Posted on 01/09/2012 8:36:16 AM PST by shoff
I went to the local CVS pharmacy and after having to negotiate around someone parking in the fire zone (make-up emergency?) While I was waiting in line some scruffy guy was buying one candy bar with an EBT card and wanted the change after using twenty dollars in benefits from the card. The girl checked if this was OK from another cashier and they said it was. After I made my purchase I was in time to see the scruffy guy jump into the illegally parked car and head to the supermarket with I guess eighteen dollars to buy beer for himself and his friend. Can you really use EBT or food stamps this way? Can you make a minimum purchase and pocket the change?
My daughter is a licensed social worker. I will ask her when she gets home tonight. But the guy’s parking habits already spoke volumes about his entitlement mentality.
You can receive cash benefits on the same card as Food Stamps. EBT= Electronic BENEFITS card. Food Stamps=SNAP. There’s also TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), day care reimbursement, and also general welfare. It’s possible that child support may be on the card you saw depending on the state (but I’m not sure about that).
As far as I know, you cannot get anything from the SNAP portion of and EBT card, but you can from the other dispersals on the card. hope that helps.
To not allow this would be racist.
That surprises me because in this area they are offering to buy groceries for others at half price to get the cash. I don’t think they would do that if they can just buy a candy bar or something and get the change, they would come out a lot better that way than half price.
Don’t know for sure but I believe EBT cards are used with both food stamps and cash assistance. So if it is coming out of a person’s cash assistance funds, he should be able to take out cash just as you would with a debit card. For the cash there’d be no rule about what he can purchase.
And may I respectfully suggest that you write your representatives and perhaps run for office yourself, in order to do something about this sort of thing if it distresses you so much. (Did you actually follow him to confirm he was buying beer?)
Nice to know that my taxes pay for some skell to buy a candy bar with food stamps.
Speaking of CVS, the one near me only has muslims working there. All of the women wear head coverings and barely speak English. The employees certainly do not represent the residents in the town.
Anyone else notice this?
Well, Hell. I guess I’m a racist then. I have a policy that I follow when getting in line to check out at a grocery or other store. I never place myself in line behind someone I suspect will pay with an EBT card. Very often the EBT card will be almost depleted and rejected and a lengthy discussion concerning “what to do” will ensue. One day I became so aggravated that I simply pulled a twenty from my wallet and paid for the items in question. The woman was disgustingly effusive in thanking me and I just chose to ignore her.
We can't allow the humiliation of potheads at checkout stands here by refusing them cash change from EBT purchases.
It's another great feature in our enlightened Dope For Kids "medical" marijuana state.
But the story in the OP just makes me laugh. It is why our government is going down from a thousand cuts. This is just one of them.
Think of our governments budget as a bucket that needs to hold water. This sort of thing is like a pin-hole in the bucket. That's ok because water is being poured in at a pretty strong rate. Now add the other entitlements, the pork programs, the bail outs.
This is what our bucket now looks like, and why we are not long for this world:
You are right. There is cash assistance, although it’s not available to all EBT recipients. I only know this because I have an acquaintance who suffered many financial losses last year and had to sign up for SNAP temporarily.
I was educated on this just last Friday at my local Winco. Went to swipe my card, and noticed that the screen said ‘EBT Card’ and also ‘EBT Cash’. I looked at the checker and said EBT CASH? What is that? She said it’s for people on assistance to get cash so they can pay bills, etc., and then said but we can’t knowingly sell them alcohol or tobacco. I just looked at her disgustedly and said ‘What’s stopping them from going across the street to Fred Meyer and buying it? I work my ASS off and this just PISSES me off!’ She then just kind of looked at me knowingly and said ‘I’m not allowed to comment on it.’ I told her I knew that, but it didn’t mean I COULDN’T, and I let her know it. Must be hard to be a checker and not be able to say anything! Also makes want to just give up sometimes and sign up for everything I can, but I couldn’t live with myself if I did! AARRGGHH!!
Some states have a limit in the amount of cash back.
A person cannot get cash back from the Food Stamp benefits of the EBT card. And it won’t actually work, electronically, on the registers, so it just won’t happen.
BUT some people get some cash benefits (part of another program) which is also loaded onto the same card (so it contain food stamp benefits and cash benefits - from two different programs). So, someone can use their cash benefits any way they want to.
That’s what you see happening ... the guy got the cash benefits from the program that loaded that cash on that same card.
If something is rung up under Food Stamps, though - you’ll never be able to get even one penny back in cash ... no matter how hard you try.
A guy I know works at Albertson’s. He said they’ll load up on beef, turn right around and return it for cash and the store allows it.
Crap like this should bother ANYONE who works for a living and pays taxes.
It is a real problem with the lazy entitlement crowd, they are forcing people like me out of the system to Galts Gulch, to top it off I almost crashed my Truck this morning screaming at the Radio when a commercial came on from the IRS, begging people and encouraging people to sign up for their EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT and that they could get up to $5700 dollars even If They NEVER WORKED A DAY IN THEIR LIFE from Honest Hard Working Taxpayers who earn more than the poverty level. Goto IRS.Gov was at the end, now excuse me while I throw up.
In my State, there was a (what else is new) scandal of EBT cards being used at Indian Casinos & card rooms. Folks just have different ideas about the necessities of life.
A word of Doom&Gloom:> There will be an economic collapse within a few years. The governments are spending more money than they bring in & the debts incurred are so big they can't be paid back. Raising Taxes will not solve the problem. There are NOT enough jobs right now. + A lot of people don't want to work or can't really work.
"Earned income" sounds to me like they need to have worked a day in their life. Are you sure you heard correctly?
I'd sooner take a wire brush to my a$$ than accomodate these leeches. They are nothing more than slugs leeching off the real Americans in this country, the ones that actually pay taxes.
If it were me, I'd look at the predicament, smile, and if asked about helping, I'd say "I already have; the government stole my money to give you what you've wasted already and now need more of".....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.