-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
The Food Stamp program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is a target for Republicans who voted to cut $40 billion from the program. The reasons that Republicans have given are so divorced from reality that one can reasonably suspect their true motivations lie elsewhere. The primacy of fantasy in the GOP has been recently evidenced by Michele Bachmann who sees signs of the End Times, a wished-for global apocalypse.
First up on the list of fantasies is by Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Arkansas) who said “the food stamp program [grew] exponentially because the government continues to turn a blind eye to a system fraught with abuse.” In reality, SNAP participation closely tracks the long term unemployment rate, prolonged by Republicans. The sale of SNAP benefits for cash, called “trafficking,” has been cut to $1 in every $100 of SNAP benefits. The reality is a one percent abuse rate, the fantasy is SNAP is “fraught” with abuse.
The next fantasy is that able-bodied people are getting food stamps instead of working. The reality is that 83% of all SNAP benefits go to households that include a child, an elderly person, or a disabled person. The average individual gets $133 a month in SNAP benefits. It is ridiculous to imagine that a person is going to quit their job for $133 a month that can only be spent on food, but Republicans bear ridicule well.
The next fantasy is that SNAP recipients use their benefits to buy cigarettes and alcohol. The SNAP program uses Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, similar to debit cards, that can be used in the supermarket checkout line only to purchase food. The Right likes to point to Jackie Whiton, a Peterborough, New Hampshire, store cashier who declined to accept an EBT card as payment for a pack of cigarettes. In reality, the EBT card contained state assistance money, not SNAP benefits, which can be used to purchase tobacco products. The store she worked for has a policy of accepting EBT cash benefits. In reality, Whiton was fired for violating the company’s policies.
The Republican war on programs that benefit Americans in need isn’t based on a philosophical commitment to small government. If it were, the $20 billion in farm subsidies, a welfare program for agribusiness, would be near the top of their hit list. According to a Greenberg report, the Republicans “are very conscious of being white in a country that is increasingly minority.” The report goes on to say that the “race issue [is] very much alive.” There you have it. Obama is taking their money and giving it to “Those People.”
H/T: Dave Johnson, Paul Krugman, Dottie Rosenbaum, Amanda Marcotte, Brian Tashman, WMUR.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2013/05/16/facts-show-food-stamp-program-has-a-strong-record-of-efficienty
Conservative critics of SNAP and other federal social programs like to portray them as turning the United States into an “entitlement society” by undermining the work ethic and creating a class of people dependent on government programs. That’s not true of SNAP and it’s not true of other federal health and income security programs. CBPP analysis finds that more than 90 percent of the benefit dollars that these programs spend go to assist people who are elderly, seriously disabled or members of working households – not to able-bodied, working-age Americans who choose not to work.
Those who do not want to accept the reality preferring their jaundiced and wrong vew that fraud is rampant and those not in need get stamps won’t care about the reality but I thought I would post this anyway.
Wow, you people never stop do you?
How the heck do you suggest I approach drug dealers in my area and ask them to give me some sort of evidence of their activities that I can show here?
Get real.
Ammunition to help those wanting to terminate the program?
Are you serious?
Can you people even think outside the box?
Do you actually believe the big shots need some nobody on the internet to give examples of common welfare fraud?
BTW, why do you think they switched to a card years back and eliminated the paper stamps?
Sure part of it was to help them save money by switching over, but also they felt it would help stop fraud.
They did not believe people would actually hand over their cards for cash and/or drugs.
I find it very odd that some people here do not even know what goes on in the real world and I really love all the red herring attacks you people try to assert in your defense.
This is better then the average youtube troll arguments, too funny.
Tony,
I thought you might like to see this:
“Fox News misleadingly hyped a minor rise in food stamp fraud in an attempt to demonize the program, failing to note it has one of the lowest fraud rates of all federal programs, fraud remains at historically low levels, and the slight increase in fraud reflects an increase in overall enrollment in food supplement initiatives.
On August 15, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a new report on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, which found that benefit trafficking — “when SNAP recipients sell their benefits for cash to food retailers, often at a discount” — had risen slightly from 1.0 percent of total SNAP benefits in 2006-2008 to just 1.3 percent in 2009-2011.
