Woman jailed after trying repeatedly to buy iPads with Food Stamps

CaptureThere may be no substance to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s claim that Food Stamps create jobs, but the actions of a Louisville woman demonstrate that the entitlement creates “enterprise.” Unfortunately for 38-year-old Tracy Browning, the enterprise was criminal and she was caught.

FOX News reported on Wednesday that Browning was apprehended by Louisville police after she tried to purchase several iPads with a food stamp Electronic Benefit Transfer card. The rationale offered up by some commentators that Browning may not have understood the limits of EBT card use is dashed by the facts of the case, which are spelled out at The Weekly Vice:

Browning went to the Valley Station Walmart and tried to purchase two iPads with an Electronic Benefit Transfer card. When the transaction was denied, she assaulted a store clerk, pushed another employee to the ground and fled from the store with the merchandise.

Investigators say Browning went to another Walmart in the area a short time later and again attempted to buy several iPads with an EBT card. She was apprehended at the scene while attempting to flee with the merchandise.

Browning was booked into the Louisville Metro Jail and charged with robbery, shoplifting, and trespassing. According to police, she has also been banned from all Wal-Mart locations due to prior incidents with the store.

Food Stamp use has reached record highs under the Obama administration, with 42.2 million Americans having used the EBT cards this past Thanksgiving, the International Business Times reports. The article had no comment about whether any of the iPads purchased for the holiday had dry breast meat.

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Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 11:19 AM

0 comments

  1. there was a time when food stamps were a separate type of paper currency. but I guess that was embarassing to the users so the card was introduced and now anybody in line can’t tell whether it is a debit card or an EBT card.

    maybe time to go back to the paper? at least other people would know where their tax dollars are going.

    and maybe time to shift the program from the USDA…sounds like it can be used for more than milk, bread, eggs and cheese.

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