All good points, but who does those tasks when they go job hunting, and what do they use for transportation? I don't know what the State pays in food stamps, but surely they would not be expected to work more than one or two days a week, at most, and it's possible they could learn some skills that would help them in their job search.
Think it through. Put yourself in that position. Then YOU tell ME the difference.
Okay, I'll tell you. The difference in job hunting and working for food stamps is that with job hunting, there's an expectation that you'll get a job with income. It also isn't a regular thing....going to and from every day. You also have some control over when and where you go (on the bus line, for example). And when you're working for food stamps, you will not be able to look for a job, making it all the harder to find one.
It IS possible they could learn some skills to help with a job search, but let's be frank. They're going to be picking up trash on the road, or stuffing envelopes, or some really low level thing that will not interfere with some organization's regular duties and staff. That's my guess, anyway.
And what about the need for food right away? Do you have to eat crackers for 2 or 3 weeks while you wait to get entered in that work system? Do you need to go for a physical, too, first?
I predict this will be a failure and will cause some suffering in the meantime. I understand the concept, and on some level it makes sense. But it's not like you or me volunteering. These are people who can't even buy food.
I know some of these things because I have a sister who went through this years back. It was her fault, for sure. But once someone screws up and then tries to turn things around, they are still in quite a pickle for a while. She enrolled in Medicaid or something. Part of that program was that they offered a computer skills class, staffed by volunteers. (Or maybe it was a food stamp program; I forget). She had a degree and office and computer skills, but she was way outdated, what with how fast things change. So she went there (with what little gas she had) to brush up on her skills, only to find out that they charge $10 for the class. She left because she didn't have $10. And she had lost the gas it took to go there. (I guess she couldn't call?) There wasn't time for me to send $10 to her. The way it is for people down on their luck is that they feel beaten down, they are depressed, they don't have the positive energy that others do. Any little thing in their path can knock them down. It's hard to interview time after time and be rejected. She called me once after being rejected for a job again; she lost out to cheap immigrants. She had a degree and was applying for jobs like sausage stuffer or whatever. When I spoke to her, her voice was very low and quivering. She just said she didn't get the job. "They don't want me. No one wants me." After that, it's hard to go out and interview again, dress nicely, put on a smile, and basically beg for a job you know you're not going to get.
Logistics matter to people at the bottom. $5 worth of gas money means a lot.
BUT, in a way, the work for food program might help in getting people to feel productive again. Be around other people in a social setting, all working toward the same goal. An unemployed person might actually feel more useful. It might help his confidence. IF they can swing the logistics.
(Note: I'm not talking about the frauds. There are always frauds. There are druggies and deadbeats getting food stamps.)
