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I've inherited this good size stamp collection, and I'm trying to figure out what its worth and how to sell it without getting taken to the cleaners. Do any freepers have any experience with this sort of stuff?

Louisiana spent about $1.3 million on food stamps for people who were already dead between 2009 and 2013, the Times-Picayune reports. A report issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor Monday revealed the government waste: In all, state benefits went out to 3,938 deceased people over the four-year period examined by the auditor. The Louisiana auditor only reviewed records concerning single people who had died. The total amount of money spent on food stamps for single people in Louisiana during this time was $1.08 billion. Much of the money — $556,000 — was spent on people who had been dead for...

<p>Wal-Mart Stores WMT -0.15% filed its 10-K late on Friday after the market closed, and the world’s largest retailer added some new language to the list of factors that could hurt the company.</p>

(CNSNews.com) -- A record 20% of American households, one in five, were on food stamps in 2013, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The numbers also show that there were a record number of individuals on food stamps in 2013 and that the cost of the program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was at an all-time high.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A collector credits a hunch with helping him land one of just 100 sheets of stamps recently issued by the United States Postal Service featuring a corrected version of its rare and famous error, the 1918 "inverted Jenny." Art Van Riper bought the stamps in Waverly, N.Y., after reading that the Postal Service had printed a new batch of inverted Jenny stamps celebrating the 95-year-old edition that, by mistake, featured an upside-down biplane. He also read that, as a way to draw more people into stamp collecting, the Postal Service randomly distributed 100 sheets featuring the plane...

Mailing a letter is about to get a little more expensive. Regulators on Tuesday approved a temporary price hike of 3 cents for a first-class stamp, bringing the charge to 49 cents a letter in an effort to help the Postal Service recover from severe mail decreases brought on by the 2008 economic downturn. Many consumers won't feel the price increase immediately. Forever stamps, good for first-class postage whatever the future rate, can be purchased at the lower price until the new rate is effective January 26.

For Democrats especially, any talk about cutting billions from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is uncomfortable and certain to create internal strife. But negotiators on the farm bill believe they’ve found a way to make about $8 billion in savings from the program palatable for most Democrats. The key is eliminating a loophole that enables states to help some low-income residents with nominal subsidies to pay for their heating in the winter in order to trigger much higher food stamp benefits. Some states, such as New York, will make a $1 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program payment to low-income...

Welfare queens, chillin' A  recent caller to an Austin radio talk show ('Lucy', 32 y.o., Riverside, TX) -just one of the record 91.5M Americans who've left the US work force- bragged to the host that both she AND her husband 'don't see the need' for working these days... even though they have three young daughters. She said she prefers to live on welfare and 'benefits' so she can 'visit friends and smoke weed all day'... Here's the sweet little package Lucy's managed to put together: Section-8 gov't-paid rent     $550/mo EBT/food stamps              ...

Every time an American signs up for food stamps in one of 23 states, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) adds to its revenue stream. That because JPMorgan Chase contracts to operate as the processor of the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards in those states. JPMorgan earns a fee for each recipient, ranging from 31 cents to $2.30, depending on the state, every month for the term of the contract. JPMorgan's seven-year Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, the official name for the federal food stamp program) contract with New York state, for example, brought in more than $126 million of...

I attended a conference in New York City on Thursday regarding the future of housing finance. While all the proposals were interesting, I asked if this will mutate into another Obamacare debacle at 13,000 pages or the 1,000 page plus immigration bill. And I warned that government policies will assert themselves to control and manipulate whatever is decided, regardless of how ironclad one thinks it will be. As an example, I mentioned the recent story where millionaires wanting to buy a home on Martha’s Vineyard are eligible for a zero percentage down payment mortgage from the USDA! The US Department...

One in four children in America participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, in fiscal year 2011, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture and U.S. Census Bureau. The USDA’s “Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2011” shows that in 2011, 19.9 million children, or people under 18, received food stamp benefits. The Census estimates there were 73.9 million children living in the United States in 2011, meaning that 26.9 percent of children, or approximately one in four, were on food stamps in 2011. The USDA notes that children constituted 45...

