Food stamp rolls plummet in states that restore work requirements

[RoyBacon]

"After the food stamp rolls swelled for years under the Obama administration, fresh figures show a dramatic reduction in states that recently have moved to restore work requirements.

States were allowed to waive those rules for able-bodied adults thanks to the 2009 economic stimulus. As the rules loosened and the economy sputtered out of the recession, food stamp enrollment soared to record levels – peaking at nearly 48 million nationwide in 2013.


But while that number has dipped gradually in recent years, some states have moved aggressively to push recipients who can work back into the job market and, in due time, off the program.

Alabama began 2017 by requiring able-bodied adults without children in 13 counties to either find a job or participate in work training as a condition for continuing to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.


According to AL.com, the number of those recipients declined from 5,538 to 831 between Jan. 1 and the beginning of May – an 85 percent drop."

Making America great starts by cutting waste and not letting free loaders game the system. Requiring them to show up, take a drug test and retrain will lower this welfare cost by over 50%. That's something both libs and conservs can celebrate . (I think )

[milwaukee mike]

it's about time some of the lazy bums with no skills or morals started starving to death

if they had even a pea of a brain they would just walk out of the inner city and eat grass or tree bark like elephants, but we know that won't be the case

[chico2663]

"After the food stamp rolls swelled for years under the Obama administration, fresh figures show a dramatic reduction in states that recently have moved to restore work requirements.

States were allowed to waive those rules for able-bodied adults thanks to the 2009 economic stimulus. As the rules loosened and the economy sputtered out of the recession, food stamp enrollment soared to record levels – peaking at nearly 48 million nationwide in 2013.


But while that number has dipped gradually in recent years, some states have moved aggressively to push recipients who can work back into the job market and, in due time, off the program.

Alabama began 2017 by requiring able-bodied adults without children in 13 counties to either find a job or participate in work training as a condition for continuing to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.


According to AL.com, the number of those recipients declined from 5,538 to 831 between Jan. 1 and the beginning of May – an 85 percent drop."

Making America great starts by cutting waste and not letting free loaders game the system. Requiring them to show up, take a drug test and retrain will lower this welfare cost by over 50%. That's something both libs and conservs can celebrate . (I think )

walmart finally started paying a living wage so some didn't qualify any more

[milwaukee mike]

walmart finally started paying a living wage so some didn't qualify any more

walmart pays someone $15k/year and that person gets $20k/year worth of free health insurance/food stamps/earned income credit/housing assistance/etc... weird to say the least!

[rkelly110]

Thanks Obama for providing a safety net compared to the right who, during a near depression, wanted austerity.

[brooks85]

Thanks Obama for providing a safety net compared to the right who, during a near depression, wanted austerity.

lol lying sack of rkelly

[RoyBacon]

And thanks to the American voter that ended the redistribution from working folks to folks gaming the welfare system.

Now let's keep building on this. Want free housing? Clean up parks and get drug tested. Need a food stamp? Report to street cleaning detail and drug testing of course.

It's great when we can use common sense to make the country great again....finally

[rkelly110]

And thanks to the American voter that ended the redistribution from working folks to folks gaming the welfare system.

Now let's keep building on this. Want free housing? Clean up parks and get drug tested. Need a food stamp? Report to street cleaning detail and drug testing of course.

It's great when we can use common sense to make the country great again....finally

Agree. You get welfare, clean up your hood, at least where you live. Non violent jail birds need to get out and
clean up our roadways. Though, it would be nice if people didn't use our road ways as their personal trash cans. Pigs.

[jjgold]

I don't mind people getting welfare as long as you semi work for it

[brooks85]

Agree. You get welfare, clean up your hood, at least where you live. Non violent jail birds need to get out and
clean up our roadways. Though, it would be nice if people didn't use our road ways as their personal trash cans. Pigs.

lol the hypocrite proves he is a clown aagain. Says "agree" but votes to make it worse... penetrating pos

[Fire in da hole]

walmart finally started paying a living wage so some didn't qualify any more

Last time I checked we live in a free market, nobody forces you to work at walmart.

if you are so education and skilled, then go find another job.

the problem with this country is all the lazy fuks, blame everyone else for their inability to separate themselves in the marketplace.

go fkn learn a trade or something, but quit blaming other people

[GUMMO77]

About $67,000,000 worth of food stamps were used at U.S. military commissaries last year.

