[chris_t]

> food stamps that stop people from wasting their money on alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, and casinos

Are you certain they are effective at that? It isn't hard to imagine that a secondary market for food stamps could exist wherein they're traded for cash at some reduced rate.

[drzaiusapelord]

It "stops" it within a margin of error. Of course, no system is perfect. Just because there's abuse doesn't mean that handing out cash is just as good. The same way murder is illegal but still happens, but no one wants to live somewhere where murder is legal.