…who told him the
obvious. The workers worked just enough to pay the rent, buy the rice and
beans, as well as a bottle of rum or two. And so when they earned enough for
these simple needs, they stopped working and enjoyed themselves. The solution
was not to raise but to lower salaries.
OK—I tell you this story
because I have just pondered this sentence
from The New York Times:
Currently, states can extend food stamp benefits past three months for able-bodied people who are working or preparing for work as part of a job-training program.
Yeah? Then how is it
that there are 1.3 million beneficiaries of the tarjeta de la familia—our local electronic version of food stamps—in Puerto
Rico? Oh, and our population is 3.7 million people, so that means that roughly
one in three Puerto Ricans is getting food stamps.
“Eighty percent of our
revenue is generated by EBT sales,” said a student, when I was working at Wal-Mart.
To me, that seemed wildly off the mark, but he swore it was true. Then I began
to think about it, and realized two things—first, there were a lot of
people using the card. And second, since the card only gets charged—or whatever
it is—once a month, people tended to make one large purchase once a month. They
didn’t go weekly. So all of a sudden, the 80% figure seemed reasonable.
That said, how can 1.3
million people be “able-bodied who are working or preparing for work as part
of a job-training program? Especially since the size of our work force is under
one million?
It’s one of many mysteries about the program. How is it
possible, by the way, that there were only 84 cases of unauthorized use of the
cards in all of 2012? Out of 1.3 million recipients? And what about this
interesting headline?
En Puerto Rico se bebe ron con la tarjeta de la familia
Here, the passive voice
greatly aids in dispersing responsibility: “In Puerto Rico, rum is drunk with
the family card.”
And here’s the photo:
Oh, and what’s the story
with all these students running around with the family card? Well, I bring you this
from a blog called Pide, que hay,
which could be translated “ask for it—there IS,” or perhaps more idiomatically,
“grab what you can.”
¿Sabías
que, como estudiante, puedes pedir cupones? Pues sí. Cualquier
persona de bajo ingreso, desempleada, o estudiante a tiempo completo puede
solicitar el Programa de Asistencia Nutricional (PAN). Si eres estudiante, lo
más importante es no decir que dependes de tus padres, porque mientras puedan
lograr que tus padres te mantengan no te darán ayudas.
(NOTE: grammar and orthography were corrected….)
What’s the trick? You
have to say that you are not living with or depending on your family. Oh, and
in the next paragraph, the blogger goes on to say that the process can get a
little tricky, depending on what person takes your case. Chillingly, the blog
post ends with the sentence:
Recuerda, es tu derecho solicitar todas las ayudas
posible.
(Translation: “Remember, it’s your right to apply for all the benefits
possible.”)
OK—got that mystery cleared up. But how can it be that people are buying
cigarettes and alcohol with food stamps? Because 75% of the amount in the card
must be spent electronically—the other 25% can be exchanged for cash. And in
many cases, the recipient doesn’t even bother to go next door to buy some beer.
Why? Because it’s a Mom and Pop, and everybody knows each other, so what’s the
problem? Besides, it gets hot down here in the afternoon—everybody needs a cold
beer or two!
Oh, and pizza, which until recently you could buy with the family card,
since in 2011 the legislature decided that the card could be used at fast food
restaurants! However, wiser minds prevailed, and in April of this year, that provision
got quashed.
The Feds put their foot down….
