How fair is this?

[G'maDebbie]

:rules Did you know in the State of Michigan you can get FIA to help pay your rent and your bills, but if you fail to use that money to pay your rent and your landlord takes you to court for non-payment of rent, FIA will not only pay your back rent (even though they have already give you the money to it pay with) they will also pay the court costs so you don't get evicted?!

I deal with this every day and I just can't for the life of me figure this one out.....now I know why MICHIGAN is so screwed up!

[freeby4me]

:rules Did you know in the State of Michigan you can get FIA to help pay your rent and your bills, but if you fail to use that money to pay your rent and your landlord takes you to court for non-payment of rent, FIA will not only pay your back rent (even though they have already give you the money to it pay with) they will also pay the court costs so you don't get evicted?!

I deal with this every day and I just can't for the life of me figure this one out.....now I know why MICHIGAN is so screwed up!

YOU SAID IT!!! Right now my caseworker is 3 months behind. 3 months! In Michigan, you can use your foodstamp card and get cash back (if you have the cash program) then use the money to buy ciggarettes or beer. The government purposely puts these "loopholes" in so people can abuse the system then they can say "See I told you government programs are no good" UGH....why cant they just fix it right!

[PrincessArky]

my gosh it is mind blowing the waste of government money

[Shann]

I had no idea, that's really sad, if you get free money and you use it for something else, your butt shouldn't be living in that place. :rolleyes:

[iluvmybaby]

YOU SAID IT!!! Right now my caseworker is 3 months behind. 3 months! In Michigan, you can use your foodstamp card and get cash back (if you have the cash program) then use the money to buy ciggarettes or beer. The government purposely puts these "loopholes" in so people can abuse the system then they can say "See I told you government programs are no good" UGH....why cant they just fix it right!

When I lived in Memphis I worked at a grocery store, to all of you that don't know, Memphis is near Tunica MS where you go to gamble. You see men/women coming in with food stamp cards all dressed up getting $700 - $800 in cash. It was so sad knowing their kids wouldn't have fun for the month because they were on their way to the casinos

[ooops]

When I lived in Memphis I worked at a grocery store, to all of you that don't know, Memphis is near Tunica MS where you go to gamble. You see men/women coming in with food stamp cards all dressed up getting $700 - $800 in cash. It was so sad knowing their kids wouldn't have fun for the month because they were on their way to the casinos

They have the card with Food Stamps AND their cash allotments for child support, etc on them in TN. So, not to start anything, but to assume they are going straight to TUNICA??? Geez, I barely got my child support from my ex when I was in TN and the state helped me - and the only option at the time was to have it put on the card.. and at the time the only way for me to get my money was to do it at a store like wal mart that actually got to keep $2 as a processing fee.. then I took ALL that money and paid my landlord.. so, not to be mean, but, some thoughts people get for others are just ASSUMING and possibly not what they did.

edited to add: some state ordered child supports did go on the card back in 2000, so to assume it is ALL free from the state, is just not right either. When my child support checks finally started normal, the STATE took there share back.
So, how humiliating is it to be on assistance , then made to feel like a freeloader.. and talked down to, then knowing that ist was something you had already been entitled to from a court order from your ex as ordered child support. so, not to get into details, but if his pecker had stayed home and in his pants, he would not have been made to pay his $500 a month child support and we would have stayed married.

[realheaven]

My baby was born in 1990 and I got a child support order then. HE never paid. I moved to Tennessee and after years of nonpayment because he was hiding his income and assets and address, now the state of Michigan is paying me 'back child support'. Funny thing is, I don't live in either state. I live in Florida now but they are so slack on getting child support payments that I guess I will just let Tn. do it for me. Of course they started this year charging $25 yearly to do what use to be free.

