Abusing the disaster-food stamps program

By Deon Roberts, Online Editor

According to a comment on neworleans.metblogs.com, some young adults are abusing the disaster food stamps meant for victims of the 2008 hurricanes.

Here’s an excerpt from the comment posted Tuesday:

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve talked to at least a dozen 20-somethings who lost virtually nothing in the Gustav/Ike thing and are racking up bigtime on the dole. The food stamp giveaway that’s been going on rivals the $2K handouts post-Katrina — if not in dollars then certainly in the bogus claims being made to food stamp offices around the entire region.

I talked to one kid today who readily admitted losing only like $100 in frozen pizza and other schlock when he bailed for a week of partying — but he qualified for, oh, $600 in food stamps when he came back to town. I’ve talked to way too many others who never left or lost income — but they qualify for at least the basic $160 or whatever even if they’d lost nothing. They’ve been standing in line and, for the most part, telling a good version of the truth. And they get food stamps just because they can. And that seems to be their reason for doing it. Just because they can.

It’s a “screw them before they screw you” mentality and it’s wrong.•