California has a problem that does not really surprise me: their welfare cards work in the ATMs in the casinos. Smirk as you may, this might just help perpetuate the stereotype that people on welfare squander their money. For more background on this problem, read here.
New Mexico made it impossible for people to dip into their welfare accounts via ATMs, and so has a Las Vegas ATM firm that supplies more than 1,000 U.S. casinos. A company spokeswoman said it was really easy to block such transactions. Makes me wonder why the state of California hasn’t thought to block these types of transactions.
States are starting to move towards paperless systems of providing government benefits. It seems like a good idea, right? You can track who is spending what and where. I am sure people abused the welfare system in the past with their checks, and I hope the government caught this and that is why this system was put into place. So why would the states be able to put more restrictions on debit cards now? I am sure some things would be hard to prove, but when people are possibly using their welfare money for smoking, drinking, and gambling, isn’t that an abuse of the system? And doing it where it can be tracked is an outright slap in the face.
Granted, I am sure there are plenty of people who would love to have a job and go to work. But there are some things that are luxuries and others that are necessities: food, yes; clothes, yes … but your pack of Marlboro Reds? Not really. I am sure that this is going around everywhere. I know from experience that if you use your food stamps and WIC checks, the system won’t process food that is not approved. Why didn’t the state think this one through?
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