What is the criteria to get on food stamps? I have to think my broke ass brother applies.

Couldn't you find a "WE EXCEPT FOOD STAMPS" sign? They seem to be pretty common.

How do I get in on this so I can fit in at walmart?

I think this is only because of unemployment insurance, which obviously does not cover people to the extent their job did.

Here are the eligibility requirements: [www.fns.usda.gov]

Even though I'm technically unemployed, I still don't qualify because Mr. Pi is employed.

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected:

saaaaaame here. Or mine could at least find a better paying job. There's not much I can do about someone else's lack of motivation though.

...and 90% of that 10% should be CUT OFF. people should be ashamed of themselves, there are plenty of cases where assistance is warranted, but 10% OFF EVERYONE IN THE COUNTRY... effing people!!!!!

@Jason Foster:
edit: OF EVERYONE

wow, what the government considers poverty would have me living in my car, which I could barely afford on that income

@RandomHookup: I think "WE ACCEPT FOOD STAMPS" might be even more common.

@Jason Foster: I'm sure this opinion is based on actual studies showing that 90% of food stamp recipients don't need them, and not some anecdotal evidence, or party-line parroting.

Considering the cost of food, and considering where "poverty" starts, I think that bar needs to be raised considerably. Just because you aren't technically in "poverty" doesn't mean you couldn't use the help.

Some of my friends have absolutely no money - or are losing money after they pay their rent and utilities. Pretty much living on ramen at that point.

@edwardso: I think the numbers are skewed because a lot of elderly qualify, and they're not necessarily poor, they just qualify because they probably don't have vehicles and aren't working. There's poor by not having a lot of possessions, and they're poor by not having anything because you can't afford it. Food stamps are best suited for the people who are actually working, can't afford anything but public transportation, and can barely feed their families, not necessarily for the elderly who choose to not have (or can't have) vehicles. But there are also a great deal of elderly who are poor, not by choice.

@RandomHookup: Oh, sorry - you were saying to find an engrished-up sign. Looks like it's time for another cup of coffee for me.

Interesting. As of right now, the poll is running 90/10 -- just as the headline would predict.

If people shopped on coupons like my family does this problem would be much much less. A little planning and clipping can go a long way to reduce the grocery bill (plus cooking meals at home). My family has been shopping with coupons for at least as long as coupons have been around. Its only gotten easier to get coupons and discounts with the internet. There are people that can get almost a whole grocery bill for 20$ by using coupons ; they save even more than we do, but we value the quality of the food so we save a bit less since we don't buy all processed or frozen foods which tend to have more coupons. Hey if you are unemployed you definitely have the time to be searching for coupons and deals.

Ironically most food stamp shoppers I see here do not use any coupons at all, and are perfectly happy paying full price for all of their groceries and toiletries, no matter the cost. I see people walking out of Walmart with 20 sticks of deodorant and toothpaste at a time, you seriously don't use that much in a month even for a relatively large family.

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: Food stamps are subsidized by the Federal government (very little) but administered by each state. So each state has its own criteria. You need to contact whatever department in your state handles them.

And the requirements vary wildly. At one time, in a previous job, I was considering moving to Louisiana, where our company had a manufacturing facility. I was well paid and would have still been well paid in Louisiana. That said, I would have also qualified in Louisiana for food stamps. At the time, they considered anyone who lived in Louisiana "poor" enough, almost regardless of their income. You just had to be able to sign your name. And they probably had exceptions for that too.

Anyway, YMMV.

@squinko: While the all-caps words and made-up statistics don't help his cause, he has a point. Many times food stamps and unemployment benefits are based on whether or not you have a job - without taking anything else into account. Just look at who is receiving food stamps in Ohio and tell me it doesn't make you sick.

[news.cincinnati.com]

Food stamps is like free money for those who work off the books. I heard from a friend of mine that a cousin of his has enough money to buy a house, but was afraid because he works off the books and gets food stamps. I wonder what's under his mattress.

@Oranges w/ Cheese: Yes! Yes! Give away more of my money, please! I don't need food stamps yet, so it's not fair! POPULISM TO THE RESCUE!

@squinko: i have worked in retail for over 10 years, working at QuikTrip for 3 years. when people can't figure out which card to use (OUT OF THE THREE OR FOUR THEY HAVE), yeah, i'd call that a problem. party-line parroting - WTF does that have to do with what i said??

Unfortunately there's a lot of abuse of food stamps and many store workers are not aware of what can and cannot be bought with food stamps. I've seen a number of people use food stamps for cigarettes and booze, which is a no-no.

@CubeRat: "Or mine could at least find a better paying job."

What is this job that he could find?

@Jason Foster: Really? So, care to show your research that caused you to come up with this 90%? I'm waiting!

@cjones27: In NC and several other states, your assets are included in eligibility requirements. They exclude your primary home and a vehicle for each employed person, but otherwise, if you have money in the bank, several cars, own property you don't live on, etc, you don't qualify.

@Outrun1986: "I see people walking out of Walmart with 20 sticks of deodorant and toothpaste at a time, you seriously don't use that much in a month even for a relatively large family. "

And were these items maybe on SALE?

These annectodal stories are useless, you know.

