As an alumnus of Murray State, I came across your article in The News. I have to disagree with many of your basic points, but not surprised of your content speaking from the most far-left wingers of Berkeley and The Washington Post.
I travel the states of Kentucky and Tennessee five days per week entertaining the grocery store markets (large, small, medium) as an independent marketer sampling what people are buying and why and I see food stamp fraud that is out of control. There are no words to describe. I can tell you of hundreds of cases of fraud or people who should not be on food stamps. Simply, it is a joke. Tennessee has the third or fourth highest usage and it shows.
Some points I want to make:
There has not been a recovery. Unemployment is still at least 20 percent or more.
We have more people on food stamps and welfare than ever in the history of our country.
Wages have dropped tremendously in the last six years.
More Americans are eligible to work but some 94 million are not working. They are on the sidelines looking for work and at most working two to four part-time jobs.
We have the most people declaring disability than ever before; the figures are unbelievable – another corrupt and fraudulent area.
We have millions of dollars of food stamps by recipients in New York buying up groceries and shipping them to the Dominican Republic in huge blue barrels. Google it.
Several weeks ago, I was at a grocery store here in Tennessee, the lady buys more than $87 in food stamps. A little while after, I am at another grocery chain some two blocks away. As I am rounding-a-corner, I ran smack into this lady. She had three 24 packs of beer in her buggy. She turned white as a ghost when she saw me. I have ID around my neck. I asked if she had a SNAP card for the beer. Or there is the story of the man who pulls out six $100 bills that fall to the floor and says, “Oops, not that,” then hands the clerk the SNAP card.
When you leave Murray State, Mr. Griggs, I hope you get your head out of the leftist ideology and see reality …
Letter by Steve Jones, Murray State alumnus
Well stated, Mr. Jones!