Trump wants to start charging stores to accept food stamps

[Keith&Co.]

That'd be worse than a fee, though.
If I pay $x to accept food stamps, that's a flat rate for the year. I'm losing $x/year.

If I sell $1.50 worth of flour to someone with a $1 food stamp, I'm losing my profit on every bag of flour I sell. I either stop accepting food stamps or raise the price of chicken over in the deli to cover the costs.

No--the state would reimburse the $1.50 on the bag of flour.

So...

Rather than give the poor $1.50 to buy flour, the state'll give them $1.00 to buy flour, with a coupon for another .50 cents worth of flour, and the state will reimburse the store for the .50 cent difference.

Why not just give them a buck fifty in the first place?

 

[Keith&Co.]

Food stamps should not exist. Give people money.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
We cannot do that.
All our money has God's name on it.
If we give money to the poor, God's going to be right there in the middle of the transaction. He'll start to think we're being charitable to those that haven't earned it. And how could our leaders pretend to be Christains in a Christain nation if we're being charitable to the poor and elderly and economically marginalized?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Food stamps should not exist. Give people money.

This exists via the Earned Income tax credit.

 

[LordKiran]

I find it laughable that there's a problem when some poor man uses his SNAP card to buy a lobster but it's okay when we give millions of dollars in tax relief to various companies that they don't need. Just one more way the repugs try to make an enemy out of the poorest segment of society.

There was a time when I had stamps while I was working. Some days it was all I could do to buy some cheap snack crap to scarf down before work or during my break so I had the energy to get through my shift. What, do the reds just expect me to buy a can of string beans instead?

Lobster tastes like ass (otherwise why do you need to dip every piece of that crap in melted butter?!), so any person using SNAP should be scolded for buying stuff that tastes like ass. Just because middle and upper class people are dumb enough to be convinced lobster doesn't taste like ass does not give poor people an excuse to fall for such lies!

What's great about lobster isn't its taste, but its texture. Lobster has a satisfying meaty texture that can almost be described as 'crisp'. It's pretty great actually.

 

[bilby]

Food stamps should not exist. Give people money.

This exists via the Earned Income tax credit.

Great. It should also exist via all other benefits, including SNAP.

 

[SimpleDon]

This exists via the Earned Income tax credit.

Great. It should also exist via all other benefits, including SNAP.

Better yet, since the majority of food stamp recipients work*, many at two or more jobs, pay them enough so that they don't need any government assistance. Government assistance programs are always going to be demonized and underfunded.

* of those capable of working, i.e., excluding children, the elderly and the disabled.

 

[Playball40]

Also, stories of food stamps going to Taco Bell are pretty much bullshit. Yes, people sell their benefits at a discounted rate to buy things not on the acceptable list. Usually shit like diapers, wipes, tampons, toilet paper etc. You can't walk in a taco bell and order food using a snap card.

Republicans are all upset about stories of people using their SNAP benefits to buy lingerie, Taco Bell, using it for bail money, lobster...

Wonder if they could compromise? I mean, taxes for prepared foods are often different from the taxes paid on raw food ingredients.
What if they only charged Fast Food places who want to accept food stamps? Or Lingerie stores?
Any establishment for which less than 20% of its sales are raw food, food ingredients needs to pay for the privilege of accepting food stamps. And charge them twice what would have been charged at grocery stores. It'll either generate revenue from the sales that piss the conservatives off, or it'll decrease the number of places that make those sales. Either way, the conservatives will be happy and feel they've accomplished something, and leave the grocery stores alone...

 

[Derec]

I recall hearing a statistic that the average SNAP recipient gets about $1.34 per meal in assistance - this really is moustache-twirling levels of petty evilness.

That is a bit of a misconception that food stamp recepients are expected to live on their food stamp benefits. For example, the
That['s the same misconception behind the infamous food stamp challenge.

S in SNAP means "supplemental". It was never meant to pay for the entire cost of food one needs, just supplement one's food budget.

 

[Derec]

Better yet, since the majority of food stamp recipients work*, many at two or more jobs, pay them enough so that they don't need any government assistance. Government assistance programs are always going to be demonized and underfunded.

SNAP limits vary greatly by household size. A single person becomes ineligible working even a $7.50/hr full time job (limit $15.5k/year). But if you have a wife and 6 children, you are eligible up to 53k/year. That is higher than US median household income btw. You can't pay people enough to guarantee they won't be eligible for food stamps because eligibility increases with household size without limit. I think it should be capped, because the government should not be encouraging and subsidizing ridiculously large families anyway.

 

[Derec]

Also, stories of food stamps going to Taco Bell are pretty much bullshit. Yes, people sell their benefits at a discounted rate to buy things not on the acceptable list. Usually shit like diapers, wipes, tampons, toilet paper etc. You can't walk in a taco bell and order food using a snap card.

As usual, you are wrong.
Using SNAP Benefits for Fast Food Restaurants Is a State Decision

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Better yet, since the majority of food stamp recipients work*, many at two or more jobs, pay them enough so that they don't need any government assistance. Government assistance programs are always going to be demonized and underfunded.

SNAP limits vary greatly by household size. A single person becomes ineligible working even a $7.50/hr full time job (limit $15.5k/year). But if you have a wife and 6 children, you are eligible up to 53k/year. That is higher than US median household income btw. You can't pay people enough to guarantee they won't be eligible for food stamps because eligibility increases with household size without limit. I think it should be capped, because the government should not be encouraging and subsidizing ridiculously large families anyway.

The problem is what happens to the kids in such a situation?

And what happens with blended families? Two widows with reasonable size families marry.

