| LIFE The safety net of the Food Stamp program.

[TerryP]

My first hand experience with this department is with one of my best friend's brother, Rickey. I can't remember the name of the disease: it was in the brain and basically untreatable.

His disability, as I recall, ended up being around $1200 and then taxes were taken. (Taxes, on some who can't work, for god's sake.) If he worked more than the allotted hours per week, his disability dropped. He worked at a nursing home moping floors because, and I quote, "the manager felt sorry for him." Mortgage? $563 a month. (Great, right?!?! He had that home since the 90's.) Light bill, food bill, water bill, ...

He applied for food stamps and they gave him $22 a month.

As soon as day breaks, I know I could go to a guys house and buy $200 of food stamps for $75, or less.

I know of a couple with six kids who live off of the food stamp program. One, by selling their stamps. Two, by the number of mouths they feed.

So, @ElephantStomp what do I think about the Food Stamp program?

Horribly mismanaged.

 

[TerryP]

There are a lot of areas where the government can help. Take comedy. The government can't write jokes. But, Biden does help.

 

[ElephantStomp]

They do food stamps there way way different than here. There’s no way to sell them here, I mean I suppose you could buy the groceries and get the money you spent from whoever, but that seems idiotic. Here you’re given a bank card type thing, but you can’t take anything off of it or get cash or anything.

Do you agree with having the food stamp and Medicaid programs?

 

[rick4bama]

I worked with a guy that would buy those fake bills. Once a month he would have someone to come to him with what he needed. I should say he had a lot to come to him. But now it is harder because it on a deit card. @ElephantStomp is right it isn't easy as it was before.

@TerryP if you go on disability if you work you can't make over amount are that part will be taking back. But once you are fully retire that come off. I know because I went on disability back in 2014 didn’t come off until I reach the age of 66.

 

[TerryP]

They do food stamps there way way different than here. There’s no way to sell them here, I mean I suppose you could buy the groceries and get the money you spent from whoever, but that seems idiotic. Here you’re given a bank card type thing, but you can’t take anything off of it or get cash or anything.

It's a federal program. There is no difference in how it's handled where you live and where I live. You can sell the card.

I know a couple that live about a half of a mile from me. Both retired from fed jobs in DC. I'm guessing they bought that house for around 500K 10 years, maybe 12 years ago. Dude, their pension pays for more than that mortgage, or the two "Beamers,"...and they sell food stamp cards.

If you were here with me, right now, and had a card I could take you to a place that would give you cash for the balance.

It is a necessary safety net that horribly mismanaged.

 

[TerryP]

@TerryP if you go on disability if you work you can't make over amount are that part will be taking back. But once you are fully retire that come off. I know because I went on disability back in 2014 didn’t come off until I reach the0K age of 66.

It's a crazy system, Rickey. I understand that guidelines and restrictions need to be in place. But, there something else I understand. It shapes a lot of my thinking.

Dennis (one of my best friends and his brother) were spending $250+ a month to make sure he had food. We were cutting his yard, etc. And they (gov) decided he needed an additional $22 dollars a month.

It was all based on when he bought his house. Back in the early '90's he got it for around 50-60K. When we were fighting all of this last year that same home was worth $350K. But his income? Nothing changed except his value.

I understand the need for this program. I believe in the concept of a tithe. I sent 10% to a church food bank each month.

I don't understand the arbitrary way this program is administered.

 

[TerryP]

Do you agree with having the food stamp and Medicaid programs?

I don't understand why this is a question.

A little over 15 years ago I developed an ulcer on the outside of my stomach wall. The first thing the "doc in a box" office did when I got it checked out what give me a shot of morphine. Good times.

I was in and out of the hospital (MUSC) four times in six weeks. I didn't have insurance. BUT.

I chose MUSC knowing their care. (Their food menu!, different story though.) I chose MUSC knowing their pay system. I chose MUSC because it was the lead professor doing the surgery...but I digress. I paid the "doc in a box" around $1200, MUSC, nothing in the end. Because I knew how to apply for grants, linked to research and care. Thousands saved. If I went to Roper? I'm in huge debt. If I went to Trident? I'm dead.

