Kansas Gets Mean

I understand limiting SNAP purchases to food as it is a food assistance program and people receive a debit card versus a check.

All other government assistance (i.e. unemployment and social security) should be receivable via direct deposit, check, or debit card. Why try to block where the money is spent on the debit card when there is no way to try to block it via direct deposit or check. This seems to be a waste of time and effort IMHO.

I applaud the restrictions. Those who abuse the system should have to get a job if they wish to spend money on the restricted items - but, of course, if they had a job they would not be receiving assistance. Funny how that would work. Imagine, people supporting themselves!

Someone with food stamps buys $100 worth of food for the folks that have cash and gets $75 in cash in return to buy restricted items.

People will always find a way to beat the system.

They shouldn't buy gummy bears either.

This is so:
"Gummy bears are almost all sugar. A serving of the average gummy bears, which is about 17 or 18 pieces, contains between 21 and 22 grams of sugar. That amount of sugar is equal to between 5.25 and 5.5 teaspoons of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar each day and men no more than 9 teaspoons. Regularly consuming more sugar than that increases your risk of obesity and heart disease. The Cleveland Clinic notes that too much sugar also leads to inflammation in your body and high blood pressure.
A 17- or 18-piece serving of gummy bears supplies between 2 and 3 grams of protein. That translates to between 4 percent and 6 percent of the 46 grams of protein women need each day and between 4 percent and 5 percent of the 56 grams men require daily. Protein is essential for your body to function properly, but gummy bears aren't the most nutritious way to ensure that you get enough of this vital nutrient.
A serving of gummy bears supplies nothing in the way of vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium and vitamin C. When you consume gummy bears, you're still taking in calories, however, with between 110 and 140 per serving.
Ref: Nutrition of Gummi Bears

Gummi Bears provide about the same calories as a bottle of beer without the alcoholic benefits.

So then what do the original food stamp recipients eat?...ya know, seeing as how they traded in their food money for lottery tickets? I think your scenario is a myth.

But while we're at it... Why limit these restrictions to welfare? Maybe anyone who got a tax refund for their mortgage interest should be forced to spend that money on Republican defined expenditures? Its the small government way, after all.

Here is the real fraud. This same bill restricts withdraws from the card to $25 a day. The maximum benefit is $429 a month. The state gives the recipient one free withdraw a month. Each additional withdraw is a $1 and the fees go to the bank. So in other words it is a crime to take your kid to the public pool if you're on TANF, but they force each recipient to give about $20 a month away in fees to the bank.

Quit making excuses for these abusers. Get a job and pay your own way - while obtaining some self respect.

The equivalent of food stamps in California is EBT, which is similar to an ATM/credit card. They discovered that people were using their EBT cards at Hollywood Park Casino to remove cash from the ATM machines, which was them presumably used to gamble with. You see liquor stores and fast food places all over the place that have signs up that state they accept EBT. Give people a free ride and they will still abuse it.

MYTH? Hell no it's not, I don't know how widespread it is or how many people do it, but I've personally known people who bought others' food stamp for X amount per dollar. What the people did with the money, I don't know, but my friend thought it was probably drugs. MYTH..PFFFT, just because you say it and act like it's an absurd thought doesn't make it so, quite the oppisite.