Malcolm wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:20 pmFood stamps are not welfare.TharpaChodron wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:30 pmHmmm, you may be right (you usually are), but I actually worked a bit inside the welfare program (Welfare to Work) and I learned about the eligibility requirements and how it works. Every state might be different, but in California a person can qualify for food stamps and receive them for their entire life, as it's only based on income (I believe).Malcolm wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:51 pm
What you are seeing is not welfare payments. Most of these people are on disability. Welfare in the US is really only available to mothers with children. Staying on foodstamps is a huge pain in the ass for these folks, because they must prove to the Gvt. they have a stove and an apartment. Disability payments however require no such proof. And yes, if you start working and earn more than a certain amount, your disability is pulled.
Since food stamps are a block grant program, different states have different rules. In Mass, you have to have a stove.I am 99% sure you don't need an actual home address in California to get food stamps. You can tell them you are homeless and they put the county's own P.O. Box address as your own and people come pick up their checks right at the office.
That is across the board. But you know, these aid programs account for a minuscule percentage of the budget.Oh, and I guess it looks like an adult can time out of the program, but children don't tie-out, so a person still receives benefits for the kids until they turn 18 (that's the CalWorks program).
The actual Calfresh website says this: " CalFresh (federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP) is a federally mandated, state-supervised, and county-operated government entitlement program that provides monthly food benefits to assist low-income households in purchasing the food they need to maintain adequate nutritional levels."
I'm all for a social welfare system, just one that is more effective and comprehensive. I think we need to be giving more help, not less, but done the right way.