"Keep Working...

[Ryan Ruck]

Millions on welfare depend on you!"

As the saying goes.

I thought we could use a thread to post some of the stories we come across about the outrageous state of our welfare society.

CAUTION: Avoid this thread if you have high blood preasure!

[Ryan Ruck]

The article is a couple years old but it is as good an example of any.

Free Cars For Poor Fuel Road Rage

May 7, 2009

Gov. Deval Patrick’s free wheels for welfare recipients program is revving up despite the stalled economy, as the keys to donated cars loaded with state-funded insurance, repairs and even AAA membership are handed out to get them to work.

But the program - fueled by a funding boost despite the state’s fiscal crash - allows those who end up back on welfare to keep the cars anyway.

“It’s mind-boggling. You’ve got people out there saying, ‘I just lost my job. Hey, can I get a free car, too?’ ” said House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading).

The Patrick administration decided last month to funnel an additional $30,000 to the nearly $400,000 annual car ownership program.

The program, which is provided by the State Department of Transitional Assistance, gives out about 65 cars a year, said DTA Commissioner Julia Kehoe.

The state pays for the car’s insurance, inspection, excise tax, title, registration, repairs and a AAA membership for one year at a total cost of roughly $6,000 per car.

The program, which started in 2006, distributes cars donated by non-profit charities such as Good News Garage, a Lutheran charity, which also does the repair work on the car and bills the state.

Kehoe defended the program, saying the state breaks even by cutting welfare payments to the family - about $6,000 a year.

“If you look at the overall picture, this helps make sure people aren’t staying on cash assistance. It’s a relatively short payment for a long-term benefit,” Kehoe said.

But Kehoe admitted about 20 percent of those who received a car ended up back on welfare, and while they lose the insurance and other benefits, they don’t have to return the car.

“Given the state’s fiscal condition, paying for AAA and auto inspection costs is outrageous,” said Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield). “There are so many families out there trying to deal with layoffs and pay cuts. You have to wonder what the state’s priorities are at this point.”

Applicants for cars must have a job or prove they could get one if they had the car in order to qualify. Once they have the wheels, they must send DTA their pay stubs to prove they are employed.

To get the cars, they must be unable to reach work by public transportation and have a clean driving record. The program is only available to families on welfare with children.

Kehoe said the bulk of cars go to places with less public transportation, such as Fitchburg, New Bedford and Lowell.

“I can’t believe there are no restrictions on how they use the car,” Jones said. “I just don’t see this as a core function of government.”

[Ryan Ruck]

Something a little more recent.

Modern Poverty Includes A.C. and an Xbox

July 18, 2011

When Americans think of poverty, we tend to picture people who can’t adequately shelter, clothe, and feed themselves or their families.

When the Census Bureau defines “poverty,” though, it winds up painting more than 40 million Americans — one in seven — as “poor.”

Census officials continue to grossly exaggerate the numbers of the poor, creating a false picture in the public mind of widespread material deprivation, writes Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Robert Rector in a new paper.

“Most news stories on poverty feature homeless families, people living in crumbling shacks, or lines of the downtrodden eating in soup kitchens,” Rector says. “The actual living conditions of America’s poor are far different from these images.”

Congress is tying itself in knots figuring out how to cut spending and bring down a $14 trillion national debt. Lawmakers might well take a much closer look at the nearly a trillion dollars spent each year on welfare even though many recipients aren’t what the typical American would recognize as poor and in need of government assistance.

What is poverty? Americans might well be surprised to learn from other government data that the overwhelming majority of those defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau were well-housed and adequately fed even in the recession year 2009. About 4 percent of them did temporarily become homeless.

Data from the Department of Energy and other agencies show that the average poor family, as defined by Census officials:

● Lives in a home that is in good repair, not crowded, and equipped with air conditioning, clothes washer and dryer, and cable or satellite TV service.

● Prepares meals in a kitchen with a refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave as well as oven and stove.

● Enjoys two color TVs, a DVD player, VCR and — if children are there — an Xbox, PlayStation, or other video game system.

● Had enough money in the past year to meet essential needs, including adequate food and medical care.



