Oregon in top 10% of states giving most food stamps

[iris lilies]

What? Oregon is among the ten states which have largest populations on food stamps. All other 9 states are the usual suspects.

What is happening here? I would have expected MY state to be in this group before Oregon.

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/personal...tml/?a=viewall

[Packy]

Well, since cannabis is perfectly legal in Oregon, would it seem logical that maybe they don't drug screen for assistance benefits, and people who are um, less than ambitious, are moving there for those reasons? I know that in the very rednecked heartland, (where pot is illegal) there is a lot of resentment toward people on food cards. I will go as far to say that I can spot Those People in the grocery store, just by looking at what they've got in their cart, and so can other people I know. So, the goody-goody types looking to get elected to the state legislature will campaign on a platform of promises that includes: lets make it tough on people getting food assistance and so on, who use cannabis! Maybe it is a problem; but the get-tough solutions usually end up being the wrong ones, or else helpful alternatives fail to be implemented. You can't put people out in the cold, hungry, on account of it, and call yourself a good person. Well can you? Another thing about Oregon, is the misconception that it is universally prosperous. Well, not really; you have rural areas that are economically depressed, with lots of poor people, that qualify for benefits. You have the forestry industries and other companies involved in exploitation of natural resources, that cease operations, leaving large numbers of unskilled people unemployed. There are also seasonal workers, too. They don't want to pack up and move, or they just can't. So, they live off of assistance, and work odd jobs, until some other major employer comes along again, offering steady jobs. See? Hope that helps you some. Probably, not though. Thankk mee.

[Seven]

I see that all states in the article have about 20% of the population on food stamps. I am surprised by such a high number.
And I wonder how many people just need food stamps for a short period in between jobs, and how many need it for years because their situation does not improve.

Are food stamps linked to other aids? Like job-search assistance or education? Anything that helps people get back on their own feet?

[creaker]

Food stamps are a massive employer assistance program - they allow people to survive in jobs that don't pay enough to live on.

[Alan]

Food stamps are a massive employer assistance program - they allow people to survive in jobs that don't pay enough to live on.

That's an interesting way to look at it, although conversely, it might also be seen as a means to keep people from achieving independence from government by keeping them relatively comfortable under their rulers.

[catherine]

That's an interesting way to look at it, although conversely, it might also be seen as a means to keep people from achieving independence from government by keeping them relatively comfortable under their rulers.

I don't see how there's a whole lot of comfort being under the thumb of anyone--in fact lack of autonomy is the principle cause of stress, so I don't see too many people making minimum wage feeling really comfortable about their situations.

Here are some food stamp myths published on the website of an organization my daughter worked for

https://nyccah.org/learn-about-hunger/food-stamp-myths

Also, as it says in the article, you are eligible for food stamps if you earn $1265/month. You can work a minimum wage job 40 hours a week full time and not even get to that point. That's the working poor. So until the minimum wage is raised, looks like we'll just have to keep subsidizing people whose employers don't want to give their employees a living wage, but who then want to call food stamp recipients lazy bums who soak the taxpayers.

[Tammy]

In my work as a psychiatric nurse, I've personally known social workers with a bachelors degree whose family qualified for food stamps. Something is wrong with our economic system when a professional with a 4 year degree, working in their chosen profession full time, qualifies for food stamps.

[catherine]

In my work as a psychiatric nurse, I've personally known social workers with a bachelors degree whose family qualified for food stamps. Something is wrong with our economic system when a professional with a 4 year degree, working in their chosen profession full time, qualifies for food stamps.

True, there's something wrong with a system that devalues the work of social workers to the extent that they qualify for food stamps, but hedge fund managers, who do nothing but play money games with smoke and mirrors, could buy an island with the money they make.

[Alan]

So until the minimum wage is raised, looks like we'll just have to keep subsidizing people whose employers don't want to give their employees a living wage, but who then want to call food stamp recipients lazy bums who soak the taxpayers.

Workers earning minimum wage make up less than 5% of the workforce while people receiving food assistance make up 20% of the population in those states mentioned in the article. It seems there might be something more at work here.

[catherine]

Workers earning minimum wage make up less than 5% of the workforce while people receiving food assistance make up 20% of the population in those states mentioned in the article. It seems there might be something more at work here.

Here's a great article with a great infographic in Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bethhoff...their-support/

We all have different opinions about how, why and where we need help, but I agree with the author:

I would venture to bet that all of the more than 47 million people receiving SNAP would rather be “back on their feet.” But in a country with more food than anywhere else in the world, it is morally reprehensible to not help those who need it.