Woman Denied Public Assistance Because of Her New Car

KTRE-TV ^ | 7/27/06 | Ramonica R. Jones

[GeorgiaDawg32]

Stephanie Drinkard is a single stay-at-home mom with two little girls. She moved back to Nacogdoches a month ago from Louisiana. There, she was on Section 8 housing, food stamps, and Medicaid, but she can't get that help in Texas because of a contest she won back in October.

"I went online and entered," said Drinkard. "I didn't know I was gonna win it. Only like two people won - it was me and somebody else - but it's a 2006 Limited Edition Toyota Avalon and it's like a $40,000 car."

And $40,000 exceeds the limit the

[txroadhawg]

I have no problem with that.

[MineralMan]

It should exceed the limit. She should sell the car and use the money to get herself out of her situation. Sheesh!

[rwilson99]

She can start a taxi service.

[BunnySlippers]

Sell the car ... eat.

[toddlintown]

Sell it and buy a beater. Use the beater to go get a job.

[King Moonracer]

How will she ever afford the taxes and insurance. Sell the car, live on the money, get some training, find a job.

[cardinal4]

She could sell the car and take the money and put a down payment on a house!

[ladyjane]

Maybe she could get a job.

Maybe her husband could get a job.

[lonestar]

How does she plan to pay the taxes on the prize? Oh! I know; she doesn't!

[driftdiver]

"get a job"

I think thats the part that confuses her.

[silverleaf]

So "single Mom" (not immaculate conception,I presume).

Sell the car, buy a clunker for transportation, live off the proceeds for 2 years, get an education and get a job. It's the American way.

Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid.

BTW, why is this a media story?

[Just mythoughts]

Hmmmmm, I guess government regulations forgot to include "life's lottery winners".

I find it very very sad that this American has been educated to believe the only subsistence is at a government door.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

She can sell the car and get a nice dependable used car. The rest of the money she can feed herself and her children with and if any medical bills come along she can actually pay them with the money. I also advise an intensive job search. I don't see what the dilemma is except for the fact that the government has made people become so damned dependent on it they can even use common sense anymore.

[GOPJ]

Something's wrong with the welfare system incentive structure if getting $40,000 is bad news... Sell the car, get a job.... it's the only real way out of poverty.

[mollynme]

Sell it and buy a beater

That never occurred to her.

"I either have to sell the car and not have any transportation or just live off what we're living off of, which is like rice, basically, we have rice."

Another product of our public school system.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Amen! How does she pay taxes and insurance on that?
No wait she doesn't, Lol.

[MaryFromMichigan]

BTW, why is this a media story?

Because they want her give up her CAR!!!
It's HER car!!!
Now give her an assistance check already!!!

[stopem]

" She moved back to Nacogdoches a month ago from Louisiana. There, she was on Section 8 housing, food stamps, and Medicaid, but she can't get that help in Texas because of a contest she won back in October. "

Can't get all that help in TEXAS.....awww to bad so sad!

How she going to pay taxes on her "win"?

[mylife]

She'll doink around driving the new car until it has lost 50% value.

Interesting that our poor are online. I wonder if she's on broadband?