 

[braces_for_impact]

Also, stories of food stamps going to Taco Bell are pretty much bullshit. Yes, people sell their benefits at a discounted rate to buy things not on the acceptable list. Usually shit like diapers, wipes, tampons, toilet paper etc. You can't walk in a taco bell and order food using a snap card.

As usual, you are wrong.
Using SNAP Benefits for Fast Food Restaurants Is a State Decision

Actually your prejudice jumps the gun once again.

[FONT=&quot]The clause excluding hot foods and food that can be eaten in stores removes a lot of restaurants and fast food establishments from accepting EBT cards. However, the USDA also states, [/FONT]“In some areas, restaurants can be authorized to accept SNAP benefits from qualified homeless, elderly, or disabled people [FONT=&quot]in exchange for low-cost meals.” Note that based on the published information, the Restaurant Meals Program (as this initiative is known) is available only for homeless, elderly, or disabled recipients of EBT.[/FONT]

The only states where the Restaurant Meals Program is confirmed to be widely available are Florida, Michigan, Arizona, and California.

 

[Deepak]

I recall hearing a statistic that the average SNAP recipient gets about $1.34 per meal in assistance - this really is moustache-twirling levels of petty evilness.

That is a bit of a misconception that food stamp recepients are expected to live on their food stamp benefits. For example, the
That['s the same misconception behind the infamous food stamp challenge.

S in SNAP means "supplemental". It was never meant to pay for the entire cost of food one needs, just supplement one's food budget.

While I don't want to make light of his majesty's concern for the price of tea in China - would he see fit to contribute a thruppence or would that spoil the mendicants too greatly?

 

[whichphilosophy]

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/07/trump-wants-to-start-charging-stores-to-accept-food-stamps.html

• Donald Trump wants to charge retailers a fee for accepting food stamps as payment from the poor.
• The food stamp fee would be reassessed every five years.
• Budget office predicts $2.4 billion in new revenue from the fee, which is seen hurting independent grocers more than big chains.
• Separately, the Trump administration is proposing $191 billion in cuts over the next decade to the food stamp program.

There is a thread asking how horrible is Trump.

Pretty damned horrible.

He wants to starve poor people and penalize small business.

Food stamps must be expensive to administer and why should the poor have to advertise the fact every time they go into a store. There must be a lot of manual counting activities in the shops which takes time.

The there are government departments who also manually count it.

The UK has a comprehensive welfare system with faults, but payment is deposited automatically into the recipient's account on a regular basis. This would perhaps reduce costs of welfare payments which increasingly claimed online. There are some exceptions for people who don't have accounts.

Perhaps food stamps are meant to "stop bums buying liquor". Of course it won't; they can trade their food stamps.

 

[bleubird]

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/07/trump-wants-to-start-charging-stores-to-accept-food-stamps.html



There is a thread asking how horrible is Trump.

Pretty damned horrible.

He wants to starve poor people and penalize small business.

Food stamps must be expensive to administer and why should the poor have to advertise the fact every time they go into a store. There must be a lot of manual counting activities in the shops which takes time.

The there are government departments who also manually count it.

The UK has a comprehensive welfare system with faults, but payment is deposited automatically into the recipient's account on a regular basis. This would perhaps reduce costs of welfare payments which increasingly claimed online. There are some exceptions for people who don't have accounts.

Perhaps food stamps are meant to "stop bums buying liquor". Of course it won't; they can trade their food stamps.

There are no "stamps"anymore.It is a debt card that is refilled on the first of the month.

 

[whichphilosophy]

Food stamps must be expensive to administer and why should the poor have to advertise the fact every time they go into a store. There must be a lot of manual counting activities in the shops which takes time.

The there are government departments who also manually count it.

The UK has a comprehensive welfare system with faults, but payment is deposited automatically into the recipient's account on a regular basis. This would perhaps reduce costs of welfare payments which increasingly claimed online. There are some exceptions for people who don't have accounts.

Perhaps food stamps are meant to "stop bums buying liquor". Of course it won't; they can trade their food stamps.

There are no "stamps"anymore.It is a debt card that is refilled on the first of the month.

I'm clearly out of date. Why not simply send payment to the recipient's bank account and let them use a debit applicable to the account? I may be wrong again.

 

[bleubird]

There are no "stamps"anymore.It is a debt card that is refilled on the first of the month.

I'm clearly out of date. Why not simply send payment to the recipient's bank account and let them use a debit applicable to the account? I may be wrong again.

Most do not bank.Snap card is a debt card that is refilled on the first of every month.Why is this so hard to understand?

 

[whichphilosophy]

I'm clearly out of date. Why not simply send payment to the recipient's bank account and let them use a debit applicable to the account? I may be wrong again.

Most do not bank.Snap card is a debt card that is refilled on the first of every month.Why is this so hard to understand?

Are you saying it is not a bank card so shows a person is not on welfare. My point, where in this area I know almost nothing is does the shopkeeper know he is dealing with food stamps.

In the UK no one can tell which shopper is on welfare and who is not. This I think is a better system.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'm clearly out of date. Why not simply send payment to the recipient's bank account and let them use a debit applicable to the account? I may be wrong again.

Most do not bank.Snap card is a debt card that is refilled on the first of every month.Why is this so hard to understand?

Was that a rhetorical question?

 

[bleubird]

Most do not bank.Snap card is a debt card that is refilled on the first of every month.Why is this so hard to understand?

Are you saying it is not a bank card so shows a person is not on welfare. My point, where in this area I know almost nothing is does the shopkeeper know he is dealing with food stamps.

In the UK no one can tell which shopper is on welfare and who is not. This I think is a better system.

We know it is snap and must exempt sales tax.We are told to never announce it as snap and never belittle the customer.