Posted on 01/16/2012 7:02:07 AM PST by Sopater
My recent excursion into the welfare system has left me scratching my head. Prior to writing and researching this project, my only impression of food stamps and similar welfare programs was that the credit only worked for certain items at certain stores and that an individual had to be in a particularly dire financial situation to receive such aid. I was wrong.
An EBT card works and looks like a debit card, but instead of the user withdrawing money from a checking account, the government prepays an amount of money it deems necessary for the users food expenditures. Several of my classmates have recently implemented the use of an EBT card for their groceries, and their involvement in the program immediately piqued my interest. To be honest, my natural first thought was: I wonder if I qualify for free grocery money. My immediate second thought was: How do they qualify for free grocery money? These students come from similar financial backgrounds as me, live in similar situations, and take the same amount of college credit hours that I do. Thus, my investigation began with a food stamp application, an interview request, and a trip to a place no one really wants to visit: the Department of Human Services.
I was informed by a very kind woman from the DHS that I would have to complete an interview to be considered for the program. The next morning, I was surprised to see the long line of people that trailed outside. When I reached the front of the line, I was informed that all of the interview spots were filled for the morning and that Id have to call back later and complete my interview over the phone, which I did later that day. To be considered, I needed to submit my last four paychecks, one rent receipt, one utility bill from the previous month, and verification that I was a student worker on campus.
About a week later, I received a notice in the mail that the Department of Human Services had not received my employment verification and therefore could not review my case until I produced another pay receipt (which I could not produce, due to the fact that Id only worked three weeks at my new job). I had essentially given up at this point. I didnt need an EBT card; my investigation was merely an exercise in civic welfare accountability.
Approximately one month after I had received the first letter, another letter found its way to my mailbox from the Department of Human Services. I opened it up to find an EBT card with my name on it, instructions on how to activate and use the card, and the amount I could access on it per month 200 dollars. Nothing followed-up my interview, other than the evidently pointless letter I received during the previous month. No one ever asked for a copy of my birth certificate or Social Security card, nor for my student identification card. I answered all of their questions truthfully, but how were they to know that I was who I said I was? Is it really this simple to obtain welfare benefits here in the United States?
Its not hard to qualify for the program as a student and some universities even publicize food stamps to their students. For example, in Oregon, if you fall into any of the following categories, you automatically qualify for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) program: full-time student who works at least 20 hours per week, full-time single student who is caring for children younger than the age of 12, full-time married student who is caring for children younger than the age of 6, or at least a half-time student who is actively working any hours in a work-study program (institutional or federal) can receive a certain amount of money per month from the government. While some of these requirements are certainly understandable, the last one leaves the door open for massive amounts of unnecessary welfare spending and fraud. Every average lazy Joe College and his dog are eligible for the SNAP program.
Welfare in America was intended to provide a temporary means of survival for those at rock bottom. However, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people using food stamps over the past 40 years. Over that same time period, an estimated $753 million per year has been spent fraudulently by welfare recipients. Moreover, the governments own accounting has cost taxpayers billions of dollars per year as food stamp programs routinely overpay their recipients; last year, that figure alone totaled $2.5 billion.
That being said, the students I know who use food stamps are hard-working, productive individuals whose parents wont compensate them for the costs of college. Mine generally dont either, so I get that. By using the program, students are able to save hundreds of dollars on food so they can pay for school instead of taking out an extra loan. Im not discrediting that logic; I totally sympathize.
But when government starts to act as the hand that feeds its people and makes personal decisions for them, citizens lose their identities and freedoms. Not only is the innovative, hardworking, passionate American lost because the government promotes the idea that individuals cant do it themselves, but the individuals come to expect the handouts and riot when they are revoked.
Yes, I apparently qualify for and possess an EBT card in the state of Tennessee, but I will not activate it. Participating in a government welfare program simply because I can would amount to an endorsement of the growing entitlement society in America. We should always advocate smaller government. The decision to use food stamps for my food supply would directly contradict that principle, and our governments purpose as it was described in the Federalist Papers and U.S. Constitution would be further distorted.
Given my own personal experience, it is clear that food stamps are too easy to obtain, student or not. I realize that the food stamp program is different in all states, and some are more thorough with background checks than others, but much greater reform is needed. It concerns me that 15% of the population, or 46 million people, rely on others tax dollars to pay for their food. And that doesnt sound like freedom to me.
“Welfare in America was intended to provide a temporary means of survival for those at rock bottom”.
...it was never “meant” for that. It was portrayed that way but was meant to buy votes.
Nevermind.
Just noticed the time stamp...
11:52pm
No, you’re right. The one you linked to was posted yesterday.
There used to be such a thng in this nation as “shame.” It’s true, I remember my grandparents talking about it.
So in this case, food stamps are actually subsidizing the university - allowing them to keep tuitions sky-high and in turn more tenured Leftists on the payroll than they could if they had to compete in an open marketplace.
Government preferences are at the heart of all of our current economic problems.
Yes, and by using the program there are others who, by saving on their food bill, can use the extra money for cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, cable TV, gambling...
Thanks for posting this article. What an interesting read from a curious and conservative college student.
But how do we (realistically) fix the problem? The only way I know is helping and educating one neighbor at a time. That won't work quickly enough to deliver the nation from debt and dependance.
Thanks Sopater.
Is that just a coincidence or a pattern?
So in this case, food stamps are actually subsidizing the university - allowing them to keep tuitions sky-high and in turn more tenured Leftists on the payroll than they could if they had to compete in an open marketplace.
####
Exactly correct!
Also government employees get bonuses for the number of people that they enroll in these programs, not the number of people who are encouraged/assisted to become independent of taking money from taxpayers.
Shame is virtually non-existent today. In fact, shame has been replaced with arrogant defiance. I see it in the demeanor of each EBT leech I get behind at WalMart EVERY time I go buy something. The only cash they have to pony up for their visit is for cigarettes, wine or beer. They are disgusting. This will all come crashing down one day soon.
This is all you need to know about the Federal Government, its programs, and who it hires. This vignette also displays how democrat voters are minted.
This is all you need to know about the Federal Government, its programs, and who it hires. This vignette also displays how democrat voters are minted.
The Democrats choice of food is no accident. Throughout the animal kingdom a gift of food quickly buys the recipient's heart and mind. It's is the easiest, lowest cost, most effective method of becoming their master. People hooked on food welfare would rather walk 10 miles to get a free starchy dinner than work 10 minutes for it.
“...it was never meant for that. It was portrayed that way but was meant to buy votes.
________________________________
True, true, true. In addition:
“The Issue is never the issue, the issue is always the Revolution.”
Unknown 60’s radical, quoted by David Horowitz.
“The mission of every government program is not to fix that problem, but to set up a bureaucracy that can expand its mission, and thereby get more funding and power.”
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