Co-host Brian Kilmeade hyped this minor difference on the August 19 edition of Fox & Friends, focusing on the change in fraud levels while failing to report how little fraud was found in the program:
KILMEADE: 30 percent. That’s how many more Americans, according to a new study, are selling food stamps for cash illegally. No, Steve, that’s not legal. Nearly 48 million people receive food stamps. The program costs $80 billion a year.”
The full article is at this link:
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/08/19/fox-misleadingly-hypes-13-percent-fraud-in-food/195462
Mike Spindle,
You saw that coverage too? What were your thoughts and the surfer guy interviewed in the story?
Nick: So apparently you will double down on denying them any food at all.
The only difference fraud makes is if on balance the benefits do more harm than good. I do not believe the amount of fraud in the system rises to that level; I don’t care if it is 20% fraud, it is worth it to me to overpay by 25% in order to see the 80% of elderly, children, disabled and unemployed not go hungry.
Joe Blow, Bad behavior on the part of customers but seriously, WalMart decides to go ahead and accept cards that weren’t clearing? WalMart corporate figured that the company would get paid by the government no matter what so there is no downside to them if the cards were misused. Seems to me that Walmart was colluding. Theoretically the people abusing the cards are easily traceable and could look for a reduction in next month’s amount to cover the overage used. The Waltons though, even if they had to eat the cost, couldn’t have bought a better propaganda piece for a million dollars.
Among the promises was to rid the system of waste and fraud.
Instead we make it easier to defraud. Fraud, no matter how small is unacceptable.
Why not hire some the unemployed and train them to weed the garden?
This blog is a huge disappointment. Honest discussion is scarce. Partisan rhetoric abounds, particularly among guest hosts…reminds me of those old angry white men…
Maybe you should change the title from Food Stamp Fantasy to Food Stamp Frenzy
Walmart shelves in Springhill, Mansfield, cleared in EBT glitch
Lynd explained the cards weren’t showing limits and they called corporate Walmart, whose spokesman said to let the people use the cards anyway. From 7 to 9 p.m., people were loading up their carts, but when the cards began showing limits again around 9, one woman was detained because she rang up a bill of $700.00 and only had .49 on her card. She was held by police until corporate Walmart said they wouldn’t press charges if she left the food.
Lynd says at 9 p.m., when the cards came back online and it was announced over the loud speaker, people just left their carts full of food in the aisles and left.
“Just about everything is gone, I’ve never seen it in that condition,” said Mansfield Walmart customer Anthony Fuller.
http://www.ksla.com/story/23679489/walmart-shelves-in-springhill-mansfield-cleared-in-ebt-glitch
The FDA has found a 30% rise in fraud just over the past 2 years in EBT fraud, w/ those cards being used in liquor stores, porn shops and other venues w/o food. EBT cards have TRIPLED during the Obama administration.
Dems love to point to waste, fraud and corruption in the military, RIGHTFULLY SO. Why do allegedly intelligent people bury their heads in the sand, and engage in intellectually dishonest arguments like we are seeing here? Where there is govt. money there will be fraud. And, to think it is 1%, in ANY govt. program is simply a ludicrous stance.
TonyC, Poor kids are the ones w/ the highest incidence of obesity. So there is that!!!! Argue logically please. The high carb breakfasts served to them by the govt. contributes to their obesity and related diabetes risk. FLOTUS is the one who pointed this out. Geez, I thought you taught college.
Michael Arm: Yet, I never even suggested what he is claiming I am, plus I am being called a liar as well.
HEY! I resemble that remark! You’re right, I conflated you with somebody else because your inflated arguments about fraud sounded the same as theirs. Sorry about that.
However, when you argue that fraud is rampant, you offer ammunition for those that want to terminate that program altogether, along with all other aid programs. I can say the four families (with kids) I personally know that received food benefits committed zero fraud, they bought food with their benefits.
Why wouldn’t they? They weren’t at zero income, and cash is fungible, what cash you do not spend on food because of food benefits is cash you can keep. What is the point of selling a $100 benefit for $50 if you are going to buy $100 worth of food anyway? Even drug addicts eat their 2000 calories a day, and it isn’t as if the benefits are so generous there is some huge value left over.