[freeby4me]

They have the card with Food Stamps AND their cash allotments for child support, etc on them in TN. So, not to start anything, but to assume they are going straight to TUNICA??? Geez, I barely got my child support from my ex when I was in TN and the state helped me - and the only option at the time was to have it put on the card.. and at the time the only way for me to get my money was to do it at a store like wal mart that actually got to keep $2 as a processing fee.. then I took ALL that money and paid my landlord.. so, not to be mean, but, some thoughts people get for others are just ASSUMING and possibly not what they did.

edited to add: some state ordered child supports did go on the card back in 2000, so to assume it is ALL free from the state, is just not right either. When my child support checks finally started normal, the STATE took there share back.
So, how humiliating is it to be on assistance , then made to feel like a freeloader.. and talked down to, then knowing that ist was something you had already been entitled to from a court order from your ex as ordered child support. so, not to get into details, but if his pecker had stayed home and in his pants, he would not have been made to pay his $500 a month child support and we would have stayed married.


Nevermind. Its obviously not worth it.

[tngirl]

I have to agree about the money most likely being child support. TN does not pay out that much in aid to dependent children. They only pay around $200 a month and that is for 2 kids and nothing is added to the pot if you have more.

[ooops]

Nevermind. Its obviously not worth it.

What is not worth it??? To know you have been issued a state card to collect your child support on?
To know it is degrading and humiliating that others ASSUME the worst of you because you collect child support?
What gets me, is that everyone seems to think they know the circumstances of everyone, without even knowing all the true facts involved to JUDGE. Yes, the system is messed up.
I know the OP had intended this thread to be about MI housing assistance, however, I responded to the thread prior to mine.

[freeby4me]

What is not worth it??? To know you have been issued a state card to collect your child support on?
To know it is degrading and humiliating that others ASSUME the worst of you because you collect child support?
What gets me, is that everyone seems to think they know the circumstances of everyone, without even knowing all the true facts involved to JUDGE. Yes, the system is messed up.
I know the OP had intended this thread to be about MI housing assistance, however, I responded to the thread prior to mine.

You are the one assuming that WE think the worst of you because you were on state aid or had a card or whatever. In Michigan you have a bridge card that is for Food Stamps or Cash Assistance.

What isnt worth it is trying to explain our side when you're saying how horrible we are for thinking "the worst" about someone.
Im not sorry for saying I dont appreciate people abusing the system to buy cigarattes and beer.
What I dont get is we never once said that people should be ashamed of themselves for being on public aid or for getting child support. You're putting words in our mouths and thats not fair.

[ooops]

Okay, you got me on the feelings part, but what I was explaining had more to do with how the money is placed on the card and not neccesarily out of the STATES pocket. TY for clarifying this to me.

[ahippiechic]

I lived in TN when I divorced my 1st husband and had a 12 yr old son. He quit his job and moved away to God knows where. I had just been diagnosed with leukemia and had no job, no ins, nothing. The state gave me food stamps, cash asst and ins for my son. I got it for 5 months and then my DH's parents started paying his child support, but the state kept all those payments until it had paid back what they paid me in FS and cash asst. (It wasn't on a card then, tho) SO I don't feel a bit bad nor ashamed to have gotten the assit. Besides having worked and paid taxes my whole life until I got sick, the money also got paid back from his child support payments.

Back on topic tho, a LOT of people DO spend that money for beer, smokes, drugs, you name it. I used to work at a store and they would come in and get the money off their card then go to the bar and drink it up. Or use their card to pay for it at the store.

No one said EVERYONE did that, but some do and that's what they were bitching about. That and the fact that MI's system sounds more messed up than most.

[freeby4me]

Okay, you got me on the feelings part, but what I was explaining had more to do with how the money is placed on the card and not neccesarily out of the STATES pocket. TY for clarifying this to me.

I do apologize for getting snippy. I would NEVER look badly upon anyone who is getting assistance who needs it. Thats what its there for!!!
In Michigan it is messed up but the Government purposely made it that way. Why would anyone need MONEY for purchasing stuff for the household that cant be bought at the store using the card, you know what I mean? Why would they need to get the cash off of the card? (here) they put that loophole in for the sole purpose of abuse. Its messed up!

