Gosh, isn’t it amazing how a certain set of people insists on focusing on the small number of people who cheat the system and insisting that it is much more widespread than it actually is? Typically citing this sort of crap as reasons to cut assistance to poor people?
And on the other side, isn’t it amazing how people who actually want to help the poor don’t spend any time talking about this?
One might almost draw conclusions on which side of the fence someone stands when one hears them talking about this.
Not to give the America-hating fuckstick Administration any ideas (and since the adminstration pretty much admitted to the whole proposal being a troll anyway, I’m probably not), but the silver lining here is that the proposal wasn’t just to replace the benefits with a monthly allotment of Nutraloaf.
Bravo for you for actually reporting fraud, but I do want to point out that “buying stuff for others is not” inherently a wrong - a recipient can designate someone to act as a purchasing agent (common with elderly and disabled recipients). People in the same household may not share the same surname.
Also, I have a number of customers who will split the cost of a basket of food between two EBT cards. There’s nothing wrong with that - it might be less wasteful for two people to split a bag of oranges or onions, for example. My register allows my to apply, say, $50 from one account to the total and $50 from another account.
The USDA claims that only 1% of EBT funds are diverted from their intended purpose. I don’t think you’re going to drive fraud below that number, frankly, I’m surprised it’s that low. Even if you assume that there’s 2-3 times that actually going on (because no tracking/auditing system is perfect) that’s still an exceedingly low figure of fraud for the program.
Yes, there are some high-profile fraud cases. That’s going to happen in any system that large. Most fraud is pretty low-level - buying some food for a friend as well as yourself, for example.
That said - if suspect something is wrong then report it, don’t just bitch on the internet. While I was on unemployment someone accused me of fraud and I was audited - no big deal, I provided all requested information and I was proven to NOT being fraudulent. Likewise, I never had any trouble providing full information while on foodstamps (“Mrs. Broomstick, you do realize that almost no one else discloses their income from turning in aluminum cans? Thank you for your… ah… exhaustive level of honesty”)
Yeah, I’m not always happen with what I see in peoples’ carts, but that applies to ALL income levels not just the poor. Just remember that the vast majority of people on EBT are honest folks trying to survive as best they can.
I left a big package of Trumpcare in the toilet this morning. Fortunately, that action had more benefit than this idea will ever provide.
It is a horrible sign that I can’t tell if you are parroting the people who actually believe this or are one of the people who believe it. If the former, be careful you are too good at imitating the crazies. If the later, then it is truly taking longer than we thought.
[Trumpster]What ethnic or religious reasons? Christianity doesn’t forbid pork or beef, and there are no other religions for a real white … bread Amurrican!"[/Trumpster]
My first thought along these lines was that they couldn’t figure out how to include stuff Muslim’s can’t eat without hitting Jews as collateral damage. That theory doesn’t really hold up, though; the latter issue is not really a show-stopper for President Pumpkinhead’s fan club.
Labeling someone with different opinions a “troll” or a “fuckwit” in a flame-war internet forum, in which that person remains equally free to go on expressing their different opinions, is free speech and expression.
Don’t confuse being insulted for your opinions with actual infringement or suppression of your freedom to express your opinions.
Actually Trump has figured out a way to lower the cost of bacon. Take bacon out of the reach of the poor, the price drops, and Trump demands praise for making bacon more affordable for the rich.
I can’t imagine concerning myself with seeing what people buy then watching them pay for their groceries so I could see if they’re using EBT. Certainly not enough to make such broad generalizations. No credible judgment can be made that doesn’t consider how people live their lives. Maybe they’re stocking up on their treats for the month because they don’t get to Aldi’s very often, and find better deals on meat and vegetables elsewhere (not inconceivable). Or they have a kid like **rushgeekgirl’**s who’s extraordinarily particular about food and eating something unhealthy is better than not eating at all. It’s all none of my business. How do people pay with SNAP, anyway? It’s a program not a method of payment.
Having had the unfortunate circumstance of needing a job post-college, I took a job with the welfare department. My first fucking real job with a real desk in a real cubby hole and a fricken stack of manuals and files big enough to make a hoarder jealous. You know what, there is fraud, there are cheaters, there are scammers, but for ever one of those there are 100 human beings who legitimately need help. The fraud dog won’t hunt here.
I am going to go ahead and assume you don’t read some threads on twitter. 'Cause I just don’t know anymore. Take the program under consideration here. This is just, without a doubt, the dumbest thing spewed by the administration since the last dumbest thing they did. But it is dumb. It is poorly thought out. Will not save money in any fashion. Will in fact hurt businesses.
The only actual thing this proposal accomplishes is to play the racist base. The group that thinks all of them welfare queens take their welfare checks and trade for smokes, beer, and (god help me) tatoos. This is an actual rant I saw from a Trumper on twitter. They thought this was a great idea.
Beyond the craven stupidity and inefficiency of it all, is the mind numbing inhumanity of the world view. So, at the end of the day I just can’t tell when some people are joking anymore.