I don’t believe the argument that fraud is a problem, or drug addicts selling their benefits is a problem; not only is it unsupported by the outcome of attempts to detect it, it doesn’t make any sense to me from the criminal point of view. If somebody is in a position to trade corn chips for weed, they can just buy corn chips with their benefits. Why go through the shenanigans of potentially getting caught committing a fraud and losing the benefits?
When the benefit can only be spent on certain types of food, in order to convert the fraud to cash somebody has to eventually buy the eligible food and resell it to buyers. I don’t see why drug dealers would make that effort themselves; if they have the customers willing to buy, they could just become food brokers and tell the legitimate card holder what to buy, collect the cash from the customer as they oversee the delivery, and then pay the card holder with the promised drugs. Why do the labor and take the criminal risk and manage the food product themselves, when they can just broker a deal, supervise the labor and show up at the closing? They get the same cash benefit anyway, with less work and no risk (except the drug-dealing risk they already accepted anyway).
They are professionally violent drug dealers, It isn’t like they are going to let anybody defraud them. Heck they don’t even have to show up anywhere, a threat and a ten second phone call are enough to ensure the food delivery was accomplished on their terms, another phone call so one of their street agents handles the payoff in product to the card holder.
Which is all why I don’t believe it, I don’t see drug dealers pushing carts of groceries around the store all day, or spending hours delivering bags of groceries to buyers, which IMO is basically what would have to happen to make this fraud (as described) a viable criminal profit center.
Okay, look at it this way…. The cardholder sells the card to a person who buys groceries daily or weekly, just buys groceries as a normal person does. The cardholder sells the “card” for 50 cents on the dollar… So, if the benefits on the card are $100, then the buyer gives the cardholder $50… then the buyer gets twice the groceries for half the price. And, the card holder gets cash to buy non-food essentials or drugs if that is the case. Now, from a drug dealer’s point of view.. the drug dealer knows the client is desperate and he/she could capitalize quite handsomely by offering the cardholder 25 or 30 cents on the dollar. If the cardholder is a drug addict, they will accept as they don’t need the food as much as the drug. The drugs will keep them from eating anyhow.. so food is not the issue for someone who has a drug problem, sadly. If they have kids, they are already getting free breakfasts and lunches at school. Ahhh, then what does the said drug dealer do with the card? In this scenario, with the drug dealer being the buyer of the ebt card, then he would do one of two things: Sell the card for profit to a grocer who in turn simply swipes the card when he gets a large cash sale of groceries and poof! All done, who would know? Or, use the card, why not? He/she could eat like a king/queen for pennies. The drug dealer makes a profit, the grocer makes a profit, and the cardholder gets their drugs… Not rocket science… But, if the person is not a drug addict or wants more money for the sale of his/her card, and knows a grocer that is willing to buy the card… Then the middle man (drug dealer) is cut out. Again, not rocket science. It does happen… I know of a few (which is a lot) grocery stores, small ones, that have been caught… fined and closed down:
“Two Northeast Ohio men have pleaded guilty to committing a $2 million food-stamp fraud out of four Cleveland stores where they accepted food vouchers for ineligible items such as beer and cigarettes.”
Six people and a business have been indicted by the Lorain County Grand Jury for their role in a food stamp fraud operation, which contributed to $582,000 in fraud. The indictments which were made Wednesday came 15 months after Ohio Investigative Unit…
It happens… sadly but just the same, it does. Most people that really need the benefits, that would not do this, do not apply for them… this I have seen many times, pride… Anyhow, thats it.
I’m back with some petty peevishness, I was scrolling through looking for the area in which Mike or Shannon had been straight out called liars, but I couldn’t find it, however I did find a post from Shannon in which she said stores ask for identification when someone uses a credit card. She wants us to notice that ppl using food cards don’t get I’d’, she is observant, said so herself. Well I have observed that I never get asked for identification when use my debit, credit or food card, seems only time clerks are concerned with authenticity of payment is when they get their little markers out and check those 20’s! 🙂
The statistics, as opposed to the anecdotes, on food stamp fraud are available to anyone who is interested in the facts. All of the opposing arguments boil down to a classic case of petty peevishness: a piece of chalk is missing, so the entire class shall be sent to detention.
Michael Arm,
Please show us where anyone called you a liar. Indulge us.
What’s been pointed out, repeatedly, is that you make wild claims, with no evidence. That’s quite true.
