Florida is now the first state in the country that will block welfare cash from being spent on tattoos, body piercings, vaping products, video games, theme-park admission, pornography and even psychic services.
Though it’s not the SNAP food program, it still draws from the same well of federal assistance.
The dollars are funneled through what is known as Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA). The difference between TCA and SNAP is that TCA gives cash to cover basic living expenses, whereas SNAP deals with the purchasing of food.
Now under Gov. DeSantis, the state will ban TCA recipients from using their EBT card to purchase “services” the state doesn’t deem to be part of living expenses, such as food, clothing, housing, utilities, and household needs.
The State currently bans users of EBT cards from buying alcohol, lotto, other gambling entities, and adult entertainment.
The Trump administration is now urging other governors to follow Florida’s lead, warning that 27 states currently have no EBT location restrictions beyond the minimum required by federal law—and that most states impose no item-level limits on TANF purchases.
“This should ignite a much larger national debate,” said Ann Vandersteel, co-founder of American Made Foundation.
Vandersteel lays out several views when it approaches the issue of welfare and needy families
For example, why Florida’s restrictions represent a common-sense distinction between genuine assistance and taxpayer-funded luxuries.
Whether other governors will adopt Florida’s model—or defend welfare systems with few meaningful spending controls.
How lax oversight invites abuse, damages public trust and jeopardizes assistance for families who truly depend on it.
Whether welfare programs are still functioning as temporary assistance—or quietly becoming permanent systems of government dependency.
Why real reform must ensure public money reaches children and families in need instead of being absorbed by waste, fraud and self-serving institutions.
Vandersteel says if the government can track, restrict and audit how struggling families spend a few hundred dollars in public assistance, why does it routinely fail to account for billions flowing through contractors, nonprofits, child-welfare agencies and sprawling government programs?
