[quote=AN][quote=spdrun]True. BTW, not being judgmental, but you have to take it into account that not everyone wants to be on WIC or Medicaid.[/quote]Agree. The free money is there. It’s up to you whether you want to take it or not. You can always have both parents work @ $15/hr. Just saying you would come out ahead of you just have one parent stay at home.[/quote]AN, $15 hr FT (assuming the worker got a paid vacation and health benefits and so got paid for 52 weeks is $31,200 per year. There is no way those food programs you mention and Medi-Cal (which is horrible to have in comparison to an employer-paid healthplan or one off the exchange) are worth anything near $31,200. You’re also forgetting that the worker is adding quarters to their Social Security Account, may also be offered low-cost health and dental plans for their kids and may be eligible for a raise, bonus or both at the end of the year (or their rating period).
AN, do you actually know anyone on Medi-Cal and have you talked to them about their opinions on the quality of their healthcare lately … or lack thereof? I do, and I’m here to tell you that they’ll give you an earful on all that they have to go through in making an appt and showing up for a simple office call. That is … IF they can find a provider who will accept Medi-Cal. Do you have any idea how long Medi-Cal recipients have to wait for medically-necessary surgery? And how much groceries ($ amt per mo) do you think a family of four making $31,200 can get who qualifies for an EBT card? You DO KNOW that EBT cards pay for food only and zero household or personal items, right?
And I haven’t looked into the program lately, but aren’t WIC benefits limited to those who are currently pregnant and/or children under the age of 2 (or even younger)?
In addition, if the working parent making $31,200 per year was offered an “affordable” healthplan at work for he/she and their spouse/dependents, then this family would be automatically ineligible for Medi-Cal.
This “fictional” family grossing $62,400 yr likely also qualifies for the 6 to 6 program and DASH (afterschool programs subsidized by the school district) on a sliding scale of $37 – $45 wk for their first kid and $20 – $28 for their second kid (morning kinders slightly higher).
AN, I’m just curious so humor me here. If all you could make was $31,200 per year, would you want your spouse to stay at home if she had the training and license, etc to make a decent wage ($15 hr and up)? We’ll assume you are renting in SD (or living with relatives) because you couldn’t save anything for a downpayment on your own home with a $31,200 annual income and 2 kids.
Your mindset is precisely why the “Welfare Reform Act” of 1996 was created and enacted.