No one says you’re a liar. You just don’t provide any evidence for what you’re saying, including that anyone called you a liar.
No references to newspapers, government reports. You got nothing.
That’s not lying. That’s unsubstantiated allegations.
You’re just wrong, in my opinion. Unless you can prove you’re right.
Food Stamp Fantasies, as the title of the post.
We’re all ears. Or eyes, I guess.
Holy Cr*p!
Now we’ve got to get rid of breakfast for kids?
What’s not to love about this man.
@Shannon
Thanks, you as well.
I actually have no life outside of the internet, so this is kind of interesting for me.
I actually believe some of those here are just making arguments to lure more attention to the blog, because of the fact people are putting words in your mouth and well as mine now,.
I never ever even hinted to suggesting that the foodstamp program be shut down due to fraud, yet that one guy make a whole speech to “set me straight”.
Notice how he started off by saying people are innocent until proven guilty?
Yet, I never even suggested what he is claiming I am, plus I am being called a liar as well.
I suppose “innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t apply to me?
Too funny
@Tony C.
what are you talking about?
Can you please direct me to where I ever said we should take away foodstamps?
I came here because I googled the fact that all the stores were rejecting the cards on Saturday and I was scared to death that the Gov shut them off.
I then notice people asserting that there is no real abuse being done with the food stamp system and I know for a fact that tons of people in my home town abuse it for drugs and such and am voicing what I know is true.
@Mike Spindell
At this point, I could care less what you think, you go ahead and keep pretending you know more then what I see and hear and know to be true.
Here is another abuse done with the card that you can add to your bias mindset of ignorance.
We have a place that gives homeless people a place to stay for 30 days, providing they are not full,as its always full, it’s run by the Urban league.
People who collect SSI and loose their place to live over drugs or what ever the case, go there, get a free bed and fed, and there is also a program that helps them get into a new apartment, they pay their first months rent and deposits and never even ask them where their SSI checks went.
Nor does anyone have to help out with food, but some people will buy snacks for the house or such.
You would think that they would require a portion of your food stamps to help out huh?
Nope, you get a free ride for 30 days to completely blow your stamps, SSI (if you get it) on what ever you want.
Plus at this shelter, two of the assistant workers will actually buy food stamps off of those staying there.
One of the workers will call her sister and she will come, give a person cash for their card (50 cents on the dollar)
Go spend the balance she had bought, and then return the card.
The other one calls her husband, who will do the same.
But yah, I am just making this up as I go along huh?
Michael Arm,
It’s apparent that those who call us liars, do not live in the Anerica we do. It is pointless to open the eyes of those who refuse to see the bigger picture. Wishing you the best.
That should be Michael Arm, not Arn.
MIchael Arn,
Your personal experience doesn’t jive with the Utah or Florida drug testing debacles.
Michael: We have a principle of law in this country that people are innocent until proven guilty; perhaps you have heard of it. If you haven’t, the idea is that you cannot deny people something they are entitled to on the grounds they might have committed a crime, and they have to prove they are innocent first, which is what you think should be done for food stamp recipients: Make them prove they aren’t committing a crime. The Innocent until PROVEN guilty means they have a presumption of innocence until there is EVIDENCE they have done something wrong, and your rumors and beliefs that “people like them” commit crimes is not EVIDENCE.
You want to destroy the country over what all actual evidence suggests is a tiny percentage of recipients. The majority of us don’t think that is a good idea at all; the majority of us don’t think it will save anything, the majority of us think that even if it did save a nickel on the dollar it would not be worth the precedent, and the majority of us think the program does good and you just resent paying taxes in general and choose the weakest segment of society to attack instead of the strongest that actually deserve your ire; the multi-billion dollar corporations that pay less taxes than you — literally, like zero dollars in net taxes.
@rafflaw
I never actually said I supported drug testing because, in the end, it really changes nothing.
I also dont know the amount of drug addicts who collect welfare but in my home town, in my building alone, there are a f load of them.
I was homeless for about a year, living in my van at a truckstop, and would frequent the local mission for dinner, and about 90% of those eating there, are drug addicts who collect foodstamps and their foodcard would be gone in one day, because they know they can eat at the mission.
Perhaps, they only make up about 1% of all those in the town who collect foodstamps, idk.
I just know, there is a ton of them all over my town.