I think that many complainants are missing the point about regulatory changes currently being considered to the food stamp program. I am not a legislator; however, I have real concerns about the food stamp and Medicaid programs, too. My husband and I raised five daughters. We both worked and fortunately had health and dental insurance for our family, but there were co-pays and deductibles, and household bills, bills, bills. We had to make choices about what we could afford to have and still get our bills paid. We skipped costly snacks, brand name groceries and clothes, did not go to the doctor (never the ER) at the drop of a hat, and some of our girls really needed braces, but we could not afford the payments. We bought no tattoos or false fingernails, and my kids had to live through less-than-stylish home-made haircuts. Our means were limited, and we lived judiciously.

I (and other working poor) want no less from the subsidized poor. I do not want anyone to go hungry. I do not want to pay taxes that subsidize things that my family and I (and other working poor) have done without to make ends meet. Oh, by the way, I have survived leukemia and chemotherapy and am personally acquainted with being uninsured.

Claudia Bailey

Pittston

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