There is nothing wrong with being on Food Stamps...

I have seen a couple of posts here mentioning that Senator Obama may have been a food stamp recipient as a child. Usually, this fact is used to point out how "elite" he isn't. Still, I have seen a few responding comments that disturbed me enough to want to initiate this post. Again, there is nothing wrong with being a food stamp recipient! As the Bush economy continues its downward spiral, there will be more and more Americans, and more and more of us here at DU, who will find themselves in their local welfare offices applying for whatever aid they can get. I should also point out that you aren't going to get rich off the system. A single person gets a maximum of $162 per month. A mother and child, $298. This is the maximum...with zero income, or expenses that exceed your income. Good luck stretching that food dollar.

get over it. Obama came from nothing and Hillary came from everything, riding on the philandering coat tails of her husband, and she is still getting beat badly. I guess your connections and elitism can't buy votes. Now she is trying to buy "working class white voter's" votes for 30 cents a day.

:rofl:

Pathetic. Gas welfare...p.a.t.h.e.t.i.c. That's what she thinks of the American people.

Must be tough living in a million dollar home and then trying to tell poor rural voters how bad you had it. Send your candidate to the Appalachian Region and he can tell it to them.......oh wait, they are just "low information" voters aren't they?

Not quite.

No need to distort to make your point.

what WAS your point (other than you don't like Hillary Clinton)?

The article said she received food stamps to feed him when he was little. I learned that from the article before I ever heard Obama say it. Haven't heard anyone call it into question, except Clinton supporters here. Do you have a link to a source debunking the claim?

with people who have a problem.

No political career for your children. Be sure and tell them not to even try.

Pretty pathetic for a progressive board. But then, we've got people supporting obliteration too, so nothing surprises me around here.

that told people who couldn't find a job to just start their own business (I'm not making that up). Out. Of. Touch.

live in. And it sure as hell should not happen in a country like the US... We the people have failed miserably with our fellow human beings. If one takes the money that is being pissed up against the wall in the wars that we have waged, we should all hang our heads in serious shame.

I can't believe how we've bought the "we're the richest country in the world" line, when so many of our people are poor, and health care is non-existent for millions.

I'm just re-reading your post, and I agree even MORE strongly! :headbang:

Unforeseen emergencies happen. There is no way to plan for every single possibility. People will always end up broke, for one reason or another, and we will always need food assistance or food stamps to help.

It's the lies that bother me.

before everyone can earn a living wage, and our social safety nets are improved. It's a band aid. Not a cure.

only the cruelest of individuals would allow someone to go hungry, much less starve. I believe that one of the best ways our tax dollars are spent, is taking care of those who are less fortunate than others.

I'm in farm country here in Nebraska...yoou'd be surprised at how many farmers are on FS...some, try as they will not to, go into debt every year...and w/o FS, there would be hungry children out here. 99% of Americans have never tasted #2 field corn, the stuff that goes into animal feed, ethanol, fructose and a host of other things. This isn't the sweet corn people put on their tables...it tastes like crap, and is engineered for other than straight human consumption. Farmers have small family veggie gardens, but they still buy milk, butter, meat, eggs, chicken, flour, bread and a host of other things they would not get w/o some help.

The money we spend in Iraq in one day, some $50 million...wopuld not serve up some good nutritious food for people, but also ensure that childhood immunizations and check ups were taken care of. Odd how we can spend so much to destroy, but to build...it is always a "problem" for some...:(

Interesting view, and I wouldn't be surprised to see people who never even of think of farmers needing help with food.

I believe that one of the best ways our tax dollars are spent, is taking care of those who are less fortunate than others.

:applause:

I think it was called "The Farmer's Wife" or something like that.

It was an outstanding documentary about what REAL people are going through.

Those good and extremely hard-working folks eventually had to use food stamps to get by and they were absolutely gutted by that.

as well as nationwide.

Right now, farmers are doing relatively well, but the smaller tracts, the one's that ave been in families for a couple of generations are having a somewhat tough time. The advent of Roundup Ready varieties and a whole fistfull of measures by agricorps have made it difficult for most to make a half way decent profit.

