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Who doesn't know this? The problem isn't that there's no safety net, the problem is that navigating it is a maze and there's tons of cracks for people to fall t
by seoaeu 4y ago
Who doesn't know this? The problem isn't that there's no safety net, the problem is that navigating it is a maze and there's tons of cracks for people to fall through. Many, many people don't get the help they need because of that.
Take rent vouchers: only some people who "qualify" actually receive vouchers because there is a cap on the total number the government gives out. Or the EITC: to get the full benefit your income has to land in a narrow band. Or SNAP: all sorts of weird restrictions, and tons of people who are eligible but who don't know to sign up
- DarylZero 4y agoOr here's an interesting fact: SNAP (food stamps) have cost-of-living adjustments. When food prices go up, SNAP benefits go up. But SSI benefits count SNAP as income and there is a dollar-for-dollar downward adjustment for every increase in SNAP. So if you have SNAP, your SSI benefits will _decrease_ with an _increase_ in cost-of-living!
- rr808 4y agoIf you own a couple of grand in assets you no longer qualify for SNAP. Which is crazy given that 15 million people rely on SNAP.
- seoaeu 4y agoSeems in a lot of cases the limit is $2500! Even a very modest emergency fund is probably going to be double that...
- DarylZero 4y agoIn practice you can just keep your savings in cash and not disclose it.
- burntoutfire 4y agoThe idea of food stamps is to give you food when you literally can't buy it yourself, not when you have a couple grand in your bank account.
- DarylZero 4y agoYeah it's a dumb idea. Making people spend down their savings when they have no income to pay for food.
- burntoutfire 4y agoWhat else are savings for then?
- DarylZero 4y agoWell if you only have $2.5k and no income it's probably going to housing costs. (Am I here to answer stupid questions...)
- seoaeu 4y agoThe idea of an emergency fund is for unexpected expenses like car repairs or a medical bill. The primary use of SNAP is to supplement an employed person’s income so they are able to afford food.