I hate to try to convince them to use an EBT or SNAP to buy canned food in case SHTF, but on the other hand, I am really starting to get apathetic about it all...
What is Ethical vs. What is Practical..? And at what point do either options apply?
Also if I find myself out of work and end up eating through my Prepping stocks, what do I do then if I still want to stay prepared in case of the SHTF event?
Preppers’ PING!!
What say you preppers?
As for me its a case by case, without all information its impossible for me to give a blanket answer.
40% of our country is on food stamps. If they need it then they should use it. The system is there for temporary help, IMO.
What they do with the food once they get it is up to them. If they store it then they will eventually eat it.
The people I have an issue with are those who buy lobster with food stamps or spend their personal money on luxuries and plan to live their life on food stamps and other welfare programs.
i to think about this exact very thing for myself and family quite often as i’m also right in that lower spectrum of middle class i guess you could say. i mean don’t get me wrong, we live ok and we also take care of my disabled mother for the last 11 years( disabled by my own brother) (but that’s for another story another thread) but we never have any “extra” if you can call it that to prep for shtf situation that i know will happen eventually : /
Mike
btw Grace, you sound like a very nice, caring person!
Mike
I’m not a Prepper in any serious sense but this seems foolish. A dark invitation to the government to get their boot on your neck. Once your addicted it’s hard to break. (Unless forced of course due to some wide-ranging catastrophe.)
Absolutely.
If hey are eligible, and they have kids. If they have exhausted all other sources, it is important to eat well.
I know there is a stigma, and that is good. But as long as they don’t abuse it, why the heck not.
Hruumph, .gov buying preps with some of the FSA's "entitlements". What decently "cautious" person couldn't see the seething irony/humor in this? If only o'bummer could know somehow. His head would implode. Hehehe. d;^)
If my state agency (WA DSHS) finds out that SNAP proceeds are being used to purchase food for storage (not immediately consumed) they will reduce or suspend the benefits. I don’t know if this policy derives from state or federal law. But if this is the plan best to not make it known (as with almost any prepping).
I’d rather see my tax dollars go to someone being responsible and preparing rather than the usual crowd stocking up on chips and garbage. Yeah, let them have a SNAP card and help them prep.
I’d say wring every last dime you can from this worthless government. You’ve paid for all these programs these many long years. It’s high time you got something out of them besides the joy of enabling another generation of parasites.
The way I look at it, if you’ve have worked and paid into the system for decades and now are having hard times, you are not the problem. Get what you can now, because what you’ve been promised probably won’t be there later. It’s the people who have never worked and suck out of the system their whole lives that are the problem.
I’d start worrying about being on EBT (I’m not)when the banks stop worrying about bailouts, or the crony capitalists or farmers stop worrying about subsidies.
First of all, thank you for being there for these folks. Second, the EBT/SNAP program is there for a reason. I don’t have an issue with the hand UP that these folks could likely qualify for. The fact that they were middle class tells me they have likely paid an awful lot into the system over the years, of course they should be allowed the assistance in this, their time of need. And, like many on this post, I agree that I would MUCH rather see the benefits going to help someone get prepared.
They paid into it. The Feds literally owe them. Unlike the situation with lifelong welfare recipients who have never worked a day in their lives (unless walking to the welfare office is considered working).
So long as you’re “getting” less than you “put in” (accounting for other services you are legitimately paying for like road infrastructure, police, legitimate “safety net” for others, etc), I’ve no problem with taking fair advantage of those services you’ve funded. It’s just a different form of taking all the deductions you can when filing taxes, something which _nobody_ should fault you for.
This year, I’m enjoying my free electric car. No qualms about the tax credit, given how much taxes I’ve paid.
Point is: don’t abuse the system, use it fairly as you honestly see fit/moral/responsible. Don’t get greedy, don’t misuse it. Government has legitimate purpose, use it legitimately.
Do beware the hooks it could get into you. Don’t become reliant on it, don’t let it master you, be ready to bail fast.
Prepping is a way of life. It’s not just stocking away separate “what if” supplies, it’s _living_on_ those supplies so that when SHTF you don’t have to change your ways (and yes, unemployment is a personal SHTF event). When the “Y2K bug” debacle was looming, I described the potential for SHTF in as thorough detail as possible; he listened carefully, understood the issue, shrugged, and said “so I’ll throw another log on the fire and go back to my book” - all SHTF should really do is make resupply & travel more inconvenient, if you’re properly prepped.
EBT/whatever is just another way to retrieve money taken from you. Absolutely, apply it to filling the pantry in a sensible prepper way.
There is no one on this board that I know of that begrudges anyone participating in these programs. If you need it, use it. Heck we’re all paying for it.
As others have noted, the rub is when people game the system to avoid work or enable a slothful lifestyle.
The government is giving them the money for food so they can eat.
They ought to buy just a little extra each month with it if they go for it. If they buy a little extra at a time, then it won’t raise any red flags.
Aside from rice and beans, they could do canned soups as well.
Ethically, the first step is to go through an ethical analysis of any decision. So you’ve started with that.
Deontologically, I like to proceed with the Kantian Categorical Imperative. One should do only that which one would will to be a universal moral law. I would suggest that everyone should reserve a portion as savings, assuming that the source is ethically garnered. I see no ethical problem in receiving food assistance when in true need, and so holding back a portion thereof as savings seems moral and even categorically imperative.
Teleologically, we’re dealing with the ethics of scarcity and survival. Since it is not immoral to receive charity when in true need, saving a portion of that charity (if possible) seems reasonable. It harms nobody, and can actually help the common weal by helping the prepper to become more self-sufficient.
Practically, food assistance is really fairly limited and available only for those with rather low household incomes. Saving even that little portion as preparation for future emergencies may be difficult in practical terms.
The determining factor in each individual case involves the conscience of the needy person or family in assessing what “true need” means for them.