Refelctions after the a long wait at the public assistance office...

After my third trip to the public assistance office to try and get food stamps, I have a few things to say.

1. An insanely frustrating process. Applying for and keeping up with the requirements of public assistance programs is really difficult. For the food stamp applications, you must first visit a public assistance office in person to set up an appointment to come in for an interview. Then you have to come in and have your interview (a process which including wait time took me about three and a half hours). In order to proceed with your application you need multiple forms of ID and proof of citizenship and residence. You need copies of your lease, bills and pay stubs. Then if you're like me and you don't hear back in 30 days, there is a problem which means you have to return to the office a third time (for 2.5 hours) because all the phone numbers and websites they provide are totally useless. The number of hours that is required to access these programs is out of control. How is anyone supposed to get/hold a job or be at all productive if they have to spend all their time at the public assistance office?

2. Efficiency vs. cost savings. Today at the the public assistance office, I was given a number as I walked in and told to sit in a waiting room with about 40 other people. Numbers flash on a big digital screen telling you which counter to go to when it's your turn. CNN is playing on three flat screen TVs and babies are crying. There are 9 different windows equipped with computers and one would hope, knowledgeable staff members. And today, at 4:30 when I arrived, there were TWO people working to help people with their issues. TWO people! In an hour and a half they had gotten through maybe 15 of the 40 people waiting to be seen. And people were still coming in. Now, I understand that in order to hire more people to work at the office, funding must be cut from somewhere and I'm sure it would end up coming out of funds which are supposed to support the people who need public assistance. But maybe we could do away with the flat screen TVs and hire an extra person.

3. The public assistance office is not "post-racial." In the two and a half hours that I was waiting to be seen, I was literally the only white person in the waiting room. I am aware that that the problems of poverty in this country affect minorities, particularly blacks and Latinos, at strikingly higher rates than they do white America. But looking around me today, this fact was made painfully obvious.

4. Hunched, freezing and worn out. Looking around the room, I was struck by everyone's appearance. Most people had on layers and big coats, some people were coatless. I can't imagine having to sleep on the street on a cold night like tonight. No one looked particularly clean, some people smelled. How demoralizing and un-dignifying must it be to not be able to shower? Everyone looked tired--hunched over in the really uncomfortable seats, many with big bags sitting at their feet. These people are exhausted. And these are the pro-active people.

5. This is a bad system. I don't know how to fix them, but many public assistance programs are terribly flawed. With food stamps for example, you have to be in seriously bad shape to get them. The official requirements for a single adult are that your net monthly income is $867 (Medicaid only allows $745). If you were working 40 hour weeks, that's about $5.50 an hour, which is nothing. Also, you can't have more than $2,000 in savings ($1300 for Medicaid). This might seem like a lot but let's say your income meets the requirements and you're making $600 a month working part time. If you're living in an apartment, most if not all of that check is going to rent. Then there is heat, electricity, transportation costs, clothes and food to pay for. You'll probably go through the $2000 rather quickly. With such low thresholds, this system doesn't encourage anyone to get a higher paying job. Medicaid is the same way. Income and savings thresholds are so low that you'd lose your health insurance if you took any entry level position, most of which do not offer health care benefits.

Okay, that's all for now. I'm sure I'll be returning to some of these things in future posts.