I'd rather see you buy steak than junk food.

I'm just wondering why you would want to share the fact that you are on foodstamps?

Bottom line is, "there's no free lunch"!! Somebody's paying!

Whistle

I absolutely believe in food stamps, etc....whatever kind of aid, for people who need it and are trying in even some small way to do their part. Anything. Volunteer somewhere ... whatever. But I do rail against the raging abuse.

Lazypup, I, too, live in Massachusetts and am aware of people selling/trading their food stamp benefits.

I simply would like a random "thank you" for my tax dollars going to support those who choose not to work (CHOOSE - don't flame me) but could do something, keep popping out kids (one "friend" recently commented to me about how wonderful Massachusetts programs are for her unwed (never married) daughter who chose to have two children and not work - - - she is around 30 and competely able bodied), etc. Arghhh. I did say to that friend that it is because of the Massachusetts taxpayers, like me, who are paying for her daughter to do that. She was aghast - said it was the government paying for it - not us.

UGH.

Sorry - no idea why that posted twice.

Lazypup, I'd never criticize your diet or choice of foods. And like was said above, I don't have any idea who is using the program and who is not, there's a lot of card swiping going on at the grocery stores these days, debit, credit, gift cards - I'm usually too busy loading my own purchases on the counter to pay any attention to the method of payment the person in front of me is using.

OT - I've had months where I couldn't afford a really good steak each all around the table, but I could buy one very nice steak, cook, slice thinly and add it to sauteed mushrooms, onions, make darned good roll-ups out of it with a salad on the side and everyone satisfied :)

But there must be ways to abuse the program and of course that is offensive, both to those of us who use it, and those of us who don't but expect it to go where there is actual need - as in this one that made the papers just a few months back...

Imagine how many children for example this theft could have fed....

Here is a link that might be useful: Food stamp scam

I have the same question as Flamingo--how does anyone know you're using that or a debit/credit card? I think using the "credit card" is a lot better than the demoralizing food stamps. Those were an embarrassment, if you ask me.

Everyone goes through some difficult times in their life and some need more help than others. I'm ashamed of anyone who would deny your right for a steak once in a while. And I also think it's awful that you are unable to purchase TP, soap, etc., but you are allowed soda. They need to get back to the drawing board in that area.

Since you aren't the one in the grocery line, I guess Jan had to listen to the crapola. So sorry for her!

Okay, I have no idea how they were doing it but last year when we were in the State of New Mexico the police raided several flea markets where they were trafficing in food stamp cards, selling them to whoever had the price. Again I don't know how the people did it nor what the price for an illegal card was but the article in the Sun-News said it was a rampant problem.

Allow me give you some education.....

I have to say that sort of tone doesn't exactly make me want to soak up what's coming next.

But as for the steak issue, it's hard to believe anyone could resent a food stamp holder buying a piece of beef. Filet mignon, maybe, but even then they should keep their mouths shut.

My issue is parents who load up their carts with chips, sweets, and soda. It really bothers me. But I don't say anything.

lazypup - It is easy to sell part of a card by the seller giving his PIN number to the buyer then waiting outside the store while the buyer makes the purchases then pays the seller the agreed upon amount, usually half of the worth of the card's value, and returns the card.

I know a family who participates in this on a regular basis and I will try to keep it straight while trying to tell you why the system is blatantly abused here, if not everywhere.

Mother of 4 adult children - Has occasionally received them illegally herself by not reporting income.

Child A - (26)Adult male, married with a 6 yr old boy but separated for over 5 yrs from wife. Father of 2 yr old and lives with baby mom, illegally in her HUD apartment. (Ex-wife and Ex MIL do drugs.) He and girlfriend/baby mama do drugs and get foodstamps and he sells his for drugs. They eat with his mom or "shop" from her kitchen for food. GF/BM gives her FS to her mom and dad who do drugs. He works for cash when he can find a job.

Adult child B - (24) responsible female who works but occasionally buys FS for her elderly grandmother.

Adult child C - (22) Male who can't find decent employment because he holds 5 felonies. He, his girlfriend and their 2 yr old son live with his mother. He gets FS and she gets them for herself and baby and they usually keep them. The gf/bm works so gets a reduced amount. He gets max. amount but never reports income when he does find work.

