President Obama, no doubt, would like us all to believe that the government can do things better than the private sector.
He obviously has not visited Philadelphia or the Hartford, Connecticut area this past week, cities that stood in the path of Tropical Storm Irene about a month ago. If he had, he would have seen thousands of supposedly “low income” people, lining up for hours at state Department of Social Services facilities, waiting for what has been billed as “disaster relief” payments for people who allegedly do not receive other welfare assistance and may have lost food or income during the storm. The program, called Disaster SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), or D-SNAP, was created by the federal government, but administered by states.
According to “stated” D-SNAP rules, in Connecticut, applicants must have met financial criteria to qualify for the assistance. Take-home income and liquid assets for the period from Aug. 27 to Sept. 25 could not exceed $2,186 for a single person; $2,847 for a household of two; $3,272 for a household of three; $3,859 for a household of four; $4,254 for a household of five; $4,753 for a household of six; $5,116 for a household of seven; and $5,479 for a household of eight.
However, some people who have received the “free” money apparently did not have to prove any loss of food or power during the storm at all. In Connecticut, some called into Hartford area local talk show, State and Church, to report knowledge of co-workers who took off from work, with pay, to wait on lines for an entire day at DSS offices to obtain “free” debit cards, suggesting that proof of income level may not have been a hard and fast requirement either.
Others already on food assistance programs called in to say that they had automatically received “extra” money from the state for “storm-related” losses, so the requirement of not already being a recipient of state aid appears to have been a “loose” one as well. Still others called to report that it was entirely possible to stand in line for a “free” debit card in one Connecticut city and obtain vouchers for further assistance at other DSS sites.
Connecticut DSS was so accommodating and desirous of unburdening itself of its federal taxpayer money onto “low income” individuals, many of whom were seen in videos standing in line, talking on cell phones, and texting, signs of the “new” poverty, that the government agency offered “rain check vouchers” to those who were still in line after the application deadline ended. For these individuals, “free” money will apparently be sent without further ado.
Connecticut DSS Commissioner, Roderick Bremby, said, “Eligible households can receive food aid ranging from $200 for a single adult to $952 for a family of six under the plan developed by the Department of Social Services on behalf of the Malloy Administration.“
From the looks of what is happening in both Philadelphia and Connecticut, it’s hard to see the “plan.”
The long wait for “free money” was trying for some individuals, who expressed annoyance to DSS officials who came out to speak to them about the application process. These residents complained of the lack of publicity of the offer of the “free” money, the lack of organization in distributing the “free” money, and the fact that they had to wait in line, rather than apply online, for the “free” money. Apparently, many of them found out about the “free” money through their friends on Facebook.
From these reports, we can gather, perhaps, that when states get federal taxpayer dollars from working Americans to redistribute to other individuals, they do, in fact, treat this money like “free” money, throwing it at anybody who comes along asking for it. Of course, this allows those who are receiving others’ taxpayer dollars to believe that the money is, in fact, “free.”
And what has happened to those who did not take off from work to get “free” money from other taxpayers for “storm-related” losses? Many of these people discovered that their homeowners’ insurance deductible was more than the cost of their losses. These individuals have simply had to absorb the cost of “life’s happenings” on their own.
I ask our members of Congress, to whom we entrust our taxpayer dollars: Is there no oversight of how federal dollars are distributed in the states? Were the rules just “for show” here, or did the states screw this up?
When will we end this culture of dependency, the entitlement vicious cycle? This culture teaches: No need to work. No need to become independent. The government will take care of you. All you have to do is remember who to vote for in November, and we’ll keep giving you that “free” money.