Proposed Cuts to Foodstamp Benefits - US

[Monstercloud]

It's to make healtheir altrenetives cheaper.

Right click > correct spelling.

And it's not as easy as that. If you really enjoy something, and it's a few dollars more (and it also isn't your money to begin with), then you're going to pay the extra money. Again, using smokers as an example.

[zerocoolhack]

Our whole welfare system needs reform but since this seems to be only about the budget the first place that needs cuts is military.

[Brangh]

There are some exceptions, but for the most part, the foodstamp program needs to be expanded. Exceptions: Loopholes allowing windfalls to be restructured into smaller fixed-income amounts that allow you to continue in the program need to be closed(e.g., $1million winner in Michigan lotto gets to stay on would no longer happen).

Everyone is going to cite the welfare queen's with 2 kids in the SUV wearing $200 FuBu jeans and so forth waiting in line at the food pantry while getting food stamps and other public aid, but the program needs to continue to exist because it is meant to prevent people from losing everything by at least covering food costs.

Instead of cutting aid, they need to make it easier to cut people off for a fixed period time who have demonstrated that they are fraudulently collecting (or other similar fault) when they should not be eligible. Of course, when have us Americans been good at managing money for priorities in the first place? More people have cable today, but even more live in poverty, yet I still have no cable or car, but barely put money away for retirement. All about consumption anymore and cutting one of the smallest areas of spending in the budget will not make a difference, especially as May 18th has come and gone. /shrug

[Spectral]

Again, using smokers as an example.

Smoking has dropped like a rock over the last four decades. Maybe not the best example.

[Korgoth]

They should replace food stamps with a work to eat program. Plenty of easy jobs that could use doing for the money we are giving away anyway.

[drwelfare]

Do you have any data that supports that claim?

Go to your nearest urban center, go in one of the less desirable parts of town and watch what people buy and how they pay for it, watch the cash come out for beer and dogfood after foodstamps cover everything else. Also make a note of how much jewelry those who pull out the EBT card have, and what car they drive off in.

[THE Bigzoman]

So I guess Wells, DIdatic, Obdigore, et al are on vacation tonight?

Not doing it alone, Just ain't.

---------- Post added 2013-05-20 at 01:49 AM ----------

Go to your nearest urban center, go in one of the less desirable parts of town and watch what people buy and how they pay for it, watch the cash come out for beer and dogfood after foodstamps cover everything else. Also make a note of how much jewelry those who pull out the EBT card have, and what car they drive off in.

ANecdotal evidence is Anecdotal.

[Monstercloud]

Smoking has dropped like a rock over the last four decades. Maybe not the best example.

Uh.. I might give you like 1 of those 4 decades.

ANecdotal evidence is Anecdotal.

Let's be honest, you'd refute whatever data he'd supply anyways.

[Fugus]

Always attacking they symptoms, never the problem....

How about they fix the problem where people get paid so little while working that they need food stamps to survive, then this problem would solve itself....

Yes, I work, yes, I am on food stamps, about to get it raised to the full $200 per month soon when I move out on my own again. Don't like me on it? Fine, force jobs to pay a livable paycheck where we don't need it to survive. If you can't do that, I have to do something to supplement my allowance since my job refuses to give me a paycheck and I am not trying to live 3 generations under one house just to make ends meet.

Step 1) Force jobs to employ people at a wage that allows them to support themselves without government aid.
Step 2) Force jobs to no longer cut hours or wages below that point.
Step 3) Profit.

We have people working 40 hours and still not able to support themselves without food stamps, that should never be an issue. We have managers who make what in 1968 would be considered minimum wage after inflation. THAT is the issue.

You fix the divide between rich and poor, you fix the employment issues, this becomes even less than a non-issue, this becomes a non-existent issue. Till then, these issues are along the lines of cutting off a leg over getting a charlie horse instead of just walking it out.

[Spectral]

Uh.. I might give you like 1 of those 4 decades.

I'm afraid you'll have to give me all of them:

[Centrum]

Agreeing with whoever said they need to reform the system in general. There are many legit people out there who rely on welfare to live when they can't work, but unfortunately there are even more people out there who get comfortable with the welfare system, and do jack shit to try and improve their lives or give back to the system that helped them when no one else would. The latter of what I mentioned causes people and their children, and their children's children to grow up living on welfare and forever fucking the rest of us who work hard and try to make a living.

And Spectral, even if smoking did drop like a rock, it's still not something you need to live, so I'm guessing that's where they were going with it.

[Spectral]

Always attacking they symptoms, never the problem....

I think this is basically right. I'm inclined to side with the best solution being expanded negative income taxes; I don't like the handholding nature of earmarked benefits. Aid recipients that are making purchasing are adults, they're going to buy food to feed themselves, they don't to be told what money is allocated for food.

---------- Post added 2013-05-19 at 09:55 PM ----------

And Spectral, even if smoking did drop like a rock, it's still not something you need to live, so I'm guessing that's where they were going with it.

The claim was that price changes didn't affect usage rates. That's not supported by the data. People respond to incentives.

[THE Bigzoman]

Always attacking they symptoms, never the problem....

How about they fix the problem where people get paid so little while working that they need food stamps to survive, then this problem would solve itself....

Yes, I work, yes, I am on food stamps, about to get it raised to the full $200 per month soon when I move out on my own again. Don't like me on it? Fine, force jobs to pay a livable paycheck where we don't need it to survive. If you can't do that, I have to do something to supplement my allowance since my job refuses to give me a paycheck and I am not trying to live 3 generations under one house just to make ends meet.

