Welcome back to our series of blog posts on the history and philosophy of the economy, bankruptcy, and debt – today we continue to discuss public benefits in the 21st century by turning to food assistance and benefits aimed at needy families and children.
Food assistance comes in many forms and is usually run by the USDA. First, consider the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known by its abbreviation SNAP, or colloquially as food stamps. To qualify, you must have an income under 130% of the federal poverty line. What you can use SNAP for is often misconstrued, but a good rule would be to consider whether sales tax is applied to the food: if not, you can probably purchase the food with SNAP. There is another, less-well known program for pregnant women, infants and children called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program. It acts as an additional benefit and is easier to qualify for. Neither of these benefit programs will be affected by filing bankruptcy. On a related note, some might call one or both of these programs “EBT.” However, this is a misnomer: “EBT” stands for Electronic Benefit Transfer, and is not a public assistance program, but rather a fund transfer alternative that is more convenient than mailing checks for all parties. Food benefits will not be affected by filing bankruptcy.
Finally, a quick discussion of Lifeline, aka Obama-phone, which is also a misnomer – the program was initiated by Ronald Reagan to subsidize land line phones. The program is administered by the FCC and now subsidizes cell phones and internet access for low-income individuals. I don’t believe there is any official determination on the issue, but filing a bankruptcy should not affect one’s ability to qualify for Lifeline.
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Next time, we will finish off our round up of public benefits by discussing workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits. If you are interested in the history and philosophy of the economy, bankruptcy, and debt, stay tuned for my blog posts. And, if you are thinking about filing, reach out to us at www.lifebacklaw.com.
