Veterans’ unemployment outpaces civilian rate, By Michael A. Fletcher, October 16, 2011, Washington Post: “As soon as Brian Joseph graduated from high school he joined the Army, where he was trained in a series of jobs that seem to exist only in the military. He was a multi-channel radio operator. Then he worked as a single-channel radio operator. Later, he worked as a psychological operations specialist, tailoring the U.S. war message to residents of Kosovo and, later, Iraq. But since leaving the Army in 2008, Joseph has found that the rigorous training he gained during 18 years of military service means little to civilian employers…”
Tag: Military service
Medicaid and Military Veterans
States save by moving vets from Medicaid’s rolls to VA’s, By Pamela M. Prah, July 18, 2011, Stateline.org: “A growing number of states are shifting health care costs to the federal government by finding military veterans who receive Medicaid and signing them up for medical benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Arizona, California and Texas are among the states that are working to replicate a program first launched in Washington State. That program, begun in 2003, has moved some 9,500 veterans from the state’s Medicaid rolls to the VA’s. Washington State has avoided paying $27 million in health care bills this way – enough to make a small dent in a strained state budget. And veterans generally find that the benefits offered through the VA are more generous that what they were getting through the state…”
Food Stamp Expenditures – Oklahoma
- Food stamps equal big money, By Ginnie Graham and Gavin Off, April 24, 2011, Tulsa World: “Retail smokeshops, convenience stores, substance abuse rehabilitation centers and take-and-bake pizza shops across the state received millions in food stamp purchases during a nearly two-year period examined by the Tulsa World. But much of the nearly $1.2 billion in food stamp expenditures went to Walmart stores, which brought in about $506 million between July 2009 and March 2011, according to data supplied by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. And though recipients might live within a mile of a store that accepts food stamps, most recipients travel more than 10 miles for the bulk of the food-stamp spending, according to the World’s analysis…”
- Food stamps a patch, not a panacea, By Ginnie Graham and Gavin Off, April 25, 2011, Tulsa World: “Wilford Case tries to be conservative with his monthly $90 in food stamps. He knows which store knocks down meat prices mid-month, what grocer has longer-lasting produce and once in awhile he’ll find an unexpected sale at a retailer farther from his home. ‘It helps me survive,’ Case said. ‘I don’t need much because it’s just me. I don’t have 19 kids or anything. I have to put a little money in to get dishwashing soap and things like that.’ But bargain shopping is tough because Case does not drive. He is on Social Security disability income because of epileptic seizures and relies on family members, neighbors and friends for rides. He offers money to the driver to help with rising gas prices…”
- Military commissaries see spike in food stamp usage, By Ginnie Graham and Gavin Off, April 24, 2011, Tulsa World: “Oklahoma military base commissaries received nearly $1.8 million in food stamp purchases during a nearly two-year period of state data examined by the Tulsa World. The World examined food stamp data provided by the Department of Human Services covering the period from July 2009 to March 2011. During that time, the average monthly purchases in food stamps, called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, at the base commissaries grew by about 187 percent. Commissaries are available on base to active and retired military personnel and their families and offer grocery items usually lower in cost than at retail stores. The Fort Sill Army base in Lawton posted about $1.1 million in sales using food stamps, followed by about $625,000 at Tinker Air Force base in Midwest City, about $110,000 at Altus Air Force Base and about $5,000 at Vance Air Force Base in Enid. The growth in the monthly averages spent on food stamps has skyrocketed…”