Blog

Fighting the Food Fraud Swamp

By A Clear Vision, Government Entitlements, Immigration, SNAP, Welfare Leave a comment
Residents wait to be helped at the Food Stamp and Public Assistance Program Office at the Department of Public Health and Social Services. (Photo: PDN file)

Dysfunction in Washington, DC is rampant. Federal programs are wrought with fraud. This is the swamp that needs to be drained. The bigger the federal program, the bigger the fraud. The bigger the bureaucracy, the bigger the waste. And let me tell you, the United States federal government is wasting our tax dollars at an alarming rate.

(bu·reauc·ra·cy) a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Our elected representatives have turned our government over to non-elected agencies and departments who publish thousands of regulations and administer thousands of programs. The federal government now has more than 2,100 federal agencies and departments. Do we really need that much bureaucracy to rule over us; and to regulate our lives and our workplaces? I think not. Do you?

A Swamp for Every State

A long time ago in a country far, far away, long before many of my readers were born, there was a farcical political promise: “A chicken for every pot.” Now, our politicians are guaranteeing a “Swamp for Every State.” It seems they all want to get in on the action: “My Fraudulent Program is Bigger Than Your Fraudulent Program.”

Yes. The states have all gotten into the game. The game of stealing as much taxpayer money as they possibly can to make sure “the other guys don’t get more than we do.” State governments are emulating their “Big Brother” in every aspect. Many readers have begged me to write about the fraudulent acts in their state governments. I have considered this and found that no one person can solve the dishonesty of the millions of politicians and their surrogates. However, I will attempt to uncover a joint duplicitous operation the federal government and states are perpetrating on “We the People.”

Another Government Agency Out of Control

The last article I published in 2017 was entitled Government Gourmet Soup Kitchens. It spoke of how citizens are taking advantage of the many Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) programs. FNS works with State partners and the retail community to improve program administration and ensure program integrity. There may be more than 15 separate federal agencies and at least 50 state agencies involved in this boondoggle. This makes the “Big Dig” look small.

NAP benefits now exceed $100 billion annually while they service more than 50 million people. Some are not citizens, and none are taxpayers. The amount of SNAP food stamps a household gets depends on the household's size, income, and expenses. For most of its history, the program used paper-denominated "stamps" or coupons. Now it utilizes a specialized debit card system known as Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) whose benefits are directly deposited into the household's EBT card account.

A GAO Report on SNAP

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that resulted from a review of 11 state and federal efforts to fight food stamp fraud, effectiveness of certain fraud detection tools and how FNS oversees state anti-fraud efforts found that “most of the selected states reported difficulties in conducting fraud investigations due to either reduced or maintained staff levels while SNAP recipient numbers greatly increased from fiscal year 2009 through 2013.”

A woman checks out at a Bentonville, Ark., Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market Thursday, June 4, 2015. (Danny Johnston/AP Photo)

The federal government is using the old tactic of “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.” They take the money from the investigative arm of the agencies to provide more free benefits which results in more double-dealing and less money to investigate the waste and fraud. Some state officials interviewed suggested “changing the financial incentives structure to help support the costs of investigating potential SNAP fraud.”  I hope they can solve this problem that most second graders could pinpoint in a heartbeat.

2020-A-Clear-Vision-For-America-B

Bill Muckler’s incredible insight brings profound vision to today's issues. Wisdom, logic and common sense are applied to provide reasoned resolutions to restore our republic’s exceptionalism and drive our country forward to newfound prosperity. 

20/20 reveals how a small, limited streamlined government is the best solution to make America complete again.

Dialing for Government Dollars

In a 30-day testing period of the automated tool for e-commerce websites, the GAO report found “28 postings from one popular e-commerce website that advertised the potential sale of food stamp benefits in exchange for cash.” The GAO found limitations on the effectiveness of recommended replacement card data and website monitoring tools for fraud detection.

It also said states have different thresholds for prosecuting food stamp fraud. In Tennessee, for example, $100 in benefits must be fraudulently obtained before officials will consider prosecuting, but in Texas it is a $5,000 level.

The only thing we know for certain is that the federal government and the states are advertising for customers. We hear it on the radio every day in Florida and other states. The bottom line: government agencies perpetuate themselves and grow too large to control and investigate by advertising for more recipients. This is not a method of survival, it is a method of growing too large to be taken down.

We have become weak and willing to accept this as the “New Normal.”

Likewise, one person cannot purify this hideous immorality. It will take a majority of the more than 320 million American citizens to “Drain the American Swamp.”

usmc

Subscribe to Bill's monthly newsletter!

Please enter your name and e-mail below, and we will add you to our mailing list.

Go HTML5 Icon

Array

Stay tuned. The Muckster will continue to keep an eye open and an ear to the ground to keep my readers informed. I am here to lead you out of the slimy past and into a bright future with 20/20: A Clear Vision for Our future. You are my inspiration. Be a part of the narrative.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: Proverbs 29:18

Read more of my “casually sarcastic” articles to discover that I am an equal opportunity critic of all types of anarchy and nonsense. Check out the blog.

Spiritus meus es tu. Ego semper fidelis.

God Bless us all and God Save our America. Our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our American Flag, our culture, our country, our civilization, our currency, our children, our liberty, our safety and our future need you now more than ever.

 My call to action to create honesty and integrity whereas citizens realize government is the hindrance, not the answer to a bright future for their children.

The Gift with the Perfect Message

The reader will learn how to regain our country’s liberty and freedom. They will relate to the 20 solutions to America’s 20 worst problems that are intensified by senseless policies imposed by the political establishment. 20/20: A Clear Vision for America is a book of common-sense answers written in a style readers can readily identify with.

Bill-Muckler-20-20--A-Clear-Vision-for-America

Something Extra Special for that Extra Special Person

fullyDid you know many of us support inventors, authors, artists and other entrepreneurs through crowdfunding? It’s a wonderful way to help independent creators bring their projects to life.

Did you know that many authors use the names of their family and friends as characters in their books? It is a way to honor and memorialize loved ones.

Do you know that I am writing a new book and need family and friends to help tell the story of the Constitution and other important topics? Did you know that I want to honor you with a part in the narrative?

Do you know that the names of my backers and supporters are on my webpage? Do you know that those backers and supporters will also be acknowledged forever in print in my new book?

Do you know that I would be honored to have your name listed as one of my backers and supporters? Do you know that I want you to be on my team? Did you know how important it is that I hear from you?

Do you know there will be a void in my book and in my heart if you don’t appear in my new 20/20 Vision book? It’s safe and easy to go to my website and pledge $250, $100, or $50 and you’ll get lots of priceless rewards including lots of signed books as gifts to your family and friends who will read your name in the new book.  Time is running out. I need your name now! 

usmc

Subscribe to Bill's monthly newsletter!

Please enter your name and e-mail below, and we will add you to our mailing list.

Go HTML5 Icon

Array

 

Bill-Buckler-Bio-01-1

Finally, an author who brings you solutions, instead of problems.

Americans have lost faith in their overreaching federal government. “We the People” don’t need to be overregulated or have their taxes misspent. Americans are victims of a crumbling economy, high prices and stagnant wages. They view government as bloated and politicians as corrupt.

They do not trust the leadership at any level. They see politicians of both parties as self-centered narcissists whose only objective is re-election. The author is like you, with one principal difference and 20 reasons for optimism. His “Vision” of America is “clear.” It is a vision of the Constitution and America the way it could be, the way it should be. The author’s eyesight is twenty-twenty.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.