To get one of those 20,000 $2K "debit cards" being given to the DPs from the Gulf, you need to show multiple IDs and proof of a bank account, more. (tip courtesy T.T. Hipp 7am morning news).
These are barriers typically thrown up to prevent the homeless from receiving aid. Yesterday, I quote myself: "If I guess right, these aren't credit cards... They're like food stamp/AFDC benefit cards, usable for authorized items at authorized locations... Like the Astrodome's hot dog stand where you will be able to buy candy bars, but not vitamins or heated food [snicker]. Food Stamp regulations... really!" Also, I posted this to lbo this morning, but it seems apropos: Evacuee arrested for panhandling in Ga http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/2697805p-11245021c.html ATLANTA (AP) - A man who fled Louisiana with his family to escape Hurricane Katrina was arrested for asking motorists for money in this city where banning panhandling has been a hotly debated issue. James Scott says he had slept in a car for days with his brother, sister and her two young children before they decided to ask for help. Cf. Here is how disaster relief is being handled for businesses affected (and apparently unaffected) by 9/11. Expect more of the same. Sept. 11 recovery loans loosely managed By DIRK LAMMERS and FRANK BASS, Associated Press Writers Thursday, September 8, 2005 http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/2700083p-11248017c.html The government's $5 billion effort to help small businesses recover from the Sept. 11 attacks was so loosely managed that it gave low-interest loans to companies that didn't need terrorism relief - or even know they were getting it, The Associated Press has found. And while some at New York's Ground Zero couldn't get assistance they desperately sought, companies far removed from the devastation - a South Dakota country radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop, a Utah dog boutique and more than 100 Dunkin' Donuts and Subway sandwich shops - had no problem winning the government-guaranteed loans. <more>
