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Food Stamps Restriction

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  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
    edited August 2017
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    Student benefits. It's not that easy to get "food stamps". You have to prove that you are independent from your parents and live alone on a very small paycheck/salary. Pay your own bills/rent. File taxes as such. You cannot have too much money in savings/checking or a car that is too high in value (I think under 2 grand). You actually have to be very poor.
    It can be done if you have smart parents that really know how to hide money well, but all this for $200 a month? Federal Fraud risk? Jail time and fines?
    No it's actually easy you don't need proof you pay for everything they take your word and have no idea if our parents are helping you out and can't proove how much you make or anything. All they asked for was proof of rent statement everything else they just asked me and relied on me telling the truth.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
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    Student benefits. It's not that easy to get "food stamps". You have to prove that you are independent from your parents and live alone on a very small paycheck/salary. Pay your own bills/rent. File taxes as such. You cannot have too much money in savings/checking or a car that is too high in value (I think under 2 grand). You actually have to be very poor.
    It can be done if you have smart parents that really know how to hide money well, but all this for $200 a month? Federal Fraud risk? Jail time and fines?
    No it's actually easy you don't need proof you pay for everything they take your word and have no idea if our parents are helping you out and can't proove how much you make or anything. All they asked for was proof of rent statement everything else they just asked me and relied on me telling the truth.

    But again that's a state issue not a SNAP issue.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
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    sheldonz42 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm in favor of what someone else suggested a few pages ago by making SNAP work more like WIC. Nutritious items like fruits, vegetables, meats, while grains, and dairy items would be approved for purchase by the program, and items that didn't have approval (like cookies, crackers, soda, etc.) Would be paid for by the buyer's money. SNAP is meant to help people afford to buy enough food to eat. It's not meant to cover 100% of a person's food budget. If someone in SNAP wants to buy soda, that's fine, but they should use their own money to pay for that and use their SNAP benefits to buy actual food.

    If my food budget is $20 and $10 of that is from SNAP, why does it matter I'm actually purchasing the soda with? If I use my SNAP to buy $2 worth of beans and then use my $2 that I didn't spend on beans to buy soda or vice versa, it's the exact same result.

    It's one thing to need help feeding your family and another to ask for help feeding your family and then use that help for luxuries.

    It's being used for "luxuries" (if soda can be considered such) anyway. Whether it is directly paying for them or people are using the money that is freed up to buy soda doesn't seem relevant to me.

    It's one thing to use your own money for luxuries, another to use other people's tax dollars.

    So you see a relevant difference between directly using the benefits to buy soda and using the money that has been freed up because SNAP covered pasta or beans or whatever to buy soda?

    I do see a difference, yes.

    Would you care to explain exactly what it is? I'm not not trying to be difficult, I'm just not seeing the relevance.

    The source of the money. Do you really not see a difference in money from charity and money that you earned yourself?

    If I give someone $5 for food, as a supplement to their grocery budget, and their total budget is $10, I don't consider it relevant whether or not they spend "my" $5 on soda or beans.

    It's not that if I don't see a difference in money from charity (or in this particular case, the government) and money that I have earned myself. I'm saying that if food stamps form a portion of someone's grocery budget and they're going to be buying soda anyway, I don't consider it relevant whether they're using money from one source available to them as opposed to another.

    I can see the logic in that but I don't see why it would affect the decision whether to exclude soda from being purchased with assistance money.

    So... now Mary buys $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with SNAP and pays $10 of her own money for veggies. This is bad.

    But after, Mary buys $10 of veggies with SNAP and $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with her own money, and this is good?

    The difference is that Mary had to actually earn the extra money to burn on soda and twinkies...

    She's earning the money either way -- in both examples she is spending $10 of her own money.

    Mary isn't the only recipient. We're talking general rules and regulations.

    I don't see what in my post made you conclude that I thought Mary was the only recipient.

    You keep giving individual examples as if general rules and regulations should be set for these specific examples. The rules re: food stamps should be set at a higher level and should consider only the money provided by food stamps.

    That was actually someone else's example.

    But I don't see a problem with using individual examples to illustrate how a larger policy will impact people.

    The rules, of course, will be set at a higher level. The impact will be felt by individuals and using examples can help us explore how a policy would actually work when it was implemented.

