Thursday, August 25, 2011

“It’s Free, Swipe Your EBT!”


“It’s Free, Swipe Your EBT!

Looking at Newsone.com, I came across this hilarious story about a rap ‘song’ that extols the virtues of swiping your EBT:
A new video called “It’s Free Swipe Yo EBT” video is angering many African Americans across the web.
The video, first spotted on Power107.5.com, showcases a woman rapping about how proud she is of being on government assistance, while cursing up a storm.
As of 2006, 39 percent of Black people were on food stamps. Unfortunately, 2011 numbers are unavailable but John Derbyshirenotes:
As soon as you start to look at the numbers, though, you come up against the race issue. Here are the 2007-08 TANF tables—that’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal program—broken up by state and race. So for example, in the state of Maryland, which is 30 percent black, 80 percent of TANF-receiving families are black.
It’s the same with food stamps, which nowadays come under SNAP—that’s the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The New York Times published a neat interactive graphic on SNAP usage a couple of years ago. The accompanying article tells us:
Nearly 12 percent of Americans receive aid—28 percent of blacks, 15 percent of Latinos and 8 percent of whites….Half of Americans receive food stamps, at least briefly, by the time they turn 20. Among black children, the figure was 90 percent.
Knowing that more than 50 percent of births in America are to non-whites now (first time ever), it is important that we understand the non-whites having these children are dependent on the state (i.e. taxpayers) for fitting the bill for feeding their progeny:
In fact, a shocking 49 percent of all babies born in the U.S. are born to families receiving food supplements from the WIC program, according to Jean Daniel, spokesperson for the USDA.
This video is Black-Run America (BRA) perfectly encapsulated by the fitting moniker, “It’s free, swipe your EBT!” In many major cities, upwards to 50 percent or more of Black people are on EBT cards. This doesn’t include the free lunches (and sometimes breakfast) that predominately Black school districts receive. Detroit will now offer all students free lunches so as to eliminate the stigma that receiving a free lunch might present to Black kids whose parents – more than likely – also live off TANF/Welfare, EBT cards, and Section 8 Housing:
All Detroit Public Schools students will receive free breakfast, lunch and snacks in an effort to remove the stigma of being from a low-income family.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture program chose Michigan as one of three states to participate in the pilot program. Charter schools and districts in Michigan can participate if at least 40% of students are eligible for public assistance. 

“One of the primary goals of this program is to eliminate the stigma that students feel when they get a free lunch, as opposed to paying cash,” said DPS Chief Operating Officer Mark Schrupp. “Some students would skip important meals to avoid being identified as low-income. Now, all students will walk through a lunch line and not have to pay. Low-income students will not be easily identifiable and will be less likely to skip meals.”
I’ve read on a number of Black entertainment Web sites where they express horror at the song “Swipe Your EBT,” but I highly doubt such criticism of their fellow Black people is anything to get excited about, considering that 90 percent of Black people will be on EBT/Food Stamps at some point in their lives.
We move inexorably closer to the Day the EBT Cards Run OutThe angry Black mothers in Clayton County, Georiga (whose EBT cards were good for nothing upon being swiped) show that the mentality of “It’s Free, Swipe Your EBT” is easily replaced with “My kid’s ain’t eat since this morning!”
Every problem in America comes down to race; it always has and it always will.

No comments:

Bound for Glory - I Stood