Like I said earlier, most farms have a small plot to grow veggies and stuff for the household, and canning is still pretty evident around here, but time has become a problem, and most kids leave the farms ans communities, leaving it up to the oldsters to carry on. Some of the smaller towns are really struggling, and the rail load areas have all changed, so many areas are very poorly served, and trucking is the only way to get grain to market. Most farmers have a wife or kids working outside of the farm these days, just trying to keep things right and on an even keel.

The ethanol boost has helped, basically because the Wet and Dry Distillers Grain has an "addictive" nature for the cattle, and it is a fine feed for other livestock and fowl. Fuel is the biggest factor right now as natural gas prices are astronomical...but Fluidized Bed reactors will help immeasurably to bring the price of ethanol down, but corn won't be a heavy part of that equation, different biomass is far cheaper.

Most people on FS out here are "embarrassed" about it, but they would not be able to feed their kids w/o it, and nothing is sadder than a hungry or sick child, no matter where in the world they are. Nutrition is so important in fending off disease as well, so the benefits of FS far outweigh the small cost in the scheme of things.

I've had several run-ins w/some of the more arrogant one's that are pretty well off...they complain about "welfare queens" getting some $325 cash a month, but never feel an iota of hypocrisy when they run off to the bank w/a $127,000 check from the government they so love to hate. We have two near town that have become millionaires off the government largess, but these two clowns are the first to scream about tax dollars being spent on the poor, even though both made over a million last year w/o the government help...add in what they get from the government, and you'd think they would be happy...but they have to blame someone for something, no matter how much they take.

My girlfriend is a farmer in a very small town.

She sold off her cattle 5 years ago and is now mostly corn with some grain.

She subsists on canning. Every harvest, she spends day upon long day canning. EVERYTHING gets canned.

It's a very rough life. She was 45 years old before she had an indoor toilet.

Strongest woman I know. And, in many respects, she is the happiest woman I know.

I was laid off from work several years ago and decided to go back and finish my degree. I have two kids and would not have been able to get my degree with out that help. Now 5 years with a degree and a good job, I'm sure I have repaid my food stamp help multiple times..

enough money to buy food in this country.

If you have ever worked a soup kitchen or food dispensary, you have seen up close the shame and embarrassment on people's faces. That anyone would fault people for doing whatever they have to to feed their families is what is really shameful and embarrassing.

as a family of five who gets $142 in food stamps/mo I've been sitting here in tears reading these posts. There is nothing worse than going to the store with your young kids and paying with your debit card when your husband is at work and having the cashier look at you like you are a piece of crap. We are just trying to feed our kids, not trying to take from anyone. We are trying like hell to get off of food stamps. Who knew you could work 60 hours a week at a job that requires a college education and qualify for food stamps? My dh has an interview on Friday for a better paying job, please keep him in your thoughts.

Don't forget, foodstamps are not a handout, you pay your taxes for those

these stupid elections and the money that is being wasted on them is enough to make one cry for sure. This waste of money, along with these obscene rich corporations need to be trounced upon... This waste of wealth well others suffer is an absolute tragedy and needs to come to a sudden halt.

...how much alike we all really are. You're not alone, and I'm sure each of us are sending good thoughts your way.

For folks that need to be feed, nobody should EVER go hungry in this country.

But as someone who has worked for years with needy populations, there are many who also buy twinkies and other junk food products with their FS - then spend actual left over welfare award $$$ on cigs and beer. There are plenty who abuse the welfare system as well.

Lao Tzu - "Give A Man A Fish, Feed Him For A Day. Teach A Man To Fish, Feed Him For A Lifetime"

Better than food stamps, teach people how to feed themselves! That means providing practical and vocational skills.

on edit: clarifed the beer part

Anyway after they bought their twinkies and fritos.

Lack of education, parenting skills, and independent living skills are more to blame.

