How $25 Extra in Unemployment Benefits is Hurting Some

What Was He Thinking

Hurry up and get this money out there regardless of who it hurts?! If I knew he'd be as lazy and half ass do a job I'd never put him in there. What good is this stupid stimulus if you give me $100 and I have to sacrifice $300 for a net loss of $200?? What kind of math is that? Did he flunk algebra? Oh, he's taking us back to the motherland. From what I've read, that's what they do there. I'm staying in this screwed up country just long enough for one more election if I can help it. If this doesn't improve, my vote is one less he'll have and i've NEVER missed an election since my 18th birthday NOT EVEN PRIMARIES!!

Terri of PA @ Nov 02, 2009 18:35:34 PM

Weekly $25 may not affect your Medi-Cal SOC

Check with your county and refer to this letter: CDHS Letter 09-29 April 2009 (http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/eligibility/Documents/c09-22.pdf). "The purpose of this letter is to inform counties that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Division B, Title II, Section 2002 (h) provides for a Federal Stimulus increase to both regular and extended nemployment Benefits by $25 a week.The increases will begin with the week of February 22, 2009, for both new and existing claims. The monthly equivalent to the $25 weekly increase shall be exempt income

and, as such, shall not be considered for purposes of determining Medi-Cal eligibility or share-of-cost (SOC).

Lisa Maiuro of CA @ Oct 24, 2009 22:23:19 PM

California Medical - same situation

I had a job for over 9 years in the hotel industry, and in December of 2008 was laid off. I was told it was because of lower average occupancy at the property I worked for - in other words, travelling was down because of the recession. I applied for California's MediCal program. I went on unemployment and applied for SNAP (food stamps) and MediCal. At first, I was eligible for both programs. When the stimulus program passed, I started receiving an extra $100.00 a month through my unemployment. However, my share of cost for medical services (I am a high blood pressure patient) went up by $100.00 a month, and my food stamp allotment decresed as well. I was able to make ends meet better before the stimulus than after. And I have no option to refuse the $100.00 per month.

This is just plain unfair. And apprently there is nothing I can do about it. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

John of CA @ Jul 09, 2009 14:09:02 PM

Food Stamps

I am 55 years old and I have worked since I was 17. In November my husband and I were both laid off. He has never missed a day of work. They brought in a young foreigner to take over and he replaced my husband with 6 young men. Of course my husband was not making that much to be replaced with that many foreigners or even Americans. We were lucky enough to have kept our house in Texas and our daughters moved us back. We qualified for food stamps, we were so embarresed to ask for help. The stimulas 25.00 put us over the top and we lost 362.00 in food for 100.00. Now I can not get medical help because we own a 2002 truck, trying to keep our 500.00 a month mortgage house and unemployment pays too much for any type of help. I was sent home with a blood pressure of 225/108, need rotary cuff tear surgery and was told not to come back without money, it was a county hospital. So the 25.00 a week, I am thankfull for but it has done so much harm. Obama is not getting it, and he thinks we do not get it. The long picture I will never see, I won't be around.

jean wilson of TX @ Jul 04, 2009 14:29:16 PM

That's government for you

Every time a democrat gets in the Whitehouse I hurt..

I am on unemployment also and I now have to go beg for food..

So Democrats are not the party for the poor..

They create more poor people.....

Think about that....

Brenda of FL @ Jul 02, 2009 17:01:03 PM

I knew this would happen, I said it monthys ago

I would like to say that, this is unfair to some families who HAVE worked and who HAVE NEVER gotten foodstamps. They now need them to feed their families. I am on unemployment because I WORKED, not because I didn't! I got LAID OFF not because I was LAZY but because there is NO WORK. This is not a choice I made. I am now in school taking medical classes, not because I am LAZY. I need the $290.00 in foodstamps I lost more than I need the $100.00 that I am getting now. Which buys more food? Some People do not think before they speak! They think that just beacause you get foodstamps it means you are poor and lazy. Not the case any more! People NEED them to survive. Lots of working and laid off people NEED them to eat!

PAtty of MI @ Jun 19, 2009 13:28:36 PM

How $25 Extra in Unemployment Benefits is Hurting Some

Not to sound heartless, but foodstamp is not something one earns,

so to say it's lost is misleading.

Foodstamp is just a program the government setup to help poor people.

The program was created, and could be adjusted (which are done all the

time) or even dismantled if the situation called for (maybe a better solution

came along).

Cost of changing the system to accommodate these are real. We're

conditioned to think the government should pay for everything which

sound reasonable. Everything is free if the government pay for it.

The fact is we all have to get that money somewhere. And the cost

means less money left to be given to the poor now (or the alternative

is to borrow money and make our children poorer later, or make the

economy continue going down the drain to pay for these excessive

spending).

This new help is created with the best intention and consideration

are already given to the affected people. But there are no perfect,

fair system for everyone in all situation. I feel badly for the

ones affected, but look at the ones which will benefit from this.

Tim of CA @ Jun 15, 2009 18:10:15 PM

No GA just sucks

I'm originally from GA and it's not the Feds that cause the problem. It's the state of GA. I was unemployed last year in GA received about $230 a week. Between last years high gas prices and basic living you would basically go backwards. I got a job in NC worked in November of 2008 for a while but as the economy soured once again went on unemployment. Here I'm getting over $500 a week so there is no need for anything like food stamps and I have enough from unemployment to actually go out and look for REAL work

George of NC @ Jun 15, 2009 17:27:51 PM