Adult child (19) - works so doesn't receive stamps although his Mom got them for him for a while.

There are 4 sisters to the Mother and they all either get stamps and sell them or buy them illegally. They all have children who, like the original family, have some who do drugs and get/buy/sell stamps.

The abuse runs rampant with many families similar to this.

Lazypup... it is not an urban myth. it happens all the time.
thank you Morz for linking that story,,, it happens all the time, Lazy. and it irritates the heck out of me! Maybe I shouldn't have said "selling" but that is basically what
they are doing.

Here is a link that might be useful: food card fraud

I heard on the news today that there will be a cut in the farm subsidy program because of the drought situation.Lots of farmers are not even planting crops,therefore no surplus.Bad situation for those families that really depend on food stamps to help feed their families.I have no problem with anyone buying a steak with food stamps either.What gets me riled is,as others have mentioned,people who have baskets full of junk food and sodas.
And people who buy groceries with food stamps and fill another basket full of beer and smokes and pay cash for it.If they have that kind of money they need to spend it on groceries!

Good Lord. Every child has the right to have junk food from time to time. Why would anyone recent a child having chips in his lunch bag, whether paid with food stamps or not? My kids always bought their lunch at school, but my grandson took an orange or pear and a bag of chips every day.

When my grandson lived with us we received food stamps for him in the amount of $36 a month. I'm not quite sure how they came by that amount, if it was strictly by our income or if we qualified for it because he was a grandchild. I applied for Medicaid for him and I think that's when we got the food stamps.

Yes, it was a debit card but it was quite embarrassing sometimes to use, because people ARE so judgemental. You had to tell the cashier that it was EBT and it showed EBT on the register read-out thingy.

I hope I'm never in a position that I need public assistance in order to survive.

Here's a question, though.... I have no doubt that there are people that abuse the system by selling their food stamps just like you guys are talking about. The question is, if this is so rampant, exactly how are these people eating? I can't believe that these people can do this on a regular basis.

Lazypup, I gotta hand it you. You really strirred up a conversation.

Sorry the so called 'urban myth" re: selling their food stamps to get cash to buy drugs is real. I work with a woman who does it.
When working families have to be frugal with their grocery purchasees it irritates me to no end when I see peopele with their EBT cards buying things my family cannot afford.
Taxpayers are footing the bill remember..the government is us !!!!

Here, you don't have to say a word to the cashier.
You run your card through the reader just like you would
your charge card or debit card. You simply push the
ebt button, debit button, charge button. I have no idea
who is using what card. And I would NEVER chastise anyone
for their choices. It's a free society, eat what you want.
Well, it's free for a while anyway. The government is
sure trying to legislate what we choose to eat. IE,
SanFrancisco and New York. Coming to a city near you! lol

The question was raised as to why I would openly admit I get food stamps..well, let me elaborate a bit.

When I moved from Ohio to Massachusetts two years ago Jan informed me that it is a state law that all residents of Mass must have health insurance.

I checked with a couple health insurance companies and on my pension they were cost prohibitive. One day I happened to be at the local senior center and a lady came in and gave a seminar on how seniors can get affordable insurance. She noted that the state offered a number of programs based upon your income. After the meeting she stayed and answered individual questions for a while so I aaked her what I might qualify for.

When I told her how much my social security pension was she said I qualified for Medicare through soc.sec. and a 100% copay through MassHealth. (I have a $2 copay on prescriptions up to a max of $150/yr) and whe made an appointment for me to go to the welfare office to sign up.

I told her I didn't really like the idea of signing up for welfare, but she says, "Don't look at it like that, you worked hard for 50yrs and paid your taxes off the top every week, you are not asking for welfare, you are only asking to get back some of what you paid into the fund, it's your money, why not use it?".

The next day I went and signed up, and they issued me a "Baystate Acces Card" and told me that was my state medical card. As I was about to leave the lady asked me to wait a minute, she had something else she had to check....

Five minutes later she says my pension was $25 under the cutoff for foodstamps for seniors, so I was qualified for a %100 dibursemt as an individual, which means I get $200 a month in food stamps on the same card. Now, in the official words from the welfare system,,,,,"It is not welfare, it is my money, I earned it, I paid it faithfully for 50 years and now I have opportunity to share the wealth instead of some young lazy layabout who refuses to work...with that,,,I am not the least embarrassed by taking it.