Rather than report such detailed surveys, Rector and co-author Rachel Sheffield write, the media “amplified” the Census Bureau’s annual misrepresentation of poverty over the past 40 years. News reports routinely suggest that poor Americans typically are homeless and hungry — and U.S. foes and rivals such as Iran, China, and Russia are delighted to report the same.

“Regrettably, most discussions of poverty in the U.S. rely on sensationalism, exaggeration, and misinformation,” Rector says. “But an effective anti-poverty policy must be based on an accurate assessment of actual living conditions and the causes of deprivation.”

See the full Heritage Foundation paper, including downloadable charts, here: “Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What Is Poverty in the United States Today?”

[Malsua]

Free cell phones are now a civil right



http://m.nypost.com/p/blogs/capitol/...rjdvyl9A6NHPdP

-------------
Last Updated: 8:30 AM, August 1, 2011
Pennsylvanians on public assistance now have a new 'civil right' -- free cell phones. Meanwhile, the rest of us get to pay higher cell bills as a result.
Recently, a federal government program called the Universal Service Fund came to the Keystone State and some residents are thrilled because it means they can enjoy 250 minutes a month and a handset for free, just because they don't have the money to pay for it. Through Assurance Wireless and SafeLink from Tracfone Wireless these folks get to reach out and touch someone while the cost of their service is paid for by everyone else. You see, the telecommunications companies are funding the Universal Service Fund to the tune of $4 billion a year because the feds said they have to and in order to recoup their money, the companies turn around and hike their fees to paying customers. But those of use paying for the free service for the poor, should be happy about this infuriating situation, says Gary Carter, manager of national partnerships for Assurance, because "the program is about peace of mind." Free cell service means "one less bill that someone has to pay, so they can pay their rent or for day care...it is a right to have peace of mind," Cater explained.
Well, the telecommunications companies don't seem to love providing this 'right' to poor folks because they are trying to renegotiate the deal with the FCC. The telecommunications companies like Verizon and AT&T want more paying customers, but their desire to reform their deal with the feds dovetails nicely with the political ideology of the current FCC chairman Julian Genachowski, who like all Obama administration flunkies sees 'rights' where others see 'priviledges'. Just listen to how the agency put the question of providing broadband and cell service to those in rural and poor communities. "The goal of reform is to provide everyone with affordable voice and broadband," the agency said.
Between 14 million and 24 million Americans lack access to broadband, "and immediate prospects for deployment to them are bleak," the FCC said in a report last year. "Many of these Americans are poor or live in rural areas that will remain unserved without reform of the universal service program and other changes," the report said.
But who says that cheap or free broadband is anything more than a luxury?
Well, another Obama flunkie, Rahm Emanuel, that's who. As we reported in June , the new mayor of Chicago was all excited to proclaim the wonderful news of free internet service to poor kids in Chicago's worst neighborhoods. And how could Mayor Emanuel pay for this new 'civil right'? Well, because the federal government extorted the money from Comcast when it wanted to buy NBC-Universal. Once again FCC chairman Genachowski was all about "helping the kids" by forcing the internet provider to give poor kids free netbooks, laptops, and internet service, indefinitely. And who is going to pay for this gift? Well, of course the rest of us poor saps who actually pay our bills.

[Ryan Ruck]

Another oldie but goodie.

The “Shut Up, White Boy!” Woman Is The “Slum” Dweller With A 60-Inch TV

December 22, 2007



Mixed in with the rent-a-rioters who stormed the New Orleans City Council meeting over public housing were a few homegrown thugs who refuse to be weaned from the public teat without a finger-pointing, racial epithet-hurling fight.

