General of Darkness
26th June 2012, 05:53 PM
good for her.
NOTE THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO OVERSIGHT ON HOW THE MONEY IS SPENT.
Video at link and the comments aren't bad.
Peterborough clerk says she was fired over EBT cards Clerk wouldn't accept EBT cards to pay for cigarettes UPDATED 6:24 PM EDT Jun 26, 2012
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PETERBOROUGH, N.H. -
Jackie Whiton, a six-year employee of the Big Apple, said she was fired after a dispute with her boss over accepting EBT cards as payment for cigarettes.
"I gave two weeks' notice and tried to bow out gracefully," said Whiton, of Antrim. "But the next day, I was fired."
Whiton said she declined to accept an EBT card as payment for a package of cigarettes. The Electronic Benefit Transfer cards are used by state benefits departments to issue cash to recipients, and they can be used like debit cards.
Whiton said her boss told her she can't refuse to sell beer and cigarettes to customers, because, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, EBT or state assistance money can be used to purchase tobacco products.
DHHS said 14,000 households received monthly cash benefits from the state in the past year, compared to more than 56,000 households that received food stamp assistance, which is restricted by federal law from being used on items such as cigarettes.
"No such law was ever imposed on cash benefits, and therefore we don't have the authority to restrict how people use it," said Terry Smith of DHHS. "It is a moot point in that anybody can go to an ATM, withdraw cash and spend it invisibly anyway."
The state has distributed more than $36 million in cash benefits this year. Smith said the EBT system saved the state millions of dollars in the first year it was enacted. Previously, recipients were issued checks, which could also be cashed and spent on anything.
"I just feel the taxpayer should be aware of where their money is going," Whiton said.
New Hampshire officials said no state in the country has restrictions on how cash benefits can be spent. They said enforcing restrictions would require an expensive infrastructure to be created.
Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Peterborough-clerk-says-she-was-fired-over-EBT-cards/-/9857858/15276636/-/3n84t/-/index.html#ixzz1ywkSsYT4
NOTE THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO OVERSIGHT ON HOW THE MONEY IS SPENT.
Video at link and the comments aren't bad.
Peterborough clerk says she was fired over EBT cards Clerk wouldn't accept EBT cards to pay for cigarettes UPDATED 6:24 PM EDT Jun 26, 2012
Comments (124) (http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Peterborough-clerk-says-she-was-fired-over-EBT-cards/-/9857858/15276636/-/3n84t/-/index.html#comments)
Share (http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&pubid=hearsttv)
Print (http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Peterborough-clerk-says-she-was-fired-over-EBT-cards/-/9857858/15276636/-/view/print/-/wrkg8k/-/index.html)
PETERBOROUGH, N.H. -
Jackie Whiton, a six-year employee of the Big Apple, said she was fired after a dispute with her boss over accepting EBT cards as payment for cigarettes.
"I gave two weeks' notice and tried to bow out gracefully," said Whiton, of Antrim. "But the next day, I was fired."
Whiton said she declined to accept an EBT card as payment for a package of cigarettes. The Electronic Benefit Transfer cards are used by state benefits departments to issue cash to recipients, and they can be used like debit cards.
Whiton said her boss told her she can't refuse to sell beer and cigarettes to customers, because, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, EBT or state assistance money can be used to purchase tobacco products.
DHHS said 14,000 households received monthly cash benefits from the state in the past year, compared to more than 56,000 households that received food stamp assistance, which is restricted by federal law from being used on items such as cigarettes.
"No such law was ever imposed on cash benefits, and therefore we don't have the authority to restrict how people use it," said Terry Smith of DHHS. "It is a moot point in that anybody can go to an ATM, withdraw cash and spend it invisibly anyway."
The state has distributed more than $36 million in cash benefits this year. Smith said the EBT system saved the state millions of dollars in the first year it was enacted. Previously, recipients were issued checks, which could also be cashed and spent on anything.
"I just feel the taxpayer should be aware of where their money is going," Whiton said.
New Hampshire officials said no state in the country has restrictions on how cash benefits can be spent. They said enforcing restrictions would require an expensive infrastructure to be created.
Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Peterborough-clerk-says-she-was-fired-over-EBT-cards/-/9857858/15276636/-/3n84t/-/index.html#ixzz1ywkSsYT4