Ohio Dumps 'Smart Cards'

[Mechanic]

Ohio Dumps 'Smart Cards' for Food Stamps

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Advocates for the poor say they're glad to see Ohio dump so-called ``smart cards'' used to replace paper food stamps.

The system offered limited options to food stamp recipients because not all grocery stores had card readers in every checkout lane, said Lisa Hamler-Podolski, director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks.

The state said the current system is too expensive, costing $22 million a year, or up to four times as much as other programs.

The smart card is a plastic card with a computer chip capable of maintaining individual account information. The state installed 11,000 machines to read the cards at groceries and other stores statewide.

The state will seek bids for a magnetic-strip system instead.

[Sithlord]

Wouldn't it be just too funny if DirecTV ended up suing some food stamp recipients because they had purchased smart card programmers?

"You! The one buying baby food and aspirin! What are you doing with that programmer and smart card?!? Don't tell me it's for food stamps. You're stealing our signal! Now give us $3500.00 or we'll make you even poorer than you already are!!!"

[Mechanic]

"The state installed 11,000 machines to read the cards at groceries and other stores statewide."


Looks like 11,000 grocery store's will be getting the letter.

[RonD]

The state of Ohio will be selling these readers now, right, at auction, hmm....... If I was DTV I'd buy 'um all up, 11,000 more "cheap" card readers on the market, can't have that.

[stax]

Originally posted by Mechanic

. . .Looks like 11,000 grocery store's will be getting the letter.


Not so fast there, Mechanic: First DTV will have to raid the State and secure their distribution list.

After all, they all weren't "grocery" stores. :)

stax