[RoyBacon]

If you make the welfare system easy to game you will have a lot of abuse. Maybe we don't need to cut benefits if we can reduce abuse?

Agree with kelly on getting county jail inmates out of their cell and walking the roads picking up trash.

Folks who are down on their luck are not getting better sitting at home getting free food and housing and drinking Colt66 all day. Insist they make two job applications a day, clean up public property on the weekends, drug test weekly.

We have found bipartisan middle ground!

[teaserpleaser]

About $67,000,000 worth of food stamps were used at U.S. military commissaries last year.

seems like everybody is one them

go to your local Walmart and stand in line and just watch.

[dante1]

"After the food stamp rolls swelled for years under the Obama administration, fresh figures show a dramatic reduction in states that recently have moved to restore work requirements.

States were allowed to waive those rules for able-bodied adults thanks to the 2009 economic stimulus. As the rules loosened and the economy sputtered out of the recession, food stamp enrollment soared to record levels – peaking at nearly 48 million nationwide in 2013.


But while that number has dipped gradually in recent years, some states have moved aggressively to push recipients who can work back into the job market and, in due time, off the program.

Alabama began 2017 by requiring able-bodied adults without children in 13 counties to either find a job or participate in work training as a condition for continuing to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.


According to AL.com, the number of those recipients declined from 5,538 to 831 between Jan. 1 and the beginning of May – an 85 percent drop."

Making America great starts by cutting waste and not letting free loaders game the system. Requiring them to show up, take a drug test and retrain will lower this welfare cost by over 50%. That's something both libs and conservs can celebrate . (I think )

absolutely, if these people are capable of work they should do some type of work, it is only common sense. it isn't a R or D issue. no problem with allowing people who can work--work.

it is much like the common sense idea that D Trump is a crazy person, everybody should also agree with this. I mean it is much like this issue a no brainer. He has proved time after time that something is seriously wrong with him. Just posted a conservative operative who calls him much much worse.

[teaserpleaser]

it's about time some of the lazy bums with no skills or morals started starving to death

if they had even a pea of a brain they would just walk out of the inner city and eat grass or tree bark like elephants, but we know that won't be the case

lmao inner city

man I think mike would be stunned if he knew how many white folks are on food stamps

my man has obviously never been to most of the rural south and working class Midwest

Look at the numbers of people on food stamps everybody is pretty much in them.

Cheating the system or not

[milwaukee mike]

lmao inner city

man I think mike would be stunned if he knew how many white folks are on food stamps

my man has obviously never been to most of the rural south and working class Midwest

Look at the numbers of people on food stamps everybody is pretty much in them.

Cheating the system or not

milwaukee doesn't count as "working class midwest"?

yes whites are on food stamps, never said they weren't, but not to the extent and to the length of time that blacks are


Blacks are about twice as likely as whites to have used this benefit during their lives (31% vs. 15%).

[JAKEPEAVY21]

it's about time some of the lazy bums with no skills or morals started starving to death

if they had even a pea of a brain they would just walk out of the inner city and eat grass or tree bark like elephants, but we know that won't be the case

couldn't agree more!!

[MinnesotaFats]

About $67,000,000 worth of food stamps were used at U.S. military commissaries last year.

This is a good stat is it not? The program is designed to aid working families in subsidising nutritional requirements. The average base pay for the 3 non flying branches is $19,500, meaning that a non working spouse playing mom for active military would be eligible for assistance- as they should be. Contrast that to my 38 units in Arcadia FL where 30 of the tenants are able bodies who are voluntarily unemployed, voluntarily uneducated, voluntarily high and dynamically opposed to job searching or reeducation and I'd say we have a clear distinction of where it should be allocated and spent (military, single income, disabled and student) and where it should not.

[dante1]

This is a good stat is it not? The program is designed to aid working families in subsidising nutritional requirements. The average base pay for the 3 non flying branches is $19,500, meaning that a non working spouse playing mom for active military would be eligible for assistance- as they should be. Contrast that to my 38 units in Arcadia FL where 30 of the tenants are able bodies who are voluntarily unemployed, voluntarily uneducated, voluntarily high and dynamically opposed to job searching or reeducation and I'd say we have a clear distinction of where it should be allocated and spent (military, single income, disabled and student) and where it should not.

can't argue with common sense.

then there is always another side of the coin, the lady who cleans my home has had an incredibly difficult life. One of those hard luck stories that we hear about all the time. basically a good girl, honor student in HS got involved with a bum. Abuse, both physical and mental and to be fair she made mistakes too. I know her now for close to 10 years she is as honest as they come. She won't even open up drawers unless told to.. She lives in grinding poverty. Every time she leaves my residence I pile her up with food and products from my home. every single time, naturally along with her pay.

