05-22-2015, 12:04 PM
5-21-2015
Kansas puts $20 limit on Welfare recipient ATM withdrawals
Kansas is taking a storm of criticism over its new policy strictly limiting ATM withdrawals for welfare recipients to $25 a day.
The controversial limit was signed into law in April by Gov. Sam Brownback ® as part of a broader reform bill. But the change was placed in stark reality by a Thursday article in The Washington Post titled "Kansas has found the ultimate way to punish the poor."
As The Post notes, it would "force beneficiaries to make more frequent trips to the ATM to withdraw money from the debit cards used to pay public assistance benefits. Since there's a fee for every withdrawal, the limit means that some families will get substantially less money."
Al Jazeera interviewed Elizabeth Lower-Basch, the director at Center for Law and Social Policy, or CLASP, who said the law amounts to a "tax on the poor."
Additionally, most ATMs do not carry $5 bills. This fact effectively changes the policy to a $20 limit and would potentially result in poor Kansans paying even more withdrawal fees to get the same amount of money.
"It’s a tax on the poor, basically, because they are charged every time they withdraw funds from the ATM. Welfare benefits are not very high in the first place, so this just takes money out of poor people’s pockets," Lower-Basch said.
The Kansas City Star slammed the legislation on Monday as an "embarrassment" to the state.
Kansas puts $20 limit on Welfare recipient ATM withdrawals
Kansas is taking a storm of criticism over its new policy strictly limiting ATM withdrawals for welfare recipients to $25 a day.
The controversial limit was signed into law in April by Gov. Sam Brownback ® as part of a broader reform bill. But the change was placed in stark reality by a Thursday article in The Washington Post titled "Kansas has found the ultimate way to punish the poor."
As The Post notes, it would "force beneficiaries to make more frequent trips to the ATM to withdraw money from the debit cards used to pay public assistance benefits. Since there's a fee for every withdrawal, the limit means that some families will get substantially less money."
Al Jazeera interviewed Elizabeth Lower-Basch, the director at Center for Law and Social Policy, or CLASP, who said the law amounts to a "tax on the poor."
Additionally, most ATMs do not carry $5 bills. This fact effectively changes the policy to a $20 limit and would potentially result in poor Kansans paying even more withdrawal fees to get the same amount of money.
"It’s a tax on the poor, basically, because they are charged every time they withdraw funds from the ATM. Welfare benefits are not very high in the first place, so this just takes money out of poor people’s pockets," Lower-Basch said.
The Kansas City Star slammed the legislation on Monday as an "embarrassment" to the state.