Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Walmart Says Food Stamp Shopping Spree Was 'Right Choice' (They're stuck w/the bill)
ABC News ^ | October 15, 2013 | Susanna Kim

Posted on 10/15/2013 9:10:00 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

Walmart has no regrets about allowing a wild shopping spree at two of its Louisiana stores when an electronic glitch lifted the spending caps on the cards of food stamp recipients.

"We know we made the right choice," Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg told ABCNews.com today.

The chain has no regrets even though Louisiana's Department of Children and Family Services said food stamp recipients should have been limited to $50 each during the emergency and that Walmart will have to pay the difference.

Lundberg declined to comment about how much the company may have lost or why it did not follow the emergency $50 limit.

Another Walmart spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said, "Our focus was to continue serving our customers." Food stamp recipients jammed into Walmarts in Mansfield and Springhill Saturday when word of the glitch spread.

Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd said some customers were buying eight to ten grocery carts full of food.

The store in Mansfield temporarily closed because of overcrowding and Mansfield Chief of Police Gary Hobbs said some shoppers left with up to eight carts of food and then went back for more....

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: foodstamps; fraud; louisiana; walmart
Support Free Republic

Help End FReepathons by Donating Monthly!
Generous FReeper Sponsors are donating $10 for every New Monthly Donor!
Please Sign Up today!

Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-5051-81 next last

1 posted on 10/15/2013 9:10:00 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Might have saved a loot and burn - at least now they’ve still got a store.


2 posted on 10/15/2013 9:13:15 PM PDT by bigbob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

They make me sick.


3 posted on 10/15/2013 9:13:24 PM PDT by Post5203 (Please name me a sucessful city or country run by a "person of color".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

How hard would it be to limit EBT purchases to $50.00 for a short period of time? That would allow those who needed food to get some, and then come back in a few days.

There’s something that really ribs me wrong about surrendering to the parasite class.


4 posted on 10/15/2013 9:13:35 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (People will retain the power to control the Government, or it will retain the power to control them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

I didn’t even read the article. In there it says exactly that. How hard was that to comprehend? Simply amazing...


5 posted on 10/15/2013 9:14:26 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (People will retain the power to control the Government, or it will retain the power to control them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Post5203

Who? Walmart or the EBT leaches.


6 posted on 10/15/2013 9:15:01 PM PDT by doc1019
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’m so glad I work to buy food and stuff....I mean who really wants to just go get free stuff from a store?...I’d much rather pay with my wages after the govt takes half of it in taxes....its so much more rewarding, you know..


7 posted on 10/15/2013 9:15:02 PM PDT by cherry (.in the time of universal deceit, telling the truth is revolutionary.....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet
They were just afraid of what would happen if they said ‘no’ to a pack of blacks. They would have had a whole bunch of 250 pound babies throwing fits and acting like savages. So they just said go ahead, rob us, at least then you won't try to kill us.
8 posted on 10/15/2013 9:15:12 PM PDT by Bullish (The only real solution is to abolish liberal democrats forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Walmart is not stuck with the bill - anyone who shops at walmart is paying the bill. Businesses just raise prices to cover losses or increased costs.


9 posted on 10/15/2013 9:15:18 PM PDT by jim-x (9/11/2001 - Never forget, Never forgive.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Walmart should have shut down their store due to a temporary emergency when this got out of control.


10 posted on 10/15/2013 9:15:21 PM PDT by Ciexyz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bullish

” So they just said go ahead, rob us, at least then you won’t try to kill us. “

...sounds to me like a microcosm of post-Regan America.


11 posted on 10/15/2013 9:17:20 PM PDT by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Hey Walmart. When do us non-food stampers get our free shopping spree?


12 posted on 10/15/2013 9:18:52 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (The Constitution is obsolete only if you see Mein Kampf or the Communist Manifesto as a replacement.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DoughtyOne
Every register is on camera. Every transaction is stamped with a number traceable to that customer. At least track it back to the customers and debit their future EBT allotments until it's all paid for?!

My mom got her bank account ripped off at a teller window for about $23,000. The videotape she watched with the cops, bank people, and a few others unknown made the bank people very uncomfortable. She got her account credited and the bank declined to cooperate with the police any more on the matter.

The police told my mom that it was most likely a bank employee and they didn't want the bad press thru police reports and court activity.

Nice huh?

13 posted on 10/15/2013 9:19:41 PM PDT by blackdog (There is no such thing as healing, only a balance between destructive and constructive forces.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: bigbob
Might have saved a loot and burn - at least now they’ve still got a store.

You got it.

The Corporate-VP-In-Charge-of-Bribing-Minorities-So-They- Don't-Kill-Your-Employees-and-Burn-Down-Your-Store (aka Diversity Outreach) was told by the head actuary: "up to $1000/per, it's cheaper to just let it go."

