Justice

What Happened to This Dad When He Tried to Use Food Stamps Will Infuriate You

May 3rd 2016

A video depicting a man using food stamps at a Walmart checkout is going viral for an awful reason.

In the video, which was first shared by HotTopics on April 24, and has been viewed over 652,000 times, an unidentified woman appears to launch into a verbal attack on an unidentified man for using government-issued SNAP benefits, or "food stamps," to pay for his purchases at the shopping chain.

Food Stamps VideoYoutube/What'd We Learn? 4 the People - youtube.com

The man — who appears to be accompanied by a young child — explains that he works "50 to 60 hour weeks" and asserts “I’m trying to provide for my family.”

“You’re not providing for it, I am," she replies, according to the video. "The government is. They take it out of my check, bullsh*t they don’t.”

Woman berating food stamps dadYouTube/What'd We Learn? 4 the People - youtube.com

“OK, then contact your local senator and congressman and issue a complaint," he appears to answer in response to her tirade. "Vote Republican. I don’t know what to tell you, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you."

The woman defends herself by noting that "it's a free country," and says, “If I’m gonna pay for all your sh*t the least I can do is talk." She then accuses the father of being a supporter of former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and clarifies that she is not, as she puts it, a " bleeding heart f*cking liberal."

While ATTN: is unable to confirm the authenticity of the exchange depicted in the video, it sheds light on many popular misconceptions about food stamps and people who receive them.

People on food stamps aren't "freeloaders."

The attitude expressed by the woman in the video is indicative of the classist misconception that poverty is indicative of laziness, and that people who use food stamps are "freeloaders." This opinion is shared by many conservative politicians.

“If you’re able-bodied, you should be willing to work,” former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in 2013, addressing a proposal to cut the program. Yet in 2012, almost one-third of households that received food stamps also had at least one family member earning an an income, the USDA reported.

As of January 2016 approximately 44.5 million people 22 million households receive food stamps, formally known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In order to qualify for these benefits you must live "at or below 130 percent of the Federal Poverty Level," SNAP to Health reported. Recipients can only have up to "$2,250 in countable resources, such as a bank account, or $3,250 in countable resources if at least one person is age 60 or older, or is disabled," according to the USDA.

A USDA report of the 2012 fiscal year found that 82 percent of SNAP recipients were in poverty, almost 45 percent of them were under the age of 18, nine percent were elderly (over 60 years of age) and ten percent were non-elderly disabled adults. In 2014, one out of every five American children received food stamps.

This April, many recipients lost their food stamps due to new requirements, and they shared their stories on Twitter.

Having a job also doesn't mean you aren't living in poverty, or struggling to pay for basic needs like food and decent housing. As ATTN: has previously reported, it currently isn't possible for a minimum wage employee to reasonably afford a one-bedroom apartment in any U.S. state, according to a recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

It's also somewhat ironic that this exchange appears to have taken place at a Walmart, since many of the company's employees are on food stamps. As ATTN: has previously reported, a 2014 report published by Americans for Tax Fairness, a non-profit coalition of groups advocating for tax reform, found that Walmart's low-wage workers cost taxpayers a staggering $6.2 billion in public assistance programs including food stamps, Medicaid, and subsidized housing in the previous year.

Recently, many groups, cities, and politicians have advocated for raising the minimum wage — which would make less people with minimum wage jobs dependent on government assistance, and save tax payers money.

Those who rely on food stamps don't have it easy.

In 2014, several lawmakers took the food stamp challenge, and lived off SNAP benefits to illustrate that relying on food stamps is not simply a free ride.

"For the week [I took the challenge], I walked as much as I possibly could to avoid paying for transportation, skipped meals to save money — and I ate much smaller and less healthful meals when I did eat," former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said.

You can watch the full video below, and on YouTube.


[h/t Raw Story]

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