Friday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Capital One letting you use miles on takeout, delivery, and streaming. Also in the news: Coronavirus auto insurance refunds – how much to expect, how to school kids on money lessons during the outbreak, and how to check if you’re eligible for food stamps.

Capital One Letting You Use Miles on Takeout, Delivery, Streaming
New categories for reward redemption.

Coronavirus Auto Insurance Refunds: How Much to Expect
Why some insurers are giving money back.

How to School Kids on Money Lessons During the COVID-19 Outbreak

How to Check If You’re Eligible for Food Stamps
Getting assistance during this tough time.

Food stamps are the symptom, not the problem

eating breakfastThe conservative Wall Street Journal opinion page is not where you’d expect to see a piece headlined “In defense of food stamps.” Yet there it is, written by William A. Galston of the Brookings Institution.

Galston recounts the facts: that nearly half (47%) of the people on food stamps are children, that the typical income for families with children on food stamps is 57% of the poverty line (less than $11,000 for a family of three) and that 91% of food stamp benefits in dollar terms go to households living in poverty. Galston writes:

The large increase in the program’s cost over the past decade mostly reflects worsening economic conditions rather than looser eligibility standards, increased benefits, or more waste, fraud and abuse.

The only area where Galston concedes food stamp critics have a point is regarding relaxed requirements for able-bodied adults without children. He thinks those should be toughened up.

As for the argument that food stamps breed dependency? Galston disagrees:

The final complaint is the broadest: Food stamps are welfare, and welfare increases dependency. But the most rigorous research (summarized in a 2011 NBER paper, “An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Anti-Poverty Programs in the United States”) has found SNAP’s effects on work effort to be “small,” “statistically insignificant,” or “zero.”

What will get people off food stamps, he writes, is an improved economy. Now there’s a thought: Congress could focus on ways to help businesses generate jobs, rather than on beating up those who have lost them.

Help your local food bank

eating breakfastFood stamp benefits to 47 million people were cut Nov. 1–and further cuts may lie ahead.

Food banks already depleted by the lousy economy are now bracing for an influx of new patrons. So if you’re not among the one in seven Americans currently receiving food stamps, please consider a donation to your local food bank to help meet this growing need.

The best donation is cash (or checks, or payment by credit card). Food banks have relationships with food makers and distributors that allow them to get much better deals on bulk purchases than what you can get at the retail level. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which my family supports with a monthly donation, can provide four meals for every $1 donated.

If what you can offer is food, though, or your skills in organizing a food drive–that’s good, too.

You can find your local food bank through the Feeding America site.

Helping an indigent parent navigate “the system”

Dear Liz: Our mother just turned 64, and our father is divorcing her. She hasn’t worked in years because of significant physical and mental health issues. My sister and I have been trying to figure out how she’s going to survive on $750 a month, which is the equivalent of half his Social Security. She has always had serious issues with money management, which is why there are no retirement savings or a house. We are now about to embark on the maze of social service benefits that an older woman below the poverty line can receive, partly so we can decide whether she’s better off staying put where she is in Arkansas, moving to my sister’s in Texas, moving to be near me in Maryland, or moving to her childhood home of Chicago, where most of her friends are. For a lot of complicated reasons (mostly related to the mental health issues), we are trying to avoid having her live with either of us full time, and she expresses no desire to do so. So we have to figure out the ins and outs of Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized senior housing and anything else in four different states and then try to explain it to her. If you have any hints about helping an indigent and somewhat incapacitated mother access services, we would love to hear them. We feel a little overwhelmed at the moment and aren’t even sure whom to call in each place.

Answer: It’s understandable that you feel overwhelmed. You have a huge task in front of you.

You can start with the Eldercare Locator, a free service offered by the U.S. Administration on Aging that can connect you to services for older adults and their families. You’ll find it at http://www.eldercare.gov, or you can call (800) 677-1116.

Another resource you might want to consider is a geriatric care manager. These are professionals who help family members care for elderly relatives. The care manager can evaluate your mom, review her options and make recommendations. Their services aren’t cheap, but they can be especially helpful in managing a long-distance situation. You can find referrals at the National Assn. of Geriatric Care Managers’ site, http://www.caregiver.org. And speaking of distance: It might be easier to help your mom if she lives closer to one of you, or to a trustworthy friend who can check in on her and let you know how things are going.

You also should check with an Arkansas family law attorney, since your mother may be eligible for some kind of spousal support and possibly a property division that could help her financially.

Finally, if your father dies before your mother, she still will be eligible for survivor benefits that could bump her Social Security check up to 100% of what your father was receiving. Many people don’t realize that ex-spouses can qualify for survivors’ benefits as long as the marriage lasted 10 years and the person applying for benefits didn’t remarry until after age 60.