Illinois Link Card - Let's get real in here (Park Forest: job transfer, living)

[nana053]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Google the name "Jason Greenslate".

He was featured on a FOX News report last week titled "The Great Food Stamp Binge". It's not clear that he is committing any actual "fraud" as it is legally defined, but he appears to be an able-bodied young man who does not want to work, is not looking for work, and has no intention of looking for work, and is collecting $200 a month in SNAP benefits. He spends his days goofing off, surfing, playing and singing rock songs, hitting on "chicks", and buying sushi and lobster and cooking it up outdoors for him and his buddies.

The report wasn't clear as to whether he was receiving any other type of public assistance, be it disability or welfare benefits. The report said he didn't have a home or apartment of his own, but just bummed around alternating between living with family, friends, girlfriends, etc.

His only aspiration, it appears, is to play in a rock band and make it big. He was signed on to a record label, but hasn't made any money yet.

He had gone to school to learn to be a music producer or something along those lines, but decided he wanted to be a rock star instead of doing grunt work for other rock stars.

I don't think the point was that he was committing actual "fraud", but that he's figured out how to legally game the system and that it means that these public assistance benefits are too easy to get.

Now, other reports show that only 1 percent of SNAP recipients are abusing the system in this manner, but given that 47 million Americans are on SNAP, 1 percent of that is still an awful lot of people.

Half of all new SNAP participants received benefits for 10 months or less in the mid 2000s, up from 8 months in the early 2000s. Single parent families and elderly individuals tended to stay in the program longer than did working poor individuals, childless adults without disabilities, and noncitizens. Seventy-four percent of new participants left the program within two years. This is an increase from 71 percent in the early 1990s

SNAP limits were changed in 2009 due to the high unemployment, but they are set to return to more limits in November 2013.

Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs)

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) limits the receipt of SNAP benefits to 3 months in a 3-year period for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) who are not working, participating in, and complying with the requirements of a work program for 20 hours or more each week, or a workfare program.

Individuals are exempt from this provision if they are:
under 18 or 50 years of age or older,
responsible for the care of a child or incapacitated household member,
medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment, pregnant, or
already exempt from the work requirements of the Food Stamp Act.

States may request a waiver of this provision for people in areas with an unemployment rate above 10 percent or for those in an area with insufficient jobs. States also have authority to exempt individuals using the 15% exemption authorized by the Balanced Budget Act.

I'd like to know how this particular man got out of registering for the work program for 20 hours per week.
Also, there is a 3 month limit for able bodied persons to receive benefits although that may have been waived in 2009. It is set to go back to that in November of 2013 so this guy will be off benefits at that time, I would imagine.

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by noid_1985

Missing your sarcasm

Looks like you got it to me.

Originally Posted by noid_1985

....lame.

Nice comeback. What are we, 13 years old now?

Originally Posted by noid_1985

You've obviously missed the point

I think he got your "point" (if that's what you call it) just fine.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by rvernsey

I am 100% against foreign nation building and I do not support foreign aid. The Federal Government wastes money like it's their primary goal. Let's not make this a R vs D thing because I'm not R or D. It's about waste, abuse and misuse of public aid which happens in every city in America. The effects are much further reaching than 1% of federal spending, because you ABSOLUTELY lower overall quality of life, personal morale, GDP, etc when you give a handout to capable people who can work for themselves but don't. The effects are far reaching - not to mention the army of liberal voters that it creates (by design) which will probably be the death of this country. I have met MANY people in this system, don't tell me they don't exist in huge numbers because it's BS.

Only 1% of federal money is spent on TAFN and SNAP, not some huge amount like people who are against these programs seem to believe.

You are still totally ignoring the fact that there are guidelines to qualify for aid and that many people who get aid HAVE JOBS, but they aren't paid enough to have money left over to buy food along with other living expensive. No one is saying fraud doesn't happen and I personally feel that people who are illegal aliens should not qualify for welfare, but they do--and they get it legitimately.

You can't even get benefits if you simply don't want to work. You either have to be working but below or certain income or actively seeking a job if you are currently unemployed and able-bodied. And if you are unemployed and able-bodied you qualify to get it if you have children. Any old joe who doesn't have a job just can't get food stamps. It doesn't work like that. And even if a non-working, childless person qualifies, they may not get even get $100 a month in food stamps. $100 or less a month to buy food doesn't sound like high living to me.

