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[hawk2025]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...e-food-stamps-program/?utm_term=.a1bdd1a629a2

Spreading out when food stamps are issued reduced theft from Chicago grocery stores by more than 30 percent, according to new research from Analisa Packham of Miami University and Jillian Carr of Purdue University.

And this is just a small tweak to how the money was given -- imagine the impact that reducing SNAP could have on increasing crime.

The narrative that everyone commits petty crimesbecause they are evil is absurd: MANY do it because they are straight-up hungry.

Reducing SNAP is not just evil, it's counter-productive.

 

[Tarsul]

is having the potential thieves in prison cheaper than giving out food stamps?

 

[Syriel]

Spreading out when food stamps are issued reduced theft from Chicago grocery stores by more than 30 percent, according to new research from Analisa Packham of Miami University and Jillian Carr of Purdue University.

Reinforces the point that most Americans are bad with their money.

US high schools really need to make money management a required course.

It would help people at ALL income levels.

 

[Ri'Orius]

And previous research found that some grocery stores hike up their prices near the beginning of the month, when they know food stamp recipients will get their benefits.

That's just good business.

Spoiler

/s

 

[Valhelm]

Statistics like this need to be drilled through the skulls of the right wing until they accept and understand that crime is caused by scarcity, not by poor morals or rap music or whatever else they're trying to suppress.

 

[GK86]

Statistics like this need to be drilled through the skulls of the right wing until they accept and understand that crime is caused by scarcity, not by poor morals or rap music or whatever else they're trying to suppress.

The right wing doesn't care about a silly little thing called facts.

 

[Izuna]

I find the idea of food stamps so bizarre

 

[Turbo Killer]

The right wing doesn't care about a silly little thing called facts.

Exactly, Fox News makes sure of that.

 

[Valhelm]

The right wing doesn't care about a silly little thing called facts.

Hm, I think a lot of them really believe their prejudices are grounded in fact and logic. They certainly spend a lot of time talking about that.

But the right-wing media sphere is incredibly insular, particularly on the internet, so most of them will never see this statistic.

 

[Syriel]

I find the idea of food stamps so bizarre

The govt providing money to poor folks so they can buy food strikes you as bizarre?

Why shouldn't the gov offer social assistance programs?

 

[Gallbaro]

Good, will also make shopping at the grocery store when SNAP funds get refilled less "oh shit, good stamps line."

 

[Turbo Killer]

The govt providing money to poor folks so they can buy food strikes you as bizarre?

Why shouldn't the gov offer social assistance programs?

I'm gonna assume he means why not just give out money, I don't know.

 

[Aarglefarg]

The govt providing money to poor folks so they can buy food strikes you as bizarre?

Why shouldn't the gov offer social assistance programs?

Just give money.

 

[Nikodemos]

Just give money.

But how can good Evangelical/Methodist/wtf-ever Americans look down on the poors when they just swipe a card, rather than proffer forth shame tickets to the cashier?

 

[cubicle47b]

US high schools really need to make money management a required course.

It would help people at ALL income levels.

I agree. I learned how to write a check and how compound interest worked in high school and that's about it as far as personal finance goes.

 

[Skellig Gra]

I find the idea of food stamps so bizarre

Your profile says you are from England so surely you've encountered someone who is on the Dole in your life. It's not that hard to figure out.

 

[theWB27]

Reinforces the point that most Americans are bad with their money.

US high schools really need to make money management a required course.

It would help people at ALL income levels.

Its hard as hell to manage money when you're poor.

 

[Syriel]

I'm gonna assume he means why not just give out money, I don't know.

Just give money.

That's pretty much what food stamps are. It's a food benefit.

Money is loaded onto a debit card, but can only be spend on food.

It's like the HSA cards that you can get from work. Items that aren't considered valid can't be paid for with those funds.

So you can use one of the debit cards to buy things like cereal, beef, salad, milk, etc., but can't use it to buy alcohol or cigarettes.

 

[joe2187]

is having the potential thieves in prison cheaper than giving out food stamps?

Prisons are just private run slave labor. So yes, make money off of em while also getting money from the government.

 

[TyrantII]

Hm, I think a lot of them really believe their prejudices are grounded in fact and logic. They certainly spend a lot of time talking about that.

But the right-wing media sphere is incredibly insular, particularly on the internet, so most of them will never see this statistic.

