Which Corporations Profit from Food Stamps?(Big Banks and Corporations)

AllGov.com ^ | June 15, 2012 | Noel Brinkerhoff, Vicki Baker

[Son House]

In these tough economic times, millions of Americans have leaned heavily on food stamps. This government assistance program also has done well by some of the country’s biggest banks and corporations.

 

An investigation by the advocacy group Eat Drink Politics found banks and businesses have reaped multi-million-dollar contracts from the government to administer food stamp programs at the state level. Yet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), doesn’t make public how much profit the banks and other businesses earn by acting as government agents for the program.

 

One significant beneficiary of this contracting system is JPMorgan Chase, which has deals in 24 states to dispense SNAP benefits.

 

JPMorgan Chase’s seven-year contract to operate the aid program in New York garnered it more than $126 million, while its five-year deal with Florida brought in $83 million.

 

Walmart also has benefited from accepting SNAP benefits. In Oklahoma alone, the retailer received approximately $500 million in food stamp payments over a period of two years.

 

Other businesses with SNAP contracts include Xerox subsidiary Affiliated Computer Services ($69 million in California) and defense contractor Northrop Grumman, which operates food stamp programs in Illinois and Montana (totaling more than $38 million for the two states).

-Noel Brinkerhoff, Vicki Baker

 

Food Stamps: Follow the Money—Are Corporations Profiting from Hungry Americans? (by Michele Simon, Eat Drink Politics) (pdf)

Are Corporations and Big Banks Making a Windfall From Food Stamps? (by Christopher D. Cook and Michele Simon, AlterNet)

JPMorgan Profits When Food Stamp Use Increases (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

[Son House]

Just an interesting find as I am looking for the investment capitol as I don't buy the liquidity argument from Keynesian's. Big Government types just want to control the liquid, there is plenty of liquid in the economy.

I'm not sure what to make of this article, banks and business should earn profits, but "by acting as government agents for the program" make me wonder if the paper food coupon wasn't a better implementation.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The capitalism of America flows in and around even its welfare programs. In a way that’s good — capitalism helps to keep the costs within reason. Unfortunately it creates an incentive for the capitalist beneficiaries to lobby for the status quo.

[PieterCasparzen]

a) all of it ultimately is paid for by the taxpaying citizen.

b) of course businesses that are mindless, like large, publicly-held companies, simply see getting involved with government handouts as easy profit, never mind the long-term damage to the economy since it’s all coming from taxpayers and at the same time promoting sloth.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Well, back when it was proposed to give forty acres and a mule to all newly freed freedmen, nobody was complaining how unfair that the mule and real estate business was poised to make a killing. It fell through for other political reasons. Capitalism sells things to any purchaser that makes it worth its while, including nanny governments. Trying to remedy that on the capitalist end is a cure worse than the disease, an attempt to drive Satan out with more Satan.

[OldEarlGray]

[Capitalism sells things to any purchaser that makes it worth its while, including nanny governments]

It also buys things from the same.


Best RATs and RINOs money could buy.

[khelus]

Yup. we have the best government that global corporations can buy!

[OldEarlGray]

 

"Commerce between master and slave is despotism"
--Thomas Jefferson

 

from which...

 

"TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, [American] governments are instituted among men".
--Also, Thomas Jefferson & Co.

         

Each one FReep one... and Charlie Mike.

[mrsmith]

The profiteers from Food Stamps are numerous.
Every time you see a TV ad for a food product you’re seeing profits being made from Food Stamps.

This ‘study’ selects it’s villains for political purpose. It tells you nothing.

[Varsity Flight]

The crooked death roots of Vampire-Care, to wrap and CONCENTRATE it’s tentacles, around every American.

Phony-Care is the Government Work-Camp: Arbeitsziehungslager
Concentration.

[PieterCasparzen]

For what it’s worth :)

I move that welfare be eliminated completely, which will cut Federal spending by somewhere around $500 billion per year.

Anyone want to second the motion ?

[JoeFromSidney]

Keep in mind that one of the reasons for food stamps, and now the SNAP cards, is the high price of food. With price supports, the government keeps the price of food high. But then the poor can't buy food, and the farmers have unsold crops. So the government subsidizes food for the poor. The ultimate beneficiaries of food stamps are the farmers getting price supports. The combination of price supports and food stamps buys votes from both the farmers and the poor.

[khelus]

Great Quote and Graphics.

[FlyVet]

Corporations are just taking what's available to them. If one doesn't, another will. The only blame, IMO, goes to our corrupt and stupid gubmint. They're the enablers. They're the ones handing out our money.

It's the same thing with skyrocketing college and housing bubbles due to cheap, taxpayer-guaranteed loans. Go to the source. Blame the enabler.

As Sowell pointed out in this week's column, the pols love it when we don't pay attention. They love whipping us into an "us vs. them" frenzy. They enable the problem, then they point their fingers at the evil corporations.

They don't want you to notice that THEY are the real problem.

That's also why the Repubs and the Dems point fingers at each other. They don't want you to notice that BOTH sides are screwing us over, although the Dems are a little more, uh, promiscuous, shall we say.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Equal opportunity bribes

[HiTech RedNeck]

Someone on stamps today who had seen better years might beg to differ with the idea of being let down suddenly on his end of what he would see as a social contract: he paid more taxes during his prosperous years for the sake of the thing he now wants during his poverty stricken ones.

It’s like, is it wrong to accept a tip from the guy who has earlier burgled your house?