A lot of people are all "yeah!!!, make those lazy, welfare queens work, make them quit popping out babies for increased benefits. Make those stinking illegal immigrants go back home and stop getting our tax money, make those drug users stop getting high and start being responsible and hardworking adults.
The people saying those things tend to know very little about those things: little about the "benefits" and little about the people that get them.
Yes, there are people that seem to be perfectly fit and have more kids than most of us chose to have, but in the places I ran into those people, I was made aware that I don't want them working under me. They were CRAAAAZZZZYYY. (we used to lock them in our attics or in snakepits called asylums.)
But lets put away the first bit of ignorance--the part in which we assume that every slacker has access to more grocery money than we do, a better house, and better healthcare.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap
SNAP offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families and provides economic benefits to communities. SNAP is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net. The Food and Nutrition Service works with State agencies, nutrition educators, and neighborhood and faith-based organizations to ensure that those eligible for nutrition assistance can make informed decisions about applying for the program and can access benefits. FNS also works with State partners and the retail community to improve program administration and ensure program integrity.
Above is a link to a worksheet to see if you qualify. You can try it yourself. See how hard it is to qualify. Of note, to qualify, you need to have no paid for land--like a burial plot or a car worth more than $500 or dependents. And considering I used my future social security amount and still didn't qualify, I'm guessing I better learn to budget real well.
The Section 8 Housing Program, also called the Housing Choice Voucher Program, is a federally funded government assistance program intended to help low- and moderate-income families in the United States find a rental home. Regarding what qualifies you for Section 8 housing, the most important eligibility requirement for the program is the family’s gross annual income, but many other factors also contribute to the final decision. As the program is one of the most popular and sought-after in the country, many states have decided to close their waiting lists and no longer receive applications. Participants in the Section 8 Program must also continue to meet the eligibility requirements in order to keep receiving assistance. In some instances, the program requirements include additional special programs in which families must be included to achieve financial independence and reach their career or educational goals.
To meet eligibility for low income housing, families must meet the annual gross income limit set by each state. The Section 8 Housing program was designed for low-income families who are unable to pay rent. Families must continuously meet program requirements in order to remain eligible and receive continuous assistance. What qualifies you for Section 8 housing is not only your family income, but also additional factors such as:
- Your family size
- Your family composition
- Your personal history
- Your assets
- Your citizenship or legal immigrant status
- Your eviction history
Income limits vary from one county to the next and are based on family size. For instance, a family of one may be considered extremely low income if the individual earns around $15,000 per year and a family of eight that earns $30,000 a year will also fall under the extremely low income category. Typically, HUD prioritizes extremely low-income families, but there may be some low-income families that are given preference, especially if they have been continually assisted by public housing programs in the past.
Section 8 waiting lists for the Housing Choice Voucher Program are long, and depending on the state, they can sometimes take years to reopen and for applicants to reach the top. As one of the most sought after federal programs, the number of applicants far exceeds the funds and resources available for the program, and the public housing agencies are compelled to close their Section 8 waiting lists in order to help the families already on the list. During this time, state PHAs have the right to close their waiting lists if they are unable to provide assistance for all applicants. One example is the state of New York, where the Section 8 waiting list has been closed since 2009. However, in smaller counties and rural areas where there is not much demand, the waiting lists may reopen often. So applicants can check for new openings regularly.
To better organize Section 8 housing application statuses and determine which families need more immediate help, PHAs often establish local preferences that put certain families on the top of the list. For instance, if a family pays more than half of its income on rent, lives in substandard housing or is involuntarily displaced, the PHA will grant the family local preference and move it further up on the list. In addition, families with disabled family members, minorities or elderly individuals may also be eligible for local preference. PHAs determine their local preferences in accordance with the housing priorities of the families, as well as the needs of the community they serve. By law, a public housing agency must give 75 percent of the available vouchers to extremely low-income families, i.e. those whose income is 30 percent of the average area income.
