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NY Post Columnist: ‘Sense Of Shame Is Gone’ For Entitlement Recipients New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin appeared on Fox & Friends to discuss the increase in food stamp recipients and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s refusal to allow New York City to fingerprint residents who receive nutritional assistance to root out fraud. Goodwin said recipients of food stamps have ballooned while barriers to entry into the program have decreased; as a result, the “the sense of shame” among entitlement recipients is gone. “Shame used to be part of this,” said Goodwin referring to the culture that used to accompany...

Louisiana spent about $1.3 million on food stamps for people who were already dead between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2013, according to a report issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor Monday (July 7). In all, state benefits went out to 3,938 deceased people over the four-year period examined by the auditor. The Louisiana auditor only reviewed records concerning single people who had died. The total amount of money spent on food stamps for single people in Louisiana during this time was $1.08 billion.

Louisiana spent about $1.3 million on food stamps for people who were already dead between 2009 and 2013, the Times-Picayune reports. A report issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor Monday revealed the government waste: In all, state benefits went out to 3,938 deceased people over the four-year period examined by the auditor. The Louisiana auditor only reviewed records concerning single people who had died. The total amount of money spent on food stamps for single people in Louisiana during this time was $1.08 billion. Much of the money — $556,000 — was spent on people who had been dead for...

Chris McDaniel, the arch-conservative state senator who unexpectedly lost his primary runoff election yesterday to unseat Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, is dead right: The race was decided by non-Republicans. And not just that, but a certain type of non-Republicans taking advantage of the state's open-primary system: African-Americans, or, as McDaniel referred to them in his defiant non-concession speech, “liberal Democrats,” which appears to be the de-racialized code word of choice for some conservative Republicans when talking about black voters. The evidence is in the maps and numbers. Turnout was up statewide compared with the June 3 primary in which McDaniel...

A new study by researchers at Stanford University is suggesting that making soda and other sugary drinks ineligible for purchase with SNAP funds could result in nearly a quarter million fewer diabetes cases in adults, and over 140,000 fewer obese children.

Keep talking Comrade Bill; keep talking. There is now no question about whether this devoted Communist will damage the Democrat brand; the question is by how much? Comrade Bill de Blasio, New York’s mayor, is living up to predictions that he will serve as the foul mouthed three year old at the family Thanksgiving table. The child keeps saying embarrassing things while his parents act shocked and wonder out loud where he learned such words. Make no mistake about him he is a true Communist not a Democrat. But the D behind his name will hang him around Nancy Pelosi’s...

In an effort to stop fraud in the use of welfare benefits more states are insisting that federal benefits, including food- stamp cards, include a photo identification.

Usually on The Lookout I share my views on at least five stories concerning Black folks in the media but this week, all anybody is talking about is Donald Sterling — the hopefully soon-to-be former owner of the L.A. Clippers. So, I figured, my column this week had to focus on what we should really ‘Lookout’ for in Sterling’s comments. As you know NBA commissioner Adam Silver threw the book at the longest tenured owner in franchise history Tuesday following TMZ’s release of a racist recording where — like a modern-day plantation owner — Sterling can be heard talking about...

Maine is starting to issue welfare benefit cards with photos on them despite a request from the federal government to wait. ... the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked Maine to delay its plan, saying that it risks a loss of federal funding or litigation if it violates regulations in the program. But DHHS said it will move forward with its plan designed to combat fraud and abuse in the program.

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy is still a cause célèbre for the right-wing, drawing praise from Tea Party activists, Republican politicians, and conservative media outlets. Kevin Williamson of National Review called him a “dissident” like Mohandas Gandhi or Henry David Thoreau, Nevada Sen. Dean Heller hailed him as a “patriot,” and Sean Hannity has praised him as somebody that’s “willing to fight.” This was bad enough as an instance of conservative recklessness when Bundy was just a lawless rancher backed by armed militamen. It’s even worse now that we know that Bundy is full of racist bones. Here he is, as...

Aslam Khawaja, 48, of Iranistan Avenue, the owner of the SK Grocery at 856 Fairfield Ave., was charged Wednesday with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. From March through December 2013 Khawaja paid cash to 128 of his customers who are on the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for their SNAP benefits at 50 cents to a dollar of benefit, the arrest affidavit states. ... Khawaja is a Pakistani national. In December he was shot during a robbery at his store and at that time asked detectives to file...

