I think we have a new definition of the term “corporate welfare.” Banks like JP Morgan Chase are making huge dollars administering the food stamp program for the Federal Government.
According to a new investigation by the Government Accountability Institute, JP Morgan alone has made over half a billion dollars off of the growing welfare program.
from GAO:
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Three companies – J.P. Morgan EFS, Affiliated Computer Services, and
eFunds – provide EBT services for 49 states and 3 US territories.
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Since 2004, 18 of 24 states who contract with J.P. Morgan to provide
welfare benefits have contracted to pay $560,492,596.02. New York alone
has a seven-year contract worth $126,394,917.
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Projected average food stamp spending post-recession will be 175%
greater than pre- recession average spending, from $28 billion to $77
billion.
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Since 2009, 32 states have followed the USDA’s suggestion to use
Broad Based Categorical Eligibility “as a way to increase SNAP
participation and reduce State workloads.” Changing the rules for
eligibility, along with state-level changes in application methods, has
contributed to a 70 % increase in food stamp participation from 2007 to
2011.56
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Lax security by EBT processors and states invites food stamp fraud, often through social media.
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There are understaffed fraud investigation units at both the federal
and state level. For example, Florida has just 63 staff positions to
police approximately 3 million EBT users state-wide. These investigators
not only handle TANF and SNAP eligibility fraud, but also EBT
trafficking, Social Security Disability and Medicaid eligibility fraud,
Emergency Financial Assistance for Housing, and Low Income Energy
assistance, among many others.
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