EBT card glitch causes Food Stamp shopping spree in Walmart

In that case, yes, they probably should loose their free meal ticket. Why should tax payers have to foot the bill for people who steal and commit fraud against the very system designed to help them? I'm all for charity and even believe welfare/food stamps/etc has a part to play in making a safety net for society...but we shouldn't be giving people like that our money.

I was "less fortunate" when I was younger. Hell one christmas my present was to go to toys r us and look at the toys. That's the gods honest truth. I've done the government cheese and nasty powdered milk substitute and disliked every minute of it, I've had the churches drop off food on the holidays so that we could celebrate like most others. That said I was still raised with values which these people lack. See it's not if you can lie, cheat or steal - it's if you will allow yourself to do it that matters. I didn't grow up with much and I have lots and lots of stories about how bad it got sometimes, but never ever did my mother resort to blatant stealing even when she probably should have according to what I'm getting from your comment. Lets just be honest and say that more than likely the majority of people loading shopping cart after shopping cart didn't "need" to take so much. They simply did it because they could and gave the tax payer and wal-mart the finger all the way out the door. I'm all for helping people out that need a hand, but i'm not blind to the fact that the reality is a lot of time people are just so jaded that they don't care and it becomes a what can I get for free situation that they become addicted to. So while I imagine your heart is in the right place It sounds like you're way to trusting. I myself used to be like that until a string of events made me open my eyes and actually see the truth.

You do realize that the overwhelming majority of poor people didnt get there through their actions but were in fact born into poverty, right?

Cheating the system is just that. Has nothing to do with hating on the less fortunate. But when the less fortunate deliberately steal...it makes them less sympathetic.

The overall net savings might still result in a negative number - military testing ain't that great. We all know the cook is on that "creatine", funny how all the noncombat guys are larger than life, and I'm not talking regular beef cakes.

Personally you should be 100% sober of all drugs in my opinion to receive government aid; hell if I drink alcohol I lose my government grants. If you can afford beer, marijuana, etc..., you can afford food you're just not making it a priority.

So dad uses so the children should starve?

^^

I sure see a lot of fat kids starving in America. For some reason America's the only country in the world where poor people are fat.

@Fightingfan said:

^^

I sure see a lot of fat kids starving in America. For some reason America's the only country in the world where poor people are fat.

except that isn't true.

@Fightingfan said:

^^

I sure see a lot of fat kids starving in America. For some reason America's the only country in the world where poor people are fat.

What about Mexico? They are the fattest country in the world.

@thegerg said:

@comp_atkins said:

@Fightingfan said:

^^

I sure see a lot of fat kids starving in America. For some reason America's the only country in the world where poor people are fat.

except that isn't true.

**** reality. This is OT, where ignorance and unfounded opinions are what matter.

isn't that just reality then?

I would have carried out a fat person. Enough for about 2 weeks.

Ah, so it was stock market fraud.

Electronic food stamp system down across nation shows that there were problems with the system in 17 states. Here in Georgia, stores quit taking the card and my Publix supermarket had signs posted everywhere that the system was down and that they would not take any EBT cards for payment.

I once held a job in a convenience store back when food stamps were actual stamps. I would watch people come in, buy a 5 cent piece of candy with food stamps, leave, come back and buy another piece of candy and do that until they had enough change to buy alcohol or cigarettes. I have seen people use them to buy joints with (back then a joint was $1). This was when people could get on food stamps and stay on food stamps indefinitely and would get more for each child they have. At least nowadays, people are only on them for 3 months at a time, at least here in Georgia, and you have to work for them through the county or show that you are looking for work. Sure, some people can still game the system, but not as easy as it once was.

I love how some of the kids around here seem to think that people are jerks for wanting those who did take advantage of the system to pay in one way or the other. The fact is, none of you know the real world. None of you have stepped foot into a DFACs office or any other office where welfare is given and seen who is in there. There should be a yearly limit on how much one can get in food stamps, section 8 or utility help (lines blocks long form here in the Atlanta area when one mentions that there is money to be given out to pay electric bills).

