Gotta love how Welfare rewards you for being frugal with the money they give you.

[C2H5OH]

I've still got <wait, let me check> $150.35 SNAP (Food Stamps) and $733.00 SSI. Other than buying the toy I mentioned, earlier*, I've only spent it on stuff I actually need. I've been informed that I have to use up the money they gave me, or it will be counted as an 'asset' and they'll either reduce what I get next month, appropriately, or kick me out of the program, entirely. I guess I'll have to withdraw it as a stack of $20's, and stuff them into a drawer, until I need to spend them. I already have a big stack of canned food that I bought with the first month's worth of food money (SNAP).

Gotta love the perverse results of the perverse incentives from the perversely designed government programs. They would apparently actually prefer I buy one of those 'Instant Pot' things, at two or three times the price, rather than keep looking for a pressure cooker like I actually want, at yard sales.

* It's been really fun to play with!!! Thanks, Uncle Sam!!!

[Jaglavak]

I wish that was the worst problem this country has. Go ahead and squirrel it away for your new gnashers when you get to that point.

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

I wish that was the worst problem this country has.

You and me both.

My big bitch is that us Righties are always getting reamed because we're supposedly against anyone getting any kind of help at all.... No, we're not (well, maybe morons like Humpy are, unless it's him getting the 'help'), we just want the money being distributed to actually be effective. We're just against the fucking stupidity that finds it perfectly acceptable for me to blow 110 bucks on the radio I bought, but will take the money away if I don't spend it fast enough, instead of being careful with it, and only buying what I need, and only buying it when I know I need it. The only reason I bought that radio (other than the fact that I've wanted another one since my previous one died 20 years ago) is that I am expected to spend that money, and frugality with it is NOT rewarded. Instead, it's punished. And I'm still going to have to buy a bunch more canned goods and squirrel them away upstairs, and withdraw a few hundred in cash and squirrel away a few hundred bux worth of 20s, just because I don't want to actually waste any of this nice government assistance I've gotten.

I object politically to the execution, not the idea behind it. I object to the fact that I have to cheat, and hide the fact that I haven't spent it, in order to not waste any of the money on things I don't yet need. And then have that objection be continually characterized by lefties as wanting to starve the poor.

[stormie]

Yep.
I started a reply, but it's just too damn fucked up for words.

[Dragonlady]

I wish I knew how you can have more in benefits than you need.
The times that I needed help, I never got even enough to feed my kids for a month, no matter how I shopped. In California, an adult gets around $200 a month now.

[Solfy]

In any department where I've worked, annual budgets are use it or lose it. If you don't spend 2018's money, they're going to assume you didn't really need that money and give you less in 2019. This invariably lead to a supply shopping blitz in December to ensure the full budget was used.
If you have money left over at the end of this month, the government has to assume that you don't need it. While I don't disagree with you that they're being short-sighted about how fast you should/could be able to make use of the money, if they kept sending people money they don't need that would also be counterproductive.

[AuntiePam]

Canned food expires. Maybe donate some to a food bank?

I suppose if someone uses their SNAP benefits too early in the month, the government sends more? No? I didn't think so.

[SmartAleq]

From a practical standpoint, if you don't spend all your cash allowance then withdraw it and stash the cash. No way to prove you didn't spend it that way and your mattress won't tell. As for the SNAP thing, stock up, fill the freezer or, since you don't really EAT at the moment consider donating food to someone who can utilize it and would appreciate it. The federal government has been doing this nonsense for at least forty years that I know of, it's stupid, it's always been stupid and shortsighted and self defeating but apparently the ability to conserve resources and live beneath one's means is an affront to the bureaucratic mind. Best not to stress them out or try to make them think, just find practical solutions that don't end up hurting your economic stability and go your merry way. What they don't know won't hurt you.

I used to run into this silliness way back in the day when it really was "food stamps" and I was in danger of being penalized because I know how to cook, how to shop and how to squeeze a food dollar until it squeals. I got the welfare side eye at the end of the month when I'd still have stamps left so I'd buy big cuts of meat to portion out into smaller chunks to freeze--makes way more sense to buy a full 10 lb pork loin when it's on sale at a buck a pound than to dibble around buying chops at three bucks a pound when all I have to do is slice the damned thing myself and put it into plastic bags to freeze.

[What Exit?]

Part of the problem for many welfare recipients is that they can't shop smart. No supermarkets, only small food markets. The limited choices makes it look like there shopping poorly but they're kind of trapped into poor choices.

[stormie]

Yep. Assisted by public housing being built in little clumps that can be completely served by companies taking advantage. One place I lived, the Safeway near me was pretty good. The Safeway near the (1960s/70s) public housing was where the place for the yucky fresh goods at the same prices. Add minimal public transit for the perfect experience!

[SmartAleq]

This is why I organized shopping parties for the beginning of the month so that whoever had the biggest car took as many welfare moms as could fit in there to the grocery stores and we'd all chip in a dollar or two for gas. We'd split the cost of large cuts of meat, big bags of beans and rice and the like so that everyone got the maximum food value for the least cost. I still know how to make one chicken stretch to several day's meals for a family and I passed that knowledge on to a lot of people. Food deserts really are a bitch, too, you really luck out if there's a good sized immigrant population nearby because those ethnic grocery stores are an absolute treasure to the poor person.

