Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Asset Test for Food Stamps

It's a really bad idea for myriad reasons, but PA is apparently getting on with it. Someone under 60 with at least $2000 in assets gets no food stamps. Even if their income is $15k/year. This is counter productive: it discourages saving, it discourages participation in the economy. It encourages lying and deceit (and probably drug/alcohol use, if that $1000 saved up is going to count against you, why no use it to buy a mess of liquor?).

It is particularly bad as $2000 is not a lot of money. It isn't bad for a month, but even a cheap rent is likely to run $6000/year. Forcing people to spend their meager savings and sell off assets before they are allowed food stamps is just another way of driving more people into greater poverty. Oh, and all the effort it will cost the state to ensure that people aren't committing "fraud" could well cost more than we save. Dumbasses.

Also, too, Philly.com showing that it still has some of the worst excuses for human beings filling up the comments section. I have no love of drug use, but how horrible a person do you have to be before you start to demand drug testing for welfare recipients? Like it's not bad enough that they are impoverished and addicted, these people think making them suffer more will, what exactly? Make them rethink their life choices? Go get cleaned up and start running a business? How disconnected from reality are these people?!?

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