Economy Should this guy be able to get SNAP?

[nostradumbass]

The vast majority of people on SNAP do work, often multiple jobs. Two friends of mine work at Walmart and still rely on SNAP because companies like that do not pay livable wages. If employers paid enough for people to live without food assistance, SNAP would not even be necessary.

I am also tired of the right acting like SNAP recipients are lazy. That is just not true. SNAP is a work-support program, not a handout. Most recipients are children, elderly, or disabled. In fact, in 2021, 86% of households with working-age adults on SNAP had earnings. Many work full-time at Walmart, fast food, or similar jobs, and still cannot make ends meet. Demonizing these people is dishonest and exhausting. SNAP exists so working families do not go hungry, not to reward laziness.

Great, so now it will be 100% of able bodied people on SNAP instead of "the vast majority". Were you arguing just to argue, because nothing you said has anything to do with having a work requirement for eligibility? If your friends are working at least 20 hours, then they don't lose their benefits. The guy in the OP and several million more like him will either lose theirs, or they'll have to get a part time job, volunteer or go to school to stay eligible.

 

[Siver!]

If you're able bodied, you should have to work. I don't get why this is controversial.

What if you're rich?

 

[PG29 red0 Jr]

Unless the guy is physically or mentally disabled to the point he cannot earn a living wage......he should not receive SNAP.

 

[Satanical Eve]

Great, so now it will be 100% of able bodied people on SNAP instead of "the vast majority". Were you arguing just to argue, because nothing you said has anything to do with having a work requirement for eligibility? If your friends are working at least 20 hours, then they don't lose their benefits. The guy in the OP and several million more like him will either lose theirs, or they'll have to get a part time job, volunteer or go to school to stay eligible.

Have you ever suffered financial hardship? I highly doubt it. Then again you folks really don't have empathy for those struggling. Do love how the OP is cherry picking instances like this that are far and few between.

 

[F1980]

Have you ever suffered financial hardship? I highly doubt it. Then again you folks really don't have empathy for those struggling. Do love how the OP is cherry picking instances like this that are far and few between.

I don't think the person in the video is "far and between" speaking as a Mexican in LA whose almost entire set of relatives is on some type of welfare including SNAP

Let's say you are right. The vast majority of people on SNAP are hard working people with jobs.

Should people like the guy in the video be allowed to be on SNAP?

 

[ricc505]

The only people I've ever known who get food stamps are lazy and drug addicts. One is the girlfriend of a drug dealer who didn't have any provable income so why not get free food?

 

[nostradumbass]

Have you ever suffered financial hardship? I highly doubt it. Then again you folks really don't have empathy for those struggling. Do love how the OP is cherry picking instances like this that are far and few between.

Again, instances like the OP are the only ones losing benefits, or will have to get a part time job or volunteer in order to keep them. People who are working, disabled, or have kids under 14 don't lose theirs.

 

[Satur9]

People will find a way to game a system. That’s a fact. Nothing is foolproof and the sooner one realizes that fact, the better.
He doesn’t deserve it, but, the whole system isn’t broken either.

I’m ok with limiting what types of food can be bought using it and who gets it. Seems reasonable. The entire system doesn’t need to be tossed away though. It helps millions who actually need it.

 

[Osculater]

He should do volunteer work and stuff

 

[TrueBias]

No. Just No. And if you've got proof otherwise, please provide it.

Hi, im Earth, have we met?

 

[LangfordBarrow]

Even if you don't think this individual deserves SNAP, the issue is broader: the same rules that disqualify him disqualify a lot of people you don't want disqualified (people who are homeless, for example).

Rules governing welfare are a crude hammer, and there's no realistic scenario where you remove people like him and don't also remove very vulnerable populations.

Not to mention $1,500 isn't exactly much in the grand scheme of government spending or kickbacks to wealthier Americans that we don't require drug tests or work requirements for.

This makes me wonder if we had a basic universal income, of lets say around 12k a year, would we be able to suspend this and other programs for the needy? I guess there's always going to be a certain percentage of scammers no matter what we try. And we also need to consider the scams the wealthy use to avoid paying a real set percentage of the wealth they gain each year.

 

[avenue94]

This makes me wonder if we had a basic universal income, of lets say around 12k a year, would we be able to suspend this and other programs for the needy? I guess there's always going to be a certain percentage of scammers no matter what we try. And we also need to consider the scams the wealthy use to avoid paying a real set percentage of the wealth they gain each year.

Theoretically yes, but reality would be more complicated.

 

[Stoic1]

Not a black and white issue. But like any government funded system it is easily exploited and abused without accountability.