    So lets turn this around. Why does it matter if soda is excluded if recipients can still get soda with their own money? They don't need assistance to get the soda, right?

    But why in the first place?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    sheldonz42 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm in favor of what someone else suggested a few pages ago by making SNAP work more like WIC. Nutritious items like fruits, vegetables, meats, while grains, and dairy items would be approved for purchase by the program, and items that didn't have approval (like cookies, crackers, soda, etc.) Would be paid for by the buyer's money. SNAP is meant to help people afford to buy enough food to eat. It's not meant to cover 100% of a person's food budget. If someone in SNAP wants to buy soda, that's fine, but they should use their own money to pay for that and use their SNAP benefits to buy actual food.

    If my food budget is $20 and $10 of that is from SNAP, why does it matter I'm actually purchasing the soda with? If I use my SNAP to buy $2 worth of beans and then use my $2 that I didn't spend on beans to buy soda or vice versa, it's the exact same result.

    It's one thing to need help feeding your family and another to ask for help feeding your family and then use that help for luxuries.

    It's being used for "luxuries" (if soda can be considered such) anyway. Whether it is directly paying for them or people are using the money that is freed up to buy soda doesn't seem relevant to me.

    It's one thing to use your own money for luxuries, another to use other people's tax dollars.

    So you see a relevant difference between directly using the benefits to buy soda and using the money that has been freed up because SNAP covered pasta or beans or whatever to buy soda?

    I do see a difference, yes.

    Would you care to explain exactly what it is? I'm not not trying to be difficult, I'm just not seeing the relevance.

    The source of the money. Do you really not see a difference in money from charity and money that you earned yourself?

    If I give someone $5 for food, as a supplement to their grocery budget, and their total budget is $10, I don't consider it relevant whether or not they spend "my" $5 on soda or beans.

    It's not that if I don't see a difference in money from charity (or in this particular case, the government) and money that I have earned myself. I'm saying that if food stamps form a portion of someone's grocery budget and they're going to be buying soda anyway, I don't consider it relevant whether they're using money from one source available to them as opposed to another.

    I can see the logic in that but I don't see why it would affect the decision whether to exclude soda from being purchased with assistance money.

    So... now Mary buys $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with SNAP and pays $10 of her own money for veggies. This is bad.

    But after, Mary buys $10 of veggies with SNAP and $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with her own money, and this is good?

    The difference is that Mary had to actually earn the extra money to burn on soda and twinkies...

    She's earning the money either way -- in both examples she is spending $10 of her own money.

    Mary isn't the only recipient. We're talking general rules and regulations.

    I don't see what in my post made you conclude that I thought Mary was the only recipient.

    You keep giving individual examples as if general rules and regulations should be set for these specific examples. The rules re: food stamps should be set at a higher level and should consider only the money provided by food stamps.

    That was actually someone else's example.

    But I don't see a problem with using individual examples to illustrate how a larger policy will impact people.

    The rules, of course, will be set at a higher level. The impact will be felt by individuals and using examples can help us explore how a policy would actually work when it was implemented.

    So lets turn this around. Why does it matter if soda is excluded if recipients can still get soda with their own money? They don't need assistance to get the soda, right?

    But why in the first place?

    Sorry, why what?
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
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    Also I know a few family member close friends who are not married but the woman is stay at home mom and gets food stamps based on her income not claiming the husbands at all...
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    Options
    Student benefits. It's not that easy to get "food stamps". You have to prove that you are independent from your parents and live alone on a very small paycheck/salary. Pay your own bills/rent. File taxes as such. You cannot have too much money in savings/checking or a car that is too high in value (I think under 2 grand). You actually have to be very poor.
    It can be done if you have smart parents that really know how to hide money well, but all this for $200 a month? Federal Fraud risk? Jail time and fines?
    No it's actually easy you don't need proof you pay for everything they take your word and have no idea if our parents are helping you out and can't proove how much you make or anything. All they asked for was proof of rent statement everything else they just asked me and relied on me telling the truth.

    This is going to be true of any type of assistance. You can't get the assistance and be claimed as a dependent by your parents, but the government is never going to have the resources to police every dollar your parents make to be sure they aren't giving you cash or paying your rent for you.
  • 7elizamae
    7elizamae Posts: 758 Member
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    So why can't people decide for themselves (common sense) what's healthy and appropriate for their families?
    It's not an all or nothing issue.

