“TEA PARTY” GOVERNOR STILL INCENTIVIZING DEPENDENCY …
Last fall, we reported on S.C. governor Nikki Haley‘s failure to enforce work requirements on able-bodied, childless adults who are receiving food stamps.
“Far too many South Carolinians remain on food stamps – and Palmetto State leaders aren’t taking the necessary steps to get them off of the federal dole,” we wrote at the time. “While other ‘Republican’ state leaders – like Kansas governor Sam Brownback and New Mexico governor Susana Martinez – are pushing their states to restore the work requirements for able-bodied, childless food stamp recipients, South Carolina continues to reward those unwilling to work with benefits.”
Brownback and Martinez aren’t the only ones …
According to a report in The Daily Signal – which is run by the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation – Maine’s governor Paul LePage “recently established work requirements on recipients who are without dependents and able-bodied.”
LePage’s logic was simple: There were tons of available jobs in Maine, people were simply refusing to do them because the government was picking up the tab for their food.
That is the very definition of incentivizing dependency …
So, what happened when the spigot was turned off?
“In the first three months after Maine’s work policy went into effect, its caseload of able-bodied adults without dependents plummeted by 80 percent, falling from 13,332 recipients in Dec. 2014 to 2,678 in March 2015,” Robert Rector and Rachel Sheffield wrote for The Daily Signal.
Wow …
Rector and Sheffield added there was “historical precedent” for the Maine results, citing similar declines in national caseloads following 1990s-era bipartisan welfare reforms (which were unfortunately eliminated via the passage of U.S. president Barack Obama‘s 2009 “stimulus”).
Have “Republicans” – who were given control of Congress with explicit instructions to fight the Obama agenda – done anything to reform welfare since then?
No. Totally inconsequential food stamp cuts were made in 2014 – but never implemented.
As a result the dependency economy rolls on …
How bad are things in South Carolina? A state with low incomes and a small labor force?
Good question. State lawmakers recently moved this expense off of the state’s books – meaning the Palmetto state no longer counts food stamp expenditures as part of its annual budget. At the time this “budgetary reform” was undertaken, South Carolina’s annual food stamp cost was approximately $1.4 billion.
61 comments
So who picks up the the tab for Nikki, Michael, Rena and Nalin’s food?
Taxpayers, since we fund her paycheck after all.
“Nikki Haley‘s failure to enforce work requirements on able-bodied, childless adults who are receiving food stamps.”
What is good for the state budget is not necessarily good for one’s political future.
Some common sense has to be injected into this dependency equation.
No work or trying to find work= no food stamps.
And I would take it one step further and start restricting the type of items that could be traded for stamps or EBT cards, or whatever they are using these days.
Good points.Many of these people sell their cards for .50 on the dollar to buy booze and drugs.
I knew a convenience store operator who used to offer $50.00 for one hundred dollars worth of food stamps. He did a hell of a busy, especially on the weekend.
He is still in business and I imagine he has learned to turn a nice profit on EBT cards. The clubs and drug dealers don’t take EBT cards.
Rampant in the restaurant business also. What business wouldn’t want to cut material/supply cost 50%?
I assume you reported him since you are (rightly) so against this kind of abuse.
The fella was reported numerous times. Guess he knew the “right people” and/or was “paying off.”
The crime appears to be infrequently enforced and is not high on the police’s radar. The guy would not commit the act unless he knew you and that makes it hard to make a case when both sides deny the accusation and are rarely, if ever caught in the act.
“I assume you reported him since you are (rightly) so against this kind of abuse.”
Yes, and I am also against robbing banks, but I don’t go and sit in banks all day so I can catch someone in the act and then relay that info to the police.
I’ve done that and the response is basically “what business is it of yours?”. it’s a great day in South Carolina!
Yeah, and it one of those type of crimes where both sides seem to benefit from the transaction. The store owner is not going to turn in the food stamp recipient and the food stamp recipient is not going to turn in the store owner, both sides have broken the law to each one’s perceived benefit. There’s no victim in this type of crime except the tax-payer.
