SNAP benefits to end due to US govt shutdown

EmptyCup said:
Before Social Security and Medicare, widows were taken in and supported by family members. Usually female relatives. Men worked until they died or were so disabled they could physically no longer do anything. If your family couldn’t or wouldn’t support you, one ended up at the poor farm - segregated by sex and forced to do labor to earn their keep. They should have been called forced labor internment camps. Only the most elderly and disabled were allowed to “rest.” Poor farms were to be avoided at all costs. The social stigma plus the miserable conditions. Retirement and leisure is a relatively new thing (post depression era) for the poor and working class.
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Before Social Security and Medicare the elderly and disabled were taken in and supported by the family or the tribe, which is as it should be.
Of course, granny might have been fed worms by the children for fun, which hopefully teaches us to be kind --but no real harm done maybe.
It's the difference between personal debt and public charity.
 

For Missourians @hawkdon just in case, read this please
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Edited News Release/KY3) - Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe announced additional steps his administration is expediting food assistance for at-risk Missourians, given the impending loss of November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the federal government shutdown.

SNAP benefits are 100 percent federally funded, and each recipient receives benefits from the federal government via an Electronic Benefit Transfer card. There is no mechanism for transferring state appropriations to cover this funding. The Missouri Department of Social Services stands ready to issue November SNAP benefits as soon as possible after the federal government reopens.

Governor Kehoe has directed a full $10.6 million fund transfer from the Senior Services Growth and Development Fund to the Missouri Area Agencies on Aging. This funding will be critical in supporting Missouri’s Area Agencies on Aging in providing meals to seniors.

Additionally, Governor Kehoe ordered a $5 million distribution to Missouri food banks using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding. This action takes the place of a regular appropriation, typically issued later in the year, but is being issued now due to an increase in need resulting from the loss of SNAP benefits.


Missourians in need of food assistance or looking to volunteer or donate are directed to Feeding Missouri – a coalition of six Missouri Food Banks working to provide hunger relief to every county in the state.
 

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gruntlabor said:
Before Social Security and Medicare the elderly and disabled were taken in and supported by the family or the tribe, which is as it should be.
Of course, granny might have been fed worms by the children for fun, which hopefully teaches us to be kind --but no real harm done maybe.
It's the difference between personal debt and public charity.
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When people can no longer work or are too disabled to work it is the government’s duty to supply Social Security and Medicare to provide a basic standard of living. It is cruel to leave it up to families to take care of people that can’t care for themselves.

Some families are awful and abusive, and some cannot afford to take care of other adult family members. I’ve heard stories from my mother how things were when she was a child and they had to take in older family members. Of course they did it, but it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, and it was an extreme economic hardship, especially during the depression.

When my grandpa died losing one Social Security check Put my grandma into poverty. She very much wanted to remain in her own tiny apartment and her kids helped a little bit with monthly expenses so that she could do that. She was able to keep her independence without being a hardship on any of her kids by having to live with them.
 
Irishdude said:
This link charts poverty from 1959 to 2010. Tax rates fell, and so did poverty.

U.S. Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2009

Musk paid about $11 billion in taxes in the year 2021. Whether that's too much or too little, I can't say.

Drug use is a big contributor to poverty, as are unwed births. Neither were much of a factor in the 1950s.

I'm just saying that eradicating poverty is a worthy goal, but getting there isn't as easy as one might think.
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Their cited links are broken.

I don't think we're ever going to agree on this, so I suggest we let it be.
 
Teacher Terry said:
When people can no longer work or are too disabled to work it is the government’s duty to supply Social Security and Medicare to provide a basic standard of living. ...
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That is one opinion, and certainly true considering that we have paid dearly (without our consent) for our Social Security and Medicare.
Another opinion is that the purpose of federal government is to defend the nation. And the purpose of churches and charities is to provide for those who can't care for themselves.
 
