$2,000 Debit Card - Good Idea?

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Pepper

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I am really trying not to be cynical, but I just wonder how good an idea this is. Everytime free money is involved, greed and ugliness takes over. I wonder how much of this money will actually help these people, and how much may be gambled away, stolen or abused?

I really want everyone to have all the food and necessities they need, but giving them a blank check for $2,000 per person? I just don't think this was a great idea.
 
I get the sneaking feeling that while this will probably help out the majority of people, it gives me the impression that afterwards the gov't can wash its hands of the people it gave them to.

You know "We did what we could, now you figure it out." or something to that effect.
 
I moved my post on this subject from the "Angry" thread:

(Not to change the subject, but) disasters often lead to scams & abuse of the system, and the government throwing money into the chasm, in an effort to stem the tide of screams from the poor. The idea of issuing $2000 debit cards to every family?, every adult?, one card to each address?--whichever it was planned to be, is another one of those idiotic efforts. In this situation of complete confusion, and pandemonium, this is akin to the looting of all of the stores in New Orleans, only this time it is the government money store that will be looted. This was an idea of Mike Brown of FEMA. As we know, Mike Brown and FEMA haven't looked too good, in this time of crisis, and that is putting it mildly, so, is this dumb & dumber move, supposed to ingratiate Mike & FEMA to anyone?? Not that the families don't need, or shouldn't be provided with, relief, but this won't accomplish its original intent. What has been done, is to create yet another way for abuse to run rampant
 
The news keeps saying the cards are between $600 and $1,000 depending on family size and needs.
 
That makes more sense. I can see a fair chunk of change being needed to resettle yourself for a bit of a stay - you have to pay taxis to get around (a lot of cities don't have all that comprehensive of public transportation - and even if they did - they don't take credit card) - you need clothes, medicine, down payment on an apartment maybe, interview clothes to go apply for a job, stuff for the kids, etc. Seems a reasonable down payment - but these families had better be smart with it - I'd expect that for some of them not a lot more is coming their way.
 
tybee204 said:
The news keeps saying the cards are between $600 and $1,000 depending on family size and needs.
Click to expand...

According to CNN there are 2 different debit cards. The red cross is currently issuing cards of various amounts, starting at $350 and going up to $2,000. FEMA has not started issuing cards yet and won't for another few days.

From CNN.com:

Debit card confusion sparks lockdown at Astrodome area

HOUSTON (CNN) -- Long lines and confusion over the distribution of two separate debit cards to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina sparked a lockdown Thursday at Reliant Park, where more than 8,000 evacuees from hurricane-affected regions are living temporarily.

People began lining up at 5 a.m. (6 a.m. ET) around the Astrodome, where computer-printed signs indicated they could receive Red Cross debit cards. Many had heard that FEMA was also passing out debit cards worth $2,000 for those who qualified.

As word spread, others began flooding the complex, prompting police to shut the gates to the parking lot and refuse entry to everyone but emergency medical personnel.

The Red Cross debit card -- worth between $350 and $2,000 -- is available to those who qualify, but the requirements for qualification were not clear. Those cards will be activated about 12 hours after they're approved.

The FEMA debit card will not be available for a few more days, according to FEMA representative Ed Conley. He said the agency hopes to avoid confusion and long lines before they are ready to hand them out, and said people can register for the cards online. (Posted: 1:33 p.m.)
Click to expand...
 
And who will pay when some of them spend out the $2000 and have nothing useful to show for it?

Added: Is this going to be like AFDC where married couples got penalized? Is it $2000/family so an unmarried mother and her boyfriend will get $4000? I understand the idea behind it but I think it will be a boondoggle.
 
tybee204 said:
The news keeps saying the cards are between $600 and $1,000 depending on family size and needs.
Click to expand...

Everything I've seen or read says $2,000.

