Welfare Reform

[UKMustangFan]

I just spoke today with a dear friend of mine. This is the same young woman who had her already meager food assistance cut significantly because she worked hard and received a 23 cent raise.

 

She told me that she got a letter from the preschool/daycare program she was hoping to enroll her little girl in, informing her that she made too much money. Yet she barely makes enough to get by each month. Makes no sense. If she quit work to stay home and care for the little girl, she would be able to qualify for housing and daycare assistance and probably be better off financially. But she doesn't want to quit working and doing her best to provide for her child on her own. Yet the system is essentially encouraging her to do just that. We are motivating the unmotivated to stay unmotivated,while at the same time, discouraging the motivated from staying motivated. Something is terribly amiss.

 

:thumb:

[rockmom]

I think another problem with our current system is that is unintentionally anti-family. It doesn't pay for a single mom to marry the father of her children. This causes a lot of harm in families in poverty.

 

While I don't disagree with you, I don't think that's the whole problem. It's a part of it, yes. But, that's only a small part. The system is set up, as math has illustrated, so that there is aid, but when one makes the steps to improve their situation to the point that they will eventually be clear of the need of aid, the system penalizes them. There needs to be a more progressive "weaning" if you will. A .23 raise shouldn't knock you out of benefits completely. It's equates to less than $10/week, gross on a paycheck. There's no way that equates to what a recepient loses when they hit that point, and in no way wills tretch to cover the additional costs incurred.

[Jumper_Dad]

(2) I'll address the WIC that I highlighted in HHS post. WIC is a

wonderful program but I have always felt that if you receive

food stamps then you shouldn't receive WIC also. If you get

a medical card, food stamps, free lunch, etc, etc, you qualify

for WIC. Now, if you get none of those but fall short by a few

bucks you cannot get WIC. Perhaps if they would change the rules

then they could raise the income limit for people and more could get

some help.

 

The difference between WIC and Food stamps (actually a debit card now a days) is that there is a very regimented list of foods available on WIC. Only foods that meet state nutritional requirements are allowed, that is to ensure that the children get healthy food, not Kool Aid and frozen pizza. I know for a fact that stores are held to these exact items very closely or they do not get reimbursed by WIC and can loose their WIC license.

[rockmom]

The difference between WIC and Food stamps (actually a debit card now a days) is that there is a very regimented list of foods available on WIC. Only foods that meet state nutritional requirements are allowed, that is to ensure that the children get healthy food, not Kool Aid and frozen pizza. I know for a fact that stores are held to these exact items very closely or they do not get reimbursed by WIC and can loose their WIC license.

 

And I personally feel there should be no need for both programs, if we could place the same restrictions and regulations on food purchased with EBT cards.

 

I've been behind people in Wal-Mart, for instance, who have carts laden with sugary cereal, several different kinds of chips, ice cream, cookies, cakes, sodas.....I have no problem if people buy that stuff. But I do think junk food should be purchased with cash, not EBT funds. Food assistance should be restricted to "real" food, IMO.

[Jumper_Dad]

Another issue that leads to abuse is that most welfare checks are now automatically loaded on an pre-issued debit card. I have heard of some ATM's being emptied of as much as $20,000 in just a few hours on a Saturday morning, by people cashing out their debit cards.

 

I also feel that anyone that receives an government entitlement check of any kind should be subject to random drug test. My thinking is that if I have to take a drug test to get a job, so that I can then pay taxes which are in turn passed on to welfare recipients, then they should have to take them as well.

[Jumper_Dad]

And I personally feel there should be no need for both programs, if we could place the same restrictions and regulations on food purchased with EBT cards.

 

I've been behind people in Wal-Mart, for instance, who have carts laden with sugary cereal, several different kinds of chips, ice cream, cookies, cakes, sodas.....I have no problem if people buy that stuff. But I do think junk food should be purchased with cash, not EBT funds. Food assistance should be restricted to "real" food, IMO.

 

I completely agree, food stamps should have a much narrower list of nutritional foods.

[GO CATS]

And I personally feel there should be no need for both programs, if we could place the same restrictions and regulations on food purchased with EBT cards.

 

I've been behind people in Wal-Mart, for instance, who have carts laden with sugary cereal, several different kinds of chips, ice cream, cookies, cakes, sodas.....I have no problem if people buy that stuff. But I do think junk food should be purchased with cash, not EBT funds. Food assistance should be restricted to "real" food, IMO.

 

I agree!

[rockmom]

Another issue that leads to abuse is that most welfare checks are now automatically loaded on an pre-issued debit card. I have heard of some ATM's being emptied of as much as $20,000 in just a few hours on a Saturday morning, by people cashing out their debit cards.

 

I also feel that anyone that receives an government entitlement check of any kind should be subject to random drug test. My thinking is that if I have to take a drug test to get a job, so that I can then pay taxes which are in turn passed on to welfare recipients, then they should have to take them as well.

 

 

I know, I know...I'm going to tarnish my liberal image...:lol:....but I agree with the drug tests.

[Jumper_Dad]

thump.......I just fell out of my chair. RM there may be hope for you yet :lol:

[rockmom]

thump.......I just fell out of my chair. RM there may be hope for you yet :lol:

 

What do you mean "hope for me". I'm perfectly right in my mixed bag of political leanings. I'm waiting for some of you guys to come to your senses and quit being so stubborn.

[Jumper_Dad]

What do you mean "hope for me". I'm perfectly right in my mixed bag of political leanings. I'm waiting for some of you guys to come to your senses and quit being so stubborn.

:lol: I'm not as stubborn as many. While not leaning left very often, I do from time to time. I do love to :argue: politics however.

[RebelK]

The difference between WIC and Food stamps (actually a debit card now a days) is that there is a very regimented list of foods available on WIC. Only foods that meet state nutritional requirements are allowed, that is to ensure that the children get healthy food, not Kool Aid and frozen pizza. I know for a fact that stores are held to these exact items very closely or they do not get reimbursed by WIC and can loose their WIC license.

Yes you are correct. This is how I made my living for almost 30 years dealing with the government end of this program, plus lots more. I just don't think it's fair to tell someone that they can't have WIC and their children get nothing, while someone who gets food stamps can have both. It just doesn't seem fair to me.....

[mcpapa]

The difference between WIC and Food stamps (actually a debit card now a days) is that there is a very regimented list of foods available on WIC. Only foods that meet state nutritional requirements are allowed, that is to ensure that the children get healthy food, not Kool Aid and frozen pizza. I know for a fact that stores are held to these exact items very closely or they do not get reimbursed by WIC and can loose their WIC license.

 

A naive question/comment - is it safe to assume that "farmer's markets" don't qualify for reimbursement through WIC? I get a lot of stuff during the summer from local markets and even a local produce auction; and it's tough to find anything better in the stores. I'm guessing that there's way too much red tape to make this practical.

[rockmom]

Yes you are correct. This is how I made my living for almost 30 years dealing with the government end of this program, plus lots more. I just don't think it's fair to tell someone that they can't have WIC and their children get nothing, while someone who gets food stamps can have both. It just doesn't seem fair to me.....

 

Wouldn't it make sense to only administer one program though, if there were the same regulations in place governing what can be bought with food stamps?

[True blue (and gold)]

Wouldn't it make sense to only administer one program though, if there were the same regulations in place governing what can be bought with food stamps?

 

Sounds like a good idea to me, although having been someone who (about 14 years ago) worked as a checker at a grocery store, it took a lot of time to check out those with WIC cards, because you had to be so cautious with every item. Does anyone know how the process works exactly today?