Federal Government's Boot Put on Maine's Neck...

"...Maine officials questioned the motivation behind a recent federal review of the state’s food stamp program Monday, noting the government has been highly critical of the state for trying to rein in welfare.

The state proposed several reforms the federal government opposed. The reforms are designed to help reduce welfare dependency. One reform would require food stamp debit cards to include a photo of the proper recipient, according to The Washington Examiner. The state also wants to ban recipients from purchasing junk food with their benefits. Additionally, the state has moved to institute working requirements which were waived for most states after the recession..."
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/14/maine-responds-to-questionable-federal-welfare-review/#ixzz3uO65tRRb
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2GGUTXhI8gQWmpMcEJGZnFpSXc/view

The answer to Government's "motivation" is to have more people under its control.

 

The strongly-worded letter to Maine's welfare Director:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2GGUTXhI8gQWmpMcEJGZnFpSXc/view




.

Doesn't sound too unreasonable to expect the person who is getting the debit card (food stamps) to indeed be that person.

So let me get this straight. You object to people who receive food stamps, which is basically cash for the purchase of food items, from taking responsibility in selecting their own personal food choices and you want the government to choose for them and they should also be required to prove that they got the food stamps legally by producing some kind of ID. Do I have that right?

This from people who SAY they want less government "intrusion" in their lives....I guess the key to that sentence are the words..."in their lives". Not in the lives of people they don't like...more government intrusion is necessary for them!

For the past month this forum has not had any posts beyond the two of you. It's Not News Hawk, looks like you've killed another one.

Time to shut it down.

With around a dozen thread-views, I don't think there are many viewers who disagree—or can put up a cogent argument.

obervantone wrote:So let me get this straight.  You object to people who receive food stamps, which is basically cash for the purchase of food items, from taking responsibility in selecting their own personal food choices and you want the government to choose for them and they should also be required to prove that they got the food stamps legally by producing some kind of ID.  Do I have that right?

You've never seen photos of EBT cards used to purchase multiple lobsters?

You've never seen ads for $5-off for buying food with an EBT card? Google "Food Stamp Fridays".



I don't know exactly what Maine's do-gooders have in mind, but EBT-possessor's photographs seems to indicate an abuse. Maine says "Five arrests are the 'tip of the iceberg'".
EBT-possessor's photographs seems to indicate an abuse

In New Hampshire, 10% of purchases are by those living out of state!



.

The average food stamp alottment for a family of 4 is $459 a month. That means the family income can not be above a net of about $450 a week for that family of 4....lots of wild spending going on there.

So yes, if stores run food stamp Friday's then it would be in the recipient's best interest to shop there.  Same as going to NH from neighboring states to shop for better prices.

Yep, less government intrusion in YOUR life, but full control over what others do.

obervantone wrote:So yes, if stores run food stamp Friday's then it would be in the recipient's best interest to shop there.

Food Stamp Fridays are at nightclubs and restaurants where alcohol is served.

AL:

Human Resources Department spokesman Barry Sparks says the department does not approve of the promotion. He says food assistance benefits are meant to provide nourishment for hungry families.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ala-nightclub-to-host-food-stamp-fridays/

I could be wrong, however: You may know folks who take their families to nightclubs on their EBT card.

obervantone wrote: Same as going to NH from neighboring states to shop for better prices.

Even with gas prices lower, it doesn't make sense to take one's car across the border to NH. The Feds figure 40 cents operational costs per mile.

obervantone wrote:Yep, less government intrusion in YOUR life, but full control over what others do.

My objection is that people who take my tax money are eligible for discounts that I can't get.



.

Apparently I should not have used the national average for food stamp benefits, New Hampshire's benefits are substantially lower....you know, that live free and starve motto and all. But the FAQ box indicates that the program actually generates more economic activity than it costs....

But don't you worry, the government will step in and pick the food they can buy....you know, all that no government intrusion that you like.

http://www.nhfoodbank.org/About-SNAP-Food-Stamps-.aspx

obervantone wrote:But don't you worry, the government will step in and pick the food they can buy....you know, all that no government intrusion that you like.

I believe Michelle will mandate food choices, maybe even keep lobster prices lower as demand tapers off.

obervantone wrote:But the FAQ box indicates that the program actually generates more economic activity than it costs....

Welfare is keeping people in their same old rut when, at a happier time, they'd move to jobs in other states.  Somebody's keeping drug dealers in business, and it's not me.



.

Since O is so defensive, he must be getting food stamps, NH!

Yep you're on to me now!

I do find it incredibly hypocritical, as I pointed out in my initial response, that people like you (plural) scream bloody murder when you think the government is imposing its will on you in a way you do not like, but have no problem at all allowing government intrusion in the lives of people who need help, right down to what foods they can and can not buy.

INNH claims it is because he doesn't get the same discount...on the other hand, how is that Florida property tax break working out for our "resident" Floridian? Letting other tax payers make up the difference that he does not pay as a 6 month plus 1 day resident does not seem to bother you a bit on that front.

As I said, you only want government to stay out of YOUR lives, but are perfectly fine with government intrusion on others, as long as it doesn't directly involve you.

Hypocracy at its finest.