Ten to one it was an Indian. Can’t seem to to trust a one of them.
No, he was a white red neck.
I’m sure you know a lot about that kind of activity.
I sell mine for .40 on the dollar. Right, J.Smit….er, I mean pogo?
“start restricting the type of items that could be traded for stamps or EBT cards”
Pandemonium, the price will drop from 50 cents on the dollar to a quarter when they are selling rice and beans instead of T-bones and lobsters. When it is so easy to buy other people’s card benefits you have to know they don’t really need them. Same with unemployment, it is a bonafide miracle how many people can get a job within two weeks of losing their Gov. check.
Very good points, and it happens every day.
Last check comes in…
I’m healed…I can walk again…until I can re-apply for benefits.
There were, until 2010 when a bunch of Red State govs all came groveling asking the Feds to waive the requirements. Now in Blue states, they kept the restrictions.
Please give me some info on that, I would like to check that out.
Just google around. Texas, Kansas and a bunch others all went to Obama administration like in 2010 to request waivers to the work for welfare requirements.
I think you are bullshitting.
You might be interested in the correct information on the subject.
If bull shit was golden, you would be rich.
http://www.ijreview.com/2015/11/468478-here-are-the-states-that-now-have-work-requirements-for-food-stamp-recipients/
MS, AL, GA, SC, NC, TN, KY, FL, MO, AR, AK, ID, AZ, NM, MI, AZ – all states with GOP governoers as I recall. Sorry, I was wrong about Texas. Also, I believe KS is off your article because it has just reinstated. So I would’nt be that rich. I’d still need my EBT card.
How about the blue states?
You are still bullshitting, as usual.
Driving thru WV yesterday and on the news they said those that receive EBT cards in WV are spending millions of the taxpayers dollars in resort destinations like Florida.I would assume it happens with EBT cards in SC as well.
Well you do claim to go to Florida a lot.
Lol….too bad you can’t go.Who would get the coffee everyday at Fits HQ?
Not a fan of Florida, I prefer cruising to the Bahamas. Florida is old people paradise, have fun at your retirement home resort.
Bam!!!! Bam!!!!! Bu,bu,bu,bu,bu,bam!!!!!!!
I have tried to drink myself into oblivion, but found that the taste of beer turned my stomach. So instead, I lit a cigarette to calm my nerves…but it burned my lips!
Any advice?
FITS apparently you haven’t heard. South Carolina will begin a program similar to Maines starting April 1. It is called the time limited ABAWD program and requires a client to have a job or some other qualifier in order to receive benefits. Otherwise they are limited to benefits for three months and then are off the rolls for three years. Have a feeling South Carolina’s results will be similar to Maines.
They should have picked a less unfortunate date than April Fools day…
When will Nikki finally “get it”?
So she’s not the only one left majorly disappointed after Will Folks humps on them for a minute?
LISTEN: Heidi Cruz says husband will reveal ‘the face of the God’ in wacky religious rant.
Batshit crazy folks….geez
Yo…patriots’ flag-ripping Nikki and SC legislator cohorts…so some of the working people all of the time and all of the working people some of the time…you really think?
Well your dead skunk’s in the middle of the road and when you get sent home for flag ripping WITHOUT our vote and abetting freeloaders—guess who’s going to stink !!!
Most welfare recipients are white trash losers, you know, the kind that support that shitty old flag of yours. Why are you guys such takers and moochers?
Tonto (NO relation to Tonto) followed like a freeloading lemming when he heard that Section 8 bell
He’d vote for Bernie and Killiary this year at least six times and write in Obama and MOOCHELLE !!!
Lone Ranger and his unemployed bumpkin buddies are now trying to hit up the taxpayers for millions of dollars to house their disgraced and disgarded old flag. And the taxpayers unanimously laughed and said “Hell no! Tell those idiots that their trailers will do fine!”
