Food Stamps and EBT at fast food Places

Not only that, but the inference to be drawn from her argument is that there aren't "entry level jobs" available in this country (and, of course, while she's been careful not to specifically state that, she's proceeded to demand proof that those jobs exist, anyway). And, of course, she's ignored the valid point that, "if you're on the dole and able to work, there's no such thing as a job that is below you." Out in the real world, and as unpleasant as the fact may be to the entitlement set, retail customer service jobs are every bit "entry level" as, for instance, a job in the mailroom or accounting or marketing department of some corporation. That notwithstanding, both types of jobs are available to anyone willing to pick up the employment section of any newspaper, surf craigslist, or sign up with any of the online employment facilitators like Monster.

This is how fucked up our system is. A friend of mine lives in a government subsidized townhouse. Last year the municipality decided that they needed to install central air conditioning in each of the townhouses in his development, and raise the rent $25 - $50 dollars a month. When they came around to talk to my buddy about it, he asked if they could just forgo the central air. It was his thinking that, since we only have three months out of the year in which AC would be useful, he would tough it out with open windows, and keep the extra money for other needs. The response from the municipality was, "Nope. You're going to get AC installed whether you like it or not."

It gets better.

This same friend is a musician and massage therapist. He's made a modest living for the majority of his adult life. A couple of years back, he met a girl, and they had a baby which they weren't planning on. Suddenly, his modest living wasn't sufficient to pay the bills, so he needed to ask for help. When seeking both food and medical assistance, he was told that, because he was working, he wasn't eligible - and both social workers told him that it would be in his best interest to stop working.

So, according to the government, someone who is still trying to support themselves isn't eligible for help, but someone who is a defacto "ward of the state" is.

That is just fucking delightful.

Yup. Bad advice from the social workers. What they should have done is told him at what point his income would drop sufficiently to put him in the eligibility category. Then he could have taken fewer gigs and met the legal requirement.

Of course, he should have been able to figure that out for himself.

Or rather than immediately trying to get on the dole, he should have applied for unemployment, which is accompanied by job counseling and, often, job placement.

And if he weren't a friend of Petey-bird's, UA could lecture him on not getting the girl pregnant in the first place...

You can't get unemployment if you're self-employed. You, of all people, should know that.

And we already covered job counseling and job "placement". If you are an able-bodied white man with at least a GED and no addictions, they'll tell you "Too bad. You're too employable. We need to save our help for the people who 'really need it'."

Meanwhile, no employer is going to post with the government agency because they get tired of them sending illiterate crackheads who don't show up for work.

Zel never heard any such thing and he did the unemployment thing just a couple months ago.

Maybe it's your area more than anything?

I think whether or not you can claim has something to do with how you get paid for your work. Where I live, if you're a sole proprietor, you can't collect unemployment. If you work for yourself and have an S-corp, if you've got your pay structured correctly, you might be able to collect.

No. It's common advice from social workers, and worse, it's abetting fraud.

No. That's no better than telling a client that he or she should quit his or her job. It's abetting fraud.

So, you're saying that he should just play the system in a different way, and turn down work in order to obtain benefits for which he otherwise wouldn't be eligible? Basically, you want him to "shrug"?

So, you'd encourage people to figure out ways to work the system on their own to obtain benefits to which they're not entitled?

Is that what he did? He immediately tried to get on the dole? Whoa. I wonder if Joel knows he did that.

No, he doesn't qualify for unemployment.

A few more like this, and people will start to have a hard time believing you're here to engage in earnest discussion.