Du Weighs in clerk fired for not taking EBT for cigarettes...

[dixierose]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002863937

proud2BlibKansan (92,224 posts)

 
Clerk loses job for refusing to let customer use welfare money to pay for cigarettes

Last edited Wed Jun 27, 2012, 03:32 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

The wingnuts on my local board are all up in arms over this.

PETERBOROUGH — Jackie R. Whiton of Antrim had been a six-year employee at the Big Apple convenience store in Peterborough until a single transaction sent her job up in smoke.

The store clerk was fired after she refused to take a customer’s Electronic Balance Transfer card to pay for cigarettes.

Whiton said a young man came in to the store to buy two packs or cigarettes on May 29. When she asked him for his ID, he handed her his EBT card.

EBT cards are used for both food and cash assistance programs. There are two types of cards: one can only be used for food. The other can be spent on anything and used just like a debit card.

Whiton said she did not think EBT cards could be used to purchase cigarettes and refused to sell to him. The two “had a little go-around” as the line got longer behind him, said Whiton.

more . . . http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/clerk-loses-job-over-stand/article_87627ed5-5d4e-5ff0-a781-f14deb034771.html

This is a very interesting campfire, with DUmmies at eachothers' throats. It's also interesting to see them justify buying EEEVVIIILL tobacco products.

Edited to fix spelling in thread title.

[zeitgeist]

And first up:

proud2BlibKansan (92,224 posts)

2. Oh I agree

But the bottom line is she refused to make a sale. If I owned the store, I would have fired her too.

And then along came:

EFerrari (163,723 posts)

13. This kind of thing? You mean, ignorant people trying to humiliate the poor and powerless?



I hope that doesn't cost us any arguments because it's all over the culture.

Um how about :

Nuclear Unicorn (5,360 posts)

19. What if she wanted a soda that was larger than 32 ounces?

[Mike220]

EFerrari (163,723 posts)

13. This kind of thing? You mean, ignorant people trying to humiliate the poor and powerless?

Are cashiers all of sudden raking in the dough?

[jukin]

IF I ran things EBT cards would be out. There would be government pick up centers for cheese, rice, and beans. Want anything else, GET A JOB!!!

I do like how the DUmbasses hate cigarettes but it is OK with the DUches to buy them with OPM. Also very delicious how it is OK with the DUmp to defraud the government by a small business. I can't wait to bag my limit of assholes like this when the shit hits the fan.

[Evil_Conservative]

DUmmies are hypocrites.

If one of us tried to buy Two If By Tea (Rush's tea) with an EBT card, the DUmmies would be up in ARMS!!!!!

[Freeper]

I must have been mistaken when I thought that you had to buy food with EBT.

[BEG]

DUmmies are hypocrites.

If one of us tried to buy Two If By Tea (Rush's tea) with an EBT card, the DUmmies would be up in ARMS!!!!!

Best TEA evah!

[JakeStyle]

Best TEA evah!

I still haven't tried it, my local market sells the Jack Nicholas tea/lemonade by the gallon for $1.50.  I am addicted to the stuff.  They also have Simply Lemonade which is crazy good if you drink it in a glass full of shaved ice, but it is kind of pricey in my opinion.

[diesel driver]

In the first place, you CANNOT buy alcohol, tobacco, or household products with an EBT card.  The cash registers automatically reject them.

This entire story is bullshit.

[txradioguy]

In the first place, you CANNOT buy alcohol, tobacco, or household products with an EBT card.  The cash registers automatically reject them.

This entire story is bullshit.

Except that there are some store clerks that will ring up smokes or alcohol as other accepted EBT card items to get around the barriers.

I think this person expected the clerk to do that...and instead ran into a store clerk with integrity.

No wonder the DUmmies are piling on.

[diesel driver]

Except that there are some store clerks that will ring up smokes or alcohol as other accepted EBT card items to get around the barriers.

They can try, but all the cash registers I've run that have the capability of accepting credit, debit, and EBT cards WILL NOT charge EBT cards for those items.

