Susie Madrak of Crooks and Liars is reporting that the Minnesota GOP is 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. Get this — this is a change from their initial proposal, which banned them from having any cash at all.
House file 171 would make it illegal for MFIP (the public assistance program) recipients to withdraw cash from the cash part of the grant and to make it illegal if they withdraw any cash at all. The law also singles out disabled single adults on General Assistance and Minnesota Supplemental Aid, who would also be prevented from withdrawing cash, instead making all payments using a debit card at places "preapproved" to accept the card.
Not only can you not have cash in your pocket or utilize the cash portion of the MFIP grant, but the government will tell you where you can use the debit cards. Wow. All of this is to curb so-called abuse of the system. Their solution is to abuse everyone who is a part of the system instead of prosecuting the individuals? Yeah, that makes sense.
The GOP is acting like a pimp who doesn't allow any woman in his stable to hold any cash at all. Why? It keeps her disempowered and dependent on him. What next? Public beatdowns? And another thing — how would they find out? Oh, yeah — racial profiling and illegal searches. Imagine how that will go: "Yeah, we're going to have to search you because you may be in possession of $20." In the words of Charlie Brown, "Good grief!"
Michele Bachmann and some members of the GOP have indeed lost their minds and are going after poor people like crazy. They don't want any government involvement unless it involves poor folks. Rich people and corporations go unchecked, while poor people are micromanaged to the point where having any cash in their pockets at all, in a nation built on capitalism, is seen as a problem.
The world really has gone mad. Is there a mental-stability requirement for elected public officials? If not, there needs to be one.
Read more at Crooks and Liars.
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