buying food stamps secondhand

[slag]

Why is it illegal to purchase food stamps secondhand? Lets say a random person, Jim, is elligible for $200 worth of food stamps a week. Lets say he wants something that costs $120.00. I give him $120 in exchange for his food stamps, but he has enough to eat on since he stocked up last week or has a friend who will take him in until he gets more stamps.

Why is this wrong? Jim makes the decision that he can eat or go to a friends house, the government has already OK'd that jim is eligible for $200.00, after it leaves their hands, why do they have a say in what happens to the money? :wub::wub:

 

[ConwayJim]

I guess we know what you did with your lunch money...

 

[blackdogdeek]

i'm going to guess because food stamps are probably explicitly for the sole purpose of purchasing food and not to be exchanged as some form of currency.

 

[SunnyD]

Because the government said so.

 

[slag]

i'm going to guess because food stamps are probably explicitly for the sole purpose of purchasing food and not to be exchanged as some form of currency.

They will still be used for buying food, just not by the original person.

I've never been on food stamps, but as a child, did have reduced cost lunches since my parents were poor.

 

[SSSnail]

Because my tax dollars aren't meant to subsidize your hookers and blow habits.

 

[Spungo]

They will still be used for buying food, just not by the original person.

I've never been on food stamps, but as a child, did have reduced cost lunches since my parents were poor.

The idea is that food stamps can only be used for food. Children on food stamps would actually have food.

Making it legal to sell them or buy them makes it easier for bad parents to sell them for drug money. Then their kid is hungry again because he has no food.

 

[D1gger]

The idea is that food stamps can only be used for food. Children on food stamps would actually have food.

Making it legal to sell them or buy them makes it easier for bad parents to sell them for drug money. Then their kid is hungry again because he has no food.

/thread.

 

[Capt Caveman]

To deter creating a black market for them.

 

[AMDZen]

I would give him $40 for his $120 of food stamps, he can still get a rock with $40

 

[gorcorps]

The idea is that food stamps can only be used for food. Children on food stamps would actually have food.

Making it legal to sell them or buy them makes it easier for bad parents to sell them for drug money. Then their kid is hungry again because he has no food.

Yup

Seems pretty simple to me. If you think the system is abused as it is, imagine what would happen if the gov started giving away even more money (essentially).

 

[dquan97]

As everyone has said before, food stamps (AKA SNAP) benefits are only to be used by the applicant and not to be resold. People do get prosecuted for it and blacklisted for doing so.

<- works w/ welfare fraud as the good guys

 

[T_Yamamoto]

As everyone has said before, food stamps (AKA SNAP) benefits are only to be used by the applicant and not to be resold. People do get prosecuted for it and blacklisted for doing so.

<- works w/ welfare fraud as the good guys

And then the kids go to welfare.

 

[keird]

As everyone has said before, food stamps (AKA SNAP) benefits are only to be used by the applicant and not to be resold. People do get prosecuted for it and blacklisted for doing so.

<- works w/ welfare fraud as the good guys

We want stories!

I know that welfare fraud amounts to a hill of beans compared with corporate welfare, but I still want anecdotes of people being blacklisted. Are they denied future benefits nationally? Can they still apply for state benefits?

 

[unokitty]

Why is it illegal to purchase food stamps secondhand? Lets say a random person, Jim, is elligible for $200 worth of food stamps a week. Lets say he wants something that costs $120.00. I give him $120 in exchange for his food stamps, but he has enough to eat on since he stocked up last week or has a friend who will take him in until he gets more stamps.

Why is this wrong? Jim makes the decision that he can eat or go to a friends house, the government has already OK'd that jim is eligible for $200.00, after it leaves their hands, why do they have a say in what happens to the money? :wub::wub:

Dude,

Buying food stamps would be un-American.

You're supposed to have the government give them to you.

How hard can that be? I mean what 46 million Americans already get food stamps.

Get with the program. Call your local Democrat elected official right away.

Its an elections year. Get with the program!

