Posted on 01/07/2019 10:21:21 AM PST by amorphous
We weren’t expecting to see a loss of food stamp benefits until the end of January, but a grocery store in Indiana reported they are unable to process EBT payments.
In Clay City, Indiana, the local IGA discovered the problem last week. Initially, they thought it was a technical glitch.
“Our machines weren’t taking any EBT cards and we didn’t really know what was going on. We didn’t know if it was a technical issue. And then we found out it was due to the government shutting down,” Tristen Malone said. (source)
UPDATE:
Officials at the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration have confirmed that issues with EBT payments at one Clay City grocery store are due to a technical error, and aren’t related to the government shutdown, as the store’s management previously claimed. (source)
And although it’s for a slightly different reason, The Red Lion store in York County, Pennsylvania has also had issues. New owners recently purchased the grocery store and sent in their application to accept government benefits before the shutdown occurred.
“Right now we’re officially frozen because the government is shut down and we can’t process our application.”
Tom Lohr is the new owner of D & K.
He says they tried to get pre-approved for the license before the sale went through.
“We tried to be proactive and start this in December, late November, early December , set up the new entities with the businesses it just has not worked out.”
Lohr purchased the business, but doesn’t own the company name, so the license belongs to the original owners.
“We were trying to make it a smooth transition where it would happen the first day we opened, they said if we didn’t hear anything by January 4th to give them a call back. They went dead basically just before Christmas, I think,” said Lohr.
Sixteen percent of their business comes from people who use food stamps.
D & K wants to be able to serve those in need, they’re just waiting for the government to re-open. (source)
And by the end of January, these two stores may only be a drop in the bucket. More than 42 million Americans rely on food stamps.
A lot of people are very smug when it comes to those who rely on EBT benefits for food, picturing people driving Cadillacs to pick up their government-funded lobster and then go home and watch daytime soaps. But if you consider the state of the economy, it’s no surprise that there are millions who can’t make ends meet. Almost half of all Americans can barely afford both food and rent every month. Prices are just getting higher and wages are not increasing to meet the demands.
Really, the average EBT user isn’t always who you’d expect. Any considering 15 million children are living in homes below the poverty line, the kids will be the ones to suffer.
It’s pretty easy to be judgmental about those who accept food stamps if you have a good job and a full pantry, but remember that not everyone is in their situation by choice. Nobody is immune to hard times. I’ve been there myself. Imagine the unpleasant surprise
Imagine going to the store to make a purchase, fully believing you have money in your account. But when the cashier tries to ring through your purchase, it’s denied. You ask her to swipe it again, because you know there’s money…but again, it’s declined. “No funds available,” you’re told.
The people who are going to buy groceries with EBT cards that are supposed to be working right now must be feeling desperate. And their frustration will cross into anger very quickly.
A cashier from Clay City, Indiana confirmed this.
“They’re really upset about it, which is understandable. I mean that’s like, you know, really discouraging that they can’t use it. And I mean we’ve had some people even get mad about it but it’s like out of our control, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Malone said. (source)
Now imagine what the situation would be like if suddenly, at the end of January, 42 million people across the country discover they won’t be able to feed their families.
It could be chaos very quickly. You know the saying, “We’re just nine meals away from anarchy.” It’s all part of the Government Shutdown Theater.
Every single time the government shuts down, an example is made of ordinary Americans. With the Obama shutdown in 2013, all sorts of people suffered, from Native Americans to migrants to victims of domestic violence. In the current shutdown, it’s the poor people or those working government jobs paycheck to paycheck who will pay the price.
Why do they do this? Why do they make those who are suffering, suffer more?
Because the members of Congress and the government wants to impress upon us all how very essential they are to our well-being. They want to provide us with dramatic “evidence” that we can’t get by without them.
It’s delusional to think our “representatives” in Congress are there to represent anyone but themselves and their “sponsors.” No one actually from the government is hurt by the shutdown.
Meanwhile, the “important” people aren’t noticing any hardship from the government shutdown. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi took a trip to Hawaii (but she promises it wasn’t a vacation.) And members of Congress get paid, but their staffers do not. (Kudos to this handful who have chosen to donate or forfeit their salaries during the shutdown.) It would be difficult for my opinion of these people to be much lower, but I’m sure they’ll manage to undercut my expectations even further.
The IRS will still take your money and track you down, but they won’t issue any refunds.
The system, as it stands, is anything but “by the people and for the people.”
The system is for the people who are benefitting from it. It’s for the people who are playing Americans like disposable chess pieces on a board. It’s for the people who literally benefit from the suffering of those less fortunate.
But it’s not for the rest of us. Get prepared for some serious repercussions.
