A trip to Costco - courtesy of you and me

This morning after church I made a trip to Costco. As usual, it was packed. When I finished my shopping I headed for the check-out area. I ended up in line behind what seemed to be a healthy, able-bodied, attractive woman of about 30. She had two carts full of groceries, with a cute baby riding in one of them. This woman wore fashionable clothes, accented by a fully-loaded Pandora charm bracelet.
When all of her groceries had been rung up she told the cashier "put the first $300 on my EBT card and the rest on my American Express card." (those are words that I confess I never thought I'd hear in the same sentence - "my EBT card" and "my American Express card"). She completed her check-out, and I completed mine. We both got in that Costco line to have our receipts and carts inspected before leaving, and then headed for the parking lot. Her car happened to be parked right in front of the store. It was a brand-new Ford Expedition (minimum MSRP about $40,000).
There is no doubt that there are truly needy people among us, and those in true need should surely be helped by their fellow man. But was EBT (a.k.a. the Food Stamp program) really meant for people with American Express cards, fully charmed-up Pandora bracelets and new Ford Expeditions?
A relevant quote on this topic is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. It states "when people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." If people can carry American Express cards, wear expensive jewelry and drive new $40,000+ cars and still qualify for EBT - the heralding may already have begun.