Food, Home and Style
Should Yuppies Take Food Stamps?
Lunch in Tribeca with a friend and former colleague, an Ivy Leaguer who still has his media job. He looks at me over the comfort food that he will very kindly expense and asks, casually: “So are you eligible for food stamps?”
I think he is joking. Then I realize he isn’t.
“No! Of course not.” I pause. “Wait, am I?”
I can’t remember that last time I was so taken aback by a question—much less confronted with big questions about identity, need, and most of all, my own prejudices.
It’s one thing to be on unemployment. Yes, when I first lost my job, I hesitated to file for benefits. Maybe in part because I’m a grandchild of hard-working immigrants, it seemed like a comedown, an admission that I wasn’t capable of earning my own way. I couldn’t bear the thought of waiting on line at some grim state office, my severance papers stuffed into the pocket of my Searle coat, waiting to be given my check.
But I knew lots of other laid-off yuppies, all of whom talked matter-of-factly about collecting unemployment. I’d paid into the system just for this kind of situation. And, as it turns out, you can file online, without setting foot inside the bureaucracy. So I began collecting—and openly discussing it. When the jobless rate is ticking over 8 percent and more than 5 million other Americans are also claiming benefits, it’s hard to feel like the loser.
But food stamps felt like a whole different game. First, could I actually qualify, with two master’s degrees, an expensive sofa, and a Roth IRA (albeit sorely reduced)? And should I? I’m far from starving—wouldn’t I be wrongly siphoning resources away from truly needy people? And finally—and most powerfully—would it mean that I had become one of those people?
Correction: one of Those People.
Because, I realized, that’s how I thought of them. I might believe firmly in the social safety net, but I had to admit that I also considered myself superior to anyone who might need that net. I am ashamed (privately, until now) of the words that ran through my head to describe them: Welfare mothers. Drug addicts.
Turns out, deep down I actually thought I was smarter, better educated, more emotionally stable, less addiction-prone, more resourceful—instead of just luckier.
Many Americans may be confronting similar feelings these days. Last week it was reported that a record 31.8 million people are now on food stamps—or, as it’s now called, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). It’s upsetting to lose your job, your title, your office. I don’t know what it is like to lose your home. But considering food stamps gave me a whiff of how devastating it can be to feel like you’re losing your “rightful” rung on the socio-economic ladder.
Still, my ever-pragmatic mother opined, “If you can get it, take it. That’s why you pay taxes.” And I thought, well, SNAP sounds sort of like TARP, and nobody seems to have a problem taking that. So one day not so long ago, I did a Google search. I nervously went so far as to complete the first stage of the “Am I Eligible?” questionnaire on New York City’s benefits website, which revealed that my household “may be” eligible for a range of programs, from food stamps to a Veterans’ Exemption to free school lunches. To find out more, I’d have to provide additional information.
And that is where I stopped, unwilling to go any farther. Am I impractical? Mom would say so. Buying into a social stigma? Yes. A snob? Very likely. As someone who loves to eat, there are a lot of things I’ll swallow. But pride, it turns out, isn’t one of them.
Tags: Discussion
13 comments for “Should Yuppies Take Food Stamps?”
Post a comment
Special Sections
[...] Should Yuppies Take Food Stamps? [...]
Now that we have a president who was once on food stamps, I wonder if the perception will change? After all, his mom was a highly educated person. He was “one of those people” for awhile, and I think that’s made him a better leader. You raise some great points in your article. I’d be curious to know if other professionals are considering food stamps and/or other gov’t assistance programs beyond unemployment.
I’m not sure if it is pride that stops us “yuppies,” or false humility. The facade of false humility is a self-protective mechanism to bolster up our own mistaken identity of who we really are.
What struck me most about this post was the honest question as to whether we have become “one of those people.” Are we? Do we really believe we are that separate anyway?
I have been struck over the recent years by the fact the the poverty line in the US has been readjusted. Readjusted or not, the rate of poverty in America is increasing. This has been a fact denied not only by our politicians, but by everyday Americans. Many of my dearest high income friends deny the role of poverty in America saying such things as, “they only want to milk the system,” or “if only they would work hard,” or any number of other well intentioned, but misunderstood notions.
When we think about “those people,” we are separating ourselves from others in a false sense of self, that not only is ineffective with dealing with poverty, but mowt often makes those “others” objects of our scorn and shame so as to protect our own false sense of self, and thus false pride.
False pride is a big part of what has collectively gotten us into this mess. Perhaps with the type of re-awakening that an honest answer to the question – “Am I one of those people?” – we can make significant strides in dealing with poverty and respecting all humans with their variations of imperfections. Additionally, this wake-up call for us to re-examine our values and beliefs can lead us into the transformation and innovation that we are being called to rise up to fulfill at this time.
I applied for and received food stamps for a couple of months back during the recession of 1990-91, but I had depleted all of my savings at the time. If I recall correctly, one of the things they check for is a savings account.
