TOTALLY GEEKED!

Tinydancer wrote:

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No rent subsidy because she lives with her mom who has just enough to make them all ineligible for anything. She does receive $100 of child support each week and her ex pays extras when he can but...

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 Unfortunately all that is factored in to how much food stamps you get.  If her mom has income coming in then they will count that and she will get less.  She probably doesn't get the full amount of food stamps because of the income.  MY point was if you are getting the full amount there is no reason for people to go hungry.

Tinydancer wrote:

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My only point was that food stamps doesn't allow you to live high on the hog. Especially if your mom is a drug addict or your dad is a thug.

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You shouldn't be living high on the hog.  The subsidy is so you can live Low on the hog. 

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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And, no matter how much people give, give, give, it is NEVER enough. Because the reality of life is that there is no amount of money, training, effort or education that is going to make irresponsible people become responsible.

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 AMEN!!!!

flan

Here is what I pulled off of the USDA website. http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/how-much-could-i-receive

This goes by poverty level.  If you look up the national poverty level that is what they use to determine food stamp benefits.  If you have ANY income coming into the household they count it.  They also count any income of anyone in the household including working minors.  Example:  A teenager that works at McDonald's.  Also, certain assets are counted also.  You can own your house and the land it sits on but you can't own more plots of land.  You can own your car but you can't own a boat.  Those are examples.  It just takes a little research and you will find what each state requires. 

I looked at TX since I live here.  You can have 2001 dollars in the bank unless you have a disabled person living with you.  Then they raise the limit to 3001.  Each state sets their own limit on how much you can have in cars but they're pretty generous on this issue.  They take a stand that you need at least one reliable car to look for work.  So, again going by TX, you can have one car that has a value of up to $15k.  You can have more cars than that but all the other cars have to add up to a value of no more than $5k.  Also, you can't have more cars than licensed drivers.  Otherwise that's an unused asset. 

You can have a 401k but not an IRA.  That has to do with the penalties you pay when you cash them in.  They consider an IRA ready cash but a 401k is not considered ready cash because you take a hit on it when you cash it in.  All this is an easy read on the government food stamp site.  They even have a place in each state where you can go punch in your info without identifying yourself (You'd have to make up a name.) and find out if you qualify.  But the initial search isn't recorded anywhere so you can punch in the info and see what you qualify for.  DH and I made up names and info on our state played.  It's a quick calculator and doesn't get sent anywhere unless you decide to do a permanent application

So, going by the following chart this is basically what people receive if they are below the poverty level and don't have any income coming in.  Any assets and income will, of course, be counted and will lower the amount of food stamps you qualify for.  (I don't know your sisters situation Tinydancer but I would guess this is why she didn't get the full amount.)  Also, SSID (disability) is counted as income also and will lower the amount of food stamps you receive.  Looking at this chart, if you get the full amount of food stamps every month I don't see how a family could NOT have enough to eat.  And to eat well.  This is a huge amount of money and it has to be spent on only food.  No paper products, no cleaning products, nothing.  That goes a long way.  IF you are spending it all on food and IF you are getting the full amount.  I know I don't spend that much on food for my family. 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
How Much Could I Receive?
Last Published: 09/25/2014
Allotments for households in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.

The amount of benefits the household gets is called an allotment. The net monthly income of the household is multiplied by .3, and the result is subtracted from the maximum allotment for the household size to find the household's allotment. This is because SNAP households are expected to spend about 30 percent of their resources on food.

(October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015)
People In Household Maximum Monthly Allotment
1 $ 194
2 $ 357
3 $ 511
4 $ 649
5 $ 771
6 $ 925
7 $ 1,022
8 $ 1,169
Each additional person $ 146

Benefits are provided from the day the household applies.

For further information, contact your local or State office. It may be listed in the State or local government pages of the telephone book. Or call your State's SNAP hotline. Most are toll-free numbers.

ed11563 wrote:

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Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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lilyofcourse wrote:

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Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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Being " hungry" doesn't mean someone isn't adequately fed. Kids dont know how to even stand feeling hungry because parents have been pushing cheerios and snacks in their faces 24/7. I have been with parents that couldn't go anywhere even for a half hour drive without packing a bag.

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 You are talking about something totally different. 

The hunger this article is about is the kind of hunger you have when there is no food or very little food. 

 

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Why?  Because some kid said to a teacher "I am hungry" then you are assuming they are starving and in poverty? 

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I've never been a teacher, and I've only known a few. 

I suspect though, that their teachers can get a good feel for which kids are living in desperate circumstances. Underfed, old, torn and dirty clothing, coming to school unwashed, sleeping in class, no warm coat or boots in the Winter, worn out shoes, parents NEVER show up for Parents' Night or any other reason. Or parents are high or drunk when reached by phone.