In fact, if I was to have Jan write me a lease for living here, I could also qualify for a cash disbursement to assist paying my rent & utilities.

Good Lord. Every child has the right to have junk food from time to time. Why would anyone recent a child having chips in his lunch bag, whether paid with food stamps or not?

I said "load up their carts," Moonie, and I mean that literally. I often see carts filled to the brim with nothing but processed foods, grease, starch, and sweets, and the bottom of the cart filled with soda. No fruits, no vegetables, nothing fresh in sight. I think these people are doing their children a huge disservice.

I've read this with interest. I lived in an area where the store I shopped at drew many food stamp people. Some I would have liked to compliment because they were buying healthful products and very little "junk."

Others I would have liked to educate, as I truly wondered if they knew anything about nutrition. It led me to believe that there should be classes in proper nutrition for new food stamp users. I'd have been glad to volunteer as an instructor.

Aside from that, I'd like to tell the story of a young therapist who came into our home (not a food stamp user)I offered her a piece of homemade lemon pie which she enjoyed. She asked how I made a pie. I told her that first I squeezed the juice of a lemon. Her eyebrows went up and she said "REALLY!!!!" She had never seen anyone make a pie, much less squeeze a lemon.

So. it takes all kinds!

I've read this with interest. I lived in an area where the store I shopped at drew many food stamp people. Some I would have liked to compliment because they were buying healthful products and very little "junk."

Others I would have liked to educate, as I truly wondered if they knew anything about nutrition. It led me to believe that there should be classes in proper nutrition for new food stamp users. I'd have been glad to volunteer as an instructor.

Aside from that, I'd like to tell the story of a young therapist who came into our home (not a food stamp user)I offered her a piece of homemade lemon pie which she enjoyed. She asked how I made a pie. I told her that first I squeezed the juice of a lemon. Her eyebrows went up and she said "REALLY!!!!" She had never seen anyone make a pie, much less squeeze a lemon.

So. it takes all kinds!

Lazypup, you did earn the right to food stamps.
The people that piss me off are the 20 year olds with their babies is tow getting food stamps, how about get a job. They have earned nothing.
Twenty years ago when my son was 8 and my daughter was 2 and I was newly divorced and getting no child support, I had a full time job, but I was struggling to pay my bills and get by, going on the advice given to me by co-workers and friends who knew how I was struggling I went and signed up for food stamps, I made $62 a month to much to qualify for the food stamp program. REALLY. So instead, and because I didn't want my kids to go hungry, I got a second job, yay me. We got through it, but this system is as screwed up as every other system that the government has their hand in.
What really pisses me off too is that a friend of mine has a 30 year old daughter who has 4 children and is divorced, she does get child support, food stamps, her HUD housing a sort of rent to own program for a house in a good neighborhood, her house payment is $46 dollars a month and they pay $75 a month for her electric bill and she has a free cell phone with 200 minutes on it -for emergencies-. What???? Get a job. She is 30, I am 50. I work everyday, she will never work and at the end of our days she will have as much to show for her life as I do except that she would have gotten to spend more time with her children while they were growing up than I ever did.

A friends daughter sells her food stamps, so I agree that it happens. You are right Lazypup, you paid your dues by working all your life. Buy whatever you want! Its the young people who have no intention of working that irritates people. Benefits running low these days-pop out another kid.

I worked as a cashier in the grocery store here and there was one family that really made me mad to check out.
They would have about 20 pkgs of T-bone steak every month. They had 4 small children that were pretty skinny. I just always thought they could have gotten more bang for the buck if they had bought more hamburger or chicken. I thought that could have gone further to feed those kids.

Besides that I couldn't afford t-bones.

As far as the junk food goes...as someone who works with very low income folks, part of the problem is a genuine lacking in life skills, such as cooking.

I have taught cooking classes at my job, and I am always shocked on how little some of our folks here know how to cook. They can usually make a sandwich or open a can of soup, but that's the extent of it. I have a few older ladies on my caseload who can cook real food, but they are the exception.

Most of my clients (who almost all receive food stamps due to being disabled) live off of microwave meals, boxed meals, and food in cans. Their baskets would probably look pretty full of junk too because junk food is easy. And you can bet that on payday, some of them go over to McDonalds up the road to get a cheeseburger.

