NY learns telling welfare recipients to stop using EBT cards at strip clubs doesn't work...

If they would cancel these abusers EBT cards, they could have an impact.

Via The NY Post:

Welfare recipients swiped their electronic benefits cards to get cash at strip clubs, peep shows, porn shops and liquor stores for months after a state law was enacted to stop the practice.
A Post review of state Electronic Benefit Transfer records showed dozens of transactions at ATMs at the off-limits locales, including ABC Liquor Store in Brooklyn, Sin City Entertainment in The Bronx and Sugardaddy’s strip club in Long Island City.
The records were obtained under the Freedom of Information Law by The Post, which in 2013 uncovered numerous instances in which welfare recipients used EBT cards to get cash from ATMs at bars, porn shops and liquor stores.
In 2014, the state spent $2.2 billion in tax money on its Temporary Assistance program, which is intended to pay for housing, utilities and household necessities.

Stupid: Colorado Democrats blocking bill to prevent EBT card use at weed shops...

Even the marijuana shop owners favor the bill...

Everyone in Colorado from Republicans to marijuana moguls wants to stop welfare cash from being used to buy recreational pot, but standing in their way are the state’s formidable legislative Democrats.
Despite mounting evidence that “welfare for weed” is more than an urban myth, Democratic legislators are balking at a bill that would add marijuana dispensaries and strip clubs to the list of places, along with casinos and liquor stores, where debit-style benefits cards cannot be used to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines, or ATMs.
Democrats killed a similar bill last year, but now the stakes are higher. States had two years to align their statutes with a 2012 federal law banning the use of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards at gambling and adult-entertainment venues.
As of this year, states that fail to take action risk having their federal grants under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program reduced by 5 percent.

Alleged Black Panther Ferguson bombing plot failed because there was no money on an EBT card...

So, the Black Panthers allegedly involved in the alleged were going to buy bombs with a girlfriends EBT card money. How does this make you feel about your tax dollars going to welfare and food stamps?

Via Stl. Today:

Two men indicted last week on federal weapons charges allegedly had plans to bomb the Gateway Arch — and to kill St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch and Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson — the Post-Dispatch has learned.
Sources close to the investigation were uncertain whether the men had the capability to carry out the plans, although the two allegedly did buy what they thought was a pipe bomb in an undercover law enforcement sting.
The men wanted to acquire two more bombs, the sources said, but could not afford to do it until one suspect’s girlfriend’s Electronic Benefit Transfer card was replenished. […]
One of the defendants’ plans, the sources said, included planting a bomb inside the observation deck at the top of the Arch. It was not clear how they could have gotten a bomb past airport-style security screening for rides up.

Good news: EBT cards can now be used at store selling edible underwear...

You can't make stuff like this up...

Via WAFB

A south Louisiana lingerie store has posted on its front door to indicate it accepts most credit cards, including the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card.
Kiss My Lingerie, in Gonzales, sells adult specialty items. The store moved into the Magnolia Shopping Center on South Burnside Avenue a few years ago. However, accepting the EBT payment is something that happened eight months ago, according to the owner. The owner went on to say the store accepts every form of payment and does not discriminate against customers.
A woman who works near the store and asked not to be identified said in the last few weeks, she’s noticed more people going inside the adult shop. She added that’s when she saw the message on the front door of the store that the EBT card is listed as an acceptable form of payment.
“We were told anything could be purchased there, with the food stamp card,” she said. “No child I know eats edible underwear.”
The woman said to her knowledge, the EBT card is supposed to be used for the support of children. A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Family Services said the EBT card, or the Louisiana Purchase card, is not just for food stamps. There are also cash benefits available for other family needs. The only things the cash benefits do not cover are alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, casinos and adult entertainment.

Good News: Computer glitch takes out food stamp EBT cards...

I hope they never get it fixed. When I was young, we were poor and didn't have food stamps. I didn't starve to death. I don't know anyone who starved to death. Making it easy for people to be lazy is a poor plan. Only the very elderly of severely disabled should get food assistance. The rest need to find the motivation to take care of themselves. Hunger is a powerful motivator.

BOSTON (CBS) – A possible glitch in a computer system upgrade was causing major problems nationwide with the Electronic Benefits Transfer System on Saturday, as a countless number of shoppers found themselves stranded at the register.
Reports from around the country began pouring in around 9 a.m. on Saturday that customers’ EBT cards were not working in stores.
The glitch, however, did not appear to be part of the government shutdown. At 2 p.m., an EBT customer service representative told CBS Boston that the system was currently down for a computer system upgrade.