Why would they care? Law and order; they'd be out for blood for those on SNAP and stealing.

Those people are nothing but blights on society. If they could get away with it (not get kicked from office), they have their final solution.

 

[Volimar]

But how can good Evangelical/Methodist/wtf-ever Americans look down on the poors when they just swipe a card, rather than proffer forth shame tickets to the cashier?

Are there still states that use paper food stamps? I figured they had all moved to cards by now.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Just give money.

Stamps are the compromise between the faction that says 'don't help the poor' and the faction that says 'just give money.'

 

[Turbo Killer]

That's pretty much what food stamps are. It's a food benefit.

Money is loaded onto a debit card, but can only be spend on food.

It's like the HSA cards that you can get from work. Items that aren't considered valid can't be paid for with those funds.

So you can use one of the debit cards to buy things like cereal, beef, salad, milk, etc., but can't use it to buy alcohol or cigarettes.

I know what they are, my mom and brother are both on disability and use them.

Also, they sometimes get help with their utility bills from another program.

 

[Skellig Gra]

I know what they are, my mom and brother are both on disability and use them.

Also, they sometimes get help with their utility bills from another program.

LIHEAP most likely

 

[Turbo Killer]

LIHEAP most likely

Yup, that's it.

 

[TSM]

Just give money.

Given that one of the big hopes with the food stamp program is ensuring children don't go hungry, I don't think tying the funds to food purchasing is really much of a downside. Theoretically every dollar provided for food is a dollar freed up elsewhere in the budget.

Spoiler

Also those that want to turn it into cash will most likely find a way to do so.

 

[sssstententen]

Holy shit guys theyre not actual stamps.

Its a card.

 

[Volimar]

Holy shit guys theyre not actual stamps.

Its a card.

They used to be. I remember getting sent in for a gallon of milk and having people give me dirty looks for paying with food stamps. It's humiliating. The card is so much better, but it's not like people don't know what they're talking about when the cashier asks if the card you're using is EBT.

 

[CreepingFear]

Holy shit guys theyre not actual stamps.

Its a card.

Ha ha, it was a card when I was a cashier in '97.

 

[Kill3r7]

Reinforces the point that most Americans are bad with their money.

US high schools really need to make money management a required course.

It would help people at ALL income levels.

Ditto but getting folks to pay attention and learn something from the class is a whole different kettle of fish.

 

[yanipheonu]

Turns out making sure people get food is a good idea.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Oh so this is why you get paid every two weeks by your employer lol

 

[SolarPowered]

Ditto but getting folks to pay attention and learn something from the class is a whole different kettle of fish.

Depends on how the class is structured. If you want to reach the students then maybe you try to use examples like calculating expenses for stuff like clothes, iphones, games and parties when you aren't talking family expenses, electric bills and how to afford rent payments when living on your own. Trust me when I say that those new sneaker lines and games are going to get bought no matter how much school and society preaches some form of consumer abstinence. May as well teach them that there is a time and place for vanity and entertainment purchases instead. Inner city teachers can be really good about relating to the students and their everyday needs/wants. If you take that approach then just picking up some of it is more than enough compared to the zero they're being taught right now in school.

 

[Twig and Berries]

I find the idea of food stamps so bizarre

You lick the stamp, you mail the food, what's not to get?

 

[CS_Dan]

is having the potential thieves in prison cheaper than giving out food stamps?

It's certainly more profitable

 

[FyreWulff]

Yeah the idea that petty crime happens because there's generic "the evil" out there has always been absurd. It's always been an indicator that the government for the area is failing, but the government gets to try and blame the people it fails.

 

[Shinypogs]

As a Canadian I honestly do not understand why you don't just straight up give people money like we do. I'm on disability and I can make every dollar count by being able to go to anywhere I want to shop. Farmers markets, Asian grocery stores, little roadside fruit and veggie stalls etc.

Exactly how limited to where you can shop and what you can buy are these programs? Sure you run into the problem of people not being wise with their money but that seems just as possible to happen with these limited card programs.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

US high schools really need to make money management a required course.

It would help people at ALL income levels.

This is spot on. I know relatively few who do not live paycheck to paycheck.

 

[FyreWulff]

As a Canadian I honestly do not understand why you don't just straight up give people money like we do. I'm on disability and I can make every dollar count by being able to go to anywhere I want to shop. Farmers markets, Asian grocery stores, little roadside fruit and veggie stalls etc.

