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https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-walmart-mcdonalds-food-stamps-medicaid-minimum-wage-2020-11?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-w

https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-walmart-mcdonalds-food-stamps-medicaid-minimum-wage-2020-11?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-walmart-mcdon... > Around 70% of people on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamps and Medicaid work full-time, the watchdog found, and the majority of these worked for larger companies with 100 or more staff. So no, you can be gainfully employed in the US and still be on food stamps.

TeaBrain 2y ago
That article is several years old and out of date. The poster you replied to would have been referring to current wages. Low income wages have made the largest percentage gains of any bracket since 2020.
- digging 2y ago
  I don't think anything you're saying supports the argument "I don't think anyone in America is working 40 hours and staying below the poverty line unless they have like... 8 kids as a single parent." So what's the point?
  - TeaBrain 2y ago
    It is true that the parent comment was not nuanced and very likely not true. I think it's also true that linking an article from 2020 is a possibly misleading response, since low-income wages have made a sizable jump since then.
vel0city 2y ago
Pedantic point but you can be above the federal poverty level while still qualifying for Medicaid/SNAP. The Federal Povery Level for 2024 is $15,060. Assuming 1,720 hours a year for full-time employment, that's just under $8.76/hr. The federal minimum wage is still $7.25/hr. So, the ultimate takeaway is in most states in the US working full time employment at the minimum wage of the state you will be below the FPL. One important thing to think about though is what percentage of low wage full-time jobs are actually still at the federal minimum wage?
- jononor 2y ago
  Add a couple of kids (single parent) and the picture looks much worse.
bunderbunder 2y ago
And, as far as things go for the other 30%, I've known people on SNAP and Medicaid who need to very carefully limit how many hours they get, and even decline raises, for fear of edging over a threshold that causes them to lose support and end up even worse off, economically. It strikes me as a great example of a policy incentivizing (enforcing, really) the very thing it's ostensibly supposed to discourage. These folks have dreams and want better jobs, and they're often deeply ashamed of being on welfare, but if you're supporting a family your overriding moral imperative is to make sure everyone is fed and healthy and that trumps everything else. It's so incredibly stressful to live in a society where people have been raised on a Calvinist worldview that teaches that it's immoral to be unwealthy.

TeaBrain 2y ago

That article is several years old and out of date. The poster you replied to would have been referring to current wages. Low income wages have made the largest percentage gains of any bracket since 2020.

digging 2y ago
I don't think anything you're saying supports the argument "I don't think anyone in America is working 40 hours and staying below the poverty line unless they have like... 8 kids as a single parent." So what's the point?
- TeaBrain 2y ago
  It is true that the parent comment was not nuanced and very likely not true. I think it's also true that linking an article from 2020 is a possibly misleading response, since low-income wages have made a sizable jump since then.

vel0city 2y ago

Pedantic point but you can be above the federal poverty level while still qualifying for Medicaid/SNAP. The Federal Povery Level for 2024 is $15,060. Assuming 1,720 hours a year for full-time employment, that's just under $8.76/hr. The federal minimum wage is still $7.25/hr. So, the ultimate takeaway is in most states in the US working full time employment at the minimum wage of the state you will be below the FPL. One important thing to think about though is what percentage of low wage full-time jobs are actually still at the federal minimum wage?

jononor 2y ago
Add a couple of kids (single parent) and the picture looks much worse.

bunderbunder 2y ago

And, as far as things go for the other 30%, I've known people on SNAP and Medicaid who need to very carefully limit how many hours they get, and even decline raises, for fear of edging over a threshold that causes them to lose support and end up even worse off, economically. It strikes me as a great example of a policy incentivizing (enforcing, really) the very thing it's ostensibly supposed to discourage. These folks have dreams and want better jobs, and they're often deeply ashamed of being on welfare, but if you're supporting a family your overriding moral imperative is to make sure everyone is fed and healthy and that trumps everything else. It's so incredibly stressful to live in a society where people have been raised on a Calvinist worldview that teaches that it's immoral to be unwealthy.