Next Up: SSI Saturday Soiree?

In "Alabama Nightclub Raises Eyebrows With ‘Food Stamp Friday’ Party," The Daily Caller reports on how one business is adapting to the times.

A nightclub in Montgomery, Ala. is raising eyebrows by hosting a “Food Stamp Friday” party on April 6 that seems to glamorize life on the federal government’s food assistance program.

An invitation for the April 6 party obtained by The Daily Caller tells patrons of the Rose Supper Club in North Montgomery that the Friday night cover charge will be just $5 if a “food stamp card” is shown upon arrival.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed for Americans living at near-poverty levels.

According to the flashy, postcard-size flier advertising the party, there will be “free shots at the door.” The announcement’s artwork mimics an Electronic Benefit Transfer card, the debit card used by Americans to redeem their SNAP benefits.

Glamorizing federal assistance bothers some who have seen the posters.

“I just don’t understand how they are promoting this without anyone saying anything about it,” Stephanie Pope, a Montgomery resident who has seen the fliers in gas stations, told TheDC.

Orlando Rogers, an employee who answered the telephone at the Rose on Thursday, confirmed that the “Food Stamp Friday” party is taking place at the venue next month.

Rogers said he wasn’t involved in the planning of the party, so he couldn’t comment on the event’s theme.

“It’s just a little party they’re having,” he said.

In fact, given how so many people seem to be keeping their heads above water in today's allegedly recovering economy, the Rose Supper Club and other venues might want to consider staging similarly-themed events on other days of the week. Among the possibilities:

• Medicaid Monday
  
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Tuesday
  
• Welfare Wednesday
  
• Thrift Shop Thursday
  
• SSI (Supplemental Security Income) Saturday
  
• Social Security Sunday
  

Wow, I guess the bulls are right: there really is a silver lining behind every cloud.

Michael J. Panzner