> Maybe the system actually works in California (blue state?) I can't speak for food stamps, but for unemployment, it's a complete mess. My one experience deal

> Maybe the system actually works in California (blue state?) I can't speak for food stamps, but for unemployment, it's a complete mess. My one experience dealing with it involved a perfectly justified claim where my former employer didn't keep proper records. I got called a liar, waited 3 months for my appeal and then had it scheduled during the one week I informed them, over a month in advance, that I would be out of town and was then charged a $150 penalty fee for the 2 weeks benefits they advanced me. At no point in the process was there any consideration by anyone working for the state that I might be in the right or that the "facts" stated by my former employer might be incorrect, even when I had documents that proved it. After reading many other accounts similar to mine, it's made me believe that one of the reasons they've managed to make employment numbers in this country seem so rosy is the use of these kind of bureaucratic tactics to keep people out of the unemployment statistics. I'm lucky enough to have had savings, family resources and job prospects that kept my experience from causing too much discomfort, but I can imagine others going through what I did being made homeless and/or having their savings wiped out.