Case in point: That angry lady in the BDS shirt shouting “I will not be treated like a slave!” and “Back up and Shut up! Shut up, white boy! Shut up, white boy!” at a citizen attending the council hearing. Watch closely and note that there is a child behind her being subjected to her diatribe against the man. She’s your tax dollars at work:


new orleans fight control by dollarsandsense123

Nice propaganda job by the photo caption writer, who whitewashed the angry racist rant. They were just, you know, “talking to” a man…at the top of their lungs:



So, does she look familiar? This Sharon Jasper is the same Sharon Jasper profiled in the New Orleans Times-Picayune sulking in her government-subsidized apartment with hardwood floors and HUGEtastic flat-screen television and complaining that it’s a “slum:”



Jasper moaned:

Sharon Jasper, a former St. Bernard complex resident presented by activists Tuesday as a victim of changing public housing policies, took a moment before the start of the City Hall protest to complain about her subsidized private apartment, which she called a “slum.” A HANO voucher covers her rent on a unit in an old Faubourg St. John home, but she said she faced several hundred dollars in deposit charges and now faces a steep utility bill.

Heaven forbid The Man expect her to pay her own damned security deposits and utility bills like the rest of us!

Sell the behemoth TV, for crying out loud.

More:

“I’m tired of the slum landlords, and I’m tired of the slum houses,” she said.

Pointing across the street to an encampment of homeless people at Duncan Plaza, Jasper said, “I might do better out here with one of these tents.”

Jasper, who later allowed a photographer to tour the subsidized apartment, also complained about missing window screens, a slow leak in a sink, a warped back door and a few other details of a residence that otherwise appeared to have been recently renovated.

Well, if “slums” come with TVs the size of my car, where can I sign up?

***

I’d ask the reporter who toured Jasper’s government-subsidized apartment if he saw what kind of car(s) she had (any SUVs? Suburbans? huge pick-up trucks?)–but then I’d be accused of, you know, “stalking.”

***

Go to The Mighty Favog’s blog here and here for great takedowns of this monstrous ingrate. More blogger reax here. And more from Rod Dreher.

Beth at My VWRC points out that Jasper “isn’t just some random ‘victim’ picked off the streets by activists. She IS an activist herself, according to none other than the New Orleans Labor Media Project, which is very much a part of the protests.”

Jasper is fighting back. She spearheads a tenant association that is working with the AFL-CIO’s Gulf Coast Revitalization Program to convince local authorities to rehabilitate rather than annihilate public housing stock.

“We, the poor working class, are the people who helped build this city,” Jasper says, jabbing her finger into the air, as if she were about to pull down the menacing barbed wire barrier. “We have a right to return.”

“Working?” Laura at Pursuing Holiness notes that Jasper has admitted to being on the dole for 57 out of her 58 years.

“Right to return?” Taxpayers have a right to tell their government to return their hard-earned money being squandered by race-hustling grievance-mongers like the loud-mouthed TV lady. She should turn her jabbing finger towards herself and follow her own advice:

Shut up.

***

Louisiana’s GOP Governor-elect Bobby Jindal takes office Jan. 14. And not a minute too soon.

[MinutemanCO]

Our communities, our people are polarizing. It's a process that's been continual. I find it hard to believe that there isn't some force at work making this happen at the most basic level. Aww man, I sound like a conspiracy theorist.

[Ryan Ruck]

I find it hard to believe that there isn't some force at work making this happen at the most basic level.

Hmmm... You don't say? I think you might be on to something.

[AGEUSAF]

You were right, my blood pressure got too high after reading this. This stuff just burns me hard.

[Ryan Ruck]

Well, it is on the cash assistance portion only but, at least it is a step in the right direction!

Michigan Governor Signs 48-Month Welfare Limit

September 6, 2011

Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed into law a stricter, four-year lifetime limit on cash welfare benefits, prompting advocates for the poor to warn that tens of thousands of residents will find themselves without cash assistance on Oct. 1.

Michigan's first-year Republican chief executive said the state will offer exemptions to the limit for those with a disability who can't work, those who care for a disabled spouse or child and those who are 65 or older and don't qualify for Social Security benefits or receive very low benefits.

Some recipients who are the victims of domestic violence also may be temporarily exempted.

"We are returning cash assistance to its original intent as a transitional program to help families while they work toward self-sufficiency," Snyder said in a statement. He noted that the state still will help the poor by offering food stamps, health care coverage through Medicaid, child care and emergency services.

Then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, signed a bill that created a four-year limit starting in 2007. But that law exempted many welfare recipients, including those whose caseworkers said they were making progress toward finding employment.

