Rapper 50 Cent has rejected New York City’s plan to hand out prepaid cards worth a total of $53 million to migrants so they can use them at bodegas, supermarkets and delis.
Mayor Eric Adams estimated the plan will save the city $600,000 a month, or $7.2 million a year, by no longer wasting money on meals that asylum seekers don’t want.
The pilot program is being rolled out at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, involving 500 families. The New York Post reported.
A family of four receives a card with $1,000 per month, which is equivalent to $35 per day.
But 50 Cent took to Instagram on Saturday to highlight the plan, suggesting that Donald Trump is the answer to the city’s problems.
Rapper 50 Cent has rejected New York City’s plan to hand out prepaid cards worth a total of $53 million to migrants to use at bodegas, supermarkets and delis
The pilot program is being rolled out at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, involving 500 families. A family of four receives a card with $1,000 per month, which equates to $35 per day
Mayor Eric Adams estimated the plan will save the city $600,000 a month, or $7.2 million a year, because it will stop wasting money on meals the asylum seekers don’t want.
The rapper shared a post on Instagram about the plan to hand out prepaid cards to migrants to buy food and baby supplies.
“WTF Mayor Adams is calling my phone,” he wrote. ‘I don’t understand how this works, can someone explain this. I’m stuck, maybe TRUMP is the answer.”
It comes after the artist, born in New York City, questioned why migrants were given free health care in California.
“I don’t understand this, this is going to cost taxpayers $2.6 billion,” he said on January 3.
“They don’t even give veterans health insurance. @arimelber call my phone now, help me understand this s**t. WTF.’
The New York City program ensures that selected people receive cards that can only be used at bodegas, supermarkets and delis.
Migrants must sign an affidavit promising to use the cards only for food and baby supplies, or else have them cut off.
It’s unclear how the city of New York will know if they are only being used in bodegas as intended.
The amount on each card depends on individual circumstances. It’s unclear how city officials will monitor whether cards are being misused — and whether the plan will worsen the crisis by encouraging other migrants to head to the Big Apple in hopes of receiving free money.
A family of four could get almost $1,000 each month, which equates to $35 a day for food for the four.
Currently, each migrant meal costs $11, so feeding a family of four for a day could cost up to $132.
Cards are refilled every 28 days.
Rapper 50 Cent shared a post on Instagram about the plan to hand out prepaid cards to migrants to buy food and baby supplies
Hundreds of asylum seekers lined 7th Street and Avenue B in Manhattan
The scheme was used last year for residents of social housing, so that they could buy food for the holidays.
“Not only will this provide families with the opportunity to purchase fresh foods for their culturally relevant diets and the baby essentials of their choice, but the pilot program is expected to save New York City more than $600,000 per month, or more than $7.2 million per month.” year. said Kayla Mamelak, Adams’ spokesperson.
The program is run by a company founded by a former Wall Street financier, Wole Coaxum, called MoCaFi.
The website describes MoCaFi as “a financial services platform for the 110 million Americans facing economic hardship and no path to better circumstances.”
Coaxum said, “MoCaFi looks forward to working with New York City to free up funds for asylum seekers to purchase fresh, hot food.
‘MoCaFi’s aim is to expand access to financial resources for individuals excluded from banking, such as asylum seekers, while helping the local economy.’
If the program is successful, the city will expand it to the estimated 15,000 migrant families staying in hotels.
About 70,000 migrants have been brought to New York City by bus or plane in the past year, putting an extreme strain on the Big Apple’s resources.
Texas’ conservative governor, Greg Abbott, began sending migrants to NYC and other Democratic-run cities that bill themselves as “havens” for border crossers, to show them how much pressure the crisis has put on border states.
His plan appears to have worked — with Democratic lawmakers taking a much tougher stance on the crisis and President Biden himself promising to take stronger steps to address the crisis.