Kansas Limits Welfare Recipients To $20 Daily.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Actually $25, but how many ATMs give out $5 bills?

Bad news for Kansans who receive money through the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, from the Washington Post:

The legislature placed a daily cap of $25 on cash withdrawals beginning July 1, which will force beneficiaries to make more frequent trips to the ATM to withdraw money from the debit cards used to pay public assistance benefits. ... A single mother with two children seeking to withdraw just $200 in cash could incur $30 or more in fees, which is a big chunk of the roughly $400 such a family would receive under the program in Kansas.
Whatever your opinion of welfare programs, sucking out more than 10 percent of their benefits via ATM fees doesn't make a ton of sense, does it?
The restriction is part of the same bill that prohibits TANF recipients from using benefits at movie theaters and on cruise ships (!) and is meant to "discourage converting the benefits to cash."

The sort-of-good news, from McClatchy:

"A first-of-its-kind provision that prevents welfare recipients in Kansas from withdrawing more than $25 a day from an ATM might violate federal law, and could jeopardize the state’s federal funding if not amended.
The Social Security Act requires states to ensure that recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, “have adequate access to their cash assistance” and can withdraw money “with minimal fees or charges.”
That's good news in the sense that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he is "open to raising the limit if necessary to comply with federal policies.""

TL;DR: Kansas is limiting TANF recipients to $25 dollars a day that they can withdraw from ATMs, which is effectively $20 since most ATMs don't give out $5 bills. This means very little shopping can be done per day, and that the poorest residents are going to be hit with the most frequent fees for withdrawals, Since this money is through the TANF program and not banks, there is no other way to get the money. It's a blatantly spiteful act against the most vulnerable residents of the state, and they may end up losing significant federal dollars if they don't amend the law.

Thoughts?

[Aalmark]

Arkansas or Kansas?

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Arkansas or Kansas?

Kansas. I don't know why you thought that it said Arkansas.

*Coughs, looks innocently up at ceiling while whistling*

Seriously, thanks for the catch.

[Benuty]

Actually $25, but how many ATMs give out $5 bills?

Bad news for Kansans who receive money through the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, from the Washington Post:

The legislature placed a daily cap of $25 on cash withdrawals beginning July 1, which will force beneficiaries to make more frequent trips to the ATM to withdraw money from the debit cards used to pay public assistance benefits. ... A single mother with two children seeking to withdraw just $200 in cash could incur $30 or more in fees, which is a big chunk of the roughly $400 such a family would receive under the program in Kansas.
Whatever your opinion of welfare programs, sucking out more than 10 percent of their benefits via ATM fees doesn't make a ton of sense, does it?
The restriction is part of the same bill that prohibits TANF recipients from using benefits at movie theaters and on cruise ships (!) and is meant to "discourage converting the benefits to cash."

The sort-of-good news, from McClatchy:

"A first-of-its-kind provision that prevents welfare recipients in Kansas from withdrawing more than $25 a day from an ATM might violate federal law, and could jeopardize the state’s federal funding if not amended.
The Social Security Act requires states to ensure that recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, “have adequate access to their cash assistance” and can withdraw money “with minimal fees or charges.”
That's good news in the sense that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he is "open to raising the limit if necessary to comply with federal policies.""

TL;DR: Kansas is limiting TANF recipients to $25 dollars a day that they can withdraw from ATMs, which is effectively $20 since most ATMs don't give out $5 bills. This means very little shopping can be done per day, and that the poorest residents are going to be hit with the most frequent fees for withdrawals, Since this money is through the TANF program and not banks, there is no other way to get the money. It's a blatantly spiteful act against the most vulnerable residents of the state, and they may end up losing significant federal dollars if they don't amend the law.

Thoughts?

Because punishing people for something they cannot control totally makes legitimate sense.

Which reminds me, how is it the poorest county in the United States still votes republican?

[Yumyumsuppertime]

Actually $25, but how many ATMs give out $5 bills?



TL;DR: Kansas is limiting TANF recipients to $25 dollars a day that they can withdraw from ATMs, which is effectively $20 since most ATMs don't give out $5 bills. This means very little shopping can be done per day, and that the poorest residents are going to be hit with the most frequent fees for withdrawals, Since this money is through the TANF program and not banks, there is no other way to get the money. It's a blatantly spiteful act against the most vulnerable residents of the state, and they may end up losing significant federal dollars if they don't amend the law.

Thoughts?

Because punishing people for something they cannot control totally makes legitimate sense.

Which reminds me, how is it the poorest county in the United States still votes republican?

A cash-poor county generally means a piss-poor public school system, which in turn makes it very easy for people to believe whatever nonsense they're told if it sounds good (see my other thread on Fox News being bad for the GOP).

[The Qeiiam Galaxy]

This obviously won't hurt the poor at all, since $20 a day is more than enough to live on. The only thing this will do is prevent them from buying lobster. *nods*

[Benuty]

This obviously won't hurt the poor at all, since $20 a day is more than enough to live on. The only thing this will do is prevent them from buying lobster. *nods*

Ugh, I think people really need to stop buying into the welfare queen mythology spewed from the mouth of Ronald "I cannot remember selling weapons to Iran" Reagan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_queen#Origin

A few cases does not make an absolute trend.

[Steamtopia]

$20 is obviously enough to live on.


If you live in Botswana.

[New Werpland]

What happens when you live in the same state as the Koch brothers.

[Nazi Flower Power]

This doesn't sound good. Even people on a tight budget occasionally need to make a purchase of more than $25 at one time.

For example, work boots usually cost more than $25, and you may need to buy them right away if you get a job where they are required.