The 2010 election of Snyder and the simultaneous Republican takeover of the Michigan House gave the GOP a free hand to set its own course on public assistance.

The change gives Michigan the Midwest's toughest welfare time limit, according to a survey by The Detroit News. It said there are five-year limits in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Indiana has a two-year limit for adults — but none for children.

Gilda Jacobs of the Michigan League for Human Services said she expects about 41,000 people to lose their cash assistance payments on Oct. 1 when the state's new budget year begins. That includes 29,700 children, according to the Michigan Department of Human Services.

"We're very, very concerned," Jacobs said. "As the days go by, new people will be meeting the 48-month limit. ... More will be falling off that cliff."

The new law will reduce the number of children and adults receiving cash assistance by nearly a fifth, from more than 221,000 to around 180,000. Enforcing a four-year limit will save the state more than $60 million annually, according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis.

Jacobs said it's hard to see how 11,000 adults will find a job when Michigan's July unemployment rate was 10.9 percent, tied with South Carolina for third-highest in the nation.

"We still have to preserve a safety net for people who, through no fault of their own, can't find a job," she said, noting that most cash assistance goes to help poor residents pay their rent. "There's obviously a lot of anxiety out there. Folks aren't sure exactly what this means to them."

State officials say they're working with nonprofit organizations to direct welfare recipients to other services and provide a "soft landing" as they lose benefits. Recipients will be connected with other resources, given housing and job placement assistance for up to three months beyond October and mentored by trained job navigators.

"Michigan continues to face financial challenges, and the fiscal reality is that we cannot afford to provide lifetime cash assistance to recipients who are able to work," Health and Human Services director Maura Corrigan said in a statement. "Enforcing lifetime limits for cash assistance ensures that available funds are targeted toward those recipients who need a helping hand while they find employment."

Michigan ranked 38th in child poverty for 2009, defined as income below $21,756 for a family of two adults and two children. About 23 percent of Michigan's children lived in poverty in 2009, compared with 20 percent nationally. In 2000, only 14 percent of Michigan children lived in poverty. The average age of a child in a family receiving cash assistance is around 7 years old.

Snyder, a Republican, has said reducing the number of children living in poverty is a priority of his administration.

The Michigan Catholic Conference has objected to the four-year limit. The conference said the effect will be felt for years by society and by children who lose services.

[vector7]

Roseanne Barr: Behead Bankers, Rich Who Won't Give Up Wealth



Actress, comedienne and now author Roseanne Barr shares her solution for dealing with the rich and how the banks could repay the money the U.S. government bailed them out with in 2008.

"Part of my platform is, of course, the guilty must be punished and that we no longer let our children see their guilty leaders getting away with murder. Because it teaches children, you know, that they don't have to have any morals as long as they have guns and are bullies and I don't think that's a good message," Barr told Russia Today (RT).

"I do say that I am in favor of the return of the guillotine and that is for the worst of the worst of the guilty.

"I first would allow the guilty bankers to pay, you know, the ability to pay back anything over $100 million [of] personal wealth because I believe in a maximum wage of $100 million. And if they are unable to live on that amount of that amount then they should, you know, go to the reeducation camps and if that doesn't help, then being beheaded," Barr said with a straight face.

[vector7]

Federal Retirement Plans Cost Almost as Much as Social Security


By DENNIS CAUCHON
October 2, 2011

Retirement programs for former federal workers — civilian and military — are growing so fast they now face a multitrillion-dollar shortfall nearly as big as Social Security's, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

The federal government hasn't set aside money or created a revenue source similar to Social Security's payroll tax to help pay for the benefits, so the retirement costs must be paid every year through taxes and borrowing.

The government paid a record $268 billion in pension and health benefits last year to 10 million former civil servants, military personnel and their dependents, about $100 billion more than was paid a decade earlier after adjusting for inflation. And $7 billion more was deposited into tax-deferred accounts of current workers.

In addition, the federal government last year made more than a half-trillion dollars in future commitments, valued in 2010 dollars that will cost far more to pay in coming decades. Added last year:

•$107 billion in retirement benefits accumulated by current workers.

•$106 billion in new benefits granted to veterans.


