Let's talk about soda...

If they are getting so much more than they need, then yeah, something is definitely wrong.  In Ohio it's harder to sell food stamps now because instead of getting what looks like paper Monopoly money, you get a card, like a debit card.  To sell some of your food stamps here, you'd have to let the person you sold them to take your card and trust them to only use the amount you sold to them and to then return your card to you.  Since you need a PIN to use the card, it also prevents people from stealing food stamps.  And if you lose your card, you can get a new one, whereas when you lost the old Monopoly money food stamps, you were just out of luck.

I work in a county jail, I book dealers that have multiple EBT cards. 

I wish there were "like" buttons because I agree with many of your comments.  

Regardless of financial status, nutrition is vastly misunderstood in this country.  The only way to change it is through education for kids and public classes that could be through adult education or through the public schools or hospitals and clinics.  I do believe that there would be many volunteers to teach it if presented in the right way.  It should not have to cost millions of dollars like the federal gov. tends to prefer.  

RE: " And why should poor people that use food stamps be required to only buy/eat healthy food when other people are allowed to eat all the junk they want?"  I guess if people have xxxx$s they can eat junk if they want.  We shouldn't have to make everything fair.....there is no way to do that.  

People need jobs and those who won't work need to figure out how they are going to get by.  I'm sorry that some are on disability but if you get the free loaders off the dole then we could spend more on disabilities. 

The vast majority of people on food stamps are working poor (I believe, more than 80%****il places like Walmart pay people a living wage you and I will continue to fund their profits ...  

I think disability is one of the areas that needs to be looked at - many people see THAT as their life time of welfare - do they have to requalify regularly? 

I have a lot more sympathy for someone who works 40 hours a week and still can't feed their family, than someone who qualified for disability 10 years ago and have no intention of ever working again - and they are in their 30s or 40s!!!  

Just speaking from the population of people I personally know, they are working poor because they choose to be. I know more people who simply don't "want" to get a job. They don't "want" to stand up for hours, don't "want" to have to wear stupid uniforms, don't "want" to have to take the bus to work and on and on. 

I think part of that is government enabling. There are supposed to be parameters to prevent people who are employable from collecting benefits indefinitely but for the life of me I've not seen these parameters enacted YET. Of all the people I know on food stamps, I think only one genuinely has no other option and is trying to help themselves. I think maybe that colors my view. I know that the people I know aren't necessarily the norm but...yeesh!

I am on SSDI, which is a program through Social Security for people with disabilities.  I think it is actually set up to encourage people to go back to work if they are able to.    I can attempt to go back to work and I can earn any amount of money for several months before it would be determined that I no longer qualify for disability.  Then I would get a three month grace period in which my benefits would not change, no matter how much I earned.  Then, when I no longer received SSDI, I would be able to keep my Medicare if I wanted (I'd have to pay the full premiums myself) so fear of losing access to health care would not be a reason to want to stay on disability.

Most government-sponsored programs don't encourage people to go back to work, though.  I don't think there are any lifetime limits on food stamps, but there are on cash assistance in my state (Ohio).  Here you can only collect cash assistance from the state for 36 consecutive months and for a lifetime total of 60 months.  In order to receive benefits, if you are able to work and not working, you must also participate in a job readiness program, where they teach you things like how to write a resume and interview for jobs.  Those limits are enforced in Ohio - it's the law they have to be.  And I know people that have lost benefits for not participating in a job readiness program.

But the system isn't set up to encourage people to go back to work, or to work more.  My sister recently opted to work a few less hours at work (I don't recall the specifics, maybe she was working 30 hours and cut back to 26, something like that) because by earning just a little more money, she become ineligible for Medicaid and rental assistance.  The amount of money involved would have been something like $60 a week, and by earning an extra $60 a week, instead of Medicaid paying ALL her child's medical bills and Section 8 paying a few hundred dollars a month for rent, that was all taken away.  Of course most people would chose to earn $60 less and get those benefits.

I hadn't heard too much about that "law" until this morning on the begining og the Today Show. It made it sound like they couldn't SERVE a drink larger than 16 ounces with sugar in it. Coffee was an example (Starbucks) could be served larger but you could add your own sugar. If one wanted a large soda they could buy 2 or 3 or more and get around it easily. I'm sure that they buy one get one free would start up immediately. I really don't think legislating good health will ever work, IMHO.

Martha 

I think that maybe they could require anybody that would like get food stamp benefits to attend a class that addresses nutrition and how to eat well within a budget. So that kids aren't eating mac and cheese, hot dogs, chips, frozen pizza, and soda ALL THE TIME. They could also offer a cooking class maybe, on how to prepare a nutritional meal for your family.

I also think that ANYONE receiving any government benefits should be subject to random drug screening. My husband is Active Duty Navy and ANY military branch and SEVERAL employers require it....I just don't understand the argument that it is a 'violation of privacy' or 'not constitutional'.

Most states have the food stamp card now. Here in Florida, they ran a news story recently about people getting TANF or welfare cash assistance and spending in bars and strip clubs.

Nothing can be done...at least per the welfare office officials that they interviewed.