On welfare/food stamps? Out of state and purchase something? Republicans in MI don't like that:

[The Straight Story]

Republicans target out of state Bridge card
Critics say withdrawals could be legitimate

Republican Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) and Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville) used their Facebook pages in the past week to draw attention to Bridge card holders withdrawing cash from out of state locations. The implication from the posts is that the withdraws are violating state law.

On his Facebook page, Jones said, “I have just discovered that bridge cards are being used in Florida, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and cruise ships. In January and February tax payers paid for 2 million dollars so that bridge card users could go on vacation!”

Agema, on his own Facebook account, wrote, “Just thought you ought to know – your Michigan Bridge cards for food were used in Florida from Dec-March of this year equaled about $2 million. It’s truly a great country when the poor can winter in Florida. California and Nevada were also hot spots. Even some in Hawaii! WOW What a country of abuse against taxpayers!”

In an e-mail to Michigan Messenger, Jones says his information came directly from Department of Human Services. “I have talked with DHS and confirmed that bridge cards were used in Hawaii, Nevada, California, and Florida and also cruise ships,” he said. “In January and February alone it is 2 million dollars!!! I will be working with the new director to fix the legacy of Granholm who allowed this to run unchecked.”

http://michiganmessenger.com/48793/republicans-target-out-of-state-bridge-card

[virgogal]

1. A cruise ship is out of state? I thought from the header they were

just going to adjacent states,but Hawaii?

I'd love a trip to Hawaii.

[jdlh8894]

3. Not me! Don't live in MI and can't get a Bridge card.n/t

[jbnow]

26. Is that like a Welfare Queen statement? You know,

like how can someone getting assistance afford to go there, wasting our money and so on.

Because we have to put a stop to that waste. If someone offers one of 'them' a trip, no way, no right.
If a family member dies in a vacation state what right does a welfare recipient have to go to the funeral.

Michigan will stop that, don't you worry. This is the same state that decided those welfare kids were to only buy used clothing. Damn kids with all their growing and stuff. They are probably getting too much food.

[FirstLight]

2. ugh....uninformed fuckwad

i live in CA, and the closest walmart, trader joes, etc is over the mountain in NEVADA, 25 miles away. what's wrong with tryiong to save a few bucks on gas and goods when they are closer than the california locations?

vacations? ya right, i bet this is yet another statistic blown way out of proportion.
my kids have never had a vacation, never seen disneyland, never been to the zoo...all these things cost more in one day than anyone on assistance could think of spending!

[LeftofObama]

4. Maybe they should start by checking to see how many of the

people using the bridge card are already rich and are just bilking the system. Corporate whores have no conscience and I would bet dollars to donuts those are the people who have found a way to take advantage of the system. Come on Mr. Jones and Mr. Agema! Don't just sit there and tell us how the money is going to "welfare queens" to take a vacation, tell us who these people are, and don't just name a couple of the poor ones and use them as an example, name ALL of the people and let's see how many of them never qualified for the system anyway.

[jberryhill]

5. Or bought them for cash

We went through this with the post-Katrina debit cards.

If you have a fifty dollar stored value debit card, and would for various reasons prefer cash, and I have forty dollars in my pocket, then we have a deal.

[The Flaming Red Head]

13. $50 card would only be worth about $25

n/t

[jberryhill]

14. Even better. The point is "card used" does not mean "by recipient" /nt

[GKirk]

6. I'm from MI

I would have never thought you could make purchases out of state with the Bridge Card.

[CC]

7. I wonder how many ended up

or already were homeless and as winter came migrated to warmer places. Still homeless but at least not cold. When I lived in Florida there were always more homeless in the winter months. Some states/cities were also caught buying the homeless in their area bus tickets to Florida, one way of course.

[csziggy]

10. I was thinking it would be cheaper to go to Florida for the winter

Than pay heating bills in Michigan.

As for the spending on cruise ships, I doubt people on welfare are buying tickets. Maybe they were offered a free cruise (as I was recently) or a relative gave them a trip.