I doubt there are very many people here who want to defund SNAP or have kids go hungry. Everyone sees the benefits. But if you aren't on board with fraud and exploitation prevention I see you as the enemy.

My personal position is that federal entitlement benefits need to scaled back and community based organizations need to pick up the delta. Traditionally, this was the way it was done throughout history. This idea that big daddy government is gonna solve all the problems it creates is flawed.

I distinctly remember the church dropping off some groceries at the house (single mother household in 70s/80s).

 

[lowlife]

Social Welfare grifting - tens of billions annually.
Corporate Welfare grifting and tax break grifting - hundreds of billions annually.

edit: and no, the guy in OP should not be getting welfare. but the selective outrage is always amusing to me.

 

[MrShady]

These threads always crack me up.

Certain people will take out their pitchforks and shovels when they find the 1% of fraud and abuse, call for Elon and DOGE to scrap the entire system, meanwhile the billionaire and political class gets to fraud and abuse to the tunes of billions and their punishment? They get to be a Senator for Florida.

People like Rick Scott thank you for your selective outrage

 

[avenue94]

Not a black and white issue. But like any government funded system it is easily exploited and abused without accountability.

I doubt there are very many people here who want to defund SNAP or have kids go hungry. Everyone sees the benefits. But if you aren't on board with fraud and exploitation prevention I see you as the enemy.

My personal position is that federal entitlement benefits need to scaled back and community based organizations need to pick up the delta. Traditionally, this was the way it was done throughout history. This idea that big daddy government is gonna solve all the problems it creates is flawed.

I distinctly remember the church dropping off some groceries at the house (single mother household in 70s/80s).

The issue is the options aren't remove 500K Americans who shouldn't be in the program, it's more like you can remove 500K that shouldn't be int eh program but that also removes 1 million Americans who should be in the program.

The goal with welfare programs isn't to minimize fraud, it's to minimize fraud up to the point where the costs start outweighing the benefits. And that happens a lot sooner than a lot of people want to admit.

The issue with relying on private organizations is they don't have the resources to address systemic issues, hence poverty was sky high before welfare programs.

 

[44nutman]

Social Welfare grifting - tens of billions annually.
Corporate Welfare grifting and tax break grifting - hundreds of billions annually.

edit: and no, the guy in OP should not be getting welfare. but the selective outrage is always amusing to me.

I agree. Dude should be working but that same people turn a blind eye to corporate welfare. Those foreign Twitter posters with names like Trump2028 have really fucked this country.
There is a reason 90% of US media is controlled by 6 entities. They control the narrative and rob way more tax dollars than the dude who should be working. They will run this story and ignore every ones electric bill is about to skyrocket because of the power needed for AI.

 

[Mike]

As others have said the waste from people gaming the system is absolutely nothing compared to all the ways corporations are gaming the system.

The income cut offs are so low only the unemployed and underemployed can even qualify for benefits. I'd rather we weren't giving a few hundred bucks a month for food to losers that don't try at all, but it's not the end of the world.

Anyone that's ever been low income and tried to get any kind of aid, knows there are all sorts of limitations and you have to be very low income to meet the requirements to get help. I think it's worth it to have the safety net there so hardworking people that are low income don't start starving the second something goes wrong.

I was on food stamps briefly years ago, during the poorest period of my life. Dont usually talk about it on here, but before I got my ebt card my weight got as low as 140 lbs. I am a 6 foot tall man. I looked like a skeleton with skin stretched over it.

The $200 a month they gave me for food allowed me to put weight back on and get healthy enough for physical work. I shopped as frugally as I knew how to and shared some of the food with my friends and girlfriend that were as broke as I was.

With a free source for food I could put every dollar into commuting looking for work. With that help I made it out of the spot I was in, just barely. The second I got a job (after 2 to 3 months, this was during the 2009 recession) I got back off the food stamps.

That's what these social programs are for. For people that are trying but are desperately poor and don't have any resources to fall back on in hard times.

 

[USA!USA!]

Was watching the video waiting to see if they explained WHY the 38 year old able-bodied man didn't work

Then they mentioned he was an ex-convict lol ok I kinda get it now.. do you think he actually can't get hired because of that, or is it just an excuse? I honestly don't know.. never been a felon or have any close family who have, so I don't know what happens.

If it is true and he can't get any kind of job, he truly is fucked and that seems like a society problem.

 

[PainIsLIfe]

SNAP is basically EBT. Used to be called food stamps

Trump is making changes to who can be allowed to get it. This guy is pissed that he will no longer be allowed to get SNAP in the future.

Why doesn't he have; and how long has been without, a job?