Uno:biggrin:

 

[torpid]

The $200 in benefits are usually attached to a card issued by the government. Once the person sells it to you for $120, they have to give you their pin and card. Likely they then claim it was lost and get a new one with benefits renewed next month. This whole process costs money. Those cards aren't crazy expensive but they are not negligible either. Usually they are made and issued by a third party vendor that the government uses.

Why else can't you buy it for $120 and let them buy some random thing instead? Because the purpose is to ensure that a family has access to decent food so that they are not malnourished. The chances are good that they are not using that $120 to feed their family nutritious meals.

 

[BillGates]

I always wanted to buy food stamps at a discount so I could go and get Papa Murphy's pizzas for cheap...guess now I know that is illegal...

$200 of food stamps a week? WTF? That's a ton of food!

 

[endlessmike]

Dude,

Buying food stamps would be un-American.

You're supposed to have the government give them to you.

How hard can that be? I mean what 46 million Americans already get food stamps.

Get with the program. Call your local Democrat elected official right away.

Its an elections year. Get with the program!

Uno:biggrin:

I know a woman with a debilitating illness whose husband, the sole earner at that point due to her condition, suddenly died. She received some government assistance for food for a while. It wasn't something she was happy about but it was necessary, and thankfully it was available.

So yeah, way to go evil communist hippie Democrats.

:rollseyes:

 

[rudder]

Because if it weren't illegal, Jim would sell all his food stamps for mad dog or smokes then go crying to the government that he is starving.

 

[JMapleton]

This technique is explained in detail here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jukQX2pl2Q

 

[thestrangebrew1]

The max for a household of 1 person for SNAP (aka FoodStamps aka CalFresh in CA) is $200/mo with zero income. The government doesn't allow the sale of foodstamps because it creates a black market and will eventually be detrimental to the applicant who is supposed to have those benefits. Sell the benefits for cash so they can buy drugs or alcohol will eventually cost the government in one form or another.

Food stamps is pretty easy to get. Granted you are within the income guidelines, property is of no consequence when applying for the program. You can have $5k in the bank, but if you don't have a job and your income is below the threshold, you can get foodstamps. You can have an escalade and a malibu boat for all the fed cares, so long as you're under the income level. The idea here, at least, from the feds, is that the more people we get on foodstamps, the more $ gets put into the local economy which is supposed to be good. I don't know if this is accurate, because the money's got to come from somewhere (ie our pockets) so either way, we're spending $ in the economy.

I've granted applications for families as big as 6-7 people. Depending on their income, they typically qualify for $800-$1000/mo for food. It's sickening. I have my own family of four, make too much money, and have to budget about $200/mo for food.

 

[endlessmike]

I've granted applications for families as big as 6-7 people. Depending on their income, they typically qualify for $800-$1000/mo for food. It's sickening. I have my own family of four, make too much money, and have to budget about $200/mo for food.

Yeah, that's the bonkers aspect of it. There was a story in the paper not too long ago about families of 3-4 getting 2 or 3 times what we spend on food in a month (I would assume that these low income kids also get reduced or free lunch in school also.)

But the kicker was that many of the recipients were running out of their assistance halfway through the month, because they have no knowledge or desire to buy and cook actual food, and spend it on prepared/processed crap and pop and snacks at the corner store.

Boggles my mind that they can use this money to buy that crap, but not toiletries and whatnot.

 

[dquan97]

And then the kids go to welfare.

If the family is collecting food stamps, the kids are already on welfare.

 

[slag]

Yup

Seems pretty simple to me. If you think the system is abused as it is, imagine what would happen if the gov started giving away even more money (essentially).

The government is already giving away money, its the same, no matter who uses it..

EDIT: My deadbeat adopted sister has foodstamps. She has 4 kids with 3 different fathers, is currently married, gets a ton of money monthly with foodstamps, yet begs my mom for milk money and stuff constantly. Sickens me. They got 17k in tax refunds from our hard earned money this year, and blew through it in 2-3 months. Now they can't make their trailer payment, can't pay their lot fee, cant afford to put gas in their vehicles, yet somehow her genius of a husband can afford smokes and skoal and she always has a super large gulp in her hands.

Disgusting..

 

[keird]

The government is already giving away money, its the same, no matter who uses it..

/obvious troll