[Nazi Flower Power]

This obviously won't hurt the poor at all, since $20 a day is more than enough to live on. The only thing this will do is prevent them from buying lobster. *nods*

You can buy lobster with $20 if you don't need a lot of other stuff that day.

[Gauthier]

Next up, Daily Calorie Limits for people on TANF and SNAP.

[Mondoncon]

Wait a sec. The wording confuses me, is all of their money restricted, or the money from TANF? Either way is despicable, but the former is criminal.

[Gig em Aggies]

I'm not rich nor really poor but this seems to me that this might also force some TANF recipients to find a job to supplement their loss of access to a chunk of the cash. Although limiting it to $25 is a bit overboard I would have said somewhere around $150, $250 or $300 limit would be better then just $25

[Benuty]

This obviously won't hurt the poor at all, since $20 a day is more than enough to live on. The only thing this will do is prevent them from buying lobster. *nods*

You can buy lobster with $20 if you don't need a lot of other stuff that day.

I would rather they dedicate to the old gods, and commence human sacrifice. At least it would be less harmful than slowly strangling the lifelines of people in lower incomes.

[Nazi Flower Power]

I'm not rich nor really poor but this seems to me that this might also force some TANF recipients to find a job to supplement their loss of access to a chunk of the cash. Although limiting it to $25 is a bit overboard I would have said somewhere around $150, $250 or $300 limit would be better then just $25

Even actual bank accounts sometimes have a $200 limit on ATM withdrawals. That would be a totally different issue if the limit was something higher like that.

[Gig em Aggies]

You can buy lobster with $20 if you don't need a lot of other stuff that day.

I would rather they dedicate to the old gods, and commence human sacrifice. At least it would be less harmful than slowly strangling the lifelines of people in lower incomes.

So your saying bring back the old Aztec ways?

[Gauthier]

You can buy lobster with $20 if you don't need a lot of other stuff that day.

I would rather they dedicate to the old gods, and commence human sacrifice. At least it would be less harmful than slowly strangling the lifelines of people in lower incomes.

Or kill two birds with one stone. Human Sacrifice and Soylent Green.

[Benuty]

I'm not rich nor really poor but this seems to me that this might also force some TANF recipients to find a job to supplement their loss of access to a chunk of the cash. Although limiting it to $25 is a bit overboard I would have said somewhere around $150, $250 or $300 limit would be better then just $25

Jobs where exactly?

I mean they could work on the farms in Alabama (since the state economy has collapsed due to the fact they enacted incredibly harsh laws toward undocumented immigrants). Yet farming, and catching chickens is downright back breaking besides are they going to bring out their whole family to work there?

Because it would be the only way for them to eat more than one week out of the month.

[Llamalandia]

With respect to the op, I'm pretty sure that is t how this actually works. You can still spend TANF funds via an ebt card on various necessities (and yeah no spending TANF on cruise ships, probably didn't need to be said, but just in case). This just limits the amount of cash that can be withdrawn at any one time to $25. You can still spend more than that though. The point is cash allows for unrestricted purchasing, which taxpayers in kansas don't really want people getting free money to have. Doesn't seem all that unreasonable to me. Also the total lifetime TANF. Benefits have been limited to 36 months, which makes sense as the T stands for temporary.

[MERIZoC]

And people still say I'm being hyperbolic when I tell them that Republican lawmakers hate poor people.

[Llamalandia]

And people still say I'm being hyperbolic when I tell them that Republican lawmakers hate poor people.

Depends on why you are poor. If its a legit disability or something that's one thing. If its because you decided to get knocked up in high school and dropped out, well yeah, screw you enjoy your poverty. But good job not having an abortion, after all unborn life is sacred. Kinda being a bit sarcastic, but seriously it does seem that poverty is largely a choice. I mean if you're a smart healthy person, stay in school and you work hard you are going to get ahead. That's how America works.

[New Werpland]

I'm not rich nor really poor but this seems to me that this might also force some TANF recipients to find a job to supplement their loss of access to a chunk of the cash. Although limiting it to $25 is a bit overboard I would have said somewhere around $150, $250 or $300 limit would be better then just $25

The main reason they're doing this (besides "fighting laziness") is because the state cut it's taxes to record low levels in the hope that this would bring economic prosperity. In result their economy has lagged because infrastructure has become even more shitty, schools are closing early, and state services have become so understaffed that it's hard for anyone to get anything our of them.

[Llamalandia]

I'm not rich nor really poor but this seems to me that this might also force some TANF recipients to find a job to supplement their loss of access to a chunk of the cash. Although limiting it to $25 is a bit overboard I would have said somewhere around $150, $250 or $300 limit would be better then just $25

The main reason they're doing this (besides "fighting laziness") is because the state cut it's taxes to record low levels in the hope that this would bring economic prosperity. In result their economy has lagged because infrastructure has become even more shitty, schools are closing early, and state services have become so understaffed that it's hard for anyone to get anything our of them.

Yeah gov brownback may have gone a bit too far in the tax cuts. I really hate this republican notions of cutting taxes without cutting spending. They go together. You have to cut both to keep the budget balanced.

[MERIZoC]

And people still say I'm being hyperbolic when I tell them that Republican lawmakers hate poor people.

Depends on why you are poor. If its a legit disability or something that's one thing. If its because you decided to get knocked up in high school and dropped out, well yeah, screw you enjoy your poverty. But good job not having an abortion, after all unborn life is sacred. Kinda being a bit sarcastic, but seriously it does seem that poverty is largely a choice. I mean if you're a smart healthy person, stay in school and you work hard you are going to get ahead. That's how America works.

What a load of bull. For one, you somehow ignore the fact that people who go through school can still lose their job, as well as all the factors that play into one's success early on in life, including economic situation, parental presence, stability, etc.