Win McNamee/Getty Images

Protesters take part in a rally as part of... View Full Caption
Protesters take part in a rally as part of the national Tax Day Tea Party to protest taxes and government spending in Lafayette Park in this April 15, 2009 file photo in Washington, DC. Americans by 2-to-1 want the White House and congressional Republicans to reach a compromise on the federal budget rather than stage a confrontation that shuts down the government, a Gallup Poll finds.

•More than $300 billion in the snowballing expense of previous retirement promises that have no source of funding.

In all, the government committed more money to the 10 million former public servants last year than the $690 billion it paid to 54 million Social Security beneficiaries.

The retirement programs now have a $5.7 trillion unfunded liability, compared with a $6.5 trillion shortfall for Social Security. An unfunded liability is the difference between a program's projected costs and its projected revenues, both valued in today's dollars.

USA TODAY's analysis is the first comprehensive calculation of how much the government spends on benefits for retired federal workers. The $275 billion paid last year — roughly two-thirds cash, one-third medical benefits — are spread over dozens of overlapping programs in many departments and agencies.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress in June in his final budget testimony that health care costs "are eating us (the Defense Department) alive."

Private employers are legally required to put money into pension funds to match retirement promises. Private pensions have $2.3 trillion in stocks, bonds, real estate and other assets. State and local governments have $3 trillion in retirement funds. The federal government has nothing set aside.

Shane Barker, a lobbyist for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, says it would be unfair to cut retirement benefits. "What draws people into the armed services? Basically good retirement and great health care," he says.

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., a member of the Armed Services Committee, says retirement benefits are an extremely sensitive issue. "We have a disconnect between all these sacred promises we've made and how they are not backed up by anything," he says.

[Ryan Ruck]

Wanted to post about something I saw earlier today.

I was at a gas station getting gas and saw an ice cream truck fueling up. It had a sign on the side stating they accepted EBT.

I took a picture but it came out looking like crap and you couldn't read the sign.

Unbelievable...

[Backstop]

There goes my BP.

[Ryan Ruck]

Kent Couple Admits Faking Mental Handicap For Benefits

October 14, 2011



SEATTLE -- He got hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits. She got a hundred thousand more as his caretaker.

Friday, a husband and wife team from Kent pleaded guilty to ripping off the U.S. Social Security System.

Federal prosecutors said Ronnie George, 50, and his wife Nancy Stone hatched the scheme in 1990. Friday, George admitted he faked that he had a mental disability and was unable to work.

Video of an interview with a state counselor showed George struggling to answer basic questions. His wife sat alongside him. She claimed he was unable to care for him and received cash benefits for providing care.

But undercover Social Security agents captured the real Ronnie George on a separate video. They posed as buyers as a smooth-talking George tried to sell them a car.

The videos were introduced in court to show the judge that George isn’t handicapped at all.

Several other George family members are accused of running similar schemes. The United States Attorney’s Office in Seattle said in all, the family members improperly received $700,000 in federal and state benefits.

George could receive a nearly three-year prison term when he is sentenced.

[American Patriot]

Hmmm. Wonder if some of us could do that?

/chuckles

[Backstop]

Hmmm. Wonder if some of us could do that?

/chuckles

All things considered, I wouldn't have to fake it.

[Phil Fiord]

The way the libs define conservative we all could qualify.

[Ryan Ruck]

Fast Food Chains Getting Into the Food Stamp Act

September 7, 2011

In an ever-growing number of states, if you crave a taco or fried chicken from a fast-food restaurant, you can pay for it with food stamps.

Food stamps - known more formally as the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - have been in use for grocery staples, such as bread and milk, since 1934, but now, for the first time, they can be used for fast food in four states across the country.

The number of businesses – including convenience and discount stores, gas stations and pharmacies – that have been approved to accept food stamps has increased by a third over the course of three years from 2005 to 2010, USA Today reports, and fast-food chains are working hard to get a cut of the federal dollars in Florida, California, Arizona and Michigan.

The funds allocated to the food stamp program have increased exponentially, from $28.5 billion to $64.7 billion in that same time frame, according to USA Today, and at a time when people have less money to spend, the bump in federal dollars can mean a lot to the fast-industry.