Chicago Public School parents received robocalls last week encouraging them to sign their children up for food stamps and free or low-cost health insurance. “Currently there are 68,000 children in the Chicago Public Schools that are not enrolled in free or low-cost health insurance and SNAP also knows as food stamps,” the recording, obtained by The Daily Caller, says. “Your child may be one of them. To find out more about your eligibility call the Children and Family Benefits Unit at 773-553-KIDS.” “Or visit your child’s school and ask the clerk for a Children and Family Benefits Unit flier,” the...

The Guilford County Department of Social Services (DSS) scandal has left a mountain of questions in its wake as to how it came about, and now county officials investigating the matter are finally starting to get some answers. **SNIP** One Guilford County DSS employee told the Rhino Times this week that the problems in the department go very deep and this latest crisis is just one manifestation of those issues. “No management manages,” the employee wrote in an email. “No policy is completely followed. People are authorized benefits that are not thoroughly evaluated. Workers have to keep authorizing clients that...

Here's a statstic that, taken by itself, doesn't really say much. More American are recieving government assistance for food via the SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps) than there are women working full time. CNS: In the average month of 2012, according to the Department of Agriculture, there were 46,609,000 people participating in the food stamp program (formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). That contrasts with the 44,059,000 women who worked full-time, year-round in 2012, according to the Census Bureau’s report on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States. For each woman who worked...

People participating in the food stamp program outnumbered the women who worked full-time, year-round in the United States in 2012, according to data from the Department of Agriculture and the Census Bureau. In the average month of 2012, according to the Department of Agriculture, there were 46,609,000 people participating in the food stamp program (formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). That contrasts with the 44,059,000 women who worked full-time, year-round in 2012, according to the Census Bureau’s report on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States. For each woman who worked full-time, year-round in 2012,...

The saga of a surfing, lobster-eating food stamp recipient continued on "Hannity" as the 29-year-old refused Sean's assistance in finding a paying job. You may remember Jason Greenslate from his interview with Bill O'Reilly's producer Jesse Watters. Greenslate was first captured on camera by Fox News while purchasing lobster with taxpayer-funded food stamps.

A south Louisiana lingerie store has posted on its front door to indicate it accepts most credit cards, including the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. Kiss My Lingerie, in Gonzales, sells adult specialty items. The store moved into the Magnolia Shopping Center on South Burnside Avenue a few years ago. However, accepting the EBT payment is something that happened eight months ago, according to the owner. The owner went on to say the store accepts every form of payment and does not discriminate against customers. A woman who works near the store and asked not to be identified said in...

What does that even mean? That some shall-remain-unnamed Republican colleague literally told her, presumably when asked why he supported the one percent budget cut to the federal food stamp program recently passed in the farm bill or why he did not support extending unemployment benefits or something, that his entire party’s policy platform is based off of its collective and utter indifference to the plight of families in poverty? …Why do I feel skeptical? Via RCP:(VIDEO-AT-LINK) "I asked a Republican friend why his party remains so opposed to extending the vital lifelines for struggling families and really hungry children. This...

On Tuesday, Jon Stewart attempted to "slay" arguments regarding food stamp fraud on The Daily Show. In the video, Stewart spoke about the supposed hypocrisy of conservatives criticizing food stamp usage using a collection of Fox News videos. When taken at face value, the comments may actually seem quite hypocritical. However, Stewart misses the real point: some items that can be purchased with SNAP ("food stamps") completely lack nutritional value, or are "luxury" foods like lobsters, steak, and organic salmon that don't really present an economically-friendly meal choice for someone who has trouble paying for food without government assistance. Also,...

Three people were charged Wednesday in connection to an extensive welfare fraud scheme. The scheme involved using EBT cards to purchase products in the Twin Cities and then ship them overseas for sale in Africa. According to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, 39-year-old Noni Shanita Snider of Eden Prairie was charged with one count of wrongfully obtaining public assistance and one count conspiracy to commit a felony; 38-year-old Walter Carr Cooper of Plymouth was charged with one count of wrongfully obtaining public assistance and one count conspiracy to commit a felony; and 40-year-old Nyla Jean Newburgh of Minneapolis was charged...