And yes, I felt like “One of Those People,” and getting one of those public assistance ID cards with my picture on it didn’t help.
Sara, you bring up an excellent discussion. I do SNAP outreach in Montana, and the top two reasons that people are reluctant to apply for SNAP is #1) pride and #2) concern over taking benefits away from people who “need it more.” Your article reflects these two concerns and I’m sure a lot of readers who could potentially qualify for SNAP share those feelings.
However, I hope that no one considering SNAP gets discouraged from applying after reading this article. After all, #1) your mom’s right, we all pay taxes so that we can benefit from these programs when we need them. There is absolutely no shame in seeking help when we are faced with a difficult situation. In fact, participants can be proud that they have taken the initiative to provide for themselves and their families while they look a job, etc. If nothing else, this downturn has proven that there is NO difference between “Those People” and “Us”…a sudden job loss, illness, divorce, or accident can send ANYBODY, especially middle-income earners, into a situation where they face food insecurity, foreclosure, and all those things we’ve being hearing about in the news.
As for the #2) concern, using SNAP benefits does not take money away from other people – there is enough funding provided in the Farm Bill to ensure that every single SNAP participant receives exactly the amount of benefits they are eligible for. It doesn’t matter if you’ve worked minimum-wage jobs all your life or used to earn six figures…SNAP is meant to help people when they need it, which, for many participants, is just for a couple of months.
SNAP also helps the economy. This is why the President included so much money for SNAP in the stimulus package. SNAP serves as a direct infusion of federal funds into local businesses, and every $5 spent with SNAP generates $9.20 in economic activity. So don’t think of SNAP as a hand-out, think of it as a way to do your part in stimulating your city’s economy! It may seem far-fetched, but really, it works.
Thank you for bringing up your concerns about SNAP in such a great forum. I would love to see you become as much of an advocate for SNAP as you’ve become for unemployment insurance. You have the chance to set a great example for your fellow recession-hit yuppies.
Follow-up to Melinda’s comment: Barely any states (if any) still have a picture on their SNAP EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards, and the cards work just like a debit card in the store, which is very discreet. As of October 2008, tax-deferred retirement and college savings accounts are not counted as savings or resources, and several states have done away with the resource limit altogether. I’d encourage people to check with their local office to see what their policies are. Thanks for your feedback!
You are no longer a yuppie. You may still be Young, but since you became involuntarily unemployed, you have ceased to be either Upwardly-mobile or Professional.
Also, your article reeks of condescension. Those People are still people, and Americans, just like you. A lot of Those People work damn hard trying to keep themselves and their families together and off the street, and are treated like crap 24-7 for their trouble. I’d bet you couldn’t handle being in their shoes for a week.
Go turn in your Liberal card. The nice lady at the desk will be happy to issue you a nice Classist Snob card in its place.
this article made me smile in that i-know-exactly-what-she’s-talking-about kind of way. i, too, have considered “state assistance” and cringed. is that pride? snobbery? too-goodishness? i’m not sure but thanks for making me feel less like a bad person.
I don’t think there should be any shame in accepting help from the government (i.e. food stamps, etc). After all, you’re a taxpayer and you have all the right to take it if you’re eligible. However, I still think people who NEED it should be given priority.
Well, my husband and I signed up b/c looking for work makes us hungry! We were both laid off from the same company a few months ago and have run through our savings. Funny thing is, you only qualify for actual money aka TANF–temporary aid for needy families if you have children. Same goes for health insurance. I don’t think that’s widely known. Anyway, I think it’s sweet that your parents are still giving you money. Otherwise, you would have had to click \enter\ on that eligibility form.
When I was a kid, my family was either on food stamps or went to the food bank, I don’t remember which. My mother made me promise not to tell my grandmother. Now my sister and her fiance are on food stamps. They have worked hard and are just finishing their educations, he’s almost done with a computer programming degree and she just finished a Masters in Social Work. They are expecting their first child. All the social agencies in our city have hiring freezes and the few jobs that are available are going to people with no degree because it is cheaper to train them rather than pay someone already qualified. My sister is in the position of applying for benefits at the same placed she did internships and helped others file at a few months ago.
Wow, that is tough and scary. I hope she’s keeping her chin up.
yuppies you know what i dont see any of them giving money to the poor rather drive stinking taxicabs and waste there lives looking for boyfriends in bars boo hoo pride you developed it too much . with all your boastings now you degrade food stamps maybe if you stop eating organic foods eating sushi buy cloths from armani drive cars that you dont use pay rent 1000 a month maybe contribute to society then would be better you dont thats for sure
do me a favor dont even go on welfare many yuppies buy all this crap have nothing left then complain cause they have no gas and no cloths for you 40 dollar shoes isnt enough take trains instead of yellow taxis in manhattan
. you degrade non yuppies cause they try to get buy not even giving them a chance of opportunity