This is PA, and I know very little about food stamps and how they work. I am sure MF knows much more than I do. However, we got speaking about welfare and food stamps and her take home pay. What I am about to tell you is 100% true. She receives $17 dollars in food stamps per month. Now a son lives with her and makes minimum. And naturally he contributes next to nothing. If she has any type of problem--let us say a toilet needs fixing or something like that she is in serious trouble. I bailed her out at least a half dozen times already. $17 dollars in food stamps, so there are two sides to a story.

[krk1030]

So penetrating sick of these pieces of shit that trash stores and buy all their shit with food stamps and then you see them walking around talking on their $600 iphone. go penetrate yourselves

[RoyBacon]

dante I would hope you are smart enough to know where this slipper slope leads.

You guys lost and somehow you have to get over it. You can't say the elected president is crazy and have him removed. If Bernie is elected he is obviously crazy so remove him? Pelosi is probably easy the craziest so remove her?

Losing is no fun. I get that. But actually being serious about removing Donald Trump would cause a civil war and you would lose that too.

[Buffalo Nickle]

Meanwhile, the US will spend $1 trillion on the F-35 which does not fly and another $1 trillion to upgrade nuclear weapons. People is so stupid.

[Nitrogen]

Clean up parks and get drug tested. Need a food stamp? Report to street cleaning detail and drug testing of course.

Which drugs? Why not test for smokes or booze too? What happens when more drugs become decriminalized...still test for them?

Reason I ask is that drug testing always seems to be brought up, but when it's been tested, it's been more expensive to test all the recipients as opposed to the amount saved by booting some out of the system.

[dante1]

dante I would hope you are smart enough to know where this slipper slope leads.

You guys lost and somehow you have to get over it. You can't say the elected president is crazy and have him removed. If Bernie is elected he is obviously crazy so remove him? Pelosi is probably easy the craziest so remove her?

Losing is no fun. I get that. But actually being serious about removing Donald Trump would cause a civil war and you would lose that too.

actually if you have been reading my comments on this subject I don't want him removed. I want everything to play out, I certainly don't want him removed from office because he is crazy and tweets. Oh no, that is not serious enough. I want for the investigations to continue. I want a completely thorough job done on this guy. If he did nothing wrong, seriously wrong I want him to finish his 4 years. Because if he continues to do what he is doing and that is not honoring every single populist issue he promised the people he himself will do terrible damage to the R brand.

to me it is a win-win. If he is lying about Russia and other peripheral crap that will naturally come up and if those lies are substantial enough for serious charges then I want him impeached. If not I want him to continue and since he so far has proven that his promises to the people are not being kept that is fine with me too. The important promises to his backers, promises that will better their life. Few people give two shits about banning Muslims, that does nothing to help them in day to day life. But, people do care about healthcare so far a complete failure, people do care about his promise of not touching social programs. He wants to remove billions from medicare. People do care about infrastructure and jobs. Nothing. People do care about the very rich paying more, he wants them to receive huge tax breaks. Eventually, people will be hurt by his nonsense, if he gets his way.

Win win for me.

[JIBBBY]

Food Stamps are mostly a scam, most of the people on food stamps here in hoods sell them off for fifty cents on the dollar to friends or neighbors to cash out and then support their booze and drug habits..

I'd really like to see Trump implement this!!!!!!!!!!!

[Plaza23]

Which drugs? Why not test for smokes or booze too? What happens when more drugs become decriminalized...still test for them?

Reason I ask is that drug testing always seems to be brought up, but when it's been tested, it's been more expensive to test all the recipients as opposed to the amount saved by booting some out of the system.

This is fake news. A drug test cost $10 to administer. Kicking someone off the program (which some have been on for their whole lives) would save 500x the cost of a drug test.

[JIBBBY]

This is fake news. A drug test cost $10 to administer. Kicking someone off the program (which some have been on for their whole lives) would save 500x the cost of a drug test.

Yup, if you wanna do drugs and or drink your life away the Government should not be responsible for supporting and funding it..