Exactly how limited to where you can shop and what you can buy are these programs? Sure you run into the problem of people not being wise with their money but that seems just as possible to happen with these limited card programs.

Republicans. "oh no they might buy something immoral" or something blah blah.

Almost every store accepts the EBT card. It's really weird when a store doesn't.

 

[Volimar]

As a Canadian I honestly do not understand why you don't just straight up give people money like we do. I'm on disability and I can make every dollar count by being able to go to anywhere I want to shop. Farmers markets, Asian grocery stores, little roadside fruit and veggie stalls etc.

Exactly how limited to where you can shop and what you can buy are these programs? Sure you run into the problem of people not being wise with their money but that seems just as possible to happen with these limited card programs.

They'll use it for drugs and iphones and refrigerators.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Republicans. "oh no they might buy something immoral" or something blah blah.

Almost every store accepts the EBT card. It's really weird when a store doesn't.

I worked at a gas station when I was young. You would not believe how often people would try to buy cigarettes with their EBT cards. I would tell them it won't work, but they would have me try anyway.

 

[Kill3r7]

They'll use it for drugs and iphones and refrigerators.

It was a real issue once upon a time with people buying cigarettes and alcohol. Blowing all their money right away. Instead now individuals buy Tide laundry detergent and trade it for drugs, cigarettes or alcohol.

 

[CornBurrito]

Cut Food Stamps. Increase # of private prisons. Jail shoplifters. Prisoners are legally allowed to be made slaves.


hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Skellig Gra]

They'll use it for drugs and iphones and refrigerators.

I mean some people do that kind of shit with their SNAP cards already. Swipe the card and the cashier gives you cash. Not saying it's ubiquitous but some people need protection from themselves.

 

[ponpo]

They'll use it for drugs and iphones and refrigerators.

We have the sarcastic drugs, iphones, and fridge comment but also people saying that food stamps were made so that children don't go hungry and that some are bad at managing money. Which is it?

 

[120v]

i was once at a grocery store and some guy bought a Galaxy 8 and lobster with EBT then then i followed him out to the parking lot and he drove off in a tesla

 

[Aarglefarg]

Treating people with some dignity, or not, goes a long way in how people are. Treating people like they can't be trusted with actual money could be a self-fulfilling prophecy: see the Golem and Pygmalion effects.

When arbitrarily informed that a particular student is "bright" or "dull", not only will the supervisor's behavior change to favor the "bright" students (as indicated by more praise or attention), the students themselves will exhibit behaviors in line with their labels (such as the "bright" students leaning more forward in their chairs relative to the "dull" students).[5] While the Pygmalion effect and the majority of studies focus on the positive side of this phenomenon, the Golem effect is the negative corollary. Supervisors with negative expectations will produce behaviors that impair the performance of their subordinates while the subordinates themselves produce negative behaviors.[1] This mechanism is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy: the idea that self-held beliefs can come true in reality. When both supervisor and subordinate notice the low performance, the negative expectations are confirmed and the belief is reinforced.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem_effect

Have some trust in people making the best decisions, and for them to learn from mistakes like us all. It's not perfect, but it will probably be better.

 

[Skellig Gra]

We have the sarcastic drugs, iphones, and fridge comment but also people saying that food stamps were made so that children don't go hungry and that some are bad at managing money. Which is it?

It's both. Some poor people are excellent at managing money others are horrible.

 

[ponpo]

The subgroup analysis part of the research was interesting re: females

Overall, these eects correspond to 551 more thefts (resulting in conviction) at the end of the month by females in the State of Indiana over a four year period.20 Combined with ndings from Table A3, which indicate that eects on theft are driven by individuals above the age of 40, our results imply a striking conclusion: at the end of the month, older women may commit theft as a way to provide resources for their families. This narrative is especially troubling when considering potential spillover effects to children. For example, if single mothers commit more crimes as a result of resource scarcity, making them more likely to lose government nancial assistance or even face incarceration, it could impose large costs on their children.

 

[zeemumu]

Just give money.

The argument us that there's no guarantee that they'll use it on food if you do that. Kinda like when someone says they won't give a homeless person money because they think they'll spend it on drugs/alcohol and opt to buy them food directly.