Note: If you reached the top of the Section 8 waiting list, the PHA will check your eligibility again in order to verify it. Many families who have been on a Section 8 waiting list for a long time may no longer be eligible for the program because of income or family situation changes. However, if you are still eligible, you will be called for an interview with a PHA worker, and you will receive a housing voucher. Then, you will be able to start searching for a rental home in a location of your choice, as long as the rent amount does not exceed the standards set by the PHA. However, if the PHA finds you ineligible when you reach the top of the list, you will not receive a voucher and your Section 8 housing application status will be void.
Waiting List Openings and Closings
Public housing authorities can open and close Section 8 waiting lists in accordance with the demand and number of applications. In some states and counties, the waiting times are not long and applicants may receive a voucher within months. In others, it may take years before a family reaches the top of the list.
Typically, a PHA may reopen a Section 8 waiting list and receive new applications if a family loses eligibility. A quick online search can easily show you which states, counties or cities will open Section 8 waiting list 2016 housing opportunities, as well as which waiting lists are permanently open. One of the states with open Section 8 lists is Indiana, where the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority has decided to open its Section 8 waiting list indefinitely. Similarly, indefinitely open waiting lists can be found in Lake County in California, in Columbus, Ohio, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the entire state of Montana, in Tulsa, Oklahoma and in over 400 additional locations. Some of the waiting lists that were recently closed are in Hawaii, Tennessee and Michigan.
Larger cities in the country can even reach a waiting time of 10 years on their Section 8 waiting lists, and when they are granted a housing voucher, the family may be required to stay in a rental unit in the locale that issued the voucher for at least one year before finding a home in another location. In addition, the Section 8 waiting list process is different from one PHA to the next. Some housing authorities may allow online Section 8 applications, while others require applying in person. If a list reopens, there will be a large number of applications, but not all of them will be approved and put on the waiting list. State and county PHAs often select the number of applications through a lottery drawing and then simply close the waiting list for an unspecified amount of time. However, even freshly added families will not be served immediately and will remain on the waiting list for months (if not years) until they reach the top.
In my state, I've known people on the list for years without ever making it to the top of the list. They were still staying with relatives in one bedroom apartments when the last dependent reached 18 and then mom was off the list.Medicaid is more complicated. It's a State program with federal money that our fair state turned down because they didn't want the feds in their business.
Who is eligible for Medicaid in Oklahoma?
The first step in determining how to qualify for Medicaid in Oklahoma is decided through patient groups. Medicaid eligibility groups are categorized in an effort to divide benefits that do not apply to everyone. Those eligible for Medicaid in Oklahoma are qualified to receive free or low-cost health coverage provided by the state’s SoonerCare program.
What are the Medicaid application guidelines for patient eligibility?
Applicants who typically fall under the Medicaid eligibility requirements include: pregnant women, children under 19, applicants over 65, disabled applicants, adults with children under 19 and women under 65 who need cervical or breast cancer treatment. Men and women over 19 who meet Medicaid eligibility requirements may be eligible for SoonerPlan, which assists men and women with family-planning services.
What are the requirements for Medicaid in Oklahoma?
Candidates eligible for Medicaid who belong to designated patient groups can then move on to satisfying other Medicaid requirements. There are general requirements for Medicaid that not only apply to Oklahoma, but to all U.S. states. General Medicaid qualifications require candidates to provide proofs of citizenship, residency and identity.
To receive Medicaid benefits in Oklahoma, applicants must be able to provide one-time proof of U.S. citizenship. Candidates meet citizenship requirements for Medicaid by showing their U.S. passports, certificates of naturalization, certifications of citizenship, U.S. birth certificates or driver’s licenses and state IDs. Applicants who receive Medicare benefits or who have previously received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) do not need to provide proof of identity of citizenship. Caretakers of newborns seeking Medicaid eligibility do not need to show proof of citizenship or identity until the baby is 1 year old. Additionally, children in foster care who meet Medicaid benefits eligibility do not need to provide proof of identity.