Drug tests should absolutely be administered to everyone on welfare and stamps regularly.. That would cut off alot of welfare recipients almost over night and save American tax dollars..

[VeggieDog]

I don't mind people getting welfare as long as you semi work for it

Does handicapping today's MLB card qualify?

[RoyBacon]

Which drugs? Why not test for smokes or booze too? What happens when more drugs become decriminalized...still test for them?

Reason I ask is that drug testing always seems to be brought up, but when it's been tested, it's been more expensive to test all the recipients as opposed to the amount saved by booting some out of the system.

Unfortunately I know from personal experience they have a quick oral swab that in 1 minute they can detect cocaine and opium. Those who test positive can still receive their welfare if they enroll in a free substance abuse class.

It's not asking too much for taxpayers to insist their money is not going to some crack head who never intends to work.

[RoyBacon]

actually if you have been reading my comments on this subject I don't want him removed. I want everything to play out, I certainly don't want him removed from office because he is crazy and tweets. Oh no, that is not serious enough. I want for the investigations to continue. I want a completely thorough job done on this guy. If he did nothing wrong, seriously wrong I want him to finish his 4 years. Because if he continues to do what he is doing and that is not honoring every single populist issue he promised the people he himself will do terrible damage to the R brand.

to me it is a win-win. If he is lying about Russia and other peripheral crap that will naturally come up and if those lies are substantial enough for serious charges then I want him impeached. If not I want him to continue and since he so far has proven that his promises to the people are not being kept that is fine with me too. The important promises to his backers, promises that will better their life. Few people give two shits about banning Muslims, that does nothing to help them in day to day life. But, people do care about healthcare so far a complete failure, people do care about his promise of not touching social programs. He wants to remove billions from medicare. People do care about infrastructure and jobs. Nothing. People do care about the very rich paying more, he wants them to receive huge tax breaks. Eventually, people will be hurt by his nonsense, if he gets his way.

Win win for me.

OK.

I see the lib media talking like you do about him failing to accomplish his agenda. I guess that's a talking point that you guys will stick with.

But in fairness he has already accomplished more than I expected. We have companies moving here, pipelines being built, coal being mined, cap spending increasing, consumer confidence and stock markets at all time highs. Best of all wages for the working class are starting to rise and more folks are working. Trump is taking on ISIS and NK and other difficult areas that Obama couldn't handle. I could name 20 more but you get the point.

Fixing Obamacare may be a win for your side. Time will tell. Tax reform will be done this year.

You may feel it's a win-win because of fake news and the general anarchy from the radical left. But in all seriousness nothing has changed since 2010 when the left moved more left and gave the working class to the Republicans. You are still losing every election and there is no push from the left to veer back to the center. And until there is you will rely on fake conspiracies and mirages.

[Nitrogen]

Unfortunately I know from personal experience they have a quick oral swab that in 1 minute they can detect cocaine and opium. Those who test positive can still receive their welfare if they enroll in a free substance abuse class.

It's not asking too much for taxpayers to insist their money is not going to some crack head who never intends to work.

I agree. Would you agree that anyone receiving a government benefit should be tested? Contractors, retired military, current representatives should also be tested then.

You mentioned a slippery slope. This is a great example. You want to regulate their behavior - so should we also insist they don't smoke...drink...attend non-cheap night movies?

[JIBBBY]

Booze is legal so that's hard to test for and enforce.. Drug testing should be a no brainer for everyone on government assistance.. It's a small inconvenience to ask for but necessary...

[jtoler]

seems like everybody is one them

go to your local Walmart and stand in line and just watch.

I never see people using the things, dont think I ever have unless I was a small kid somewhere.

[Nitrogen]

This is fake news. A drug test cost $10 to administer. Kicking someone off the program (which some have been on for their whole lives) would save 500x the cost of a drug test.

Last fall, Trump said 43 million were on food stamps.

How often would you like to test these people? The over worked state level social service workers are the ones who would most likely be tasked with this (unless you know of a private contractor that can do testing for $10 a person)

The program (SNAP) currently costs around 75 billion a year.

Testing every applicant, even at your unrealistic number ($10) would be 430 billion.

So 2 tests a year would double the cost (using $10/test). How many people would it keep off drugs?

While you can cry "fake news", there's actual "real stats" that can be sampled to get an idea if this would actually work or not

http://www.wbir.com/news/politics/drug-testing-of-welfare-applicants-yields-few-positives/94874610