    To a great extent, that can decide. But the reality is, they are spending other people's money, and there are always strings attached when the government/public funding is involved.

    I'm not in favor of adding any more restrictions, but when on public assistance in the USA, government restrictions are part of the 'deal.'
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
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    Also I know a few family member close friends who are not married but the woman is stay at home mom and gets food stamps based on her income not claiming the husbands at all...

    So they cheat the system? Yay them?
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited August 2017
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    DamieBird wrote: »
    GlassAngyl wrote: »
    DamieBird wrote: »
    I sincerely hope that you never find yourself in need of food assistance, but if you ever do (because life can throw some freaking curveballs at anyone), I hoe that you're met with more compassion than it seems you give.

    Believe, me, If I ever found myself in a situation where I needed food assistance, I would not be spending said assistance on soda, chips and candy. I would be shopping for the most cost effective, nutrient dense foods I could find for myself and my family. Don't you think that's the right thing to do?
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    Options
    7elizamae wrote: »

    So why can't people decide for themselves (common sense) what's healthy and appropriate for their families?
    It's not an all or nothing issue.

    To a great extent, that can decide. But the reality is, they are spending other people's money, and there are always strings attached when the government/public funding is involved.

    I'm not in favor of adding any more restrictions, but when on public assistance in the USA, government restrictions are part of the 'deal.'

    Enough strings attached with them I agree with.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    Options
    sheldonz42 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm in favor of what someone else suggested a few pages ago by making SNAP work more like WIC. Nutritious items like fruits, vegetables, meats, while grains, and dairy items would be approved for purchase by the program, and items that didn't have approval (like cookies, crackers, soda, etc.) Would be paid for by the buyer's money. SNAP is meant to help people afford to buy enough food to eat. It's not meant to cover 100% of a person's food budget. If someone in SNAP wants to buy soda, that's fine, but they should use their own money to pay for that and use their SNAP benefits to buy actual food.

    If my food budget is $20 and $10 of that is from SNAP, why does it matter I'm actually purchasing the soda with? If I use my SNAP to buy $2 worth of beans and then use my $2 that I didn't spend on beans to buy soda or vice versa, it's the exact same result.

    It's one thing to need help feeding your family and another to ask for help feeding your family and then use that help for luxuries.

    It's being used for "luxuries" (if soda can be considered such) anyway. Whether it is directly paying for them or people are using the money that is freed up to buy soda doesn't seem relevant to me.

    It's one thing to use your own money for luxuries, another to use other people's tax dollars.

    So you see a relevant difference between directly using the benefits to buy soda and using the money that has been freed up because SNAP covered pasta or beans or whatever to buy soda?

    I do see a difference, yes.

    Would you care to explain exactly what it is? I'm not not trying to be difficult, I'm just not seeing the relevance.

    The source of the money. Do you really not see a difference in money from charity and money that you earned yourself?

    If I give someone $5 for food, as a supplement to their grocery budget, and their total budget is $10, I don't consider it relevant whether or not they spend "my" $5 on soda or beans.

    It's not that if I don't see a difference in money from charity (or in this particular case, the government) and money that I have earned myself. I'm saying that if food stamps form a portion of someone's grocery budget and they're going to be buying soda anyway, I don't consider it relevant whether they're using money from one source available to them as opposed to another.

    I can see the logic in that but I don't see why it would affect the decision whether to exclude soda from being purchased with assistance money.

    So... now Mary buys $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with SNAP and pays $10 of her own money for veggies. This is bad.

    But after, Mary buys $10 of veggies with SNAP and $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with her own money, and this is good?

    The difference is that Mary had to actually earn the extra money to burn on soda and twinkies...

    She's earning the money either way -- in both examples she is spending $10 of her own money.

    Mary isn't the only recipient. We're talking general rules and regulations.

    I don't see what in my post made you conclude that I thought Mary was the only recipient.

    You keep giving individual examples as if general rules and regulations should be set for these specific examples. The rules re: food stamps should be set at a higher level and should consider only the money provided by food stamps.

    That was actually someone else's example.

    But I don't see a problem with using individual examples to illustrate how a larger policy will impact people.

    The rules, of course, will be set at a higher level. The impact will be felt by individuals and using examples can help us explore how a policy would actually work when it was implemented.