But we know that poor people have not right to privacy, no right to have even one day of joy in life. They should all live in constant misery until they get their lazy butts to work and get off the dole! :sarcasm:

[wickerwoman]

28. Possibly they were working on the cruise ship too.

If they were seasonal workers and their salary was low enough, they might have qualified. And on a ship, where else are they going to shop?

[bobbolink]

8. Poverty is a CRIME. As with other crimes, you may not leave the state without written permission

of your parole officer.

I wish I was kidding.. I am NOT.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. I hate people who do this sort of thing. Just lie and lie and get everyone

all worked up when there isn't anything to get worked up over in the first place!

[Overseas]

11. K&R. Disgusting Republicans, mocking people in need.

Found a couple of percent of fraudulent transactions and smear the 98% of desperate citizens with that brush, instead of trying to strengthen programs to create more jobs and help more people.

[sarcasmo]

12. The pro business douche bag we have as governor should be a one and done douche bag.

[TheMightyFavog]

15. Self-delete

double post.

[etherealtruth]

19. ... or the folk along the southern border?

If any of their "statistics" are correct I would have no trouble believing the folk in border areas shop in cross border urban areas.

[TheMightyFavog]

16. I wonder how much of these out of state transactions come from people living on state borders...

Like around me. A lot of people on the Michigan side of the river come over to Wisconsin to do their grocery shopping. No sales tax on most food items here in Wisconsin, plus the Wal-Mart and mall are on the Wisconsin side of the line. A lot of Michigan people in that area also tend to go to Green Bay to pick up stuff they can't get across the river. I'm sure the situation is similar on the southern border of the state.

[WillowTree]

21. I don't know how to break this to you,

....... but Michigan has no borders with Florida, California, Nevada or Hawaii. Even on "the southern border of the state".

Just sayin'.

[a2liberal]

27. No sales tax on most food in Michigan either

Not making a judgement on the situation, just clarifying about the sales tax

[WinkyDink]

17. Republicans day-dream about ways to punish, restrict, burden, and exclude the poorest amongst us.

[bobbolink]

20. Its like the shrinking the gommit thing... squeeze us until we kill ourselves.

Problem solved.

[etherealtruth]

18. I love these stories ... nothing like a good fairytale

Lets perpetuate the "welfare queen" image ... that fallacy so permeated the culture, otherwise thinking human beings have bought into it.

[jberryhill]

22. But, can't you see, poor people are getting ALL THE MONEY!

Umm...

[jmowreader]

23. It probably never occurred to these people...

that even if the Bridge Card Holders using their cards on Cruise Ships aren't the 21st-century Michigan equivalent of the welfare queen's Cadillac, that Bridge Card holders might go to California, Nevada or Florida in search of JOBS. Or that the cardholders might be on cruises their kids paid for--kids smart enough to not live in a state that would elect Dave Agema to its legislature.

Of course, I want to see itemized proof this is actually happening.

Quick question: are there towns that have the same names as Florida, California, Hawaii or Nevada towns, or cruise ships, in states that border Michigan? Republicans WOULD pull that...if there was, say, a Bakersfield, Ohio, that Michigan people liked to shop in, a Republican would whip out a piece of paper and scream about people running off to "Bakersfield, California."

[xmas74]

24. I don't buy the cruise ship bit.

Other states could hold a logical explanation. What if there was a death in the family? Or maybe someone went to stay with relatives in the other states? Or maybe they knew someone who thought they knew about a job lead in that state?

BTW- what constitutes a cruise ship? They want us to think that it's like a Carnival-line thing but what if they are exaggerating and it's just a ferry?

[mntleo2]

25. They just passed leg. to drug test welfare recipients

...in FL. They tried that here until we activists began to insist that since low income moms had to, why aren't the legislators and all DSHS employees required to pass one too? That put an end to THAT little adventure, lol.

You could be out of state because your mother is dying and needs you. It could be because of child visitation for the other spouse (this happens often with moms who are required to bring their kids to the dad). You could be applying for a job and have an interview there. There are many reasons you would be out of state.

I am not sure why anyone eligible for benefits would be on cruise ships, but many of those workers make low enough wages to be eligible for food stamps AND medical benefits.

Just sayin' ...

Cat in Seattle