Alabama, home of fine golf courses and miserable bastards

Once again Republicans show their true colors, this time in Alabama. They decided to tinker with the eligibility rules for food stamps in their hellhole fine state.

The legislation would cut eligibility for Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) from five years to three. It would also require TANF recipients to sign a paper acknowledging they would stick to the requirements of the program, including those related to work. The bill would also prevent the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) from seeking work waivers for those receiving SNAP, and would also require EBT cards for recipients of public benefits to have photos on them.

The legislation would also end SNAP eligibility for anyone who may not be cooperating with child care enforcement.

The bill would also change asset calculations, which currently allow those receiving benefits to own items like cars. The legislation would end that. Opponents of the bill say that practice allows people on benefits to have access to functional transportation and go to work. The legislation would also make the Alabama Medicaid Agency implement new practices to verify eligibility for the program.

Oh, man. “Those poor folk be cheatin’ us good people, so we goin’ make it mo’ tough fer them to do so.”

Forget that to get to work they might need a car; I imagine Alabama’s public transportation is as chintzy as the Republican legislature’s heart. Forget that often people needing food stamps have children who can’t go out and work to earn money until long past the age of five. Notice too that they want those poor folk to have photos on their food stamp cards because otherwise they might let other people use them, and that they’ll have to sign contracts saying they’ll stick to the rules, so that if they somehow run afoul of said rules the state can sue ’em for breach of contract (hoping to get back just what, I wonder? The contents of their pantries?).

Abe Lincoln was wrong. He should have let the region stay out once it seceded.