Government Programs and Transfer Payments

The Smith family recently moved from Michigan to Ohio in search of a job for Mr. Smith. Money is tight. The move was expensive. The Smiths had to find an apartment, pay the first and last month’s rent, and pay the security deposit.They have very little money left over for food, and it seems that this could be a problem that will last for a while.

• Social Security
• Head Start
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as“food stamps”)
• Medicaid

Leah has three children, and she can’t find work. She already receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and she receives food stamps. However, her youngest daughter needs to get her vaccinations, and those programs do not help with the doctor bills.

• Social Security
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• SNAP (Food Stamps)

John and Mary are young parents. John is 22 and Mary is 21, and they have three children ages 1, 2, and 3. The 3-year-old child does not speak yet. John and Mary are afraid that their own lack of education may be a disadvantage to their children and that each of their children could benefit from starting an early-education program.

• Head Start
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Social Security

Sam and Elyze have three children, 1-year-old twins and a 3-year-old. Neither Sam nor Elyze has been able to get more than a minimum-wage job and, at the moment, neither one is working. They have contacted their state’s aid office and have been told that they are eligible for cash payments to get them through this rough time. However, as a requirement of the program, they will both have to commit to a job-training program. That’s all right with them!

• SNAP (Food Stamps)
• Social Security
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Medicaid

Carmen and Jasmine are twin sisters getting ready to go to college. Next year they will be living in a dorm with many other girls. They are about as happy and excited as they could possibly be. However, 10 years ago they weren’t certain they would ever be happy again. That’s when their dad died in a car accident. Their mom couldn’t afford the house payment, so on top of the sadness they were terribly worried that they would have to move. Fortunately, there was a government benefit that each of them was eligible to receive. They were able to stay in their home.

• Social Security
• Medicare
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
• SNAP (Food Stamps)

Mr. Rocko is retiring soon, so his regular paycheck from the company where he works will stop coming soon. He will, however, begin to receive some income from the government.

• Social Security
• SNAP (Food Stamps)
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
• Head Start

Mrs. Jackson is a widow with four children. She works, but her wages are so low she earns only about one-third of what most people in her city earn. She lives in a run-down,two-bedroom apartment but was recently told she’d have to move. Her landlord has not been making payments on the property, and it is being foreclosed. As shabby as the apartment is, it is cheap, and Mrs. Jackson can’t find anyplace else that she can afford. She is afraid she will have to move her family to a homeless shelter.

• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
• Head Start
• Medicaid
• Low-Income Housing

Bob was recently laid off from his job as a construction worker for the winter. He has tried to obtain employment for the winter months but has been unable to do so thus far. He is worried he will get behind on his bills.

• Unemployment
• Social Security
• Medicare
• SNAP (Food Stamps)