The money is supposed to be used only for essentials, like food stamps, and we all know how well that works. /sarc
If the card use can be monitored to buy only certain types of items by people who are truly storm victims, great. But if someone can sell their $2,000 card for $1,000 cash and then spend the money on anything they want -- booze, drugs, nights out on the town in a limo, etc. -- there will be an instant underground market for these cards and fraud will be rampant.
Imagine buying one of these cards at underground prices and getting $2000 worth of groceries for $1000. Imagine also someone selling their card, then claiming it was lost or stolen. They get the cash from their co-fraudster, a replacement card, and when the co-fraudster attempts to use the card, they get caught and prosecuted.
Who will they want to monitor the spending? President Bush? It will be his fault anyway when the liberals start complaining that no one "instructed" these people "how" to use the card responsibly. Then....we'll have to give out more cards.
I would rather do this then spend $4000 to audit every expenditure or $5000 to have the government make the purchases and distribute the goods. To say nothing of how long these people would have to wait for the government to buy what they need. Come on folks. Would you want to rely on the government to decide what you want and need. One size fits all.