[C2H5OH]

I lost track of this thread a few days ago, and didn't respond when I should have, so here it is... Better late than never, eh?

Originally Posted by Dragonlady

I wish I knew how you can have more in benefits than you need.

I don't have more than I need, but my need for spending it comes in random large chunks rather than a nice smooth flow that fits a monthly schedule. So I want to be able to save as much as possible for the next big chunk, but that's apparently only possible (without losing later benefits) by taking it out in cash and stashing it until I need it, rather than leaving it safely in the bank til I need it.

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

Canned food expires.

Not really. Stored properly to prevent corrosion or other physical damage to the can, the stuff will literally last multiple decades. People have found and eaten 75 year old (intact and undamaged) canned stuff without problems. It even still tastes good for at least a decade or more. I just made some soup with canned veggies with a 2009 date on it that came out fine, and I've eaten canned stuff I had around older than that, before. I intend to buy canned stuff and stash them for eating when I can eat them again but ain't getting benefits. Of course, I'm also buying and eating what little I can eat right now.

[Glazer]

If you get caught taking out cash and saving it till you need it you'll probably be charged with fraud.

I had a prescription for 2cal/HN. Basically concentrated Ensure. They would send me about twice as much as I could possibly consume. Even once I could swallow again I had enough of that stuff to last another year.

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by Glazer

If you get caught taking out cash and saving it till you need it you'll probably be charged with fraud.

Yeah, but what the hell else can I do. Just gotta be sure not to get caught...

I had a prescription for 2cal/HN. Basically concentrated Ensure. They would send me about twice as much as I could possibly consume. Even once I could swallow again I had enough of that stuff to last another year.

That's the same stuff I get. My supplier is just the opposite, though. I have to be careful to notify them enough in advance or I'll run out of stuff before they think to call me. Last time, I was 3 cans shy of running out when the next month's arrived. I don't think I'm gonna have any more than a couple weeks extra when this is done.

[Solfy]

Can you buy merchandise and return it later for cash, or does the refund only go back on your payment card? Buy stuff and flip it on Craigslist?
Pre-pay any utilities?

[C2H5OH]

I got out $200 in $5s to pay teenagers to help with yardwork that I don't have the strength or energy for. Now all I gotta do is find a teenager or two who wants to make some money. I've got some people asking around for me. I hope that's a kosher use of the money.

[AuntiePam]

Originally Posted by C2H5OH

Not really. Stored properly to prevent corrosion or other physical damage to the can, the stuff will literally last multiple decades.

You'd think so, and maybe most of it is.

I've opened canned food that was curdled (a cream of something soup) and canned food that smelled bad (baked beans that were a year past the sell by date).

Dry food, on the other hand -- beans, rice, etc. -- no issues with those things.

[Zeener Diode]

You could look at an otherwise solid metal can and assume it’s okay, but it may have been subjected to extreme temperatures.

[Nonny J. Nonnington III]

I will pose this as a hypothetical to avoid seeming that I am condoning fraud. And I don't know how things are structured these days, so this advice may be hopelessly out of date.

I knew someone once who qualified for "food stamps" that could only be used for foods in certain categories (although the restrictions really were quite reasonable). This person was living with people so food assistance for him wasn't an issue, but financial solvency was always questionable. This person would go shopping with a family member who had large food bills and would use their food stamps to pay the bill. The person would be reimbursed some percentage on the dollar.

I don't condone fraud in general, but c'mon! This is fucking America. No one should have to go hungry.

[Swammerdami]

I'm sorry, but I'm past the point where I'll feel sympathy for anyone who identifies as a "Rightie."

A few decades ago, I was a centrist who supported many "Righty" ideas. But that was then and now is now. The American political divide has little to do with Left vs Right anymore. It's Good vs Evil, or Sane vs Insane. If you want to vote with the Good/Sane alliance, while trying to push the Democrats away from leftism, that's fine: Join with me! But if you self-identify as a "Rightie" you are part of the problem.

Oh, BTW: Many or most of the inane restrictions on programs like SNAP are NOT due to over-zealous leftists, but rather due to deliberate sabotage by the GOP.

And stupid government policies are the rage all over the world. I'm a retiree living in Thailand and have just learned that, due to a recent rule change, whenever I spend a night in a hotel here, and then return home I am required to immediately provide another change-of-address to Immigration ("Hi! I'm back home again!") or my wife will face a fine (and I may face deportation).

[tunaman]

Originally Posted by Solfy

In any department where I've worked, annual budgets are use it or lose it. If you don't spend 2018's money, they're going to assume you didn't really need that money and give you less in 2019. This invariably lead to a supply shopping blitz in December to ensure the full budget was used.

Heh. The IT department at my all-time favorite job faced a similar scenario. The fiscal year was ending, and they had just over $20,000 in their budget. The IT director ordered his crew to spend it, so they built this outrageous server... for Napster. We had an OC-3 (155.52 Mbps), which was ridiculously fast for 2000/2001, and was supposed to be dedicated to a certain customer. But one of the IT guys put the server on it in the dying days of Napster and sucked up songs by the thousands... which were stored on a gigantic RAID 50 array in the server. Of course, the (multiple) CPUs and RAM in this server weren't anything to shout about nowadays, but the concept and execution was breathtaking. A server built to similar specs with today's CPUs and 32GB+ of RAM would be just as impressive.

Gee... how did that start-up burn through $76 million in less than 2 years? I have no idea!