# If I wanted to go on welfare.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978 "2011-05-24T03:26:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978/21 "2011-05-27T15:05:20Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > So like Alaska? Only it’s not welfare there - any citizen gets a check from the oil, right? So if you want to live a slacker, move to Alaska! If the check isn’t enough, you can hunt your own moose or something. Except that the cost of living up there is very high. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978/22 "2011-05-27T16:09:35Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > How about New York State? I’ve heard they are pretty generous?.. How about if you are kicked out of your living arrangement and need someplace to live? Would they help you with rent?.. Section 8 is closed right now in New York. You could go to a shelter, or try to connect up with a not-for-profit (ie, charity) that can help you out. New York City offers income-based subsidized housing for people with low income but it’s on a [lottery system](http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/apartment/lotteries.shtml) because there is much more need than availability (and, you would still be expected to pay about $500/mo for a studio on income of $28,000/yr, or $800 for a 1BR). > [@](#): > > And what if you WANT to work and you can’t get a job, or you get a job that pays peanuts and you just can’t get by? Then you are “working poor.” Welcome to a lot of people’s real lives. If you’re curious, you can screen a hypothetical New York City-residing you for eligibility for benefits [here](https://a858-ihss.nyc.gov/ihss1/en_US/IHSS_S094_ScreeningHomePagePage.do) A single person, renting, living alone, no dependents, not disabled, not pregnant and not a veteran. I make $12,000 yr (gross). I am eligible for: food assistance Emergency heating assistance in the winter (so they don’t shut off my utilities) Job search assistance Public health insurance [Healthy NY](http://www.ins.state.ny.us/website2/hny/english/hnyeci.htm) at a minimum of $280/mo I am eligible for Section 8, but as noted it is closed. I am NOT eligible for a current Housing Lottery, because my income is too low. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978/23 "2011-05-27T16:57:20Z")
Does being college-educated have any effect on how much welfare a person is eligible for? Also, it seems advantageous, from the perspective of collecting welfare, to not be able-bodied. What’s the least uncomfortable disability that someone could intentionally acquire for the sake of collecting welfare? ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978/24 "2011-05-27T17:29:46Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What kind of welfare? > > If you’re not able bodied, you might be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or **Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI**), and for state disability benefits in a very few states. Do all of us on Social Security Disability a favor and DO NOT call it WELFARE. I worked for 20 years before I broke my back on the job. I PAID INTO THE SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN for each of those twenty years. When I became disabled I COLLECTED my Social Security Disability Benifit that I paid for, much like an insurance policy. I don’t mean to get so sensitive about it, but I don’t sit at home leeching off of the taxpayers, I paid my share and unfortunately got to collect it. I would trade with anyone and take their job, but I have to stay at home everyday most of the time not getting off the couch because a high dose of morphine to control the chronic pain does that. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978/25 "2011-05-27T17:50:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What kind of welfare? The Clinton-era retrenchments mean you’re not getting much of anything unless you’ve got kids. > > As an able-bodied childless adult, you’d generally be eligible for food stamps, and perhaps for unemployment benefits and Medicaid. > > If you’re not able bodied, you might be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and for state disability benefits in a very few states. Not medicaid. I know, - I looked into it. You need to have children, be over 65, blind or disabled. Even if you’re dropping tumors. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978/26 "2011-05-27T18:03:16Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > My state once had the distinction (and heck, maybe it still does) of being a welfare haven because its benefits were much more generous than other states’. ::checks Kiz’s profile:: I knew it. 😃 Can men without children get welfare (specifically TANF)? I was under the impression that it was nearly impossible for childless people to qualify. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-wanted-to-go-on-welfare/582978.md?page=1)