Part of a $300,000 grant to 34 gardeners and farmers in the Portland area will equip agency-sponsored farm stands and markets with card-swipe machines so growers can accept electronic benefit cards for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the food stamp program.
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http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/grant-lets-farm-markets-take-snap-debit-cards_2012-02-14.htmlOf course, SNAP / EBT cards are processed as standard payment cards (Visa/MC/Amex) so this is basically a gift to the banks so that they can lock in these new merchants and obtain (3% from the swipe fee) more of the
government's, err taxpayer's money.
JP Morgan Chase manages the SNAP EBT cards for all food stamp recipients in more than 40 states. They also issue child support debit cards in 15 states and unemployment insurance debit cards in 7 states.
"Corporate Welfare"
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http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-6193-corporate-welfare.html -
http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=28624