So they did.

Let's hope they locked up the firearms and the ammo in Sporting Goods.

14 posted on 10/15/2013 9:19:43 PM PDT by FredZarguna (The sequel, thoroughly pointless, derivative, and boring was like all James Cameron "films.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet
So now we celebrate blacks and white trash on permanent government assistance, acting like a bunch of f*cking animals?!?!

It's very hard to stay optimistic when we have parasites like this making up a sizeable portion of our population. Sad.

15 posted on 10/15/2013 9:21:09 PM PDT by Artcore
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FlingWingFlyer

Well, you paid for that one in two ways, is that close enough?


16 posted on 10/15/2013 9:21:39 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the mainland US There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: blackdog

Well it’s nice she got her money back. That’s for sure.

I know what you mean though. It sucks, but at least they did the right thing by your mom.


17 posted on 10/15/2013 9:22:35 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (People will retain the power to control the Government, or it will retain the power to control them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Does Walmart reveal what percentage of its sales are from EBT?

I bet they don’t - because it would show Walmart have become basically a US Government-sponsored entity.


18 posted on 10/15/2013 9:22:39 PM PDT by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FredZarguna

Most large retailers are more afraid of bad publicity and lawsuits than they are about protecting merchandise. The government allows them to write off a small percentage each year for “loss” and they build a certain percentage into the margins.

These people should be ashamed of themselves, but they won’t be. Too many people have been told they are owed something for nothing.


19 posted on 10/15/2013 9:23:53 PM PDT by volunbeer (We must embrace austerity or austerity will embrace us)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet; All

You can bet if these were white folks and their debit/credit card system went down...WalMart would just say “tough”


20 posted on 10/15/2013 9:24:00 PM PDT by SeminoleCounty (Fact Is: GOPe want ObamaCare.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bigbob
I agree with you bigbob. When one figures the actual cost compared to the retail price,and this happened at two stores when they have 1000 plus stores. They also have receipts for goods sold but zero income. They will write this off and we the taxpayer will pay twice.
21 posted on 10/15/2013 9:24:16 PM PDT by goodtomato (I'm really, really blessed!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Self supporting customers in those towns should demand an afternoon of free looting.


22 posted on 10/15/2013 9:24:49 PM PDT by Yogafist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Based on a guesstimate from my local store in relatively prosperous North Texas, I’d say 35%.


23 posted on 10/15/2013 9:25:07 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the mainland US There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

No, WE’RE stuck with the bill.


24 posted on 10/15/2013 9:25:08 PM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Will Uncle Sugar reimburse Walmart for its snafu? (Cue laugh track)


25 posted on 10/15/2013 9:26:36 PM PDT by windsorknot (>>>)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jim-x

Walmart is not stuck with the bill - anyone who shops at walmart is paying the bill. Businesses just raise prices to cover losses or increased costs.


Bingo! Correct!

As bad as the black welfare queens are...we have quite a few of the “WalMart is good...Free Trade is good...America is bad” folks who have no comprehension of real economics. The customers of WalMart will pay for this welfare crisis


26 posted on 10/15/2013 9:27:11 PM PDT by SeminoleCounty (Fact Is: GOPe want ObamaCare.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: bigbob

<Might have saved a loot and burn - at least now they’ve still got a store.

I didn’t think about that. You may have a point.

That said, if I were a foodstamp recipient, I’d know that I only had X amount on my card. Getting anything over that amount would be stealing. I’d also worry that anything extra I took would be taken from my next month’s allotment or might get me removed from food stamps all together. Not the best reasons for behaving, but at least they would have stopped me from doing the wrong thing.

What was wrong with these people to steal like that?


27 posted on 10/15/2013 9:28:01 PM PDT by radiohead
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

All it took was one Obamaphone to start the feeding frenzy.


28 posted on 10/15/2013 9:28:59 PM PDT by chemicalman (The more support I see,the harder I want to work,and the more determined I am not to let folks down.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Well - okay. Your money, your problem.


29 posted on 10/15/2013 9:29:12 PM PDT by Corporate Democrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: volunbeer

Problem is, I don’t believe they can write this off as a loss under the IRS Code, because it isn’t stolen, damaged or destroyed.


30 posted on 10/15/2013 9:31:39 PM PDT by FredZarguna (The sequel, thoroughly pointless, derivative, and boring was like all James Cameron "films.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: chemicalman
All it took was one Obamaphone to start the feeding frenzy.

0's 0phone idea working according to plan.

31 posted on 10/15/2013 9:31:56 PM PDT by Jane Long (While Marxists continue the fundamental transformation of the USA, progressive RINOs assist!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

We have about 1% of separation left before all hell breaks loose.