@Outrun1986: Coupons might help, but for people who actually are on food stamps because they need them to survive, it means that coupons are a luxury. Also, people buying 20 sticks of deodorant might be stocking up because it's on sale.

Also, you can only educate people on how to be better shoppers - a lot of people find it hard to justify buying a Sunday paper just to get 5 coupons they'd like to use. And there certainly aren't a lot of coupons for generic brand products.

@Jason Foster: OH, so it's annectodal evidence! LMAO LMAO LMAO.

@nakedscience:

Well, there's always those jobs that no one wants to do. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but they're out there.

Or if it makes it better, a second job. Right now he's working part time at a fast food place which doesn't always pay the bills. And because I am his brother, I don't want to see him homeless so I help every so often. That, in turn, causes a strain on me since I am not rolling around in piles of cash.

@cjones27: ...Then they need to make better requirements? How is this the fault of the people who use it? They qualify, no?

@RandomHookup: I like your Avatar. Best beer ever.

@Outrun1986: I am a coupon clipper too, but it seems like many of them are of the "buy two, get x off" variety and that doesn't work for my family. Also, many coupons are for processed foods, which I try to keep to a minimum. And cinsider this, if you are working 2 minimum wage jobs and taking public transportation, or spending time in a car commuting and caring for a family how much time and energy do you have to clip coupons? I barely have any and I'm childless

@AliyaBabasaur: And that's the way it should be. There are certain cases where it's necessary. But there are numerous instances of people taking advantage of it who have no reason to.

Facebooker, it's typically not wise to try and prove a point based on anecdotal evidence. Doesn't hold up too well.

@nakedscience: if you want to collect gov't assistance that's fine OR if you enjoy paying for people's gov't assistance that's fine. I DON'T ENJOY IT.
BTW... how much do you contribute to charities??

@nakedscience: As are your constant replies deriding them.

@AliyaBabasaur: Yup, same in Illinois. I also think Mr. Foster is confusing the ability to possess a credit card with the possession of decent income, and thus his conclusion is faulty.

@Outrun1986: you can't buy deodorant with food stamps, at least no when I was a cashier

@snickers:

Um, food stamps are now all electronic debit card programs. It is impossible to purchase cigarettes, booze or even a prepared meal. The debit transaction simply won't process it.

You MAY have seen someone purchase food products combined with non-food products. In which case, the customer has to pay for the other products with another form of payment.

The register will process the food items and then give the remaining total for any non-food items.

@Canino:

Need before greed, my friend.

@nakedscience: ice cream, candy bars, cheetos, fountain drinks (as long as there is not a straw in the drink), cases of pop, i could go on...
what is your excuse for being in favor of more people receiving gov't assistance?

I worked in a grocery store through college and saw who is on foodstamps/WIC every day. Yes there were those who abused the system. There was a girl I distinctly remember who was college aged and used food stamps, but drove away in a brand new Mercedes M-class. But, she was the exception. I don't know any of their life stories or how they got into their circumstances, but that majority that were on them seemed to be legitimately in need. Single moms, blue collar families barely making it by, etc. I think the abusers are the minority, based on my own experiences.

And no, nobody had like 50 kids, these were all families with at most 3 kids.

@floraposte: it's called an EBT card - dipshit

Food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as it is now known, is by far the most successful program in stimulating the economy.

This isn't even debated by Democrats or Republicans. You can debate who should get them, but that's a different issue.

@Outrun1986: One of the main components in "the grocery game" is stockpiling. Sales move in 12 week cycles, roughly. So if you have a coupon for 1.00 off the product, and it costs a dollar with buy one get one free, you are getting a free product, so stock up for the times you don't have a coupon. Deodorant and toothpaste are disposable items with a very long shelf life. Why not stock up?

@Jason Foster: why do some of you people defend LEECHES???

@cjones27: So when does this number really become a problem of too many people dependent upon the government for their daily needs and/or the government supporting more people than it really should? 20%? 30%? Maybe we all ought to be on food stamps, and just let the rich pay for our right to eat.

@cjones27: I disagree, it's important to civilly point out the faults in a person's logic. The important thing being that it's a civil discussion. But also because it's important that people don't keep following lines of discrimination (all Wal-Mart shoppers are on food stamps or all people who are on food stamps are deadbeats who abuse the system) to understand the truth.

In this case, the truth (without statistics) is that yes, there are people who abuse the food stamp system, and yes there are people who are on it even though they are much better off than they report. But that doesn't mean all, or a majority are, because we simply don't have the stats to support it (yet).

@Jason Foster: So which is preferable in an "enlightened" society? That some bad apples leech off the system or that some innocents get swept up because "they don't need it" and go hungry?

@nakedscience: Walmart doesn't have sales, they only have regular "low" prices. The Walmart in my area is more expensive for toiletries than Target or even the local grocery store. That is why I start getting suspicious when I see someone walking out of Walmart with a large amount of something that costs more at Walmart than elsewhere. The abuse of food stamps is extremely rampant over here, the more they try to stop food stamp abuse, the more it happens.

I have no problem with people who actually use food stamps because they have a legitimate need to use them.

@downwithmonstercable: That's my fav too :)