    So lets turn this around. Why does it matter if soda is excluded if recipients can still get soda with their own money? They don't need assistance to get the soda, right?

    But why in the first place?

    Sorry, why what?

    Why can't people just decide for themselves what is appropriate for their families? Also why is there the assumption that only that's being bought?

    Do you also feel the same way about steak and shrimp? If so, what should be provided?

    I don't have an assumption that only that is being bought.

    If you say you are so poor you can't feed yourself or your family and ask for help, then it seems perfectly reasonable to expect you to spend that money as wisely as possible. Do I think steak shrimp should be excluded? No. Do I think someone claiming to be this poor should be spending that money as judiciously as possible? Yes, I do.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    Options
    sheldonz42 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm in favor of what someone else suggested a few pages ago by making SNAP work more like WIC. Nutritious items like fruits, vegetables, meats, while grains, and dairy items would be approved for purchase by the program, and items that didn't have approval (like cookies, crackers, soda, etc.) Would be paid for by the buyer's money. SNAP is meant to help people afford to buy enough food to eat. It's not meant to cover 100% of a person's food budget. If someone in SNAP wants to buy soda, that's fine, but they should use their own money to pay for that and use their SNAP benefits to buy actual food.

    If my food budget is $20 and $10 of that is from SNAP, why does it matter I'm actually purchasing the soda with? If I use my SNAP to buy $2 worth of beans and then use my $2 that I didn't spend on beans to buy soda or vice versa, it's the exact same result.

    It's one thing to need help feeding your family and another to ask for help feeding your family and then use that help for luxuries.

    It's being used for "luxuries" (if soda can be considered such) anyway. Whether it is directly paying for them or people are using the money that is freed up to buy soda doesn't seem relevant to me.

    It's one thing to use your own money for luxuries, another to use other people's tax dollars.

    So you see a relevant difference between directly using the benefits to buy soda and using the money that has been freed up because SNAP covered pasta or beans or whatever to buy soda?

    I do see a difference, yes.

    Would you care to explain exactly what it is? I'm not not trying to be difficult, I'm just not seeing the relevance.

    The source of the money. Do you really not see a difference in money from charity and money that you earned yourself?

    If I give someone $5 for food, as a supplement to their grocery budget, and their total budget is $10, I don't consider it relevant whether or not they spend "my" $5 on soda or beans.

    It's not that if I don't see a difference in money from charity (or in this particular case, the government) and money that I have earned myself. I'm saying that if food stamps form a portion of someone's grocery budget and they're going to be buying soda anyway, I don't consider it relevant whether they're using money from one source available to them as opposed to another.

    I can see the logic in that but I don't see why it would affect the decision whether to exclude soda from being purchased with assistance money.

    So... now Mary buys $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with SNAP and pays $10 of her own money for veggies. This is bad.

    But after, Mary buys $10 of veggies with SNAP and $5 of soda and $5 of Twinkies with her own money, and this is good?

    The difference is that Mary had to actually earn the extra money to burn on soda and twinkies...

    She's earning the money either way -- in both examples she is spending $10 of her own money.

    Mary isn't the only recipient. We're talking general rules and regulations.

    I don't see what in my post made you conclude that I thought Mary was the only recipient.

    You keep giving individual examples as if general rules and regulations should be set for these specific examples. The rules re: food stamps should be set at a higher level and should consider only the money provided by food stamps.

    That was actually someone else's example.

    But I don't see a problem with using individual examples to illustrate how a larger policy will impact people.

    The rules, of course, will be set at a higher level. The impact will be felt by individuals and using examples can help us explore how a policy would actually work when it was implemented.

    So lets turn this around. Why does it matter if soda is excluded if recipients can still get soda with their own money? They don't need assistance to get the soda, right?

    But why in the first place?

    Sorry, why what?

    Why can't people just decide for themselves what is appropriate for their families? Also why is there the assumption that only that's being bought?

    Do you also feel the same way about steak and shrimp? If so, what should be provided?

    I don't have an assumption that only that is being bought.

    If you say you are so poor you can't feed yourself or your family and ask for help, then it seems perfectly reasonable to expect you to spend that money as wisely as possible. Do I think steak shrimp should be excluded? No. Do I think someone claiming to be this poor should be spending that money as judiciously as possible? Yes, I do.

    Where was it claimed that wasn't already happening? Of course besides people anecdotal experiences with welfare cheats.