Medicaid? People don't know how to "take advantage" of the benefits around them. Most don't have a place like MUSC. OR, know these things exist.

If I can get privately funded hospital bills paid because I knew how to get the money...and Medicaid is going broke...what does that tell you about the program?

Horribly mismanaged. But necessary.

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[Justneedme81]

Medicaid programs, the same one that takes peple's home, bank accounts, any assets if you put them in nursing homes?

 

[rick4bama]

Medicaid programs, the same one that takes peple's home, bank accounts, any assets if you put them in nursing homes?

You right at the time I had to put our Mother in the Nursing Home, it was 3 years then it with to 5 years. My niece bought our Mother house so it would stay with the family and also so our Mother would stay in the home. She kept the house till our Mother passes away. Then I bought it from her. We still live in the house.

 

[alabama mike]

The food stamp program was never intended to be a life time support system but that is exactly what it has turned in to. I have no problem with anyone that truly needing any type of free help getting it but when it becomes an expectation, that's a problem. People who are sick or have a disease that cant work, no problem. Some of the deadbeat people I deal with I have issues.

 

[bama alum]

The food stamp program was never intended to be a life time support system but that is exactly what it has turned in to. I have no problem with anyone that truly needing any type of free help getting it but when it becomes an expectation, that's a problem. People who are sick or have a disease that cant work, no problem. Some of the deadbeat people I deal with I have issues.

Like extending Covid unemployment for so damn long... = Votes

 

[rick4bama]

Like extending Covid unemployment for so damn long... = Votes

Well I still don't understand why I didn't get extra in my retirement check?

 

[ElephantStomp]

It's a federal program. There is no difference in how it's handled where you live and where I live. You can sell the card.

I know a couple that live about a half of a mile from me. Both retired from fed jobs in DC. I'm guessing they bought that house for around 500K 10 years, maybe 12 years ago. Dude, their pension pays for more than that mortgage, or the two "Beamers,"...and they sell food stamp cards.

If you were here with me, right now, and had a card I could take you to a place that would give you cash for the balance.

It is a necessary safety net that horribly mismanaged.

Well here you can’t go anywhere to get cash for the balance

 

[ElephantStomp]

I don't understand why this is a question.

A little over 15 years ago I developed an ulcer on the outside of my stomach wall. The first thing the "doc in a box" office did when I got it checked out what give me a shot of morphine. Good times.

I was in and out of the hospital (MUSC) four times in six weeks. I didn't have insurance. BUT.

I chose MUSC knowing their care. (Their food menu!, different story though.) I chose MUSC knowing their pay system. I chose MUSC because it was the lead professor doing the surgery...but I digress. I paid the "doc in a box" around $1200, MUSC, nothing in the end. Because I knew how to apply for grants, linked to research and care. Thousands saved. If I went to Roper? I'm in huge debt. If I went to Trident? I'm dead.

Medicaid? People don't know how to "take advantage" of the benefits around them. Most don't have a place like MUSC. OR, know these things exist.

If I can get privately funded hospital bills paid because I knew how to get the money...and Medicaid is going broke...what does that tell you about the program?

Horribly mismanaged. But necessary.

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Here if you go to the ER and end up in the hospital you can do what’s called charity care, but then that leaves the hospital to foot the bill and that isn’t sustainable at all. As for programs with grants and such we don’t have that here or I’ve never heard of them.

What do you mean grants linked to research and care? I’ve not heard of that, but we don’t have any hospitals attached to a research facility here, there’s lots where I go to school, but not in Wyoming.