They are just hungry, but many have no clue how best to feed self/kids.

possible to get cash back (similar to a debit card) or use it at an ATM machine? Would it then be possible to purchase, with cash, items which would normally be disallowed?

31,600 possibles, one of which is Connecticut

http://www.ct.gov/dss/cwp/view.asp?a=2349&q=304628

To Get Cash at the Store
Get your balance by looking at your receipt, or call 1-888-328-2666.
Look for the Quest® mark.
Your card is swiped.
Enter your secret PIN on the number pad, then press Enter.
Tell the clerk how much money to enter or enter the amount yourself.
Check to make sure the amount on the receipt is the same as the amount of cash you received.
How to Use Your EBT Card at a Cash Machine (ATM)
Always follow directions on the ATM.
Enter your secret PIN.
Press Withdrawal.
Press Checking.
Enter the dollar amount you want.
Take your cash from the machine.
Wait for your card and receipt.
Check the receipt to make sure it is the same as the amount you got.
DO NOT count your money at the machine.

I checked several of the others, and they are similar.

Not if you just get food stamp benefits.

My view on these people is that they are the most pathetic creatures on the face of the earth.

When I was on food stamps, I sometimes paid the babysitter in meat. I don't really feel that bad about it.

dollars from the system.

Gaming the social service system isn't as easy as you play it and welfare fraud is far from rampant.

Ferfuckssake let's put things in PERSPECTIVE!!

NOLA is STILL a mess, and the people who lost their homes are STILL living in crappy asbestos-laden trailers. Yet people on GODDAMNED DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND are "concerned" that some poor person, somewhere, is getting $2 extra to buy beer. Oh noes!!

part of an overall system. Yes, the abuse happens...and I don't know what can be done about it. (It is harder to sell benefits, since they are on a card however.)

who have little or no control over most things in their life.

And, for the record, if I'm ever that poor, I'll buy as many cigs, twinkies and beers as I can, thanks, and authoritarians like you can go take a hike.

people can't find jobs, or can only find jobs that don't pay enough to live on.

Halliburtion, K B and R, GE, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Exxon/Mobil, Blackwater, Custer Battles, etc...

If some poor single mom takes a nip of gin or sneaks a smoke off my dime, I can get over it. But when some corporate exec gets a lucrative no-bid contract and gets rich(er), while not providing the services promised at even a minimal level, then I've got a SERIOUS problem with that.

FTS. I spent 10 years in the military, watching contractors bilk taxpayers out of millions$$, for mostly sitting on their asses and/or engaging in costly and ineffective boondoggles. I saw firsthand the $700 toilet seats and $15000 wrenches scamming. There was a woman who, I swear to god, got paid a 6 figure salary to sit in a control room, at a remote location that she had to be helicoptered into, to watch a screen. She was an avid knitter. She must have knitted 80 fucking thousand scarves during her decades long tenure with that defense contractor. Then there were the guys who would deliberately fuck up the sonar weapons tracking, so we'd have to stay underway overnight, thus allowing them to collect beaucoup overtime. Meanwhile my dumb enlisted ass was forced to stand watch all night, at no extra pay, to oversee the evolution and ensure the safety of the scammers. Talk about your welfare queens. :grr:

Just 5 months ago, I was homeless and had been for 16 months--it's a long story, but it involves a major illness and subsequent depression triggered by the illness--and, after hesitating for the longest time, I finally started getting food stamps (and Section 8 housing). It is not something I wanted to do, and I will be off them when I finally re-enroll in school in the fall and finish my PhD, but it was something I had to do if I didn't want to go hungry. I get $135/month, which doesn't go far in Los Angeles, but it is much better than nothing.

Because he didn't get paid a living wage. When my husband was in the Marines there were a lot of military families on foodstamps. It was the only way you could afford to feed your family if you didn't live close to a commissary. There is no shame in being on foodstamps. The shame is that we live in the richest country in the world and some of its citizens, including those who would lay their lives down for it, have to be on foodstamps.

I wish we had been on foodstamps, but I think my dad was too proud. There may have been times when we would hav eeaten a little better.

