WTF? Outlaw poor people having more than 20.00 on their persons?

[rustydog]

http://www.fightbacknews.org/2011/3/15/minnesota-republicans-say-poor-people-money-should-be-outlaws

Minnesota: Where did you bury your compassion for a fellow human being? it is bad enough that American cities have passed ordinances that people who are homeless (you know, they have NO FUCKING PLACE TO GO to get out of your field of view) cannot sit or stand in parts of the city...

Funding for homeless shelters are being slashed because Republican (Christian conservatives) bigots, hateful people all, decided giving tax breaks for the wealthy is worth taxing the poor and killing the poorest amongst us.

If you are on public assistance and you sell a personal piece of property, and that sale places 25.00 in you pocket you are a criminal! How DARE you try to better your situation in life! Don't you know your place? (It is down by the river, under the bridge that people really can't see under too well. Keep the fuck out of our park restrooms you bastards and, better not get caught urinating or defecating outside, you'll be cited.

If these lawmakers truly believe, in their deepest corner of their hearts, that they are Christians who are returning christ and the Bible to our government, how can they commit these acts that are so AGAINST every-single-teaching-of jesus Christ?

As you treat the least among you, you treat me. If you have two coats, give one away...."Am I my brothers keeper?" YES, GODDAMN IT, YES! If America goes down the tubes and completely crashes tomorrow, I'd rather know that just before this once-great Nation died, we were taking care of it's poorest, most vulnerable persons and not the fucking Koch brothers at the expense of the poor and working poor.


Thanks for letting me rant.

[TBF]

1. Good rant. K&R nt

[Indydem]

2. Thats NOT what the bill is about.

It says that the max cash withdraw from a public assistance account is $20 2x per week.

[The Magistrate]

3. If There Is A Fee For Withdrawl, Sir, And There Usually is, That Is Even Worse

They might as well just credit the money directly to the servicing bank and skip the middleman....

[rustydog]

4. Yes it is!

"...On March 15, Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee testified in front of the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee on House File 171. Buechner told committee members, “We would like to address the provision that makes it illegal for MFIP families to withdraw cash from the cash portion of the MFIP grant - and in fact, appears to make it illegal for MFIP families to have any type of money at all in their pockets. How do you expect people to take care of business like paying bills such as lights, gas, water, trash and phone?”

House File 171 would make it so that families on MFIP - and disabled single adults on General Assistance and Minnesota Supplemental Aid - could not have their cash grants in cash or put into a checking account..."

[Doctor_J]

11. Jesus Christ

wtf are you doing at DEMOCRATIC underground?

[Starckers]

15. The Bill

If I read it right refers only to the first month, why that
is, I do not know.

[dragonlady]

17. The text of the bill

The sections following this (not copied) are about residency. This is the section that is generating all the controversy. Read it and see what you think.

1.9 Section 1. <256.9870> ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER DEBIT CARD.
1.10 Subdivision 1. Electronic benefit transfer or EBT debit card. (a) Electronic
1.11 benefit transfer (EBT) debit cardholders in the general assistance program and the
1.12 Minnesota supplemental aid program under chapter 256D and programs under chapter
1.13 256J are prohibited from withdrawing cash from an automatic teller machine or receiving
1.14 cash from vendors with the EBT debit card. The EBT debit card may only be used as a
1.15 debit card.
1.16 ( b) Beginning July 1, 2011, cash benefits for programs listed under paragraph (a)
1.17 must be issued on a separate EBT card with the head of household's name printed on the
1.18 card. The card must also state that "It is unlawful to use this card to purchase tobacco
1.19 products or alcoholic beverages." This card must be issued within 30 calendar days of
1.20 an eligibility determination. During the initial 30 calendar days of eligibility, a recipient
1.21 may have cash benefits issued on an EBT card without the recipient's name printed on the
1.22 card. This card may be the same card on which food support is issued and does not need
1.23 to meet the requirements of this section.
2.1 (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), EBT cardholders may opt to have up to $20
2.2 per month accessible via automatic teller machine or receive up to $20 cash back from
2.3 a vendor.
2.4 Subd. 2. Photo identification. Retailers at a point-of-sale may request a photo
2.5 identification card when an EBT card is presented for payment. It is unlawful for an EBT
2.6 cardholder to allow another person to use the cardholder's card.
2.7 Subd. 3. Prohibited purchases. EBT debit cardholders in programs under
2.8 subdivision 1 are prohibited from using the EBT debit card to purchase tobacco products
2.9 and alcoholic beverages, as defined in section 340A.101, subdivision 2. It is unlawful for
2.10 an EBT cardholder to purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco products or alcoholic
2.11 beverages with the cardholder's EBT card.
2.12 Subd. 4. EBT use restricted to Minnesota vendors. EBT debit cardholders in
2.13 programs under subdivision 1 are prohibited from using the EBT debit card at vendors
2.14 located outside of Minnesota. This subdivision does not apply to the food portion.
2.15 Subd. 5. Fraud reports. Retailers who report to the commissioner substantiated
2.16 incidents of EBT card fraud shall receive five percent of any recovered funds.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H0171.1.html&session=ls87