You seem to think that welfare fraud is "far-reaching" and rampant. Do you have the numbers to support your claims? Since you seem to know that this is the case, can you post the data to back this up?

[nearnorth]

Originally Posted by rvernsey

I am 100% against foreign nation building and I do not support foreign aid. The Federal Government wastes money like it's their primary goal. Let's not make this a R vs D thing because I'm not R or D. It's about waste, abuse and misuse of public aid which happens in every city in America. The effects are much further reaching than 1% of federal spending, because you ABSOLUTELY lower overall quality of life, personal morale, GDP, etc when you give a handout to capable people who can work for themselves but don't. The effects are far reaching - not to mention the army of liberal voters that it creates (by design) which will probably be the death of this country. I have met MANY people in this system, don't tell me they don't exist in huge numbers because it's BS.

I can't tell if you've read none of the responses to you, or if you have and still just don't get it. You clearly didn't absorb the Atlantic Monthly article I posted. You appear determined to hang on to your false viewpoint regardless of the evidence to the contrary.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Yeah, how dare those evil cheap grocery stores sell affordable food to people who have to eat.

Umm.. What?

I don't think that's what Noir was saying at all. He was making the very valid point that grocery stores benefit from LINK cards too - not just people who have LINK cards. Calitalists who run grocery stores probably aren't gonna be too opposed to link cards. And I'm not only talking about discount grocery stores.

A grocery store that doesn't accept link makes less profits and loses competition to a grocery store that does. For instance, when I worked at a grocery store in south suburban Park Forest, over half of our revenue came from LINK. Link cards were a fundendmental part of the business.

There's something seriously wrong with your head if you think brining this up is deserving of mockery. Go yell at passerby's on a street corner and leave us alone.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

Looks like you got it to me.



Nice comeback. What are we, 13 years old now?



I think he got your "point" (if that's what you call it) just fine.

No, he didn't you troll. What the hell are you guys babbling about this time? Lets have a discussion instead of attacking people for no reason except that you're a little prick.

If you don't think it's a valid point that profits at grocery stores are increased because of link cards, you don't have to say anything at all. Go post on a different thread and leave us alone.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

I can't tell if you've read none of the responses to you, or if you have and still just don't get it. You clearly didn't absorb the Atlantic Monthly article I posted. You appear determined to hang on to your false viewpoint regardless of the evidence to the contrary.

A belief is only a thought you keep thinking...

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

Only 1% of federal money is spent on TAFN and SNAP, not some huge amount like people who are against these programs seem to believe.

You are still totally ignoring the fact that there are guidelines to qualify for aid and that many people who get aid HAVE JOBS, but they aren't paid enough to have money left over to buy food along with other living expensive. No one is saying fraud doesn't happen and I personally feel that people who are illegal aliens should not qualify for welfare, but they do--and they get it legitimately.

SO are we supposed to ignore the portion of the "just 1%" that is fraudulently spent?

Personally, if you want to eliminate fraud, reward people who identify the fraudsters, Like the IRS does. Of course, that would take some political will to go after the perpetrators.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

SO are we supposed to ignore the portion of the "just 1%" that is fraudulently spent?

Personally, if you want to eliminate fraud, reward people who identify the fraudsters, Like the IRS does. Of course, that would take some political will to go after the perpetrators.

You are misunderstanding. I said only 1% of federal money is actually spent on SNAP and TANF. It was the article said that only 1% of food stamp cases are fraudulent. It is still ridiculous to say that you'd want to eliminate food stamps because, as the article stated PERHAPS 1% of beneficiary cases are fraudulent.

Folks still want to attack the poor people who get welfare when the majority of welfare fraud is NOT committed by them, but rather by people who already have money and businesses who accept welfare benefits as payment. Go back and read the article again, if you read it all. So since beneficiary fraud makes up 1% or less, I don't hear anyone on here complaining about the people who have money or the business who steal welfare money. So you are more concerned with the less than 1% beneficiaries committing fraud than the doctors, middle-class and businesses who commit welfare fraud because the latter aren't poor people? They make up much more than that 1% and are the main ones committing welfare fraud.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by urza216

you troll.

You would go much further around here (and probably in life in general) if you addressed your own tendencies rather than projecting them onto nearnorth and others. It's amazing how the only breaks you take from trolling are to call people trolls. You see this, right? There's a Biblical quote that comes to mind about focusing on the wooden beam in your eye rather than the splinter in your neighbor's. It's a pretty good life lesson regardless of one's religious beliefs.