--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Discrimination in public benefits is also…" description: "\"Discrimination in public benefits is also perfectly legal. Under federal law, people convicted of drug felonies are deemed ineligible even for food sta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/michelle-alexander-750_benefits_discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-als_2536629.png" --- # Discrimination in public benefits is also perfectly legal… ![“Discrimination in public benefits is also perfectly legal. Under federal law, people convicted of drug felonies are deemed ineligible even for food stamps.” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/michelle-alexander-750_benefits_discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-als_2536629.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/michelle-alexander-750_benefits_discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-als_2536629.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/michelle-alexander-750_benefits_discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-als_2536629.png) > “Discrimination in public benefits is also perfectly legal. Under federal law, people convicted of drug felonies are deemed ineligible even for food stamps.” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The law permits denying public aid to people with drug felony convictions, showing systemic bias. **In simple terms:** Legal rules can exclude drug felons from benefits. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge discriminatory policies. Themes justice public policy inequality Mood critical concerned Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - advocacy - legal reform - community support - policy analysis Key Concepts systemic racism criminal justice welfare policy Questions to Reflect On - How can laws be reformed to protect vulnerable groups? - What role does public opinion play in policy change? A Different Perspective Legal exclusions may conflict with constitutional rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamps/) ## Related quotes > [What are people released from prison expected to do? How are they expected to survive? Can't get a job, locked out of housing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/what-are-people-released-from-prison-expected-to-do-how-are-they/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Once you're labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination - employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/once-you-re-labeled-a-felon-the-old-forms-of-discrimination/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“The collective benefits of higher education will not be asserted unless the public can be engaged in defining them. A student’s future returns on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-condliffe-lagemann/the-collective-benefits-of-higher-education-will-not-be-asserted/) Ellen Condliffe Lagemann > [Immigrants contribute more than they take. It is a lie that they take public benefits, because they don't qualify for just about every benefit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/immigrants-contribute-more-than-they-take-it-is-a-lie-that-they-take/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [The responsible use of earmarks can have public benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/the-responsible-use-of-earmarks-can-have-public-benefits/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [Indicate which principles you support regarding affirmative action and discrimination. 1. The federal government should discontinue affirmative action programs. 2. The federal government should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/indicate-which-principles-you-support-regarding-affirmative-action/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [All provisions of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting discrimination in public education must yield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-warren/all-provisions-of-federal-state-or-local-law-requiring-or-permitting/) [Earl Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-warren/) > [Racial discrimination in public education is unconstitutional…All provisions of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting such discrimination must yield to this principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-warren/racial-discrimination-in-public-education-is-unconstitutional-all/) [Earl Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-warren/) > [I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anybody help me out? No. No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-t-nelson/i-ve-been-on-food-stamps-and-welfare-did-anybody-help-me-out-no-no/) [Craig T. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-t-nelson/) > [Well, we lost a lot of our independence already. We are dependent on China for credit. We are dependent on Middle Eastern countries for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/well-we-lost-a-lot-of-our-independence-already-we-are-dependent-on/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [Hunger is a political issue, and there are several things politically that are keeping people hungry - not funding food stamps adequately, not funding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/hunger-is-a-political-issue-and-there-are-several-things-politically/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [Stewardesses are still paid so little that in many cases, new hires qualify for food stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-ireland/stewardesses-are-still-paid-so-little-that-in-many-cases-new-hires/) [Patricia Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-ireland/) > [Those of us in the Congress must confront and overcome Republican intransigence to increasing the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance and protecting food stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/those-of-us-in-the-congress-must-confront-and-overcome-republican/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) > [We have to convince people that the handouts – just taking a few little handouts, where you have a subsistent living, where you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-guillory/we-have-to-convince-people-that-the-handouts-just-taking-a-few-little/) [Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Benefits quotes > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-think-of-education-as-the-means-of-developing-our-greatest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in me being called a racist. That issue related to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/i-won-the-seat-of-oxley-largely-on-an-issue-that-has-resulted-in-me/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) Browse all 3,616 Benefits quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Discrimination in public benefits is also perfectly legal. Under federal law, people convicted of drug felonies are deemed ineligible even for food stamps.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-also-perfectly-legal-under/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benefits" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-also-perfectly-legal-under/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/michelle-alexander-750_benefits_discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-als_2536629.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/michelle-alexander-750_benefits_discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-als_2536629.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a5/michelle-alexander-750_benefits_discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-als_2536629.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Discrimination in public benefits is also perfectly legal. Under federal law, people convicted of drug…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michelle Alexander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Discrimination in public benefits is also...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-also-perfectly-legal-under/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/discrimination-in-public-benefits-is-also-perfectly-legal-under/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```