[Vision2020] Valentine's Day Fundraiser

[amy smoucha]

Donovan,

You are very mistaken, both about the ease of getting any foodstamps or 
government assistance, and about health care in prison systems, but I know 
more about the former than the latter.

If you are in need of food assistance, you may qualify if your income, as a 
single household, is below 130% of the federal poverty level and if you're 
assets are less than $2000.  If you live alone, that means you *may* be 
eligible for foodstamps if your income is below $973 a month.

After meeting that first, gross income, eligibility requirement, the food 
stamp office will then begin to determine if you meet the net income 
requirement.  If you meet that, then they will begin to determine how much 
of your income is available for you to buy food.  They will give you the 
difference between the maximum benefit amount for your household size and 
the amount you can contribute.  The maximum monthly allotment for a one 
person household is currently $143.

However, based on new laws passed around 1996, as household without 
dependents, if you have no disability, you can only receive food stamps for 
three months out of any 36--beyond that you must participate in a work 
program.

For examples of all this, look at the USDA food stamp site 
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/applicant_recipients/fs_Res_Ben_Elig.htm

I imagine that you were being somewhat flippant and funny in your post about 
public benefits and health care, but it hit a pet peeve of mine--people who 
don't understand how hard it is to get any kind of help, even when you are 
out of work, or underemployed, or temporarily disabled.

You do a disservice to people to oversimplify and exaggerate that somehow 
we--single taxpayers--get the short end of some stick while others have it 
easy.  In many, many years of helping people with government programs and 
helping folks try to get out of poverty, I've never seen anyone who had it 
easy.

Please look at the site, and I can provide others if you need more info.

Amy Smoucha

----Original Message Follows----
From: DonovArn@aol.com
To: jsullivan@moscow.com, jeanlivingston@turbonet.com, vision2020@moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Valentine's Day Fundraiser
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 23:37:28 EST

Students get discounts???? Fudge!!!!! I never got one when I was an 
undergrad
:(.

Are there any discounts or tax breaks for single people between the ages of
23 and 54, any at all?

Why is that I don't qualify for food stamps and financial assistance from 
the
State and Federal Government but everyone on it makes more than me?

Why is that child molesters and rapists in prison have full medical and I
work 40-50 hours a week and don't?

Don't ya just love the land of the free!

Donovan J Arnold

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