 

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  That's the point.  A lot of them aren't they way for LACK of funds.  They are that way because of Irresponsible parents who chose to spend on drugs, alcohol, etc instead.  It's funny but they always seem to have plenty of money to get costly tattoos, piercings, buy cigs and alcohol, blah, blah.  So, yeah, poverty in this country isn't like poverty in other countries when it includes heated homes, cable TV, internet, cell phones, and on and on. 

voiceofreason wrote:

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These threads and the misperceptions make me sad. And those I consider smart people who perpetuate stereotypes and propaganda make me judgy.

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VOR - We need to call out the frauds and hucksters.  For some reason, whenever any tries to do just that, then there are the "oh, well there are legitimate reasons" protests.  Like for some reason we CAN'T weed out fraud and corruption.  NO other businesses operate like the govt does.  It would be very easy to have reasonable ways to manage the corruption in this system but the Govt doesn't care.   So, sorry, that casts a pall on the others like it or not. 

lilyofcourse wrote:

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Those are maximum amounts allowed. Most of the time you don't get any where near that much.

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 If you don't get that much it means you have income coming into the house hold.  That means you have other money to spend on food. 

And I agree with LL.  It is not acceptable to fraud the program.  People say, big deal, we spend money on other things we shouldn't as a country.  Doesn't matter.  It doesn't make stealing right.  And that is what it is if you sell your food stamps or lie to get on the program or whatever.  It's like the drink thread.  Saying everyone does it doesn't make it right.

voiceofreason wrote:

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It doesn't matter one bit to me that people resent the food assistance program. Be grateful. The 80 year old man I helped was tearfully grateful. I know the ASSumption was that he was a woman with children who smoked and drank and probably shot heroin. My first post about perception stands solid.

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 I don't care if he's an 80 year old man.  Someone who is attempting to sell their EBT food assistance card for cash is committing fraud.  And of course he was grateful, that doesn't make what he attempted to do any less wrong. 

voiceofreason wrote:

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It doesn't matter one bit to me that people resent the food assistance program. Be grateful. The 80 year old man I helped was tearfully grateful. I know the ASSumption was that he was a woman with children whoitsmoked and drank and probably shot heroin. My first post about perception stands solid.

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 Vor -  i am getting tired of the notion that you cant criticize anything nowadays without the " oh i dont mean all, every " blah blah.  So sorry i am done qualifying every criticism with that.  Yeah there are legitimate uses for it.  But i am done qualifying every opinion.  We can and should call out fraud , corruption and greed.

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

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Lawyerlady wrote:

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voiceofreason wrote:

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It doesn't matter one bit to me that people resent the food assistance program. Be grateful. The 80 year old man I helped was tearfully grateful. I know the ASSumption was that he was a woman with children who smoked and drank and probably shot heroin. My first post about perception stands solid.

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 I don't care if he's an 80 year old man.  Someone who is attempting to sell their EBT food assistance card for cash is committing fraud.  And of course he was grateful, that doesn't make what he attempted to do any less wrong. 

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 I agree.  It's wrong.  And then people cry, "I'm hungry.  I'm on food stamps and don't get enough to eat!"  If you're selling your food stamps you don't have the right to complain.

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 What if he was selling his card because he needed heat? I understand the anger at all the cheaters who use the system but the people I volunteer for make lot's of difficult choices like that especially during winters like this. I have way more anger for the people who take advantage of my seniors by giving them a fraction of what the cards are worth and pat themselves on the back about what a good deal they got.

voiceofreason wrote:

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It doesn't matter one bit to me that people resent the food assistance program. Be grateful. The 80 year old man I helped was tearfully grateful. I know the ASSumption was that he was a woman with children who smoked and drank and probably shot heroin. My first post about perception stands solid.

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 Helping would have been giving him money, not buying his food stamps at a reduced rate.

voiceofreason wrote:

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I wish people were so militantly indignant about the fraud and waste that happens with our government officials. But a false line item on an expense report or spending $40,000 on dinners are shrugged off.

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 Not by me.   

Southern_Belle wrote:

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voiceofreason wrote:

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It doesn't matter one bit to me that people resent the food assistance program. Be grateful. The 80 year old man I helped was tearfully grateful. I know the ASSumption was that he was a woman with children who smoked and drank and probably shot heroin. My first post about perception stands solid.

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 Helping would have been giving him money, not buying his food stamps at a reduced rate.

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 Uhm yeah.  I bought his groceries, gave him $50 and he kept his card.  I didn't buy his card.