Escaping From Poverty

This is my first time posting on this forum, or any forum for
that matter. However, I'm a college student soon to be
drowning in college loans, ensuring that I will be an obedient
worker bee after graduation, and something has got to give. 

I'm going to skip over the rhetoric on the Subprime Mortgage
Crisis and taxpayer bailouts and cut to the chase: regardless
of who or what is to blame for the state of the nation, it
needs to be fixed, and fast. I may not have the answer but I
do have some ideas as I'm sure many of you posting on this
forum do.

I believe that food stamps (or SNAP benefits) are part of a
very flawed system. President Obama is trying to allocate an
additional one billion dollars towards poverty relief in the
form of SNAP benefits. I applaud the fact that he is
addressing poverty as a serious issue, however, I think
quality of food is more important that quantity at a certain
point. Food stamps could potentially be regulated by operating
with a point system rather than the current debit card system.
Fresh vegetables, whole chicken, skim milk, etc. could all
cost the card holder fewer points because of the nutritional
value and the quality of satiety. I personally would like to
see local farmer's markets accept the reformed cards to boost
local agriculture and encourage people to farm. This new
system would help cut back on mandatory spending as well as
obesity and give farmers incentive to cultivate the land. As
it stands, it is far less expensive to fill a family up with
high-calorie processed foods than it is to provide fresh
fruits, vegetables and meat. 

Another area in need of reform that can help cut back on
poverty is the prison system. In my home state of New York, it
costs  approximately forty-thousand dollars a year to house an
inmate in prison, all inclusive. What do these prisoners give
back to their community or their country while in prison?
Nothing, aside from having another criminal off the streets.
The government would be much better off investing in farm land
for prisons, that way inmates who are capable of working could
do so for their "three hots and a cot". The food
grown on location could also help supplement the dietary needs
of the prisoners, saving money once again. The prisoners would
be responsible for tending to the fields and the yield from
the crops could be distributed to local markets. To some
prisoners, our current facilities in the U.S. provides
conditions comparable to college dormitories all on the
working-class' dime. How about the prisoners give back? Repeat
offenders would probably be few and far between comparatively.