War On The Poor

Minnesota Republicans Want To Bust Poor People Who Carry Cash

By Susie Madrak
Crooks and Liars
March 21, 2011

They're not just crazy, they're evil -- and un-Christian, should they have the audacity to claim otherwise.

If only we could force them to live like this, they wouldn't last a week:

St. Paul, MN – Minnesota Republicans are pushing legislation that would make it a crime for people on public assistance to have more than $20 in cash in their pockets any given month.

This represents a change from their initial proposal, which banned them from having any money at all.

On March 15, Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee testified in front of the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee on House File 171.

Buechner told committee members, “We would like to address the provision that makes it illegal for MFIP [one of Minnesota’s welfare programs] families to withdraw cash from the cash portion of the MFIP grant - and in fact, appears to make it illegal for MFIP families to have any type of money at all in their pockets. How do you expect people to take care of business like paying bills such as lights, gas, water, trash and phone?”

House File 171 would make it so that families on MFIP - and disabled single adults on General Assistance and Minnesota Supplemental Aid - could not have their cash grants in cash or put into a checking account. Rather, they could only use a state-issued debit card at special terminals in certain businesses that are set up to accept the card.

The bill also calls for unconstitutional residency requirements, not allowing the debit card to be used across state lines and other provisions that the Welfare Rights Committee and others consider unacceptable.

Buechner testified, “We’ll leave you with this. It is not right to punish a whole group because of the supposed actions of a few. You in this room could have a pretty rough time if that was the case. It is not right to stigmatize and dehumanize women living the hard life of trying to raise children while living 60% below the poverty level. It is not right to use racist, bumper-sticker hate to inflict human misery for political gain.”

It may not be right, Angel. But it sure as hell is effective, and that's why politicians without shame continue to use the poor as their own political punching bags.

Personally, if I lived in Minnesota, I'd be out looking for skeletons in the Republican closets. It seems to be the most effective way of purging these immoral creeps.

From Freakout Nation:

GOPers in Minnesota seem to be suffering from memory loss; an unemployed person has to utilize public transit to go out in the world and be proactive in seeking work.

Instead, they present the poor with isolation, not letting them use their debit card, sit home and not seek employment. The poor can stay poor because they don’t give a damn.

Let’s mix that in with the embattled Planned Parenthood, ACORN, Health Care Reform, undoing child labor laws and the dubious promise to get work for America as a whole.

Where are the jobs, John?

There is an obvious target on the poverty stricken in this country. Let’s not forget, just as many poor people are Republicans. This won’t fare well and they’re signing their own Get Out of the House certificate.

As the classes divide even more with their assistance, this is further proof that their campaign against government spending was simply to gain power and now, they’ve gone power mad.

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/war-poor-minnesota-republicans-want-b