Sure, bow ties are cool, but stamps are even cooler. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, Britain’s Royal Mail is releasing a series of stamps featuring the 11 actors who have held the title role, the British postal service announced Wednesday. Everyone from William Hartnell, who first portrayed the Doctor from 1963-66, to Matt Smith, the current star, will be included. And don’t forget about those pesky foes: Daleks, Oods, Weeping Angels, and a Cyberman will all get their due on a miniature sheet with Second Class stamps, along with a stamp featuring the Doctor’s time travel machine,...

Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker says the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), which spent $80.4 billion in fiscal 2012, is “not a government handout.” “I hope and understand that people are getting a better recognition that this is a program that really helps America, helps families in need,” Booker said on Friday, while describing his fourth day of living on a SNAP budget. "It’s not a government handout,” he said. “If anything, it’s a safety net that helps people through difficult times and bridges them towards stability.” …

And we thought last month's delayed foodstamp data was bad. The just reported foodstamp number for September was a doozy, with 607,544 new Americans becoming eligible for foodstamps, as a record 47.7 million Americans are now living in poverty at least according to the USDA. The monthly increase was the highest since May 2011, and with August's 421K new impoverished America, over 1 million Americans made the EBT card their new best friend. It is unclear just which atmospheric phenomenon will get the blame for this unprecedented surge in poverty, which comes at a time when the pre-election economic data...

Benefit to fall $50 a month starting in January Ohio families receiving food stamps could get an unwelcome surprise come January: $50 less every month in assistance. For the 869,000 households enrolled in the program for the poorest Ohioans, that could amount to about $520 million annually out of the grocery budgets. Because of the way the federal government calculates utility expenses for people receiving the benefit, a mild winter nationwide last year, and a lower price for natural gas, many families could experience a significant cut in aid, those familiar with the program say. Recipients should get a letter...

So, I’m taking a quick flip through my Facebook timeline and I see that Patrick Madrid has posted this image.It stopped me in my tracks.The stamp had blipped through my awareness earlier this week when both Kathy Schiffer and our human news aggregator, Deacon Greg had mentioned it, but this morning the simple silhouettes against the fiery sky, and the inviting brilliance of the Light, just seemed to pull me in, and it brought on a renewed bout of astonished appreciation for the workings of the Holy Spirit, who often uses the most confounding means and methods — this time...

We all know that the employment situation in the USA is horrible. Average duration of unemployment of 40 weeks and a 14.7% unemployment/underemployment rate. We do know that civilian labor force participation has declined from 65.7% in January 2009 to 63.6% in September 2012. That is a large drop in labor force participation. Let’s break it down. Since January 2009: 827,000 more people have been added to the labor force! (Blue line) 8,206,000 more people are NOT in the labor force! (Red line) That is almost a 10:1 ratio of people not in the labor force over those entering the...

Obama administration officials have insisted that their decision to grant states waivers to redefine work requirements for welfare recipients would not “gut” the landmark 1996 welfare reform law. But a new report from the Congressional Research Service obtained by the Washington Examiner suggests that the administration’s suspension of a separate welfare work requirement has already helped explode the number of able-bodied Americans on food stamps. In addition to the broader work requirement that has become a contentious issue in the presidential race, the 1996 welfare reform law included a separate rule encouraging able-bodied adults without dependents to work by limiting...

No, instead, he gave them a personal loan for a house. A house filled with cancer.Nope, just a regular house they rented from Romney in the Houston suburbs. After Romney's initial investment in five rental properties went south, he ended up holding on to them for more than a decade, often renting them at a loss. The Times notes it's one of few miscues in Romney's investment history. When he did offload the homes, the renters were given first dibs, but Timothy and Betty Stamps were unable to get a loan for the home because Timothy had recently lost his...

The Mexican government has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. USDA has an agreement with Mexico to promote American food assistance programs, including food stamps, among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities in America. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/19/usda-partnering-with-mexico-to-boost-food-stamp-participation/#ixzz216eEQ2WL