To qualify for Medicaid, applicants should bring original, supporting documents into a local Oklahoma Department of Human Services office and copies of each document will be made. Original documents will not be accepted through the mail.
What are the income requirements for Medicaid in Oklahoma?
To find out how to qualify for Medicaid in Oklahoma financially, specific income restrictions must first be met. Medicaid income requirements vary depending on the applicant’s specific situation. For example, pregnant women who meet Oklahoma Medicaid benefits eligibility have different income restrictions than low-income families or adults caring for a child relative. However, candidates are encouraged to apply for Oklahoma Medicaid even if their incomes are higher than required.
Children who meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements must live in households that earn less than the following monthly and annually:
- Households of 1 must earn less than $2,079 monthly or $24,948 annually
- Households of 2 must earn less than $2,804 monthly or $33,648 annually
- Households of 3 must earn less than $3,528 monthly or $42,336 annually
- Households of 4 must earn less than $4,253 monthly or $51,036 annually
- Households of 5 must earn less than $4,977 monthly or $59,724 annually
- Households of 6 must earn less than $5,702 monthly or $68,424 annually
- Households of 7 must earn less than $6,428 monthly or $77,136 annually
- Households of 8 must earn less than $7,157 monthly or $85,884 annually
Pregnant women who meet Medicaid eligibility requirements must live in households that earn less than the following totals monthly and annually:
- Households of 1 must earn less than $1,317 monthly or $15,804 annually
- Households of 2 must earn less than $1,776 monthly or $21,312 annually
- Households of 3 must earn less than $2,234 monthly or $26,808 annually
- Households of 4 must earn less than $2,693 monthly or $32,316 annually
- Households of 5 must earn less than $3,152 monthly or $37,824 annually
- Households of 6 must earn less than $3,611 monthly or $43,332 annually
- Households of 7 must earn less than $4,071 monthly or $48,852 annually
- Households of 8 must earn less than $4,533 monthly or $54,396 annually
Because it has a legal definition, the ADA’s definition of disability is different from how disability is defined under some other laws. The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity.
Social Security's definition of legally disabled is different from that of other programs. The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers benefits to disabled individuals under two programs, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
What constitutes disability? For Social Security disability or SSI purposes, to be considered disabled, individuals must have an impairment, either medical, psychological, or psychiatric in nature, that keeps them from being able to do a substantial amount of work. In addition, a person's impairment must have prevented the individual from doing a substantial amount of work for at least 12 months, or be expected to prevent the individual from doing work for at least 12 months. (This durational requirement means that while severe back conditions can qualify for Social Security disability or SSI, wrist or ankle sprains seldom qualify as disabling conditions.)
To be considered a disabled person for Social Security purposes, a disability applicant must be unable to perform substantial work. Generally, this means working and earning above a certain amount; in 2018, this means making over $1,180 per month. This is called the substantial gainful activity (SGA) threshold. But for the self-employed (people who own businesses or do contract work), there are other tests Social Security uses to determine if someone is doing SGA.
And last, but not least, all those public school educated people. Most folks don't get what public schools and charter schools and private schools and vouchers have to do with this whole topic. But we aren't doing a good job budgeting our public schools. Our state doesn't have enough people to qualify for most jobs--I'm not just talking about Drs and lawyers and engineers, I'm talking about skilled labor, people that can do complicated things with their hands and can problem solve well enough to figure out what needs done in repairs. Our public schools are having a hard time with reading and math basics for many of our students.
BUT, (back on topic)
What is the least a human can live on.
At what point are we sentencing people to hell on earth until they die.
A person depending on size and gender and age and activity level, live on 1600 to 2400 calories a day.