Step 1) Force jobs to employ people at a wage that allows them to support themselves without government aid.
Step 2) Force jobs to no longer cut hours or wages below that point.
Step 3) Profit.

We have people working 40 hours and still not able to support themselves without food stamps, that should never be an issue. We have managers who make what in 1968 would be considered minimum wage after inflation. THAT is the issue.

You fix the divide between rich and poor, you fix the employment issues, this becomes even less than a non-issue, this becomes a non-existent issue. Till then, these issues are along the lines of cutting off a leg over getting a charlie horse instead of just walking it out.

Increase your human capital/Work your way up the ladder or both?

[Angryst]

I'm glad. Cut food stamps/welfare to those who are at least attempting to work or are barely surviving off off minimum wages. Screw the freeloaders, illegals and plain ol' lazy asses looking for a handout. Include drug tests and proof of citizenship while you're at it. I'm tired off all this leeching off the system. If you can afford to get your hands on a 60k car and 15k worth of jewelery you can get your lazy ass off the system.
I agree for some baseline minimal medical program but the same people above are leeching off the system. Sweeping streets is not a glorious job to brag about but at least it's a job. Most people hold themselves to some kind of "I'm too good" standard which is pretty ridiculous.

[Starving Artist]

I know a lot of people who use foodstamps to get by ...this is so stupid and pisses me off because of how bloated the defense budget is ..or how over paid those morons in washington are .

[Elegiac]

Let's be honest, you'd refute whatever data he'd supply anyways.

Because calling out anecdotal evidence as the bullshit it is isn't reasonable at all, right?

[Centrum]

Always attacking they symptoms, never the problem....

How about they fix the problem where people get paid so little while working that they need food stamps to survive, then this problem would solve itself....

Yes, I work, yes, I am on food stamps, about to get it raised to the full $200 per month soon when I move out on my own again. Don't like me on it? Fine, force jobs to pay a livable paycheck where we don't need it to survive. If you can't do that, I have to do something to supplement my allowance since my job refuses to give me a paycheck and I am not trying to live 3 generations under one house just to make ends meet.

Step 1) Force jobs to employ people at a wage that allows them to support themselves without government aid.
Step 2) Force jobs to no longer cut hours or wages below that point.
Step 3) Profit.

We have people working 40 hours and still not able to support themselves without food stamps, that should never be an issue. We have managers who make what in 1968 would be considered minimum wage after inflation. THAT is the issue.

You fix the divide between rich and poor, you fix the employment issues, this becomes even less than a non-issue, this becomes a non-existent issue. Till then, these issues are along the lines of cutting off a leg over getting a charlie horse instead of just walking it out.

Are you doing anything else to try and improve your life and get a better job? One of the reasons why America is pretty nice is you can make something of yourself if you truly want to. I mean shit is rough yeah, but a lot of times people use that as motivation to get where they want to be. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying welfare is a bad thing, because it's not, but when you have people abusing a system meant to help people get back on their feet, then that's where I find an issue.

[Elegiac]

I'm glad. Cut food stamps/welfare to those who are at least attempting to work or are barely surviving off off minimum wages. Screw the freeloaders, illegals and plain ol' lazy asses looking for a handout. Include drug tests and proof of citizenship while you're at it. I'm tired off all this leeching off the system. If you can afford to someone get your hands on a 60k car and 15k worth of jewelery you can get your lazy ass off the system.
I agree for some baseline minimal medical program but the same people above are leeching off the system. Sweeping streets is not a glorious job to brag about but at least it's a job. Most people hold themselves to some kind of "I'm too good" standard which is pretty ridiculous.

"All those leeching of the system" are in an extreme minority. Most people that use welfare/unemployment, etc. use it as it was intended and cycle out of it eventually.

[Korgoth]

Always attacking they symptoms, never the problem....

How about they fix the problem where people get paid so little while working that they need food stamps to survive, then this problem would solve itself....

Yes, I work, yes, I am on food stamps, about to get it raised to the full $200 per month soon when I move out on my own again. Don't like me on it? Fine, force jobs to pay a livable paycheck where we don't need it to survive. If you can't do that, I have to do something to supplement my allowance since my job refuses to give me a paycheck and I am not trying to live 3 generations under one house just to make ends meet.

Step 1) Force jobs to employ people at a wage that allows them to support themselves without government aid.
Step 2) Force jobs to no longer cut hours or wages below that point.
Step 3) Profit.

We have people working 40 hours and still not able to support themselves without food stamps, that should never be an issue. We have managers who make what in 1968 would be considered minimum wage after inflation. THAT is the issue.

You fix the divide between rich and poor, you fix the employment issues, this becomes even less than a non-issue, this becomes a non-existent issue. Till then, these issues are along the lines of cutting off a leg over getting a charlie horse instead of just walking it out.

Or they ban people from taking low paying jobs that can't support themselves unless they have someone who claims them as a dependent and provides that support. Then the company can either fill the positions with dependents or increases the wage of the positions. Their are plenty of people who do not need a living wage, and plenty of jobs that shouldn't require it.

Effectively a strike until the wage is increased.

[THE Bigzoman]

Because calling out anecdotal evidence as the bullshit it is isn't reasonable at all, right?

GOd Forbid one of the ONLY things we are on the same page on and you show up late!

jeez