U.S. threatens to cut food stamp funding to Maine in photo ID row | The Compost Bin

U.S. threatens to cut food stamp funding to Maine in photo ID row

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22 Nov ’14 - 9:31 am

God forbid we actually ID who is getting what

(Reuters) - The federal government has threatened to cut funding for Maine’s food stamp program, saying the state may be violating recipients' civil rights by requiring welfare cards to bear their photograph.

Maine began printing photos on electronic benefit (EBT) cards in July in an effort that Republican Governor Paul LePage said was designed to combat fraud.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers funding for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), said in a letter on Thursday that the state was now "at risk of losing Federal financial participation."

"Any individual who applies for SNAP on behalf of eligible household members must be able to access the program without fear," USDA regional administrator Kurt Messner wrote in the letter to Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, adding that a photo ID requirement on benefit cards could have a "chilling effect" on prospective applicants.

Maine's food stamp program costs some $360 million per year, all of which is paid for by the federal government. It was not clear if all of the funding was at risk.

Thursday’s letter from the USDA followed an August inspection in Maine in which USDA staff said they found evidence Maine was requiring the photos.

Maine Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew called the allegations misleading.

"We do not believe that a policy putting photos on EBT cards has a ‘chilling effect’ on their appropriate use any more than putting photos on drivers licenses has a ‘chilling effect’ on driving," she said. She added that printing photos on welfare cards was indeed optional, but that only around 100 of the more than 21,000 recipients had declined.

"The feds objective in coming to Maine was nothing more than an attempt to undermine our ongoing efforts to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in welfare programs," she said.

The Maine photo ID program is part of a broader crackdown on welfare fraud by LePage, who is backed by Tea Party conservatives and was re-elected this month after a contentious three-way race during which he pledged to overhaul the state’s welfare system.

Maine is not the first state to require the photos but the federal government set special rules for those states, which also include Massachusetts and New York.

http://www.reuters.c.....6120141121

jonathco

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22 Nov ’14 - 11:20 am

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why people are so up in arms over I.D.s these days. If it helps limit welfare system abuse, how is that a bad thing?

When I was a kid, my aunt was on food assistance, and she didn't get a EBT card at all; she got a clearly marked delivery truck out front of her house once a month, that dropped off plain white-labeled "US government assistance" canned and dry food goods for her and my cousins. They ate decent, but there was a level of accountability there because everyone in the neighborhood could see they were getting government help. If they had gone out and bought a shiny new car, the neighbors would have helped publicly shame them. But we have lost all of that social interaction today with these food-stamp cards that are indistinguishable from an actual credit card.

This may sound coldhearted, but there is no drive for people to get off food-stamps when it is free money that no longer has any public accountability or stigma to it. In our attempt to be politically correct to welfare recipients, we have setup a system that hands out free money and provides little (if any) incentive to take it as a "hand-up" rather than a hand-out.

[ends rant, steps off soapbox, grumbles, and then walks away]

easytapper

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22 Nov ’14 - 3:16 pm

jonathco said
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why people are so up in arms over I.D.s these days. If it helps limit welfare system abuse, how is that a bad thing?

When I was a kid, my aunt was on food assistance, and she didn't get a EBT card at all; she got a clearly marked delivery truck out front of her house once a month, that dropped off plain white-labeled "US government assistance" canned and dry food goods for her and my cousins. They ate decent, but there was a level of accountability there because everyone in the neighborhood could see they were getting government help. If they had gone out and bought a shiny new car, the neighbors would have helped publicly shame them. But we have lost all of that social interaction today with these food-stamp cards that are indistinguishable from an actual credit card.

This may sound coldhearted, but there is no drive for people to get off food-stamps when it is free money that no longer has any public accountability or stigma to it. In our attempt to be politically correct to welfare recipients, we have setup a system that hands out free money and provides little (if any) incentive to take it as a "hand-up" rather than a hand-out.

[ends rant, steps off soapbox, grumbles, and then walks away]

I can't agree more, especially about the IDs. I read a thread somewhere (probably the UG) about the "True Cost of an ID" (in regards to voter identification), citing that it's an expense that many minorities can't afford and therefore limits them voting. Nowadays, especially with the patriot act, you can't do hardly anything without an ID (and usually two). You can't: get a job, cash a check, get a bank account, make returns to a store, or even volunteer (or visit) your child's school.

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jonathco

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24 Nov ’14 - 2:01 pm

jonathco said
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why people are so up in arms over I.D.s these days. If it helps limit welfare system abuse, how is that a bad thing?

When I was a kid, my aunt was on food assistance, and she didn't get a EBT card at all; she got a clearly marked delivery truck out front of her house once a month, that dropped off plain white-labeled "US government assistance" canned and dry food goods for her and my cousins. They ate decent, but there was a level of accountability there because everyone in the neighborhood could see they were getting government help. If they had gone out and bought a shiny new car, the neighbors would have helped publicly shame them. But we have lost all of that social interaction today with these food-stamp cards that are indistinguishable from an actual credit card.

This may sound coldhearted, but there is no drive for people to get off food-stamps when it is free money that no longer has any public accountability or stigma to it. In our attempt to be politically correct to welfare recipients, we have setup a system that hands out free money and provides little (if any) incentive to take it as a "hand-up" rather than a hand-out.

[ends rant, steps off soapbox, grumbles, and then walks away]