JPMorgan Chase Profits from Food Stamps, Poverty

From [HERE] When the number of Americans on food stamps goes up, the profits of JPMorgan Chase also rise. The powerhouse national bank contracts with 26 state governments and the District of Columbia to produce debit cards for food stamp recipients, a service that nets JPMorgan a clear profit.

 Among the states using JPMorgan is Florida, which paid out $50 million over the last three years to have its food stamps distributed. Until recently, though, some of the taxpayer money paid to the bank went to employ workers in India to operate call centers. These foreign operators earn an average of $2.50 to $3.50 an hour, which is about 70% less than Americans in the same position make.

 When word got out that JPMorgan was using stimulus funds to operate overseas call centers, Florida officials complained. The bank has promised to move its Florida calls back to the states.

 But it continues to route calls from other states to India. Any of the 488,000 food stamp families in Tennessee who have questions have to deal with Indian operators. The same goes for the 130,000 households in West Virginia.

 The number of Americans using food stamps has jumped from about 26 million in 2007 to 43.6 million today—one of seven throughout the country.