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PA State Rep proposes that Welfare and CS not allowed to be used for alcohol purchases.

Rags's picture

Submitted by Rags on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 6:59pm

I am hugely supportive of this. In fact I think it should be expanded to limit Welfare and CS to staple items including only food, rent, utilities, clothing.

No liquor, beer, soft drinks, candy, etc......

Any thoughts?

Comments

Anon2009's picture

Submitted by Anon2009 on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 7:33pm

with this representative and think he/she needs to take it one step further and make it mandatory in the bill that CS must be spent on the CHILDREN. I'm just glad to know someone is doing something about this.

Rags, does it say anything about how the state will be able to make sure those receiving welfare and/or CS are spending it properly?

Rags's picture

Submitted by Rags on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 8:38pm

It would be fairly easy to have a code added to any items in a retailers computerized inventory/register system that would allow only flagged items to be purchased with welfare benefit cards.

I am not sure about how CS could be limited. It is my understanding that in many if not most states CS can be set up as a direct deposit to bank account or the recipient can select a debit type card.

If they are going to try to control how CS is spent then the states will most likely have to limit CS pay out to the debit card type system.

I am just brainstorming on most of this as the radio program I was listening to on my way home from work this evening did not go in to much detail on how the bill would be enforced or administrated.

Best regards,

dowd1250's picture

Submitted by dowd1250 on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 7:49pm

Wow, I thought that welfare and the like services were already a no alcohol, cigs, and a few other things that aren't at the top of my head at the moment. I guess what I am saying is I thought those things were already banned, and that it was a federal thing not a state by state thing.

To further this comment I would agree that welfare should not be used for purchasing ANY age restricted product, and would agree that CS should be spent on the CHILDS welfare needs; clothes food school stuff and the like. But anyway yes I agree.... Sorry been a long day..... hell a long week or so....

WowjustWow's picture

Submitted by WowjustWow on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 8:01pm

Hell to the yes! This should have been put into place a long time ago. And now that they use debit cards for CS, it would be even easier to limit what they can purchase using the card, like they do food stamps now.

doglover1's picture

Submitted by doglover1 on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 8:58pm

of course , how on earth could you justify buying liquor???????????? with child support??????thats silly!

kaffonseca's picture

Submitted by kaffonseca on Fri, 05/15/2009 - 9:02am

I have always said that I think that anyone receiving welfare benefits should have to undergo drug testing. Alot of people claim that is a violation of privacy..but how is it private if it's PUBLIC $$ being used.

"He grew up in my heart, not my belly"

Hanny's picture

Submitted by Hanny on Fri, 05/15/2009 - 11:16am

In CA, you cannot use your welfare food debit card for alcohol or tobacco, you can't even buy a prepared chicken (precooked) with it. My friend is a social worker and we were just talking about all this the other day (she has homless people coming thru her office all the time, and if your homeless you don't have a stove to cook something on, so you really need to buy prepared food).

I don't think there is a way to control child support. It is spent at the discretion of the parent who receives it. Yea it probably enables a lot of receiving parents the opportunity to buy alcohol or tobacco, but how do you know they are using CS for those purposes, they can always say they paid rent with the CS, and everything else they spend is their own money. Now, I guess it would be different if they only received CS and was living entirely on that. I don't know how anyone could afford to do that, but guess some are.