Posted on 04/02/2010 3:11:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus
About 20,000 people sign up for food stamps every day, and college students across the country are the newest demographic being encouraged to enlist.
Portland State University devotes a page on its Web site to explaining the ease with which students can receive benefits, along with instructions on how to apply. The school says food stamps are not charity but rather a benefit all honest taxpaying citizens can afford. The U.S. Department of Agriculture renamed food stamps the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2008, instituted electronic debit cards instead of coupons, and began an aggressive push to expand eligibility.
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As previously reported by The Daily Caller, The USDA is pushing to regional SNAP offices to ease eligibility requirements and forgo checking people’s financial situations before providing benefits. President Obama’s latest budget included $72.5 billion for food stamps — nearly double the amount from 2008. Approximately 38 million people, or 13 percent of the U.S. population is on food stamps.
It’s a trend that seems on the rise — Salon recently reported on young, broke hipsters using federal assistance to buy high-end organic food:
“I’m sort of a foodie, and I’m not going to do the ‘living off ramen’ thing,” one young man said, fondly remembering a recent meal he’d prepared of roasted rabbit with butter, tarragon and sweet potatoes. “I used to think that you could only get processed food and government cheese on food stamps, but it’s great that you can get anything.”
The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service did not respond to request for comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
Free housing and free food and we all know that the student loans will never be paid back.
It is believable. Way, way back in the day when I was kid my family was having a rough financial time. Lots of reasons for it from Carter to medical problems for my Dad. I recall my Mom talking about the kinds of people she saw at the welfare/foodstamp office. Sounds like not much has changed.
Those days permanently scarred me though. I remember looking around and asking how was it “they” could have this, that, or the other thing and there I was sitting in my brothers over-sized jean jacket as a winter coat. The only answer my mother gave at the time was, “It is none of our concern.” Mom picked up the foodstamps and we went grocery shopping that afternoon. I never went with my mom again to get the foodstamps, she always went alone after that.
We should be outraged at such waste, but careful to not be jealous because we have only Ramen noodles to eat.
We should be outraged at the pride of scamming the system for the poor.
And yes, we should be outraged at Universities acting like enablers instead of teaching self independence.
I know a guy who is 38 years old and he is homeless by choice. He does not work except for very occasional part time gigs. He has 1000 Facebook friends and foodstamps so apparently this is enough for him to eat pretty well and just couchsurf his way through life while saving every penny he gets his hands on. He goes to free yoga classes every day that he qualifies for through state assistance. He can also stay at a shelter if he needs to since he has the offical certificate of homelessness which in Massachusetts is worth quite a bit! So consider it, if you had no bills, no rent and did not have to pay for food and you saved every penny you got, you could probably save more than your average Joe who slaves away to make 50K per year and has to pay half on taxes and half on bills.
I know a guy who is 38 years old and he is homeless by choice. He does not work except for very occasional part time gigs. He has 1000 Facebook friends and foodstamps so apparently this is enough for him to eat pretty well and just couchsurf his way through life while saving every penny he gets his hands on. He goes to free yoga classes every day that he qualifies for through state assistance. He can also stay at a shelter if he needs to since he has the offical certificate of homelessness which in Massachusetts is worth quite a bit! So consider it, if you had no bills, no rent and did not have to pay for food and you saved every penny you got, you could probably save more than your average Joe who slaves away to make 50K per year and has to pay half on taxes and half on bills.
So, I guess there is no longer a stigma attached to this sort of thing?
Un-frickin'-believable.Not if you remember the 1970s.
Don’t forget income from panhandling! Some of the bums in the Tampa area make up to $100 a day for a few hours on a street corner.
Cloward Piven all the way.
My concern is the recovery. It’s a forgone conclusion that this path we’re on is unsustainable. It doesn’t take a degree in statistics, business, or politics to realize this country is a sinking ship. I’m praying that with leadership and God, we’ll be able to steer it into shallow waters and rest it lightly in the sand, but it’s going to take an exceptional amount of tar and pitch to fix us up.
Analogies aside, I’m truly concerned for the repercussions of this country’s current political climate. If the Republicans take back Congress, Obama won’t be a lame duck but a man on a partisan mission to blame all of his policies on the Reps in Congress in order to bring about his socialist revolution. When the Republicans fight back with legislation, Obama won’t sign it, and we’ll just be floundering for another 2 years.
If Obama is re-elected in 2012 by hook or, more likely, crook, we’re on a collision course with the dustbin of history.
As long as the Republicans take back the house, there is hope. They can defund all O’s crap. Gridlock is better than the alternative.
It's still better than the direction we are going. If no new legislation gets signed and the economy has an opportunity to turn around without further government interference, we at least have a chance.
If you look at our trajectory for the past two presidential terms, I'm not sure I want either party controlling all three branches of government.
Yes, I would like to see the legislation of the past 2 years repealed, the Bush tax cuts continued, and Obama impeached but, short of that, I want gridlock.
I not only remember the 70's, I went to college in that decade. I did not know ONE single student back then who was on food stamps. Most of us held down at least two part-time jobs to pay our way through school.
I not only remember the 70's, I went to college in that decade. I did not know ONE single student back then who was on food stamps. Most of us held down at least two part-time jobs to pay our way through school.Really. I know the Univ I grew up near back then was pushing food stamps like their lives depended on it. I think it might have been off-campus housing, but am a little hazy on that one.
What the Hell does this even mean? "All honest taxpaying citizens can afford? I am an honest taxpaying citizen, and I can't afford rabbit basted in butter, and tarragon with sweet potatoes for myself, much less for some college student that doesn't like ramen noodles.
What a crock!
Hmm...free food, free housing, free student loans....no wonder college students vote for Obama...they are bought and paid for.
I went to our state website, just to see what the qualifications were for assistance. I answered all the questions (it is anonymous)honestly, knowing there was no way we qualified. We don’t, of course, BUT, there was the added message that “even if you don’t qualify, if you have had any recent difficulty acquiring food, call to check if you might be qualified for _emergency_ food aid” (paraphrase).
Recently, they allow benefits to those whose assets consist of a house, car, under $2k in cash and life insurance policies with cash value against which one could borrow. Of course, if your income is low or non-existent, you may not be able to borrow, even from yourself, if they deem you cannot pay it back.
I hear that the local food co-op sees most of its revenue from the electronic benefits card.
I will assume the 38-year-old you reference can afford his internet and his drugs.
Every day I hope to see this situation change .
Every day it is just another litany of destruction/insanity and sheer greed.
It really seems people have lost touch with reality.
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