Posted on 04/15/2012 8:25:42 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Several days after state Rep. Russell E. Holmes (D-Boston) pleaded for EBT card reform at a State House press conference last week, he was hit with another reminder of the deep flaws in the system.
Holmes was at the Roxbury Stop & Shop by Grove Hall last Sunday when someone approached him asking if he wanted to buy the man’s EBT card.
“His price was 50 cents on the dollar,” Holmes said. “It’s not a surprise to me.”
Holmes has spent the last few months on an EBT card commission trying to reform the system.
“It’s something that’s prevalent,” Holmes said. “It was ironic that in a week where I had gotten a significant amount of pushback from advocates, saying not much of this is happening, I’m at a store less than 15 minutes and see someone asking many people if they want to buy food stamps and use their EBT card.”
Holmes said he was encouraged to see so many others turn the man down.
“I think that’s exactly what I’ve heard from the community,” Holmes said. “Many of us are frustrated by the amount of abuse happening with the card.”
Holmes is taking a strong stand against EBT card abuse, calling for efforts to add photos to the cards and tighter restrictions on where the cards can be used.
“What we’re most concerned about is folks being able to use the cash to do the worst things in our community — to buy more drugs, more alcohol, to gamble,” he said. “These are the things that hurt our community the most.”
“Wonder what he thinks of voter ID laws?”
Doesn’t really matter. If he stays on this line of questioning EBT card abuse, he’s toast with what passes for a political base. Next election comes around he’ll be leaving the fraternal snakepit under the golden dome on Beacon Hill, some other viper will replace him.
They’ve reformed EBT cards here in NC.
Changed the name to ‘SNAP’ card.
Flooding the air waves with ads to ‘Come get your SNAP card’.
The only reform that would make a dent is a multi-pronged approach ;
1) Special stores that accept only EBT and cash. Have the grocery chains in each area bid to run these on a store by store basis. They’d only be allowed to stock produce, meat, dairy, generic/low-priced canned goods and staples. No premium meats, seafood, or other food items. No wine, beer, liquor or cigarettes.
2) Photo ID required with EBT card.
3) Clawback unused EBT funds each month. Use it or lose it.
Stealing meat and reselling is amazingly common in Cincinnati,as is stealing to order and EBT fraud.
The black community chooses to tolerates this behavior and then complains of store closings.
In the suburbs white drug users continue to drive downtown to their sidewalk salesmen for their fix.
And further out the meth-heads are busy cooking batches and stealing anything they can pick up or pry loose.
This nation needs leaders in all places who will condemn,rather than enable and enoble, bad behavior.
Photo ID
Daily purchase limits
Reduced funding overall
Required to attend job training
Length of time on assistance limited
Card user must attend basic nutrition and home economic class
By the way,I once saw a girl using a EBT buying canned salmon for her pet cats because pet food is not approved;the other thing to note is that the salmon was actually CHEAPER for ounce than the canned cat food!And likely healthier for the cats ,as well.
The entire welfare/EBT/Section 8 program is wrong-headed;the programs SHOULD be designed to help and encourage people to qualify ,find, and keep a useful,productive job, either self-employed or for hire.
The programs are actually set up to keep people dependent so the bureaucrats have high-paid jobs.Nevermind that those programs actually destroy the family and self-respect.
HEROIN DEALER ALLEGEDLY POSTS BAIL WITH HIS EBT CARD
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/heroin-dealer-allegedly-posts-bail-with-his-ebt-card/
Photo ID
Daily purchase limits
Reduced funding overall
Required to attend job training
Length of time on assistance limited
Card user must attend basic nutrition and home economic class
By the way,I once saw a girl using a EBT buying canned salmon for her pet cats because pet food is not approved;the other thing to note is that the salmon was actually CHEAPER for ounce than the canned cat food!And likely healthier for the cats ,as well.
The entire welfare/EBT/Section 8 program is wrong-headed;the programs SHOULD be designed to help and encourage people to qualify ,find, and keep a useful,productive job, either self-employed or for hire.
The programs are actually set up to keep people dependent so the bureaucrats have high-paid jobs.Nevermind that those programs actually destroy the family and self-respect.
I’m sort of in exurbia verging upon rural and the behavior started turning up here over a year ago. Copper thieves stripping vacant houses continues to be a problem along and near through routes connecting to any of the three cities in this midsized metro area.
Buses from those cities show up at church food banks, very brazen well dressed people. What are you going to do, turn them away and be featured on the evening news branded racist?
The local Dollar General was robbed at gunpoint this week, an unheard of thing. Masked urban youths, reportedly. The poor lady behind the register was still visibly shaken by it days later, said she never expected that out on a little podunk road in a town with one stoplight.
I’m starting to think I don’t live far enough out.
Use it or lose it only results in people spending more than they need. I've seen the behavior in the Army.
The item I find missing here is where the guy gets arrested for fraud.
There was recent article about how Tide laundry detergent is among the most commonly stolen items from retail outlets because it's used by so many the thieves can always find buyers for it. I'd bet it might be a common item for purchase with an EBT card for quick resale, also.
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