Yum! Brands, based in Louisville, Ky., which operates a string of restaurants that includes Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver’s and Pizza Hut, are among those applying for inclusion in the food stamp program, saying that elderly, disabled and homeless people have difficulty preparing meals, ABC affiliate WHAS reported.

Here’s a quick list of fast food restaurants in states that already accept food stamps for restaurant meals:

Michigan:

• Church’s Chicken
• Kentucky Fried Chicken
• McDonald’s
• Subway
• Grandma’s Famous Chicken
• Eight Mile Pancake House
• Mr. T’s BBQ
• Vito’s Pizza

California:

• Jack in the Box
• Subway
• El Pollo Loco
• Papa Murphy’s Pizza

Florida:

• KFC
• Taco Bell
• Pizza Hut
• Papa Murphy’s Pizza

Arizona:

• Domino’s Pizza
• Golden Corral
• Southern Cuisine
• Rally’s Hamburger

[Ryan Ruck]

Food Stamps Used for Starbucks Frappuccinos

December 2, 2011

Oregon Trail Cards -- which are part of the state's food stamp program -- can be used to purchase luxury coffee concoctions at Starbucks counters inside grocery stores, investigators from Fox 12 in Oregon have discovered.

With the help of Jackie Fowler, who has a "supplemental nutrition card" or Oregon Trail Card, Fox 12 visited an in-store Starbucks within a Safeway in the town of Salem. Fowler purchased a tall Frappuccino and a slice of pumpkin bread -- and paid for both using her Oregon Trail card.

"It's crazy," Fowler told Fox 12, showing off the receipt for $5.25.

"They're overpriced as it is," said Fowler of the specialty drink. "That's money that somebody could be eating with -- a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk." Fowler, who made the purchase only for the purpose of Fox 12's story, says she thinks it's a huge misuse of the food assistance program.

A spokesman for Safeway told Fox 12 the store recently made the change as an added convenience to customers.

"We think that compliance with state laws is something we can easily do," Dan Floyd told Fox 12.

According to federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) guidelines, people cannot buy foods that will be eaten in the store or hot foods. However, luxury items that are allowed include soft drinks, candy, cookies, ice cream, even bakery cakes and energy drinks that have a nutrition facts label.

"It's a luxury item. If you really want [a Frappuccino], save your money and go buy one. Don't use the system," Fowler told Fox 12.

A spokesman with the State Department of Human Services told Fox 12 he wasn't aware this practice was happening.

"We'll contact these grocery stores to get more information and make sure they're operating within the SNAP guidelines," said DHS communications director Gene Evans.

"They need to do something to stop it," said Fowler.

Video at the link

[Ryan Ruck]

My Time at Walmart: Why We Need Serious Welfare Reform

December 13, 2011

During the 2010 and 2011 summers, I was a cashier at Wal-Mart #1788 in Scarborough, Maine. I spent hours upon hours toiling away at a register, scanning, bagging, and dealing with questionable clientele. These were all expected parts of the job, and I was okay with it. What I didn’t expect to be part of my job at Wal-Mart was to witness massive amounts of welfare fraud and abuse.

I understand that sometimes, people are destitute. They need help, and they accept help from the state in order to feed their families. This is fine. It happens. I’m not against temporary aid helping those who truly need it. What I saw at Wal-Mart, however, was not temporary aid. I witnessed generations of families all relying on the state to buy food and other items. I literally witnessed small children asking their mothers if they could borrow their EBT cards. I once had a man show me his welfare card for an ID to buy alcohol. The man was from Massachusetts. Governor Michael Dukakis’ signature was on his welfare card. Dukakis’ last gubernatorial term ended in January of 1991. I was born in June of 1991. The man had been on welfare my entire life. That’s not how welfare was intended, but sadly, it is what it has become.