You can't just give money/food stamps/etc to some people and expect them to make good choices and better skills than they may have. They need to be taught to make better choices. Most people just do the best they know how. It's easier to do what you've always done than to make big changes.

There will always be people who get what they can and abuse systems, but it really bothers me when people generalize this behavior to ALL people in a group, when it is actually a minority.

It's not just the low-income people who are uninformed about nutrition (or, more likely, don't care). Yesterday the young woman next to me on the check-out line was very attractive and well dressed. I couldn't believe the crap that was in her cart! I thought, Enjoy your beautiful figure while you can, honey. You're not gonna look that way for long.

,,,,,"It is not welfare, it is my money, I earned it, I paid it faithfully for 50 years and now I have opportunity to share the wealth instead of some young lazy layabout who refuses to work...with that,,,I am not the least embarrassed by taking it.

I guess I'd like to know what wealth it is you're speaking of sharing.....last I knew this country was in big economic trouble. Caused partly because we let to many people on the "system".....NOT speaking of you or people in your situation. Like a lot of others have said, it's people who are able bodies....having more and more kids they can't afford just so that they can collect more $$.

In the mean time, my dh & I have work 2-3 jobs each to keep food on our table. Frustrating!

I thought at one time there was a law on the books about the length of time one could remain on the welfare system, if it was established that those people were capable of working for a wage. Why are generations of people allowed to remain on taxpayer assistance, when it's obviously being abused? Are the laws not tough enough in this country on abusers?
It is frustrating for those of us who see it happen. It can't help but curb our enthusiasm for compassion.

Someone asked what do people eat who are on food stamps that sell their food stamps. I know several people who are on food stamps and in this instance, they are all on drugs. So they sell or trade for drugs. They also go to the food pantries and get free food, and they also will work on the side for cash. And people who use drugs are not very interested in their health anyway.

I am not criticizing anyone who is on food stamps. And I don't care what you buy with them. I do understand the frustration of someone having to work two or three jobs to keep food on the table, while others don't work and have have multiple children and seem to skate by.

We have just spent a year with no income to speak of...and while not on food stamps, we have sure eaten a lot of fish (from the bayou). Fortunately, we had a full freezer of food when we started out.

I don't think lazypup, or anyone, needs to justify accepting benefits, food stamps, medicaid, afdc, whatever, by pointing out the $$$ they've put into the system.

If your income or lack thereof qualifies you for food stamps or any other benefit, it doesn't matter if you've paid in a zillion dollars or if you never paid in a nickel.

Many people were born with disabilities or they sustained injuries or suffered health problems before they ever held a job.

Although they didn't pay into the system, they're entitled to its benefits.

Thank goodness we have help available for people who need it. That's the point:...for people who need it!
Can you imagine the money this country could use, if abuse of the system were curtailed? I always marvel at the blatant "thumbing of the nose" at the system. Where is the outrage in abuse , and not just of welfare, but of insurance abuse?

My own sister gets BETTER medical care and little to NO co-pays on State Medicaid than I do and I still pay...as a retiree....nearly $500 a month in medical insurance between Medicare Part B and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. NEITHER of those are income-based. She can also get NAME BRAND medicine. I can't. She has seldom or never worked. DH and I worked 40 plus years each. Just sayin' ..... Oh yeah, I believe when you add up ALL her monthly benefits, her monthly income might well be higher than mine.

Haven't figured out why some get so much in food stamps and others so little, especially the elderly.
My elderly brothers moved from CA to MO in '94 so I could watch out for them. Moved them into a small mobile home and signed them up for Medicaid. One was 74 and the other 64. The one 74 was recently discharged from a nursing home and needed help with personal hygiene and I shopped for their groceries, paid their bills, etc. The younger one helped to look out for his DB and did a little cooking.
Their combined income was approximately $1000/month. VA pension for the older one and SS and SSI for the younger one.

Signing them up for food stamps was informed they had to keep their food separately for both to get food stamps, and it was the booklet at this time, before the EBT cards.
Told them that no their food wasn't separate, one refrigerator, and a couple of cupboards. Well, if they couldn't keep their food separate, only one could get food stamps!!! And, what did that one get.......$17/month....that wasn't worth filling out all the paperwork.