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louis...ws-19/112620324239520.xml&storylist=louisiana

9/8/2005, 2:00 p.m. CT
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Thursday pledged the government would cut through red tape to provide an immediate $2,000 in disaster assistance to families displaced by Hurricane Katrina and make sure they continue receiving Medicaid, food stamps, jobless compensation and other federal benefits.

http://raid1research.namehub.com/research/story.asp?storyid=3016385

Katrina Victims to Get $2K Debit Cards
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
Publication date: 9/7/2005 7:12:00 PM
WASHINGTON - The federal government plans to dole out debit cards worth $2,000 each to victims of Hurricane Katrina, The Associated Press has learned.
------------------
I know the cash needs are there. I just hope it isn't abused and misused.
 
This sounds like they handled Fl hurricanes last yr. Small amount of money at first until inspectors could look at the property, etc.
 
I spent some time this morning thinking about this. Sure some people will waste it away, but everyone has different needs. Some people have families with many different ages, some have pets, some are in a shelter, some are in a home. It would be pretty tough for any agency to fulfill so many cicumstances, so maybe this is cheaper in the long run, at least I hope it is. Who knows, at this point its hard to believe FEMA and the Red Cross truly know what they are doing.
 
tybee204 said:
The news keeps saying the cards are between $600 and $1,000 depending on family size and needs.
Click to expand...
That sounds a lot more reasonable. The displaced need to get clothing, shoes, other items that might make them live a little easier during this horrible time in their lives.

I do worry about it being used the wrong way and then having displaced people without the necessities.
Since no solution marks perfection, this sounds as good as anything I could think up.
 
Seems like a good way to give people some sense of normalcy and control. I never thought about gambling, etc.
 
If it's been done successfully before perhaps they can do it right this time.
 
Red Cross debit cards range from few hundred to $2000:

The coveted Red Cross debit cards can be activated in eight to 24 hours, a powerful draw for the 7,188 still living at the Reliant Park shelters today. Only those stranded at Reliant Center, Reliant Arena or the Astrodome are eligible today for the cards, which carry balances of a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars, depending on a family's size and the age of its children.

The Red Cross said Hurricane Katrina victims living at the George R. Brown Convention Center can get their cards on Friday, and evacuees who have settled in at other locations can apply through a toll-free number, yet to be announced, starting Saturday.

Drawn on Chase Bank, the debit cards carry the words "Red Cross client" and "This cannot be used for alcohol, tobacco or weapons." -
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/3344346.html

I hope this debit card program will work well, as expected by the Red Cross and FEMA. People have to establish their need and why they qualify, so hopefully the money goes where it's most needed.

Today's distribution in Houston saw lines that were a mile or more long, and finally the gates were closed to those in line in order to restore order to the distribution progress.

The plan seems generous but as yet smoothly executed.
 
On talk radio this morning, they said that each family will receive a total of $30,000 in aid. The $2,000 cards now and $28,000 once the family reestablishes itself in its new location.
 
It was just reported on FoxNews that there is a lockdown in effect at the Astrodome due to "fake" Katrina survivors showing up for these $2000 debit cards.
 
Pandora said:
It was just reported on FoxNews that there is a lockdown in effect at the Astrodome due to "fake" Katrina survivors showing up for these $2000 debit cards.
Click to expand...
I knew it. :doh:
 
Pandora said:
It was just reported on FoxNews that there is a lockdown in effect at the Astrodome due to "fake" Katrina survivors showing up for these $2000 debit cards.
Click to expand...
well that didn't take long
 
JBean said:
well that didn't take long
Click to expand...


It's unfortunate that there will always be people trying to take advantage of the system.
 
This may appear as "gossip," so to speak, as I don't have the name of the County Judge here in Central Texas, but just before I left work this evening, my boss received a call that a County Judge was already calling his "constituents," that he wanted to "get out of the shelter business" because the local crime rate has already dramatically increased in his County (it is one that opened a shelter last Wednesday)...and that there's already an influx of evacuees being arrested for selling dope on the corners. Like this is one of their greatest ways to spend their time? I know, I know...

Word "on the street" is that the bigger, already-established drug dealers are already trying to set up shop with swipe machines for the debit cards. I kid you not.

Consider the source as good as hearing it around the water cooler, but it's probably happening. :banghead:
 
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