4 Food Stamp Myths

Fact 1:

Households must meet income tests UNLESS all members are receiving Title IV (TANF), SSI, or in some places general assistance.

Most households must meet both the gross and net income tests, but a household with an elderly person or a person who is receiving certain types of disability payments only has to meet the net income test. Gross income means a household’s total, non-excluded income, before any deductions have been made. Net income means gross income minus allowable deductions.

Households, except those noted, that have income over the amounts listed below cannot get SNAP benefits.

Income Chart

(Oct. 1, 2014 through Sept. 30, 2015)

Household size	Gross monthly income (130 percent of poverty)	Net monthly income (100 percent of poverty)
1	$1,265	$ 973
2	1,705	1,311
3	2,144	1,650
4	2,584	1,988
5	3,024	2,326
6	3,464	2,665
7	3,904	3,003
8	4,344	3,341
Each additional member	+440	+339

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/income-rules-income-limits

The concept of requiring work for some SNAP recipients is not new. The 1996 welfare law laid out food stamp work requirements for some able-bodied adults who don’t have dependents. However, the 2009 stimulus law and waivers later allowed by the Obama administration have suspended those requirements in most states.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/food-stamp-work-requirements_n_3649357.html

Fact 2:

At a press conference in her home town of San Francisco, Pelosi explained that the program’s multiplier effect –the amount of money generated in the local economy as the result of the subsidy– far exceeds the nearly $60 billion spent this year by the federal government and is a sure-fire way to stimulate the economy. For every dollar a person receives in food stamps, Pelosi said that $1.79 is put back into the economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture cites an even higher figure of $1.84.

According to Pelosi the multiplier effect for food stamps (the new politically correct name is SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is 1.79 and the Agriculture Department cites and even more absurd multiplier of 1.84. The absurdity of the multiplier effect can be easily proven by reductio ad absurdum. If the multiplier effect is true why don’t we just spend an infinite amount of money then we will be infinitely wealthy? You cannot create wealth by taking money from one person (who created the wealth) and giving it to another person to spend – on food in this case. Entropy proves that you cannot even get $1 of return for each $1 spent on food stamps (welfare). The obvious losses include the cost of the bureaucrats to run the food stamp program, the time, effort and gas the recipients expend to obtain the food stamps. This does not add to GDP, since it is consumption. Economists seem confused that the P in GDP is for spending or consumption, when it stands for Product or production.

Any economist who repeats the multiplier effect lie should be immediately fired. Any politician who repeats the multiplier effect lie should be treated the same as people in the Flat Earth Society, as insane.

http://hallingblog.com/food-stamps%e2%80%99-multiplier-effect-economic-voodoo/

 

Fact 3:

The Agriculture Department plans to announce new steps to crack down on SNAP fraud amid estimates suggesting as much as $753 million in federal food aid is spent fraudulently each year.

http://wastefraudandabuse.org/food-stamp-fraud/

New statistics out of the White House late last year estimated that the amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) aka “food stamps” fraud this year equals $753 million – enough to feed 460,000 beneficiaries. The fraud cuts both ways, from beneficiaries who sell their SNAP benefits for cash online to retailers who receive fraudulent PIN numbers and collect funds. In the last 10 years, more than 8,000 retailers have been disqualified for participating in fraud, but in the last year alone, more than 44,000 individuals have been disqualified thanks to state government investigations

http://www.fraudoftheday.com/2012/01/18/obama-targets-snap-fraud/

Just a few examples from: http://watchdog.org/43198/ebt-fraud-and-abuse-looking-past-your-state/

Arizona: A 15-month investigation found roughly $700-K in EBT fraud.

California: $69 million in EBT funds withdrawn outside the state’s borders in recent years, including almost $12 million withdrawn in Las Vegas.

Colorado: EBT cards used at strip clubs, casinos.

Iowa: Iowa inmates found to have been illegally receiving food stamp benefits while incarcerated.

Kansas: Authorities believe as many as 7,000 fraudulent users of EBT cards are costing the state $22-million.

Maryland: Believed to be No. 2 in the nation in EBT card fraud, with one in four card applications “showing evidence of fraud.”

Massachusetts: Stores accused of buying EBT cards at discounted prices, and hooking up EBT card users with crack cocaine dealers.

Missouri: Welfare cards being spent in such distant places as Florida and Hawaii.

New Hampshire: Report says 10 percent of all registered food stamp recipients live out of state.

Any fraud is not acceptable.

Fact 4:

The 2002 Farm Bill restores SNAP eligibility to most legal immigrants that:

• Have lived in the country for 5 years; or
• Are receiving disability-related assistance or benefits; or
• Children under 18

Certain non-citizens such as those admitted for humanitarian reasons and those admitted for permanent residence may also eligible for the program. Eligible household members can get SNAP benefits even if there are other members of the household that are not eligible.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/immigrant-eligibility-requirements

 Ok, all four facts are myths and the four myths are actually facts. Don’t automatically believe what you see as a Facebook meme.