Another Reason to Eliminate Food Stamps

Did you know that if a person loses his Lone Star Card, he gets another just by telling them he lost it? Did you know he can do that over and over and over again? Many of these "lost" cards have ended up on eBay, Craigslist, and other internet sites. Not to mention that I'm sure many of them end up paying for drugs, alcohol, or just being given to friends and relatives. These frauds and others in the food stamp program are costing the taxpayers $750 million a year. I'm sure that's a conservative number, because that's just the fraud they know about. About 2000 grocery stores were sanctioned for illegal activity in 2011, but 800 of them were allowed to stay in the program. Why?

Many recipients seek four or more replacement cards a year, but USDA officials said that doesn't necessarily indicate a high rate of fraud. Really? However, they've decided to "get tough." They're proposing a new rule which would demand "formal explanations" from people who get more than three replacement cards a year. Does anybody besides me think this is the dumbest thing you've ever heard? What's wrong with, "You lose it, tough crunchies, we don't do replacement cards!" 

"USDA targets food stamp fraud." The Dallas Morning News; May 25, 2012; p. 1A.