[Indydem]

18. That is slightly different from what I had read.

$20 monthly is more restrictive than is justified.

My question is: What is the big damn deal? It allows those receiving benefits to have a debit card (which is how I make ALL of my purchases) and it completely eliminates the conservative argument that "all them poor people is just buying drugs/alcohol/cigarettes" and makes it more certain that those receiving benefits ARE using it for what it was meant for.

If that makes me regressive, then I guess I'm regressive. I love taking conservatives arguments away from them and beating them in the head with them. The poor in this country do need assistance, and if this is what it takes to prove to rightards that people aren't just cashing out their EBT cards to go buy drugs, then thats fine by me.

[dragonlady]

19. I just wanted to put the actual bill out there

so people could see what it is they're writing about. There are still concerns, for example, does the $20 have to cover a month's worth of bus fare? In general, it is taking autonomy away from people just because they need public assistance.

[polmaven]

5. Rant away, rusty -

Rant away....Very nicely said!

[WingDinger]

6. God is DEAD, or he/she would smote their stingy, evil asses.

I'm about to steal his thunder, if they don't learn to pass for human.

[OHdem10]

7. Wallet Police. Are we going to have wallet check? Will

everyone have to open up their wallets or only someone
who looks poor.

Speaking of Big Brother.

[WingDinger]

8. You dont think that is happening now? Walk the streets, you can be stopped.

[myrna minx]

9. I wonder how we'll fund the wallet inspector task force.

:crazy:

[rustydog]

10. You would have to reduce spending on eduction of course.

[Doctor_J]

12. I am sure the Bachmann voters will volunteer

It gives them a chance to point their guns at poor people.

[freshwest]

20. Not only that, it seems like all those regulations cost more than the help.

Talk about nitpicking.

[lpbk2713]

13. Proposed penalty ...

no admittance to the Yacht Club or the Country Club.


:sarcasm:


:rofl:


These assholes live in a parallel universe.

[Doctor_J]

14. More likely they'll have their voting rights revoked

One of the major thrusts of the Repuke governors is to restrict voting rights to the rich & white. I would keep an eye out for penalties involving voting rights.

[jwirr]

16. Our compassion is buried under some damn teabaggers ass. Of

course those same teabaggers are feeding at the trough whenever they can. Hypocrites.

[petronius]

21. From the text in post 17, I don't see where the 'money in the pocket' interpretation is coming from

It seems to say that no more than $20/month in cash may be withdrawn from the EBT account, but says nothing about money from other sources - like the 'selling property' example in the OP.

How do these cards usually work? It would seem like there's always some restriction on cash withdrawals (otherwise all the brouhahas about restricted purchases would be moot). Are there separate allocations for cash-requiring activities, like bus fare? It would make sense to me that if the agency cared about controlling how the money was spent, each persons card would have a cash-withdrawal maximum - although it should be user-specific and $20 seems ridiculously low across the board...

[Starry Messenger]

22. recommend.

[Maat]

23. This will be ruled unconstitutional.

Mark my words - if it passes.