DD and family had to go on foodstamps quite a few years ago for a few months when her DH was out of work. She was flabbergasted at how much they got as she was always a very frugal shopper and they were giving her nearly twice as much as she was used to spending for their family of four.

Mind boggling how the system works.

Another food stamp abuse that really ticks me off is college students getting food stamps. All 4 of my kids worked throughout college (and took out loans) and we helped them out financially. None of them starved and none of them got food stamps. (And they all got Bachelors degrees and 1 got a Masters.) What has happened to the concept of -- GASP! --being responsible for yourself?

I am always bewildered at the amount of rage irritation there is directed in usually a blanket fashion to the underprivileged who received welfare or some form of public assistance. Compare that to the amount of corporate welfare which get barely a blip on most's radar screen.

It was meant for people who need temporary assistance, or purposeful need.,not generations worth! As stated before, we are lucky to have such programs. But the abuse is not very well controlled.
Corporate abuse is a whole other issue. Stealing is stealing.

Donna, I agree with you about how hard it is for the elderly to get food stamps. My mother had a friend who applied and she got $16. Another elderly man I know was turned down. They both just got social security. I asked a couple of people I know who are reasonably healthy and not that old....how did you get them? This is basically the answer they both told me..."Lie like a dog." If you are an illegal alien, you can get food stamps easier than if you are elderly. They even have ads of tv here telling them to sign up.

I am not opposed to needy people getting food stamps. But the abuse is rampant. One in six people are now on food stamps or some form of government assistance. It's wonderful that so many people can be helped...but this can't go on forever.

I agree with you, Bee. It almost seems like there's such a reverence for huge companies that anything they wanna do is A-ok. It's theft from the rest of us, just like the few bad apples abusing food stamps, but on a much, much bigger scale!

"It was meant for people who need temporary assistance, or purposeful need.,not generations worth!"

If it's for "temporary assistance", what're you going to do with the people who never will be able to support themselves due to bad health or disability?

As far as "generations worth", it's just as Kayjones said in the other thread;
people know only what they experience.

Breaking the cycle of dependence requires education, support, encouragement.

& I don't see a whole bunch of that.

I just heard this quote from Herman Melville 1854 & it seems to apply even today, 2012:

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.

One major difference between the American poor of 1854 and the 'poor' of 2012 is that a majority of the the current 'poor' have the basics of food, clothing, shelter and a free public education. The 'poor' of 2012 are comparatively wealthy to the poor of 1854.

Every time I go to the supermarket I see a very high percentage of able bodied people using a government food card for their groceries. What bothers me about this is what they are buying with our tax money.
Last night I saw someone buying a huge cake and $50.00 worth of bakery cupcakes. In another cart,4 cases of pop,5 bags of chips,8 boxes of snack cakes then produced a wad of cash to get cigarettes and 2 bottles of alcohol.
I am judging by this that the government is way overfunding these cards. If people are really so hungry and “broke” that they need the government to feed them, I wouldn’t think they would have the money to buy booze, smartphones and cigarettes. They should be using the money for booze and cigarettes for their grocery right?
Basically the government is paying for Booze, cigarettes and junk food while I pay for my meager bag of groceries I carefully select to stay in budget.
Paying for people to get unhealthy and obese thus raising Medicaid bills and hospital write-offs causing my premiums to go up. I work 40 hrs a week pay taxes and insurance, and cannot afford all the junk EBT people buy.
Why should they be rewarded with all this name brand top of the line food for free that my struggling working taxpaying family could never afford?
I can spot a person about to use EBT card with about 99% accuracy. This is because they will have a huge full cart loaded with 4 cases of Pop, snack cakes and junk food. Buying a HUGE amount of groceries I cannot afford to. Go to the supermarket and see for yourself in the real world. It’s everywhere.
I really think free government food should be limited to healthy foods only. It would save the government a lot of money. When these people and their children become obese and diabetic from eating all this junk, we are also then paying for their bigger healthcare bills. Most of them don’t work so have plenty of time to prepare a meal from healthy ingredients instead of prepared food most taxpayers are hesitant in purchasing because of cost. But when you get lots and lots of food for free….
There is no incentive to get off handouts. I say limit EBT purchases to necessities (staple foods) and if you want to eat junk, use your money that you are going to spend on lottery tickets, beer, tattoos and cigarettes to get them.
Limit EBT purchases to staple foods and healthy Items. No pop, no cupcakes, no chips.
Ground beef, rice, potatoes, chicken, vegetables etc., Things people need to live healthy should only be allowed.
Doing this will create incentive to work (to buy the luxuries such as booze cigarettes lottery tickets) as well as promote better health and lower government funded health care costs.
This would be simple to implement. And save government money in so many different ways.

