Kansas to limit welfare recipients to $25 a day, ban them from spending on cruise ships

Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

Because grinding poverty isn't enough, Republicans are always looking for new ways to humiliate people receiving government aid. Kansas is really going all out on that right now, with a bill recently passed by the state legislature:

If Brownback signs the law, recipients of the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program would only be able to withdraw $25 a day with their benefits cards from ATMs, which act like debt cards. No other states or the federal government currently limit withdrawals.

So if you're a needy Kansan and you're going to have an emergency costing more than $25, better plan ahead!

The bill bans welfare recipients from using their benefits or withdrawing them at movie theaters, nail salons, pools and spas, liquor stores, jewelry stores, casinos or racing facilities, tattoo and piercing parlors, cruise ships, and other locations.

We're talking about benefits of $429 a month. For a family of three. But don't go blowing it all on a cruise, guys! The bill would also cap benefits at three years—four if a person can prove an extraordinary hardship like sexual assault—whereas the federal limit is five years. Kansas Republicans are really finding every possible way to be vicious to the most vulnerable Kansans.