What you were saying about Roper and Trident reminds me that I don’t get care in Wyoming, everything outside of just a normal checkup I go 4 1/2 hours south of me to Denver. At the end of August I thought I had blood in my urine and was jaundiced, so I knew something was up with my liver, go to the biggest hospital in this state and the ER doc tells me I’m in liver failure, as it turns out I had a gall stone blocking my bile duct and it caused a liver injury, one short visit to the OR to get a stent put into my bile duct and I’m back to normal (as normal as you can be when you need your gall bladder removed), but that’s because Wyoming hospitals don’t get near enough funding from this stupid state

 

[ElephantStomp]

Like extending Covid unemployment for so damn long... = Votes

Without extending it the economy doesn’t recover like it did and even that recovery was slow, so if that’s not extended then the economy is even worse than it is now and people complain

 

[Rsedge72]

Without extending it the economy doesn’t recover like it did and even that recovery was slow, so if that’s not extended then the economy is even worse than it is now and people complain

It was very mismanaged though. One of my son’s friends (college student). Had a part time job, bussing tables. Made $300-$400 a week. He bought a new bmw with the Covid “forced unemployment” payments. Should’ve never been the massive shut downs in order for that to even be a thing. He made 10x’s the amount on the mismanaged program than he would’ve made working.

 

[ElephantStomp]

It was very mismanaged though. One of my son’s friends (college student). Had a part time job, bussing tables. Made $300-$400 a week. He bought a new bmw with the Covid “forced unemployment” payments. Should’ve never been the massive shut downs in order for that to even be a thing

I agree, the covid thing was mismanaged from the beginning. Even if they shutdown they had no plan for it afterwards. The only part of the shutdown I completely disagreed with was shutting down schools because there was absolutely no plan for how to do school afterwards, they threw shit on the wall and hoped something would stick. Here where I live the state and school boards were in way over their heads, for 4 months there was no way for kids to do their work because they didn’t have a website for online learning. Anyway, different subject for a different time

Forced? I didn‘t get none of the three, but I did get a tax break because I didn’t get them.

 

[TerryP]

Well here you can’t go anywhere to get cash for the balance

As a former law enforcement officer you're telling me the "black market" is different from one state to another? There's not a state in this country where you can't find people paying cash for those cards.

Back to the original question. You brought up this program as something we'd disagree on: haven't seen that supported.

Horribly mismanaged? I haven't seen that disputed.

 

[TerryP]

Here if you go to the ER and end up in the hospital you can do what’s called charity care, but then that leaves the hospital to foot the bill and that isn’t sustainable at all. As for programs with grants and such we don’t have that here or I’ve never heard of them.

What do you mean grants linked to research and care? I’ve not heard of that, but we don’t have any hospitals attached to a research facility here, there’s lots where I go to school, but not in Wyoming.

MUSC. Medical University of South Carolina. It's on par with places like St. Jude when it comes to research. Hence, the grants.

This is a lot like grabbing grants for school tuition. You just have to know they are there, and then find them. After the first surgery I spent a day looking at options and applying for them. They were not income dependent. IE: My ulcer was on the outside of my stomach wall. Residents of MUSC were there everyday, but not performing any procedures.

What you were saying about Roper and Trident reminds me that I don’t get care in Wyoming, everything outside of just a normal checkup I go 4 1/2 hours south of me to Denver. At the end of August I thought I had blood in my urine and was jaundiced, so I knew something was up with my liver, go to the biggest hospital in this state and the ER doc tells me I’m in liver failure, as it turns out I had a gall stone blocking my bile duct and it caused a liver injury, one short visit to the OR to get a stent put into my bile duct and I’m back to normal (as normal as you can be when you need your gall bladder removed), but that’s because Wyoming hospitals don’t get near enough funding from this stupid state

Several years ago I dated a lady who was in charge of all the residents coming out of MUSC that worked at Trident. Their office was about 200-250 yards from the ER.

She left work one day and was T-boned leaving the office (calling it 500 yards from the ER.) Screaming, she said, "don't take me to Trident!"

I went in to Trident for an emergency appendectomy. They fucked that up. I've had three friends who went there for basic things; and never left.

25 years ago that place had one of the best birthing facilities to be found in this area. That's no longer there. It's a trauma hospital. A death facility.

 

[TerryP]

I agree, the covid thing was mismanaged from the beginning.

The mismanagement at its origin I can understand. There was a lack of understanding of what was going on‒on both sides of the aisle.

What I don't get is the lack of understanding, today, about how badly people were manipulated.