Rob Undersander is a
retired engineer who has a seven-figure retirement fund and other notable
assets. Since he is retired, however, he has no actual “income.” Several years
ago, he noticed that income was the only criterion for receiving food
stamps in his home state of Minnesota, also known as “Moneysota” to the many
that come there seeking government benefits. Disturbed that the eligibility
guidelines might be too lax and easily exploited, he decided to apply for the
Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or food stamps, to
determine if asset millionaires such as himself could obtain them. They can-- and
he did.
Undersander recently told the Washington
Free Beacon: "I've got the [SNAP] form in my hand and I'm
thinking of my financial situation, and I said, ‘you know, I just can't believe
this.' So, I went down to the second floor of the Sterns County Courthouse,
stood in line a little bit, handed in the application and three weeks later I'm
getting food stamps, a balance on my EBT card."
Undersander stated, "I was honestly hoping it [the application]
would be denied." Since it wasn’t, and his hypothesis proved correct, he
says he carefully tracked all the monies he received from the program and
donated it to local charities to benefit the needy.
This
was not enough to mollify Democrats in a House agricultural subcommittee,
however, who savaged
Undersander for his
actions. (Although not invited to testify, Undersander was in attendance at the
June 20th subcommittee meeting ostensibly held to look at
“broad-based categorical eligibility” for benefits like SNAP. In reality, the
hearings were held because Democrats are nervous about possible rule changes
that the Trump administration may soon mandate…changes that would tighten the
program’s eligibility and distribution requirements).
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.): "And let me just also say for the record, I
think if someone intentionally defrauds the federal government, they ought to
go to jail.”
Undersander
says everything he did was completely legal, since he didn’t falsify any part
of his application. He stated: "When I filled out that form, I used an
abundance of honesty and caution.”
As
Rep. Mike Conway (R-Tex.) correctly noted: "Mr. Undersander did not break
the law, he simply abided by the rules that were in place, so he didn't defraud
anybody.”
To
which Rep. McGovern replied, "He intentionally defrauded the federal
government. That is, in my opinion, breaking the law." No, the federal
government is a fraud, at least as far as The Swamp is concerned. It
intentionally sets programs up in order to defraud productive, law-abiding
citizens in fly-over country. And it is the Republicans who have continually
argued that the oh-so-loose eligibility requirements attendant to programs like
this allow resources to be diverted away from the truly needy.
Subcommittee
Chairwoman Marcia Fudge (!), a Democrat from Ohio, also scolded Undersander, telling
him: “You willfully and maliciously gamed the SNAP. You, an alleged
millionaire, used mischaracterizations of your finances to cheat the program.
You took benefits meant for the very seniors in Minnesota you served through
your volunteer work. And you did this all to continue the right-wing crusade
against poor people." A “crusade?” A war on poor people? Virtually
the opposite is true.
The
Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) estimates that 33 other states
are like Minnesota in that they only test income and not assets when it comes
to SNAP and similar programs. Governments are keen to get as many people
addicted to their largess as possible. Benefits act as a narcotic to most
folks. It is no longer religion that is the “opium of the masses,” but
government handouts.
Undersander
wasn’t attempting to defraud the system, he was trying to show how easy it is
to do so.
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