Tag Page Privatization

The Court Ordered the Money, But My EBT Machine's Support Line is Down

I run a small grocery. The court ordered SNAP benefits restored yesterday (Nov 7th). My customers flooded in today (Nov 8th), their cards finally loaded. But my EBT terminal is broken. It just says "Connection Error." I called the EBT technical support hotline. This system isn't run by the government; it's outsourced to a private contractor like Conduent or Xerox. I've been on hold for three hours, listening to automated music. Why? Because their federal contract payments are also frozen, and their call center is shut down. My customers have money. I have food. But the privatized, fragile "middle-man" system between us is broken. #EBT #SNAPInterrupted #Privatization #GovTech