[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/177\/states-form-their-own-food-stamps-rules#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/177\/states-form-their-own-food-stamps-rules","headline":"States Form Their Own Food Stamps Rules","name":"States Form Their Own Food Stamps Rules","description":"States have started to set their own rules when it comes to food stamps. See which states have taken a hard stance which could affect your benefits.","datePublished":"2018-07-06","dateModified":"2018-07-26","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin#Person","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/author\/admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26111862ca029071a00a76fae48c51b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"FoodStamps.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/FS_Logo-2.png","width":100,"height":100},"url":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/177\/states-form-their-own-food-stamps-rules","about":["Food Stamp","Normalcy on Foodstamps","SNAP Survival Guide"],"wordCount":467,"keywords":["177"],"articleBody":"Recent news of eight states, with Massachusetts being the latest, finding their own ways around the cuts to food stamps in the recent Farm Bill. At first glance, this seems innocuous enough, as though states were just taking care of their residents. But upon closer inspection, the amount of money each state kicks in works out to far more in federal aid. The question is: should this happen?It Makes No Financial SenseThe latest Farm Bill seemed to close the \u201cHeat and Eat\u201d provision by stipulating the new floor would be $20. Eight states (Connecticut, Montana, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont) have taken matters into their own hands by kicking in the $20 for SNAP recipients who were otherwise cut off, ensuring they\u2019d continue to have access to extra food stamps provisions.Using Massachusetts as an example because they\u2019re the most recent state, when the state kicks in $20 per person (times 163,000 families in Massachusetts receiving aid) they\u2019re spending $3.26 million, which works out to $13.04 million in federal aid. An extra $10 million for Massachusetts, plus the millions that the other seven states\u2019 residents will get, is just not something the federal government can afford.How Can We Let Our Countrymen Go Hungry?Perhaps the question shouldn\u2019t be \u201ccan the country afford this?\u201d but \u201chow can the country\u00a0not\u00a0afford this?\u201d A recent\u00a0New York Times article\u00a0drew parallels between Paul Ryan\u2019s recent remarks and England\u2019s non-reaction to Ireland\u2019s potato famine.The author of the article, Timothy Egan, writes, \u201c[Grain and livestock were] produced by Irish hands on Irish lands but would not go into Irish mouths, for fear that such \u2018charity\u2019 would upset the free market and make people lazy…but it was also England\u2019s excuse for lethal negligence.\u201d Egan draws Ryan into the conversation by saying the congressman\u2019s remarks are only directed at poor \u201clazy\u201d people, and not rich \u201clazy\u201d people who don\u2019t earn every cent to their name. The author says, \u201cYou can\u2019t make these kinds of heartless remarks unless you think the poor deserve their fate — that they have a character flaw, born of public assistance.Who\u2019s Right?Where you argue from almost always depends on how you were born and raised. If you support the economical argument, chances are you grew up comfortably and never had to know what it meant to constantly have an empty stomach and a non-choice between food and other necessities.But if you believe a dollar price can\u2019t be affixed to ensuring people get enough food to stay alive, then you understand how complex poverty and food stamps can be."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Article","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/\/Article\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"ID","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/\/Article\/\/ID\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"177","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/\/Article\/\/ID\/\/177\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"States Form Their Own Food Stamps Rules","item":"https:\/\/foodstamps.org\/Articles\/Article\/ID\/177\/states-form-their-own-food-stamps-rules#breadcrumbitem"}]}]