Other things witnessed while working as a cashier included:

a) People ignoring me on their iPhones while the state paid for their food. (For those of you keeping score at home, an iPhone is at least $200, and requires a data package of at least $25 a month. If a person can spend $25+ a month so they can watch YouTube 24/7, I don’t see why they can’t spend that money on food.)

b) People using TANF (EBT Cash) money to buy such necessities such as earrings, kitkat bars, beer, WWE figurines, and, my personal favorite, a slip n’ slide. TANF money does not have restrictions like food stamps on what can be bought with it.

c) Extravagant purchases made with food stamps; including, but not limited to: steaks, lobsters, and giant birthday cakes.

d) A man who ran a hotdog stand on the pier in Portland, Maine used to come through my line. He would always discuss his hotdog stand and encourage me to “come visit him for lunch some day.” What would he buy? Hotdogs, buns, mustard, ketchup, etc. How would he pay for it? Food stamps. Either that man really likes hotdogs, or the state is paying for his business. Not okay.

The thing that disturbed me more than simple cases of fraud/abuse was the entitled nature of many of my customers. One time, a package of bell peppers did not ring up as food in the computer. After the woman swiped her EBT card, it showed a balance that equaled the cost of the peppers. The woman asked what the charge was, and a quick glance at the register screen showed that the peppers did not ring up as food. (Food items had the letter ‘F’ next to their description.) The woman immediately began yelling at me, saying that, “It’s food! You eat it!”

This wasn’t the only time things like this happened: if a person’s EBT balance was less than they thought it would be, or if their cards were declined, it was somehow my fault. I understand the situation is stressful, but a person should be knowledgeable about how much money is in their account prior to going grocery shopping. EBT totals are printed on receipts, and every cell phone has a calculator function. There’s no excuse, and there’s no reason to yell at the cashier for it.

The worst thing I ever saw at Wal-Mart Scarborough was two women and their children. These women each had multiple carts full of items, and each began loading them at the same time (this should have been a tip-off to their intelligence levels). The first woman, henceforth known as Welfare Queen #1, paid for about $400 worth of food with food stamps. The majority of her food was void of any nutritional value. She then pulled out an entire month’s worth of WIC (Women, Infants, and Children program) checks. I do not mind people paying with WIC, but the woman had virtually none of the correct items. WIC gives each participating mother a book containing actual images of items for which a person can and cannot redeem the voucher. This woman literally failed at image comprehension.

After redeeming 10+ WIC checks, Welfare Queen #1 had me adjust the prices of several items she was buying (Wal-Mart’s policy is to just adjust the price of the item without question if it’s within a dollar or two). She then pulled out a vacuum cleaner, and informed me that the cost of the vacuum was $3.48 because, “that’s what it’s labeled as.” The vacuum cleaner was next to a stack of crates that were $3.48. Somehow, every other customer was able to discern that the vacuum cleaner was not $3.48, but Welfare Queen #1 and her friend Welfare Queen #2 were fooled. Welfare Queen #2 informed me that she used to work for Wal-Mart, and that the “laws of Wal-Mart legally said” that I would have to sell her the vacuum for $3.48. After contacting my manager, who went off to find the proper vacuum price, Welfare Queen #1 remarked that it must be tough to stand on a mat all day and be a cashier. I looked at her, smiled, shrugged, and said, “Well, it’s a job.” She was speechless. After they finally admitted defeat, (not before Welfare Queen #2 realizing she didn’t have enough money to buy all of the food she had picked out, resulting in the waste of about $200 worth of products) the two women left about an hour and a half after they arrived at my register. The next man in line said that the two women reminded him of buying steel drums and cement. I said I was reminded why I vote Republican.

Maine has a problem with welfare spending. Maine has some of the highest rates in the nation for food stamp enrollment, Medicaid, and TANF. Nearly 30% of the state is on some form of welfare. Maine is the only state in the nation to rank in the top two for all three categories. This is peculiar, as Maine’s poverty rate isn’t even close to being the highest in the nation. The system in Maine is far easier to get into than in other states, and it encourages dependency. When a person makes over the limit for benefits, they lose all benefits completely. There is no time limit and no motivation to actually get back to work. Furthermore, spending on welfare has increased dramatically, but there has been no reduction of the poverty rate. Something is going terribly wrong, and the things I saw at work were indicators of a much larger problem. Something must change before the state runs out of money funding welfare programs.