I think this person expected the clerk to do that...and instead ran into a store clerk with integrity.

No wonder the DUmmies are piling on.

Most likely, customer threw a hissyfit when the register wouldn't take their card for cigs, and took it out on the cashier, who finally got tired of customer's crap, and told customer to "get the hell out."

[txradioguy]

They can try, but all the cash registers I've run that have the capability of accepting credit, debit, and EBT cards WILL NOT charge EBT cards for those items.

What they do is find something tht IS ont he approved EBT list...that is the same price as the smokes or beer and ring it up as that.

i.e. Smokes cost $5...so does a Lunchable (don't know for sure...just using it as an example)...the dishonest clerk rings up a pack of Winstons as a Lunchable and the person can charge it to their EBT card.

It's not real common at the chain corner stores...but I've seen it happen at the mom and pop places.

Most likely, customer threw a hissyfit when the register wouldn't take their card for cigs, and took it out on the cashier, who finally got tired of customer's crap, and told customer to "get the hell out."

LOL! Yeah that makes sense too.

[jtyangel]

IF I ran things EBT cards would be out. There would be government pick up centers for cheese, rice, and beans. Want anything else, GET A JOB!!!

I do like how the DUmbasses hate cigarettes but it is OK with the DUches to buy them with OPM. Also very delicious how it is OK with the DUmp to defraud the government by a small business. I can't wait to bag my limit of assholes like this when the shit hits the fan.

I disagree with your first assessment. Many of the people receiving food assistance do 'have jobs', but their lower income qualifies them for various levels of help depending on what they make. What could be done however is to restrict the where's of what can be bought and the whats. Something similar to WIC where you get vouchers for basics. Or excluding people who might actually be undereporting household income and using food assistance to supplement their lifestyles and shopping at Whole Foods and the like. I'd do away with prepared food, pop, chips, candy, etc. Food assistance can be used on items like milk, eggs, bread, meat(I'd stipulate cuts under 10 bucks so it can't be used for pricier meat items), rice, flour, sugar, vegetables of all kinds, fruit of all kinds, cereal, yogurt, etc--basically staple food items.  I'd probably even eliminate using it for most frozen foods as well. Really if the basics are covered I don't see why someone can't dig in their pocket and pay 2.50 for their own ice cream on the occasion they might have it here and there or have them pay out of their own pocket for convenience if they want it. That action of eliminating certain foods probably would be the #1 thing in helping with the obesity problem among the 'poor'.

The problem with assistance programs now is it is less about making sure people have basics and allowing things for them to strive for and work towards and more about equalizing their lives to look like that of others that they see as doing better then them. I'm quite sure allowing someone who is lower income to keep up with the Joneses on the Joneses tax dollar was not what things like this were intended for. 

[jtyangel]

In the first place, you CANNOT buy alcohol, tobacco, or household products with an EBT card.  The cash registers automatically reject them.

This entire story is bullshit.

I think anyone who gets the cash benefit portion of welfare gets it put on the same EBT card and runs it as debit instead like a regular ATM card. AS far as I know there are no restrictions on the cash portion-it's only on a card as a matter of convenience for disbursement for the federal government. It's possible the cashier was not aware that there was a cash benefit portion and assumed it was food assistance and was insistent on really something that was her error. That said, I still do not think that when at the same time we are penalizing other people for certain 'sins' we should be encouraging among the lower classes by allowing them to buy whatever they please on welfare. That's another area that should have restrictions. To me alcohol and cigarettes should be considered luxuries. If you would so frivolously throw your assistance away on such things, maybe you really don't need it that bad to begin with since your budget could be assisted greatly by you stopping the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. But as we have seen, democrats think somehow restricting assistance in any way is racist or oppressive and degrading to the people receiving it. I say it's 'free' G-damn money; how you feel is irrelevant when someone else is footing your bills. Now if society was throwing rotton tomotoes at you when you walked in a grocery store using or we were telling you you could only buy day old or a day away from spoiled items on assistance then I'd get their bitchin.

