Posted on 02/19/2016 10:38:02 AM PST by nickcarraway
The concept of the food-stamp queen was first proffered by Ronald Reagan during a 1976 campaign speech. "In Chicago, they found a woman who holds the record," he told the assembled crowd. "She used 80 names, 30 addresses, 15 telephone numbers to collect food stamps, Social Security, veterans' benefits for four nonexistent deceased veteran husbands, as well as welfare. Her tax-free cash income alone has been running $150,000 a year." Reagan's story turned out to be a gross exaggeration of a minor case of welfare fraud, but since their patron saint conjured her up, conservatives have been unable to rid themselves of the image of the food-stamp queen. And despite her nonexistence, they've tried over and over again to stamp her out.
Their latest attempt takes the form of a bill introduced by New York senator Patty Ritchie designed to keep people from using New York's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to buy things like expensive steaks, lobster, decorated cakes, or energy drinks. "The goal of this legislation is to improve dietary quality and reduce obesity," as well as to "restrict the abuse of the program," reads the bill's memo.
Even if it passes the Democratic-controlled senate, the bill is unlikely to accomplish either goal. According to a 2007 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "no evidence exists which indicates that food stamp benefits directly contribute to poor food choices and negative dietary outcomes, such as obesity." The majority of food-stamp recipients still buy a portion of their food with their own money, with which they can make as many unrestricted choices as they want.
The Republican fear of "abuse" of food stamps to purchase "luxury items" is founded on a decades-old and highly unrealistic stigma. Last April, when Missouri politicians introduced a similar bill, Representative Rick Brattin told the Washington Post, "I have seen people purchasing filet mignons and crab legs with their EBT [Electronic Benefit Transfer] cards. When I can't afford it on my pay, I don't want people on the taxpayer's dime to." Similar outrage flared up in Kansas when a bill was introduced to limit "a long list of items, including alcohol, cigarettes, concert tickets, theme park tickets, or cruises," and in Wisconsin, where another aimed to strike "crab, lobster, shrimp, and any other shell fish" from the list of available foods. Yet in studies of the diets of people on food stamps, they're shown to eat less seafood than the rest of us, and about the same amount of beef. (How they would buy cruise tickets with their benefits is unclear.)
"It's seeking to legislate urban myths in our society," Milwaukee representative Evan Goyke told WSAU when Wisconsin's bill was in the spotlight. "Forty-one percent of the people who receive food stamps are under the age of 18, and the next largest chunk are the elderly. And they're not eating lobster; they're struggling to get by."
I was a front end manager for Walmart, I saw this stuff all the time. At the beginning of every month it would blow my mind when people would come in to shop on their EBT and WICK cards and checks. You could have someone with two baskets of food come up to check out. The mess we would have to go through on what qualified and what didn’t.
One thing is that all the big grocery chains and Walmart depend on the EBT card business as it is a pretty % of their business.
This is as much a political issue as any. The example that people use their money for what isn't eligible for EBT funding and have us pay for the rest reminded me of the fact that you can't just fill the shallow end of the swimming pool as DT has suggested with Planned Parenthood.
I actually CHOSE TO READ THIS THREAD AS A BREAK FROM PRIMARY POLITICS...
Good for you. I chose to read this thread for the reason stated above. We all have our reasons and anything can be a teaching moment.
Anyway, thanks for ruining the break for me.
If you're that fragile, I'd suggest stepping away from the computer altogether.
I was on grand jury just a year ago, and on “welfare fraud” day, we heard dozen cases of people with off the book jobs or their own businesses who were collecting welfare, rent assistance and food stamps for years. In some cases, they were being charged with fraud and theft of over $100k. Husband and wife teams, many of them. We billed them all, and we were all thrilled that they were being prosecuted.
Thank you for faithfully executing your civic duty with alacrity!
I was a front end manager for Walmart, I saw this stuff all the time. At the beginning of every month it would blow my mind when people would come in to shop on their EBT and WICK cards and checks. You could have someone with two baskets of food come up to check out. The mess we would have to go through on what qualified and what didn’t.
Yeah, but there is $12.00 worth of bottle deposits which they can turn into cash in their pockets. Free money.
I can’t remember when I last bought gum and candy.
A bag of potato chips is outrageous these days. Walmart.com shows a “family size”, snort, bag weighing 10 oz. costs over $3. A raw potato weighs about 6-7 oz. and costs mere pennies. Frying one and a half potatoes equals the weight of a Lays bag but costs about 50 cents. Look at the money savings across the nation if they’d just ban packaged chips from EBTs.
LMAO. I was at the grocery and a dude had a stack of about 12 high grade steaks and another bag of expensive sea food, all bought with foodstamps. Told me he had to use them before expiration, his wife was shopping with WIC and food banks and forgot the food stamps!!!
Indeed, like TARP, government minimum wage and the rest, foodstamp cause inflation
“Everyone I see at the Food Lion that uses EBT usually drives a new car.”
You should probably quit stalking them.
My son was a cashier at a grocery store and said they mostly bought pre-packaged foods. His theory was they were re-selling them because they always had money for cigs.
Everyone I see at the Food Lion that uses EBT usually drives a new car.
Ditto here—a couple of weeks ago it was a big SUV, something I could never afford. And why do the homeless/underprivileged always seem to have money for tattoos/piercings?
That’s a troubling image.
Shame on you, LOL
Indeed , when I worked at WalMart you always had these employees with trailer girlfriends on Foodstamps, and they would sell (buy food) those to other employees or friends and take cash to buy other goods with their 10% employee discount
I'll sure as hell never, ever buy raw oysters prepackaged. YIKES!
I’d go for the first 3 kids can be on welfare but no benefits for any over that number. No, that’s not harsh. It would cut down on baby mamas bedding down with every Tom, Devontre and Jose that comes along. The kids aren’t going to starve because those school aged get free breakfast and lunch and some get dinner and throughout the summer. There’s always food banks and churches and all the relatives who will lie and add any excess kids to their welfare applications.
Would the actual register receipt actually say “Debt Food Stamps Tender”? Looks phony to me.
I suspect that Claire doesn’t shop, but she sends her illegal housekeeper to take care of those duties.
Debt is short for debit.
I have seen on the first of the month at Walmart the grocery cart full of junk food and beef paid for by SNAP.
So while they aren’t living in luxury, they aren’t spending the food money we pay for wisely, either.
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