One consequence of Corbett out and Wolf in: From today's Philadelphia Inquirer:
Pennsylvania will eliminate the asset test for food stamps as of Monday, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services announced Tuesday evening.
The controversial test, initiated by then-Gov. Tom Corbett in 2012, ties federal food-stamp benefits - now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP - to people's bank accounts and car ownership.
Corbett saw the test as a way to cut down on fraud and waste.
During the campaign for governor, then-candidate Tom Wolf called the asset test "another example of how [Corbett] has embraced policies intended to hurt our most vulnerable residents."
Advocates for the poor have said the asset test was a barrier for those struggling with hard times because it penalized the poor for saving money.
"This is great," Sister Mary Scullion, president and executive director of Project HOME, said. Her antipoverty nonprofit serves the homeless in Philadelphia.
Elizabeth Stelle (Commonwealth Foundation director) had a sad because last session the fine state legislature (which is also trying to invalidate Philadelphia making companies give paid leave time) worked last year to make portions of the asset test even harsher.
Carlyn Long pointed out that the test even penalized people for saving for their own funerals.
(What, are there no poorhouses?)