It bothers me that people judge someone else's diet. Why should they answer to your judgement? It's not your life to live. But that's my opinion.

ETA: my comment was strictly meant for the person who dragged (good word) the post out of sleep.

Omg this was really dragged out of the past. The person who started it has been deceased for quite some time and some of the ones replying are also deceased. It makes me sad.

Who the h*ll inventories the carts of people in line in front of them or behind them in line at the grocery store and monitors how they pay? I wouldn't know an EBT card from a credit card from a debit card. And I certainly don't count how many cupcakes, or steaks, are in your cart.

"When you judge another you do not define them, it defines who you are."

Oh no, the "J" condemnation is back. Just as with Hester Prynne and her "A".

It's human nature to observe others, see what and how they're doing. That can often lead to initial impressions or thoughts that are reminders of other people or ideas. Rightly or wrongly, often wrongly, but thoughts all the same. There's nothing wrong with sharing initial impressions, they're just that.

Everyone does it. The "J" word gets fired about as if it were a statutory offense, like felony.

Those whose observations don't trigger other thoughts, or who don't have observations at all, deserve to be branded with the "O" word - OBLIVIOUS.

And yeah, an old thread.

I don't recieve food stamps and never have. I wouldn't know if someone in the store was using them or their own cash. That being said I agree the system is not run correctly. My husband is almost 68 and has always been a hard worker but weeks ago he became very ill and had to stop working. We are raising our grandsons ages 7&8 . For the first time in our lives we ask the state for help for groceries. We went into the assistance office and filled out papers and submitted doctors letters..we were denied any help..they said my husband will return to work eventually in the next month and we will have an income again. I could not believe this, my husband has always been a hard worker supporting his family and yet we could get no help to feed these children..I am so sick of the struggle this month and to ask for help after a life of never doing so to be turned down...words can't even describe the feeling of ...no where to turn....so who does get help? Old people can't get it after a life of hard dedicated work to feed children. ..who does get the help? Drug addicts? Young able bodied? Who?

Terrance: " I say limit EBT purchases to necessities (staple foods) " -- who decides what is a necessity or a staple? And someone might consider ground beef a lot less healthy than the actual steak -- at least the steak only comes from one animal, not several hundred bits of potential floor sweepings, from that many animals.

I rarely buy bread or milk -- most people consider those staples or necessities. When there is a raid on grocery stores before impending storms and the bread and milk go flying off the shelves... I just chuckle.

Mind you, I eat healthy. Lots of veggies, some meats, some fish, some fruit, avoiding the highly starched up and sweetened up stuff in the supermarket. If I had a toddler, I'd consider milk.

Ever so often, though, everyone is entitled to a splurge. Is it our job to police that? Nope.

EBT as a whole: I guess I'm too busy looking over my own purchases to ever notice whether the shopper in front of me is pulling out her or his EBT card or not.

Mamapinky0, if your community has a food bank or pantry, please use their services. Your church should be able to help you locating one and if none is available to you, ask the church for help. Many congregations will arrange for assistance on a private basis, they do not need to mention your name. All the minister needs to do is put out a call that "a member" is in need and collect some items for you.

Thank you Pkramer, although I believe in God I'm not a member of a Church....hopefully this is one of those times God cracks a window.

mamapinky, I don't believe you have to be a member of the church to go to their food pantry for help. Some might be different, of course. They are usually serving the community just like their thrift shops.

The same people that abuse welfare, medicaid, food stamps also abuse the ER. They call for an ambulance and chat on their Iphone with their manicured nails and tats whilst being transported. Pack of cigs in purse. We had one Doc tell someone this was the 9th time this month she was in looking for meds and he wasn't going to give her any. She stomped out, saying she didn't care she doesn't pay for this anyway. . By the way, rest in peace Lazypup.