[docstew]

They can try, but all the cash registers I've run that have the capability of accepting credit, debit, and EBT cards WILL NOT charge EBT cards for those items.

Most likely, customer threw a hissyfit when the register wouldn't take their card for cigs, and took it out on the cashier, who finally got tired of customer's crap, and told customer to "get the hell out."

I worked for a smaller chain back in college, the register didn't scan anything, we had to input prices and hit the category of good manually. Someone shady could have easily rung a beer as a soda and taken food stamps for it (This was back when they were in books).

I disagree with your first assessment. Many of the people receiving food assistance do 'have jobs', but their lower income qualifies them for various levels of help depending on what they make. What could be done however is to restrict the where's of what can be bought and the whats. Something similar to WIC where you get vouchers for basics. Or excluding people who might actually be undereporting household income and using food assistance to supplement their lifestyles and shopping at Whole Foods and the like. I'd do away with prepared food, pop, chips, candy, etc. Food assistance can be used on items like milk, eggs, bread, meat(I'd stipulate cuts under 10 bucks so it can't be used for pricier meat items), rice, flour, sugar, vegetables of all kinds, fruit of all kinds, cereal, yogurt, etc--basically staple food items.  I'd probably even eliminate using it for most frozen foods as well. Really if the basics are covered I don't see why someone can't dig in their pocket and pay 2.50 for their own ice cream on the occasion they might have it here and there or have them pay out of their own pocket for convenience if they want it. That action of eliminating certain foods probably would be the #1 thing in helping with the obesity problem among the 'poor'.

The problem with assistance programs now is it is less about making sure people have basics and allowing things for them to strive for and work towards and more about equalizing their lives to look like that of others that they see as doing better then them. I'm quite sure allowing someone who is lower income to keep up with the Joneses on the Joneses tax dollar was not what things like this were intended for. 

+1

[Karin]

There is the food stamp program, and then there is the cash assistance program.  These items (any item) can be purchased with the cash assistance card.  This varies state-by-state, DD, so maybe your state doesn't do this.  I mentioned in another thread about there being a bill on the floor in NY to do away with the smokes, booze, and strippers being allowed.  You would think this would have been built in in the beginning, but Noooo.

At any rate, the story IS NOT bullshit. 

[67 Rover]

EBT cards in Massachusetts are welcome at casinos, nail salons, liquor stores, and at the gas pump.    There was also a report that 20% of the Mass EBT cards issued were used in Florida.

[Karin]

Oh that's charming. 

It's a good read, if you'd like to row over.  The cyanide primitive is all for this sort of thing, and hangs on like a pit bull, Beth as well.  CTYankee has been talking to people about town; she's starting to realize not everybody thinks the way the hive does. 

[diesel driver]

EBT cards in Massachusetts are welcome at casinos, nail salons, liquor stores, and at the gas pump.    There was also a report that 20% of the Mass EBT cards issued were used in Florida.

In VA, food only.  The cash register kicks out household, personal, pet, alcohol, tobacco, and cleaning products, won't charge them to the EBT.

[NHSparky]

In the first place, you CANNOT buy alcohol, tobacco, or household products with an EBT card.  The cash registers automatically reject them.

This entire story is bullshit.

Not true.  With a FOOD STAMP EBT card you cannot buy those things.  With a "cash" EBT card, you can.

But it still doesn't make it right.

Oh, and the kid is still whining to the media how he was unfairly treated and put upon, but doesn't dare show his face.  Telling, no?

[diesel driver]

Not true.  With a FOOD STAMP EBT card you cannot buy those things.  With a "cash" EBT card, you can.

But it still doesn't make it right.

Oh, and the kid is still whining to the media how he was unfairly treated and put upon, but doesn't dare show his face.  Telling, no?

Only know of the Food Stamp EBT cards.  I don't think VA has the "cash" card, that I'm aware of.

[Lacarnut]

My local grocer does not accept EBT cards. Even though prices are higher, I love that store. It keeps the trash out. They have great meat there also.