Maybe all those who think we should indefinitely pay for someone else's food due to them being less fortunate should give up most of their paycheck so that they can be fed and stay out of others who do not want such programs to be the only means to feed or house someone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBqjZ0KZCa0

Well, that certainly paints an incredibly irresponsible picture on food stamp users.

So how do you go under in America again when there's food kitchens in every city?

I agree. They only stood to benefit from letting people take hundreds of dollars in free food because they expected the government to make them whole. They are thieves, just like the people scamming the EBT system. The shoppers should be prosecuted and Walmart should have to eat the losses.

I laughed.

"Someone needs to pay...All these children, all this suffering, someone's got to pay for it"Yeah, the f***ing parents.

The people have an excuse they can claim "They didn't know their balance" Walmart doesn't have much of an excuse as it's been proven they knew of the error during the whole process/scheme.

Love how in America when corporations commit a federal offense nothing happens, but if I did that I'd be sitting in jail for 25+ years for committing fraud against Uncle Sam.

i wonder how many of them were walmart employees

These are the same people who take advantage of the system and don't make an effort anywhere in their lives.

Oh bull. They knew they didn't get that kind of money....

@LJS9502_basic: maybe they were just stocking up before halloween. =p

Some people don't use their food stamps for months, thus have 2k+ in credit. It's solid defense. I don't know for all states, but I do believe in the state of Florida you can also add a cash balance to your EBT card.

I have never seen a EBT card with more than $300 loaded onto it. And I've been a cashier for almost a year. If you can go months without spending your ebt money then you probably don't need it that badly.

To be honest no one needs food stamps. You can get by, and children can't starve - two meals are generally offered free via school, that leaves the parent only responsible for one, and maybe a snack.

You can get by without food stamps; if Pablo from Mexico can do it in Los Angeles so can Bonquisha and Bobbie Sue.

Wal-Mart should have stopped it as soon it started. What person wouldn't get as much as they wanted, for free?

@WSGRandomPerson: I wouldn't. Guess that's cause I'm honest.

I whole heartedly agree with the sentiment posted in that comment. If a person cannot afford to feed one kid without help, they damned well do not need 15 of them. Said women also need to choose mates a bit better so they are not left holding the bag when the man get arrested and tossed in jail.

It is not the responsibility of the taxpayer to feed, clothe and house people who cannot keep their legs closed as well as their offspring.

lol that's hilarious.

guess Christmas has come early for a lot of families.

Those who took advantage of this glitch should have their benefits revoked for at least a year (at least that's what Oregon does here with EBT misuse). They willfully committed theft/fraud.

This wasn't part of the plan!

Nope. The child should be put into foster care and the father should be brought up on charges of child endangerment and fraud. He is taking the money that he claims he doesn't have to buy drugs (fraud), and if not for the government money, would be depriving the child of needs (endangerment).

I would bet the vast majority of them were. How else would word that the EBT system was down get out so fast?

Cell phones work really well. Sure, there may have been some Walmart employees who took advantage of the system being down, but you can bet that they were on the phones to others who also were on the phone to others.

Those people disgust me, not only are they getting free money that the working class pay for, they go and exploit it the sec they can get away with it. I am sick of working my ass off to pay for lazy motfckrs to have 10 kids they cant pay for and steak dinners on the tax payers dime.

News flash to all of you leeches the blood is drying up. Yes YOU are a big reason as to why this country is a joke, the other reason is the bought and paid for government but thats another issue. The two of you working together will leave the U.S is shambles.

LOL...that comment is right on (in a metaphoric way, of course). The best part part is where she stand there's so indignant talking about how someone needs to be held accountable for all her kids...yeah no kidding lady...that person is you! Oh, and all her baby daddy's too :P

I like the woman at the beginning.

"We tried to help them but..."