Lone Rangers real flag should be a welfare check taped to a pencil. “The Government check shall cash again!” should be his cry.
Or, like my white trash cousins who would stay on that unemployment insurance until it was rung dry before they started looking for the next job.
When Nitrat and No-Relation-To-Tonto missed their eighth grade graduations their reason was a beauty
They were helping Obama get it wrong about Trayvon and Michael and…yep–both had jury duty !!!
I ended up being possessed by demons because I gave myself over to them in exchange for their ‘power’.
Go Bernie!
Hmm…During this time I was in contact with demons on a regular basis, though not with Satan himself. Demons were powerful underlings, that were at my beckon call.
I now support my favorite demon,Bernie.
I love your examples: Sam Brownback who has brought his state to fiscal ruin with extreme trickle down/fairy tale/voo doo economics and the drunk Susanne Martinez. And, Paul Lepage is another crazy who can’t control his mouth…remind you of anyone?
looks like even Brownback realizes the mistake
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/kansass-failed-experiment/389874/
Boeing is starting to gear up for layoffs in USA … moving production line to China. Charleston cut back in plans.
Fits loves negative stories, but never does a good news story. How about the management of the SCDEW. At the height of the recession 109,672 people were receiving unemployment benefits. When Haley took office there were 70,409. Now there are only 19,523. The percentage of insured employees receiving benefits was 5.38% at the highest. 4.1% when Haley took office and is only 1.03% now. Only three states are lower, See page 5: http://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf
When Haley took office the state was nearly a billion dollars in debt to the federal government. Insurance rates were raised and money was used from the general fund. Now it has been paid off and there is several hundred million dollars in the reserve account in case of another recession. Unemployment insurance rates have also been lowered and there are 168,000 more workers withholdings paying in to the fund.
For 303 consecutive weeks the year over year number of benefit recipients (there is a lot of seasonal variation) has declined. Since 1987 when records began, this had never happened for more than 77 weeks. It rose year over year for two weeks after the Floodmegedon, It has again decreased year on year for the 13 weeks since then.
http://www.oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims.asp
You suck worse than Nikki. Smite the self.
I know it sucks that there is nothing in my comment that you can intelligently challenge. I commented on it late, but I’m pleased it is being read. Thank you for confirming that.
I’m sorry for a somewhat snarky reply, but I need to ask you some questions.
What could possibly make you so angry about the good news that I relayed to you?
Is hate rotting at your soul? Does good news anger you because it might help your political enemy?
Your soul is VERY misguided if you think Nikki is for anything other than Nikki. I call it brainwashing. Have a good day as I will.
Brainwashed? Along 56% of all South Carolinians…
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/nikki-haley/
That is no support against my comment. Nikki is for Nikki.
“Nikki is for Nikki.”
Ad hominem attacks don’t deserve discussion.
Deo Vindice (English: Under God, our Vindicator)
I argue positions and their success in fulfilling that position. No human can know what is in someone else’s heart. I leave Haley’s vindication to God.
ad ho·mi·nem — ad ?häm?n?m/ — adverb & adjective
1. (of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
Thank you, we serve 1 master. Hint: It’s not Nikki.
We agree and so does Nikki. Have a good day.
Thanks for playing.
The numbers were declining until the floodmegedon. Between October and November the number of people receiving SNAP assistance rose 37.9%. This was paid with federal disaster assistance. See NOTE [1] at link.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/pd/29SNAPcurrPP.pdf
Hey I’m for tying the people on SNAP getting a job to when Fits’ book comes out.
The way it was explained in a subcommittee meeting, the money is never actually in the custody of the state. That is why it is “off the books” as you say. It is still recorded, just not budgeted for.
No one should be following the examples of Sam Brownback or Paul LePage on how to run a state.
I hadn’t been on this site in about a year. I see it’s still the same drivel.