Ways to Receive Government Assistance if You Need It

• Author: Chris Remington
• Posted: 2024-07-10

Despite what the mainstream corporate media has to say about the economy, and regardless of how often the current administration pats itself on the back during sporadic speeches, the fact is that you have to live in the country. The average American knows just how bad things are. Fuel is not only more expensive than it's ever been in history; it's about 80% more expensive than it's ever been. Food costs are at an all-time high so astronomical that America sets a new nationwide record every single month for the amount of people on SNAP benefits and the number of people relying on food banks and charities. Yes, the economy is in dire straits, and this is only getting worse for people as the cold-weather season is finally here and bringing with it freezing winter storms. Millions of people who already had trouble paying their bills now can't even get to work, so are going even deeper into financial ruin. Government assistance programs are supposed to be there as a safety net, but they're drying up too.

People need help, and that is supposed to be one thing that the government does for you. On paper, at least, the government is supposed to help you before it helps foreign nations, before it bothers taxing you, and before it imposes any laws on you. You hear the word "democracy" thrown around a lot these days, but what democracy means is that elective representatives work for you. What democracy means when the media says is that the government rules over you, and the majority of people want it that way. Do they? No, of course not; people want freedom and they want to not suffer. This is why it's vital that you seek out government assistance programs if you need them. It's your money, to be clear, not the government's. If you need it, you are entitled to it, and you should be able to get it.

There are some ways that you can get government assistance today, even with so many of their programs drying up.

The first big program is SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. This is the one solid program that the federal government has, and it's operated by the Food and Drug Administration, with funding from the federal government that it gives to states. This is likely your best bet if you need any type of assistance. SNAP has a great track record of accepting people, especially in emergency situations, as long as they don't earn too much money.

Ask your local government about home assistance. These home assistance programs are generally designed to help first-time home-buyers and low-income families afford down payments. However, in times of emergency, like winter storms, this money can be used to help you pay heating bills and to cover other costs. This is why you may not find some specific website about it, but you can contact the government in your state and speak directly to them about your options here.

Also, ask about discounted services programs. There are many nationwide programs like Lifeline, which dramatically cuts the prices of Internet and phone usage, and other utility programs that do the same. These programs weren't necessarily designed to foot the entire bill for your utility and Internet, but they do slash it and reduce the costs significantly. If you're saving some money on these bills, it becomes money you can allocate elsewhere.
 

Some Programs Are More Accepting Than Others

It's really sad that so many of America's assistance programs are drying up. Most believe that this is due to the fact that America has officially joined the "global" alliance and now offers more money to foreign nations than to its own citizens. This isn't a partisan point being made; you can look up the numbers for yourself and find that more money has been spent on Ukraine in the past four months than has been put into any of the government assistance programs created to help Americans. The same holds true with Social Security. More money from that program has been spent relocating and housing illegal immigrants than has been spent on Americans, especially homeless Americans who get nothing at all.

There are still some scraps out there, and some ways to use assistance programs to your advantage. Do not hesitate to do so. After all, the government doesn't make a product; the money it prints and spends is quite literally your money.