Another thing thats weird is here in Michigan when you buy a pop you have to pay the 10 cent deposit, come to find out if you buy pop with foodstamps, it pays for the deposit. Isnt that weird...you'd think the program wouldnt.
(I talk alot with the cashiers at the grocery places)

[Urban Cowgirl]

Used to be here in Maine that when you used coupons on your groceries and used food stamps to pay, They would give you the amount of yoiur coupons back in cash. So if you had $35 in groceries and $5 in coupons, the store would charge your foodstamp card $35 and give you back $5 in cash!!! That always bugged me, but now they have fixed it and they charge your foodstamp card the amount after your coupons.

[tigger4]

I do apologize for getting snippy. I would NEVER look badly upon anyone who is getting assistance who needs it. Thats what its there for!!!
In Michigan it is messed up but the Government purposely made it that way. Why would anyone need MONEY for purchasing stuff for the household that cant be bought at the store using the card, you know what I mean? Why would they need to get the cash off of the card? (here) they put that loophole in for the sole purpose of abuse. Its messed up!

Another thing thats weird is here in Michigan when you buy a pop you have to pay the 10 cent deposit, come to find out if you buy pop with foodstamps, it pays for the deposit. Isnt that weird...you'd think the program wouldnt.
(I talk alot with the cashiers at the grocery places)


I got assistance for a short amount of time here in WA state. All of your TANF goes onto the same card as your food stamps. I would use the card to buy the household items I needed then get cash back to pay my rent. That is what my TANF was intended for. I could use my card to buy beer or cigarettes if I wanted to, but I don't drink or smoke so I didn't. It is to be used just like money. There is a part of it that is for food and part of that is for cash assistance. The cash assistance part you can go to an ATM and take it all out just like any other ATM card and use it for whatever you need to. There were times I did that to pay for gas for my car or to pay the electric bill.

It isn't like it is some huge amount of money. For a family of 5, $495 a month. My rent is $850, electric is $170 (in the summer with no a/c), and then I have all of my other bills on top of that. So, it isn't like people on assistance are getting rich off of it.

[freeby4me]

I got assistance for a short amount of time here in WA state. All of your TANF goes onto the same card as your food stamps. I would use the card to buy the household items I needed then get cash back to pay my rent. That is what my TANF was intended for. I could use my card to buy beer or cigarettes if I wanted to, but I don't drink or smoke so I didn't. It is to be used just like money. There is a part of it that is for food and part of that is for cash assistance. The cash assistance part you can go to an ATM and take it all out just like any other ATM card and use it for whatever you need to. There were times I did that to pay for gas for my car or to pay the electric bill.

It isn't like it is some huge amount of money. For a family of 5, $495 a month. My rent is $850, electric is $170 (in the summer with no a/c), and then I have all of my other bills on top of that. So, it isn't like people on assistance are getting rich off of it.

Ahh understand. Thank you.

[bcjjhh]

hummm, I applied for food stamps here in RI, I pay my own rent, have wic for 1 child (age 3) and I was told that I make 6.00 per week to much money.

But they have no problem paying for someone's rent, wic, food stamps, health insurance, waht ever else they can sleeze out of the state and I make 6.00 too much.

To ask boss to cut pay 6.00 really just can't happen, we are getting by just as is and that money each month would mean weather we eat or not.

[PrincessArky]

hummm, I applied for food stamps here in RI, I pay my own rent, have wic for 1 child (age 3) and I was told that I make 6.00 per week to much money.

But they have no problem paying for someone's rent, wic, food stamps, health insurance, waht ever else they can sleeze out of the state and I make 6.00 too much.

To ask boss to cut pay 6.00 really just can't happen, we are getting by just as is and that money each month would mean weather we eat or not.

yep I know what you mean it is getting harder and harder