32 posted on 10/15/2013 9:36:42 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FredZarguna

They write off a certain percentage of merchandise in every price they set and they pretty accurately track inventory. They are so big that a loss like this is meaningless. In my opinion, the real damage is that Walmart just showed the folks that stole from them that they can get away with it.

This won’t be the last time they get flash mobbed.


33 posted on 10/15/2013 9:36:57 PM PDT by volunbeer (We must embrace austerity or austerity will embrace us)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Then why not let the scum loot your stores every day?


34 posted on 10/15/2013 9:37:27 PM PDT by Argus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mylife

I think you’re an optimist.


35 posted on 10/15/2013 9:37:52 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the mainland US There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: radiohead

One of the moochers only had 0.49 on their card. Yes, you heard that right.


36 posted on 10/15/2013 9:39:38 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the mainland US There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Perhaps.


37 posted on 10/15/2013 9:39:53 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

Actually, most folks would disagree with you.

I tend to tip my hand to my disadvantage.


38 posted on 10/15/2013 9:43:36 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: jim-x
Walmart is not stuck with the bill - anyone who shops at walmart is paying the bill. Businesses just raise prices to cover losses or increased costs.

The amazing thing about Wal-Mart, is since they sell so much stuff, a simple uptick on several items per store across America will recoup that loss. I've seen it happen, being a former Division 24 manager. Customers don't miss a few cents. Now times those few cents by millions of sales...it's good to be Wal-Mart.
39 posted on 10/15/2013 9:46:16 PM PDT by jy8z (When push comes disguised as nudge, I do not budge.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: volunbeer
They write off a certain percentage of merchandise in every price they set

That is not a write-off. That is a premium payment of self-insuring.

They are so big that a loss like this is meaningless.

That is neither a write off nor self-insurance; simply a benefit of economy of scale.

In my opinion, the real damage is that Walmart just showed the folks that stole from them that they can get away with it.

And told them how to do it. One of Walmart's most significant competitive advantages is the small percentage they lose to outside and employee theft. It's about the best number in retail. That number will continue to be good because it's enforced against individuals. Flash mobs will be the way to go. And they aren't the ones with the most to fear by setting this bad example. Liquor, convenience stores and small groceries are.

40 posted on 10/15/2013 9:47:10 PM PDT by FredZarguna (The sequel, thoroughly pointless, derivative, and boring was like all James Cameron "films.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: blackdog
Every register is on camera. Every transaction is stamped with a number traceable to that customer. At least track it back to the customers and debit their future EBT allotments until it's all paid for?!

That happens in more ordinary circumstances but here the overage is between the customers and Walmart, with Walmart on the hook because they did not observe the $50 system-down limit.

41 posted on 10/15/2013 9:48:37 PM PDT by steve86 (Some things aren't really true but you wouldn't be half surprised if they were.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

The ones taking off with several carts weren’t planning on eating it all.

Them groceries can be traded for other stuff, like drugs.


42 posted on 10/15/2013 9:56:25 PM PDT by Gasshog (Welcome to the United States of Stupidos!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: steve86

Wanna bet the unlimited vs $50 override decision was made by a local AA manager?


43 posted on 10/15/2013 9:57:33 PM PDT by rawcatslyentist (Jeremiah 50:32 "The arrogant one will stumble and fall ; / ?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: Gasshog

Absolutely agree.


44 posted on 10/15/2013 9:58:18 PM PDT by steve86 (Some things aren't really true but you wouldn't be half surprised if they were.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Gasshog

Gee, Ya think?

This aint about being hungry.

This is about being a Thief.


45 posted on 10/15/2013 9:58:40 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Cokehead-in-Chief

- The Right to Discriminate:

I now avoid checking out or dealing in any way with certain ethic groups

I will move to another line or wait

They get the message fast


46 posted on 10/15/2013 10:00:06 PM PDT by devolve (----- ----- ----- ----- shall not infringe upon my smoking MacBook PRO ----- ----- ----- -----)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: chemicalman

Yeah, these “poor” people all have Obamaphones. They obviously have vehicles, too, since they weren’t going to carry all those groceries (some of them had as many as TEN carts!) on the bus.


47 posted on 10/15/2013 10:01:44 PM PDT by Nea Wood (When life gets too hard to stand, kneel.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: devolve

Discrimination is not racism.

Every organism on the planet discriminates.

Wee need to discriminate.


48 posted on 10/15/2013 10:01:59 PM PDT by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

They allowed people to leave with up to 8 carts of food without paying....

but when the machines came back on they had at least one person arrested for not having enough in the account..... weird


49 posted on 10/15/2013 10:02:54 PM PDT by GeronL
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mylife

Well....it happened to dawn on me, so I thought I would share my inspiration. Amazing too, this close to bedtime about to fall out of my chair and all.


50 posted on 10/15/2013 10:03:11 PM PDT by Gasshog (Welcome to the United States of Stupidos!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-5051-81 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson