[hubtree]

These comments are pretty depressing. How many of you have ever used those government services? You are paying for them you know. This article should be encouraging. It worked. They payed in, they needed the help and got it, and now they are back on their feet.

[shawnb576]

Thank you. No kidding. I grew up on food stamps, and I remind myself that when I realize I'm now well into the 1%. This shit matters and most of the people on these programs aren't on them just so they can be lazy, they're on them because they have limited options.

The glibness of the comments here really rubs me the wrong way. A lot of software people - you know, arguably the MOST employable people on the planet - have no hesitation tut-tuting about what The Poors should do while pushing buttons in a comfy chair in an AC office with the knowledge that if anything were to happen, they'd be OK.

News flash, being poor SUCKS, and it means you work your ass of just to get by every day, always in constant fear of the next unexpected event - your car breaks down or you get sick, then you miss a day of work, then you get fired, then you can't find another job, then you're homeless.

It's almost like a bunch of you ready the article and missed the point.

[xrange]

>It's almost like a bunch of you read the article and missed the point.

What is the point of the article? I mean besides the we-can-sell-ads-ginning-up-outrage-(which-may-or-maynot-be-misplaced). I'd like to see a "The Last Psychiatrist" like take on it:

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/11/hipsters_on_food_stam...

[bradleysmith]

great read, appreciate you sharing it. A lot of the same mental grapplings as the OP, but with more insight into motivations.

[alexeisadeski3]

What's "glib" about replacing food stamps with cash?