Crisis Drill: Food stamps runs out

[Lonestar]

USDA topped off the food stamps accounts yesterday a week ahead of February, using a funding rule to keep it funded for a month after a shutdown.

Let's say it's now late Feb and the shutdown is ongoing, many stores aren't able to accept food stamps because they can't renew their licenses, and it now seems that we're going to hit March without that check going out.


Bear in mind, such a crisis is almost certainly tailored to increase pressure on the Dems more than the GOP(rural populations have a higher percentage on food stamps but urban areas have more). For Americans, do you bug out(if you can). Sit tight and hope for the best? For those who rely on those services, what's the plan? Are you buying dry goods?

[Mr Bean]

USDA topped off the food stamps accounts yesterday a week ahead of February, using a funding rule to keep it funded for a month after a shutdown.

Let's say it's now late Feb and the shutdown is ongoing, many stores aren't able to accept food stamps because they can't renew their licenses, and it now seems that we're going to hit March without that check going out.


Bear in mind, such a crisis is almost certainly tailored to increase pressure on the Dems more than the GOP(rural populations have a higher percentage on food stamps but urban areas have more). For Americans, do you bug out(if you can). Sit tight and hope for the best? For those who rely on those services, what's the plan? Are you buying dry goods?

Dry goods and covered in venting when I had a 700$ car repair when I was already building back up from the car purchase to begin with I had exactly eight dollars in ready cash I could access without touching anything else. To that end I have three weeks canned goods and enough flour on hand to be rolling in the literal bread for two additional weeks tommorow I'll be shopping going to bump that up to a solid month worth of both and add in enough canned fruit to ward off the scurvy .

That's in addition to the two months of instant noodles I bought for twenty bucks. And all of that is despite having a steady job because of shit like this in the news and even without the shut down Navy benefits randomly getting shut off whenever they feel like for undefined reasons. The urge is already installed in me and I don't even have access to anything mason jar related.

[bilateralrope]

Bear in mind, such a crisis is almost certainly tailored to increase pressure on the Dems more than the GOP(rural populations have a higher percentage on food stamps but urban areas have more).

I'm not sure if dems or GOP voters will be hit harders. It's not just a matter of the number of people on food stamps. It's also a matter of what they do when faced with starvation.

Is it rural or urban areas that have more legal options (eg, soup kitchens within walking distance) to prevent people starving ?

Which has more opportunities for non-violent crime to acquire food ?

Do rural or urban food stamp clients have more guns ?

[Sea Skimmer]

Gun ownership rates in the US have been on the decline everywhere for a while, its just the people who have any guns tend to have a lot more then one gun. I don't think that matters since you don't need guns to loot a supermarket.

It's looking to me like the implosion of the TSA effectiveness may actually force this matter before mass starvation does though. They really don't have to have that much more of the work force start calling out sick before the system will cease to function quickly enough to keep the planes moving, callout rate already having hit 10%. It was already understaffed, no increase in total numbers of note for the past four years in a row while air travel went up as much as 8% year over year. I expected this shutdown to go on at least six weeks personally, but I'm also very skeptical it could last past the end of Feb.

[Broomstick]

Bear in mind, such a crisis is almost certainly tailored to increase pressure on the Dems more than the GOP(rural populations have a higher percentage on food stamps but urban areas have more).

I'm not sure if dems or GOP voters will be hit harders. It's not just a matter of the number of people on food stamps. It's also a matter of what they do when faced with starvation.

Is it rural or urban areas that have more legal options (eg, soup kitchens within walking distance) to prevent people starving ?

While rural areas tend to have social networks anchored by churches, most which these days seem to have some sort of soup kitchen/pantry, they also have a higher rate of food-stamp level poverty. The social safety net is thinner out there. The system would be more easily overwhelmed. While there are more opportunities in rural areas to go out poaching game that's not going to a solution for more than a few (you need to have a gun and hunting is a bit harder than it looks from the outside).

Urban areas rely more on local governments which have some resources that could be turned to food provisions for the needy. Urban areas also have a base of businesses and more wealthy individuals who might contribute as well (my employer has already been approached to provide donations above and beyond our usual). Urban areas are where the homeless shelters are, where there are more likely to be utility programs that either assist the low income, or laws that prohibit turning off the heat in winter even if someone hasn't paid a utility bill in months.

On the other hand - a lot easier to hold a riot in a densely populated area.

Which has more opportunities for non-violent crime to acquire food ?

Probably the urban areas, but given the sheer numbers of people urban areas are paradoxically more like to have a riot I'd say.

Do rural or urban food stamp clients have more guns ?

Rural.

A certain percentage of urban poor are barred from the food stamp program due to involvement in the drug trade, but they're also more likely to be the ones with the guns. A lot of rural poor have guns, but probably more long guns for hunting and vermin control. As a guess. I haven't looked into solid statistics yet.

I wish to emphasis that I am NOT saying riots will break out on March 1 if this goes on - any rioting will be further down the line.