Why I'm very skeptical of the food stamp/Lexus story.

[Maddy McCall]

Because I used to do advocacy work for women and had to learn federal and state regulations on food stamps, TANF, child care, etc.

Here's the low down. Every state runs a DMV check to see if any vehicles are registered to the recipient before giving the recipient an EBT card. States have different limits on the value of a vehicle a person may own. If it is valued at more than $6000 in Mississippi, you cannot receive food stamps. Other states' limits are set by other states, but I know that a Lexus would not make the cut, unless it was 15 years old, and in that case, no one should complain if that food stamp recipient receives assistance.

Now, the only exception to this rule is Katrina victims. After Katrina, anyone who applied received food stamps for a month. Didn't matter if you had a car, property, a bank account, whatever. You were not denied. But you only recieved one lump sum (if you were married with several children, that amount might have been $500-1000.) It worked on the presumption that people lost power, thus lost food. Maybe some people haven't spent all of their EBT funds from Katrina.

I just don't buy the story about the woman and the Lexus. It used to be easy to get around these laws. Now, in the computer age, the case worker can ascertain info about the car you drive, any real property you own, and if you have bank accounts at the click of a mouse.