Jolt
Friday Jolt: Food Stamps and the Arena
Today's loser: Arena opponents.
This afternoon, opponents of the proposed SoDo arena released a poll purporting to show that a strong majority of Seattle residents oppose the arena. However, the questions in the brief poll provided several negative talking points against the arena---including the fact that it would be largely taxpayer-funded and "could cost jobs and worsen transportation problems in the SoDo area; making it more difficult to get goods and cargo to and from the Port" of Seattle.
Additionally, arena proponents have pointed out, poll respondents skewed older than Seattle's population as a whole, with 26 percent of the poll's 300 respondents saying they were 65 or older---a demographic that tends to skew more conservative and anti-public spending.
Today's winner: State food stamp clients.
The state's Department of Social and Human Services has announced that under a new contract with banking giant JP Morgan Chase, it will no longer charge low-income Washington State residents who use their Electronic Benefits Transfer food-stamp cards to withdraw cash from debit machines. Previously, every time a food-stamp client used their EBT card as a debit card, Chase took an 85-cent cut, making a $100,000 monthly profit on transaction fees alone.
This afternoon, opponents of the proposed SoDo arena released a poll purporting to show that a strong majority of Seattle residents oppose the arena. However, the questions in the brief poll provided several negative talking points against the arena---including the fact that it would be largely taxpayer-funded and "could cost jobs and worsen transportation problems in the SoDo area; making it more difficult to get goods and cargo to and from the Port" of Seattle.
Additionally, arena proponents have pointed out, poll respondents skewed older than Seattle's population as a whole, with 26 percent of the poll's 300 respondents saying they were 65 or older---a demographic that tends to skew more conservative and anti-public spending.
Today's winner: State food stamp clients.
The state's Department of Social and Human Services has announced that under a new contract with banking giant JP Morgan Chase, it will no longer charge low-income Washington State residents who use their Electronic Benefits Transfer food-stamp cards to withdraw cash from debit machines. Previously, every time a food-stamp client used their EBT card as a debit card, Chase took an 85-cent cut, making a $100,000 monthly profit on transaction fees alone.
