For those in the U.S., how do you feel about food stampes (SNAP?)

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Most restaurants don't take food stamps. Food stamps are for actual groceries, and most of the time will not include pre-heated or prepared meals in there.

Of course not. It's not for people taking their buddies for a nice dine out at Red Lobster. That would be nuts.

I don't think food stamps have any identifiable information, so if you have some, it's not like the grocery guy can tell it's not yours. So those assholes that sell em to other people are just running a scam for free money.

There is no actual "food stamps" and haven't been for decades. It's an EBT card that is like a debit card with your name on it and a pin number that gets reloaded every month on a certain day. But mostly these people will just go in the grocery store and buy what you want, they give it to you, and then you give them the cash so they can go buy their weed or worse.

However, a lot of people actually do need food stamps and shouldn't lose them on account of the bad apples.

Agreed. There just needs to be a WAY better system in place. I'm not even sure what it could be. Nothing is really stopping anyone from trading whatever they buy with the food stamp money for actual cash from people. I guess all that can really be done is make sure there is some kind of minimum work requirement or if they can't, then with definitive proof that they're disabled or if they've got mental issues, confirming that they're #1 real, and #2 irreparable, OR #3 that they're actively getting treatment for them (and I'm all for people with genuine mental issues getting the care and meds they need -- I am 100% OK with that being taxpayer funded) and not just cruising around doing whatever.

That's like saying no one should be allowed to own a care since some people do hit and runs or drive drunk or whatnot.

Isn't that exactly what the anti-gun people say about guns, though?

[IMJ]

EBT is a bridge program. Not a lifestyle.

That's a version of what I used to tell my caseload of people when I was awarding Medical, TANF and EBT to the public as a Caseworker.

Originally Posted by neatoman

How do they get these stamps if they don't need them and why would someone be buying them if all they're used for is to get food?

I'd answer this but..... ehhh. For so many reasons...

[Snowglare]

I've benefited from it before, so I think it's a good program. Many honest people could use assistance.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

There is no actual "food stamps" and haven't been for decades. It's an EBT card that is like a debit card with your name on it and a pin number that gets reloaded every month on a certain day. But mostly these people will just go in the grocery store and buy what you want, they give it to you, and then you give them the cash so they can go buy their weed or worse.

Can confirm, this is exactly what happens. Sadly, some people who need assistance still do this, because they'd rather get high than feed their kids.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Agreed. There just needs to be a WAY better system in place. I'm not even sure what it could be. Nothing is really stopping anyone from trading whatever they buy with the food stamp money for actual cash from people. I guess all that can really be done is make sure there is some kind of minimum work requirement or if they can't, then with definitive proof that they're disabled or if they've got mental issues, confirming that they're #1 real, and #2 irreparable, OR #3 that they're actively getting treatment for them (and I'm all for people with genuine mental issues getting the care and meds they need -- I am 100% OK with that being taxpayer funded) and not just cruising around doing whatever.



Isn't that exactly what the anti-gun people say about guns, though?

They definitely need more oversight. Depending on your state and status, there may already be work requirements, and I know Goodwill is one of the places they send people, so it's a pretty low bar. I'd have to check to be sure, but I think the requirements are pretty lax for mothers, especially single mothers. That's how it should be, in theory, but it opens them up to a ton of abuse.