Kansas Republicans have put forward a new policy initiative that's almost shocking in its clear intent to harm the interests of poor people. The provision, which takes effect July 1, will ban welfare recipients from taking out more than $25 in benefits a day from an ATM.
...As the Washington Post's Max Ehrenfreund explains, this places a massive burden on recipient families. For one thing, it's a de facto benefit cut. As of last July, a single parent family of three in Kansas with no other earnings received $429 a month from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Most ATMs don't stock $5 bills, so the Kansas rule effectively limits withdrawals to $20.
Taking out that money isn't free. Many banks charge substantial fees for withdrawals from Electronic Benefit Transfer accounts to which TANF money is distributed. I called Intrust Bank in Wichita, which says it charges $2 per EBT transaction. Emprise Bank says it charges $1.50. In addition to that, Kansas itself charges $1 per ATM withdrawal. So taking the cheaper option, withdrawing $420 from Emprise under the new rules would mean $52.50 in fees. Effectively you'd be limited to taking out $380 a month if you didn't want to go over your monthly allowance, fees inclusive.
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