used by the locals, from frivolous lawsuits to drug-dealing -- in the avoidance of the dignity of work, and three blocks away was a crack house which, several of the locals assured me, would take Food Stamps.
As luck would have it, I was involuntarily separated from employment earlier this week; not too much of a problem since I've already been hired for a seasonal theme-park job starting in May. Since persons aged 65-70 can now file and claim, I plan to continue pursuing opportunities for a few more years and let UC "fill in the gaps" if need be, and I know I'm not alone in that strategy.
But one wonders how much of the "safety net" might still be available if the United States' position as the world's strongest industrial and financial super-power continues to erode? Should that day come, I regret to say that I don't see our politicians mustering the spine to separate those of us who've played by the rules from those who've turned indolence into a profession.
If they are paying for it with taxpayers' money, taxpayers definitely do have the right to see how their money is being spent/wasted.
If you want people to stop looking at your cart, then use your own hard-earned money to buy things.
Hey, here's an idea to expand a store greeters job. Everyone who buys with an EBT card has to stop at the door, with their grocery list and be 'approved' before they can shop. If there's ANYTHING on that list that could be considered a 'luxury'...junk food, sodas, prepared foods, etc...has to be deleted. OR they can be given vouchers like WIC does that lists exactly what they can get and NO deviations. I think they'd be pretty long vouchers and probably multiples to cover everything. I suppose it could be done but just imagine how long the register lines would be ALL the time because people pick up the wrong thing, it won't scan and you have to wait for someone to go get the correct thing. What a nasty can of worms that would open up. I don't think people have ANY idea how complicated the logistics of such a program can be.
People use food stamps, yes, but the majority of them also hold jobs so they DO pay for things with their own money. There are things they can't buy with food stamps already so they have to have the cash to do so.
If you want to keep your blood pressure down, quit looking in other people's shopping carts and judging them.
How Moderator cut: snip do you know that the people using those poker machines are "blowing their welfare checks"? Did you inspect their checks? Because they're people of color or women, and upstanding middle class white men would never gamble, right? Since when do local gas stations cash checks period????
You may claim you're "angry" at "the government" but what you're really angry at is that you can't control how other people live. Contrary to all the belly-aching that conservatives do about "the government" interfering in people's lives and all their ballyhooing about "freedom", they -- and that includes you -- would just love for "the government" to crack down on people who don't live/act exactly the way you think they should -- as long as those people are poor or non-white or female or any combination.
Since when do they get "welfare checks", for that matter? All cash benefits and food stamps are on one debit card here. And I expect it's the same everywhere. They can get cash from an ATM, if they have cash benefits on their card, but there's no check cashing involved.
It's the ones that abuse the system that spoil it for the people who genuinely need it. And, while I have no hard facts, from what I've seen with my own eyes, it seems the people who are abusing the system outnumber the ones who aren't.
I've seen people that qualify for welfare driving around in Escalades. They live in Section 8 housing which is dirt cheap, but they're driving around in a $50k car? They've got the latest cell phones, flashy watches, etc.
If they can afford anything considered "luxury" then they have no business being on welfare at all.
I tend to not believe things like this. I think it's a gross exaggeration and a big fat myth. How many of these people do you actually know? You've "seen" them but do you actually know them? And just how many have you "seen"? People who say things like this make it sound like everyone is like this but I never see it myself and know nobody who has those things.
Hey, here's an idea to expand a store greeters job. Everyone who buys with an EBT card has to stop at the door, with their grocery list and be 'approved' before they can shop. If there's ANYTHING on that list that could be considered a 'luxury'...junk food, sodas, prepared foods, etc...has to be deleted. OR they can be given vouchers like WIC does that lists exactly what they can get and NO deviations. I think they'd be pretty long vouchers and probably multiples to cover everything. I suppose it could be done but just imagine how long the register lines would be ALL the time because people pick up the wrong thing, it won't scan and you have to wait for someone to go get the correct thing. What a nasty can of worms that would open up. I don't think people have ANY idea how complicated the logistics of such a program can be.
People use food stamps, yes, but the majority of them also hold jobs so they DO pay for things with their own money. There are things they can't buy with food stamps already so they have to have the cash to do so.
If you want to keep your blood pressure down, quit looking in other people's shopping carts and judging them.
There is also a time limit on how long you can be on the system. And you have to be in school or some type of training program unless you are disabled.
When I was doing my professional student thing at the community college there were lots of women there that had to be there as a requirement of getting assistance.
Even the college president had once been a young mom on assistance and she made it out.
Do you not understand that the government/media/right-wing/religion/etc. turns being poor into "Us vs. Them" so that they can keep people divided, angry, and distracted from the real issues? And you clearly do not understand that the first step in creating an enemy is to dehumanize them and create overblown, ridiculous myths about them so that they seem more foreign and more threatening (drug using welfare queen with 16 kids and a BMW anyone?) It's how every war begins, and you're just too blind to see it.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 04-17-2014 at 01:32 PM..
Reason: violation of TOS
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Encourage poor people to use birth control and make smart decisions which includes having an abortion when you can't support that child. Because when the parent can't support that unplanned child, those same conservatives end up paying and about welfare Mom's when they are part of the problem. I can't understand why people can't connect the dots, it's not rocket science.