There are no signs of this shutdown ending any time soon. (Although that can change on a dime.) If it runs through the end of the month, be prepared to see some serious fallout when millions of people cannot purchase food for their families anymore. But don’t worry – your members of Congress will be just fine, regardless of how long this charade continues.
If you, personally, are relying on SNAP benefits for food, I strongly advise you to stock up now on low-cost items like beans, rice, oatmeal, peanut butter, pasta, flour, and canned fruits and vegetables. If you have money left on your card for the month, spend it now on things that won’t spoil.
If you are in a position to donate to food banks to help others, the need could soon be at an all-time high. A package of pasta and a can of sauce could at least provide a family with a warm dinner.
And no matter what your situation is, be prepared for the potential of unrest. Because hungry people with hungry children will do desperate things.
This makes absolute sense. Change of accounts takes some time.
Very good point. It is handled and disbursed by the states.
New Movie idea, That Day The EBT Stood Still.
>>>New Movie idea, That Day The EBT Stood Still<<<
OR
New Movie idea, The Day The EBT Stood Still.
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That reminds me. Need to go pick up that Kel-tec KSG.
Now this is no BS, but it turns out that my sister's husband worked for human services. He is pretty liberal but after some 30 years of handing out goodies to people who had plenty of goodies he started thinking he was wrong minded. My liberal dad said "YOU'VE TURNED INTO A REPUBLICAN!".
The ebt program is designed to “supplement” your grocery budget. They expect you to spend a certain amount of your own cash on food. The allowable amount on my state for full ebt is $192.00 per person when there is no household cash to spend on food. For example, if the household spends 100% of their income on rent and utilities, each oerson in that household woild be awarded the full benefit od $192.00 PER PERSON FOR THE MONTH.
Why the individual you mentioned had several cards, I don’t know. It is possible that the state gives out a card for each person in that household. He may have been shopping for others who can’t get around. I have no idea.
I know a man in my city who does that. He does the cooking for that household and he lets people stay there when they are down and out, so sometimes all they have is ebt and no cash. So, the man shops for all because he cooks for all. He doesn’t have to feed them out of his non existent pocket, and they don’t have to worry about food storage on the street.
Consequently, he can shop in bulk...its more economical and they all eat a bit better.
I don’t see any problem with that.
But what you can’t do is assume there’s cheating going on.
The man I spoke of is a vietnam vet with agent orange syndrome. Hes disabled as is his wife, ans are the others he assists.
Even including those who aren’t employed, I don’t think you get near half...unless perhaps also including children each being able to afford rent and food on their own.
Not me.
However one thing I have seen a number of times over the years is a person using food stamps to buy nothing but crap, junk food.
Food stamps should be limited to a specific list of food types. Beans, rice, hamburger, can goods, potatoes, and the like.
When I was young, single, and working my way through college that pretty much was just a list of everything I lived on. And it sure as hell didn’t kill me. And I was working full-time while going to school full-time. Novel thought.
VA is honorably earned , not appealed for .
I am talking about those that live on the public dole .
Fine , if they qualify and are in need , give it .
But then don’t turn around and give them the right to vote for those who use it as a carrot to get those folks to keep voting for them (Democrats).
It should be a decision ; Do I need the money more than I need to ability to vote ( while ON the dole) ?
We have cast the right to vote in this country like pearls to the swine and the swine are trying to rule the country now .
I just emailed her. Let’s see what she has to say.
Cleverly written. Designed to give this message: “ALL EBT recipients will not get their money because of the ‘shutdown’.”
In reality, it says ONE store is not being accepted into the system. Eh? Truth?
Atlanta should be fun.
Heads up, check six.
5.56mm
“He may have been shopping for others who can’t get around.”
I have done that myself and have a friend who does it frequently. And often legal guardians who do not live in the same household do it.
Can you use an EBT card for Uber?
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> Consequently, he can shop in bulk...its more economical
I have no problem with what you’re talking about. I’m talking about people buying the name brand cereal while I buy store brand, and buying the most expensive steak while I’m buying the on sale (better cook it today) meat, and buying lobster with EBT cards (I’ve seen it in person, not on 60 minutes). They are not being economical with our money.
WIC buyers are forced to be economical and nutritious. I see a lot of them too. And I’ve paid for many people in front of me who had things not covered by WIC that they didn’t have money for or who were counting coins (not peeling off $100s from a wad like the people I mentioned).
There’s a lot of good that comes from EBT and WIC and other programs. There’s also a lot of fraud. I don’t think we should excuse or ignore fraud because some people are helped. The people who need it would be helped more if the fraud was reduced. I shouldn’t assume fraud in every cases, but other people shouldn’t assume there’s a justifiable excuse either.
Couldn't be the millions of illegal invaders diluting the labor force, could it?
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