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Teacher Terry said:
When people can no longer work or are too disabled to work it is the government’s duty to supply Social Security and Medicare to provide a basic standard of living. It is cruel to leave it up to families to take care of people that can’t care for themselves.

Some families are awful and abusive, and some cannot afford to take care of other adult family members. I’ve heard stories from my mother how things were when she was a child and they had to take in older family members. Of course they did it, but it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, and it was an extreme economic hardship, especially during the depression.

When my grandpa died losing one Social Security check Put my grandma into poverty. She very much wanted to remain in her own tiny apartment and her kids helped a little bit with monthly expenses so that she could do that. She was able to keep her independence without being a hardship on any of her kids by having to live with them.
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Something I remember older relatives say when I was young “I don’t want to end up being a burden”. It was a real thing. Multigenerational households can be a great thing but … sometimes a lot of stress and seething resentments, even fights. Not all families are a Hallmark channel story.

Yes, I agree with your assessment.
 
IrishEyes said:
For Missourians @hawkdon just in case, read this please
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Edited News Release/KY3) - Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe announced additional steps his administration is expediting food assistance for at-risk Missourians, given the impending loss of November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the federal government shutdown.

SNAP benefits are 100 percent federally funded, and each recipient receives benefits from the federal government via an Electronic Benefit Transfer card. There is no mechanism for transferring state appropriations to cover this funding. The Missouri Department of Social Services stands ready to issue November SNAP benefits as soon as possible after the federal government reopens.

Governor Kehoe has directed a full $10.6 million fund transfer from the Senior Services Growth and Development Fund to the Missouri Area Agencies on Aging. This funding will be critical in supporting Missouri’s Area Agencies on Aging in providing meals to seniors.

Additionally, Governor Kehoe ordered a $5 million distribution to Missouri food banks using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding. This action takes the place of a regular appropriation, typically issued later in the year, but is being issued now due to an increase in need resulting from the loss of SNAP benefits.


Missourians in need of food assistance or looking to volunteer or donate are directed to Feeding Missouri – a coalition of six Missouri Food Banks working to provide hunger relief to every county in the state.
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I am also in Missouri. There are also several local areas launching food donation drives.
 
When I hear younger people complain about having to pay into social security I ask them this:

Which do you rather do? Pay into social security so that gramps can live in a condo in Florida, or have in move in with you and listen to him cough up phlegm at the breakfast table every morning?
 
gruntlabor said:
Before Social Security and Medicare the elderly and disabled were taken in and supported by the family or the tribe, which is as it should be.
Of course, granny might have been fed worms by the children for fun, which hopefully teaches us to be kind --but no real harm done maybe.
It's the difference between personal debt and public charity.
Click to expand...
Not all elderly or disabled had family or neighbors willing/able to take them in. Prior to SS being enacted elderly homelessness was a serious problem, which is what prompted Frances Perkins to be so resolute about providing benefits to them.

In the Depression Era of the 1930s poorer families could barely scrape enough together to feed themselves and their children, nevermind providing for elderly relatives. It's not much different today.

I know your statement about feeding granny worms was written in jest, but the truth is not all were welcomed, well-treated or lived their latter years in even minimally dignified circumstances.

As a society, we decided to lend support to those in dire circumstances, rather than have them going hat-in-hand to beg for the kindness of strangers, churches, and charities. I have no problem with some of my tax dollars going toward that.
 
gruntlabor said:
That is one opinion, and certainly true considering that we have paid dearly (without our consent) for our Social Security and Medicare.
Another opinion is that the purpose of federal government is to defend the nation. And the purpose of churches and charities is to provide for those who can't care for themselves.
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Churches and other charities can not replace SS.
 
Both my parents, a sister, and one brother have passed into eternity. Of the 4 other remaining brothers, I would only consider allowing one to ever live with me long term and the others know it. I'll help them financially to some extent. Living nearby would be fine, but not in the same residence. I only feel my possessions and world are safe while isolated from others.
 
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