See what you could live on for a month for $126/month for a single person. (be aware, you had to qualify as a single person and that was not very likely)
Be Aware. Alcohol has twice almost 3 times as many calories per gram as carbohydrates or proteins and even more than fat by half. (no protein or vitamins/minerals though)
I noticed that white bread and peanut butter was about as nutritious, cheap, and protein-containing as could be had, and wouldn't require refrigeration or cooking. (Both of which require a home with utilities).Homeless people frequently complain about finding a safe place to sleep soundly. When you have to wear everything you own at once, or hold on to the cart, or develop a reputation for violence when you or your cart is disturbed, just to sleep, it can make anyone cranky or seem crazy.
A person needs enough protection from the elements to not freeze to death or have heat stroke.
In the event you qualified for section 8 housing and had survived the waiting list for a place to move in to, it is likely to also not feel that safe. They are easy to find, just look on the crime maps for the city. (concentrated poverty is a recipe for crime, violence, drugs and mental illness; why do we concentrate it like that? so the rest of us can pretend that it doesn't exist and never have to see it. But 100 years ago, every community had a few people on hard times. The churches helped them, the neighbors brought food and shared outgrown clothes and found odd jobs for those people until they could get back on their feet. It was probably embarrassing, but didn't kill you or isolate you with only others in the same shape. Bad ideas come from concentrating hopeless people at their lowest point in life.
I tried those links, and while a bit worried about my own oncoming retirement; living on less than half of what I currently make will not qualify me for any government benefits.
Most people without either a dependent child or a physician documented permanent disability will not qualify for any of those benefits.
I'm glad I'm basically healthy despite my ever-rising age. I'm glad I have my own house, will have social security and work retirement, though 2008's crash made that a lot less perky than expected, and these days, its losing value-about 1/2 percent per some undisclosed timeframe, and I'm glad my children are both healthy and employed.
But I am not going to begrudge those people that have so little that they qualify for that. I wish the homeless shelters were not the only thing standing between so many people and death by starvation or freezing or heat stroke or bad health or assault. I've met and talked to plenty of those individuals through work, or years ago to those just like them, and they really are doing all they can and barely hanging on. We all have stories, but most of them had stories that needed a therapist with a few years, not just a kick in the pants.
I was always told not to envy people with more than me.
But we seem to be envying people with close to nothing.
I think that we should all be fed, safe, provided with a good education that meets our personal needs and healthcare that lets us be our healthiest self.
I won't be better off if someone else is starving and cold.
Why should I feel better off if someone is starving and cold.
So, can you live on nothing but peanut butter sandwiches. Can you live with out electricity, water, heat and air? Can you live under a bridge, in a tent in a park?
Can you live on $2,000 a month?
On $1000?
On $500?
Minimum wage is under $1400/month before deductions. (Social security is still taken out, I'm not sure how much taxes for state/fed might come out.
Most minimum wage jobs do not include health insurance for free. Many only hire people for part time, with hours from 2 to 32/week, thus avoiding all kinds of benefits as well as providing a very undependable amount to live on.
If it does offer insurance, your part is probably $300/month. You won't qualify for Medicaid.
Your 1 bedroom apartment is $550/month. You won't qualify for section 8--no dependents, no disability, AND you have a job.
Your electricity is on you, and is only $90 if you do averaging. The water is with the cost of the apartment and the hot water is usually out.
You have $460 a month for groceries, and bus rides to the job (about $100/month if you don't run around too much), and the grocery store, both at least 10 miles away. The only thing in walking distance is a gas/convenience store--where there is food that is both expensive and bad for you except for the frequent fresh choices of eggs, banana, and apples.
If you figure it out, you now have 11.86/day to eat.
You have no money for your insurance deductible or any prescription meds.
You have no clothing allowance.
Good Luck.
Half the country thinks you should have a savings account, the other half wants to know why you are fat. Many of those people will hate you if you are wearing makeup, have jewelry on, have painted nails. The rest will be disgusted if your hygiene is lacking, your clothes old or unwashed, or your shoes are worn.
You can't win. And you can't catch a break.