As I wrote earlier:

"The answer to Government's "motivation" is to have more people under its control.

In the meantime...


"Three-quarters of a Billion dollars are lost from taxpayers:

Our hidden cameras were rolling as a woman, who we’ll call Lorie, told our undercover producer about her brilliant idea to game the system for a quick buck.

“Everyone said I was crazy, but I thought they’d say, ‘that’s freaking brilliant, man,’ ” she said.

Another man, who we’ll call Joe, rolled up on a skateboard. He showed us his CalFresh card he illegally put up for sale on Craigslist.

“See, right now it still has $116 on it,” he told our undercover producer.

Rather than use that money for food like he’s supposed to, Joe offered to sell us the card for just $60 cash.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/11/03/food-stamp-fraud-beneficiaries-illegally-sell-ebt-cards-on-craigslist-social-media-sites/

By April of next year, you will have earned enough money to pay the Government for things the Government thinks are good for us.  (Like sending Billions to Pakistan).

Is there a greater way for Government to "intrude" than to take your earnings—then give it to others?



.

Yes, allowing the government to pick the food you can and can not buy.  So much for the "slogan" of conservatives to "take responsibility"....what you actually mean is government approved responsibility.

It is long past time to shut this forum down. He's got another notch on his laptop.

WHL wrote:Since O is so defensive, he must be getting food stamps, NH!

Well, the EBT card has taken the shame out of welfare, but perhaps made fraudulent practices easier. Making food stamps into a fake "credit card" is not what I would have wanted The Government to do with my tax money.

If you'd read the article, The Government is aware of Craigslist sales of EBT cards, and said "we are monitoring it".

Just what does that mean?

 

News Hawk wrote:Is there a greater way for The Government to "intrude" than to take your earnings—then give it to others?

obervantone wrote:Yes, allowing the government to pick the food you can and can not buy.

That answer doesn't make any sense. It sounds like you have a gripe with Michelle Obama's forced food choices at The Government's schools. (Most of which gets tossed in the garbage).



.

We have no choice in what the gov does with our money that is taken out of our pocket and given to others. Maybe if we did we wouldn't have so much fraud and waste.

obervantone wrote:He's got another notch on his laptop.

Yes, I Do:

Eddie Tipton, former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, has been convicted of fraud for fixing one jackpot in Des Moines, but prosecutors say his high-tech scheme extended far beyond Iowa. He's accused of tampering with lottery drawings in four states over six years, and investigators are expanding their inquiry nationwide.

Not to fear, The Government is "monitoring it".

Yes, don't worry the gov will take care of everything. Just that they can't do anything RIGHT!!!

Fifty Million Americans are on Food Stamps. Isn't this the modern equivalent of a "Soup Kitchen" of the Great Depression?

We're in a Depression but, like "Radical Islamic Terrorists", The Government isn't calling our Depression a Depression.

It's worse!

The Fed is secretly insolvent, and can't bail out our banks.

Rand Paul knows...



.

I would like to know when the other half of the country is going to wake up to what is happening in this country.

Yesterday, a Mayor in Wisconsin called Obama a Muslim.

Was that supposed to be an insult?




Headline:

Luke Rosiak, Investigative Reporter

Seven years after a Puerto Rico government got $10 million in federal money to build a cemetery and bus station, neither one has been built, and local authorities claim to have no documentation about the projects.

The local government said it has no information about its own decisions, because the only copies of the paperwork are possessed by contractors who are holding it for “ransom.” The contractors say they’re not cooperating because Puerto Rico stiffed them on payment

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/23/minneapolis-city-councilwoman-doxes-constituents-who-criticized-her-black-lives-matter-protesting/#ixzz3vFE3NOZW

.

obervantone wrote:So let me get this straight.  You object to people who receive food stamps, which is basically cash for the purchase of food items, from taking responsibility in selecting their own personal food choices and you want the government to choose for them and they should also be required to prove that they got the food stamps legally by producing some kind of ID.  Do I have that right?

Not exactly:

"Job openings for lower-skill workers are abundant in Maine, and for those ABAWD recipients (able-bodied adult without dependents),who cannot find immediate employment, Maine offers both training and community service slots. But despite vigorous outreach efforts by the government to encourage participation, most childless adult recipients in Maine refused to participate in training or even to perform community service for six hours per week. When ABAWD recipients refused to participate, their food stamp benefits ceased.

In the first three months after Maine’s work policy went into effect, its caseload of able-bodied adults without dependents plummeted by 80 percent, falling from 13,332 recipients in Dec. 2014 to 2,678 in March 2015.
http://dailysignal.com/2016/02/08/maine-required-childless-adults-to-work-to-get-food-stamps-heres-what-happened/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=saturday&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRovsqjAZKXonjHpfsX86%2BUkWaKwgYkz2EFye%2BLIHETpodcMTcZrPLDYDBceEJhqyQJxPr3NLtQN191pRhLiDH3rhbLOWYxceLV9yOhlovnyiTg%3D

WHL wrote:I would like to know when the other half of the country is going to wake up to what is happening in this country.

You mean the "Low-Information Voters"?



.

Yes. Also people with no common sense.