I'd rather people get on foodstamps than short someone (like a small business) they owe money to.

...thank you.

Thank you.

PS Does it have any corroboration or is it simply Obama's statement about his mother 40 years ago?

unless your a closet republican supporting hillary.

There's nothing, in the least, romantic or beneficial about hunger. My mother resorted to shoplifting to feed us. She was lousy at it, and got caught several times.

My wife volunteers at the local food bank. The Feds cough up, grudgingly, a whopping 8lbs per person per month. Which includes canned goods.

Meanwhile, we spend millions per day to pursue a lost war in Iraq, and more on a losing war in Afghanistan.

like the lady up the thread..her husband was a marine and she was on food stamps...

back when my oldest daughter was a baby. I don't feel any shame at all. I'm glad they were available.

They give you what looks like a debit card. The "stamps" ae so 70's...

They believe you should pull yourself up by your bootstraps on your own. Also why they are called conservatives.

my wife and i were on food stamps for 6 months last year. now she makes just enough over that we can`t get them anymore. our food lasted about three weeks...and i do`t eat a lot of food.....

He was putting his life on the line for this nation and we were a part of the working class in this nation. If you need help to feed your children it should never be held against you, not in this nation where the general well fare is key to our success. Be fair.

manage to feed our own children.

Thanks for your thread.

They are necessary as a safety net for families and children.

There is EVERYTHING wrong with REMAINING on them for decades, in those instances when it can be avoided.

Note: nothing at all to do with Obama--just a general peeve of mine. Carry on.


Duke

It helped and my wife and I were very grateful. In fact, the same agency that gave us the food stamps later determined (after I was working again) that they had given us too much. No argument. I was happy to pay them back, as it went into their budget to help others.

makes me MORE likely to trust him.

It's loathsome to me the way that some people assume the authority to lecture me about everything from nutrition to my hairstyle to getting married or finding a job every time they see that Food Stamp card come out. "Ooooo, she's getting Food Stamps! She's fair game for public humiliation and patronizing, moralistic lectures!". I should write a book about things I've heard in the checkout line while using a Food Stamp card. A few samples...

"You know, if you took the time to curl your hair nicely every morning, you'd be more likely to find a job. Then you wouldn't need that card." --Well gee thanks, lady! I guess the whole 'college education' thing that's taking up my available work hours is waaaay overrated. I'll just go down to the nearest fast-food joint and start toiling away for minimum wage for the rest of my natural life. I'll be sure to curl my hair first.

"A young woman with a son should be married. Boys need a father, you know, and if you had a husband, you wouldn't be in this embarrassing situation." --It wasn't embarrassing until you decided to lecture me like a child in front of the entire checkout line. I'll be sure to let my same-sex domestic partner know that our son needs her to grow a penis ASAP.

"Ice cream? Cake mix? Chocolate frosting? Surely that's not what the government intended you to spend my tax dollars on." --Yes, because poor kids don't have BIRTHDAYS or anything. I guess my son can make a wish on a salad and blow the candles out on a meatloaf. I'm sure he won't be *too* terribly upset.

"Those microwave dinners are horribly bad for you. Your Food Stamps would be much better spent on "real" food." --Sorry sir, but it's finals week. I just don't have a lot of time to cook for the next few days. By the way, is that a Stouffer's microwave lasagna I see in your buggy? Good thing you aren't paying with Food Stamps--otherwise, some self-righteous, pompous ass might take it upon himself to lecture you about it.

"Wish *I* could afford (insert meat item here.) I probably could if I didn't have to pay for yours." --I could probably afford to buy my own (insert meat item here) if assholes like you didn't keep voting for the national Republicans who let corporations ship all the good-paying jobs overseas, and the local Republicans who fight like hell to make sure that the absentee student slumlords in town can keep gouging us all on rent prices. Funny old world, isn't it?

Bottom line: if you ever get the urge to lecture someone who's paying with Food Stamps...don't. Seriously. Unless you know all of the circumstances of that person's life, you're just being an asshole.