Senate Cuts Food Stamp Funds

[Rita]

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So to fund states? needs for schools and Medicaid we cut money from the Food Stamp program, but we don?t allow the tax cuts for the top 2% to expire? We continue to subsidize oil & gas but don?t entertain subsidies for clean energy?
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Our priorities are out of whack. ...:angry:

Senate Cuts Food Stamp Funds; Leaves Oil and Gas Subsidies Intact | Sustainable Food | Change.org

"..... It's frustrating not only because America's poor, working, and middle class are suffering at record levels and could use this tiny leg up, but also because it's a really stupid cut for the overall economic picture: According to Klein, food stamps serve as one of the best forms of stimulus money, to the tune of $1.70 of activity for every dollar spent. In other words, our economy desperately needs this. ....
It's not like most food stamp recipients are young, jobless bums who spend the funds on lavish feasts, despite what a recent Salon.com story on "hipster" recipients suggests. About half of food stamp users are children and the elderly; about one-quarter are working-age women and 14 percent are working-age men. Most have jobs, but about 90 percent fall below the poverty line. ...."


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[30ashopper]

From what I've read, food stamps are a very good source of stimulus. I agree we shouldn't be cutting funds for those. If you look at all the bailouts we've done, it's clear our priorities are completely out of whack. We spent 50 billion bailing out homeowners with bad loans, 100 billion on GM, 30 billion on Chrysler, hundreds of billions on freddie and fannie, 70 billion on AIG, 80 billion on Citigroup, ... the list goes on.

 

[scooterbug44]

Long list of things I would cut before food stamps if it was necessary to balance the budget. Really? FOOD stamps?

Here's 10:

1) Per diems, reimbursements, credit cards, cars, travel, and expenses for politicians.

2) Budgets for "events and entertaining"

3) Overtime for any government worker making more than $75K a year

4) Military spending

5) AC or heating bill in politicians' offices

6) Stupid projects

7) Public service announcements

8) PORK

9) PORK

10) PORK

 

[Lynnie]

Long list of things I would cut before food stamps if it was necessary to balance the budget. Really? FOOD stamps?

Here's 10:


5) AC or heating bill in politicians' offices

6) Stupid projects

These crack me up :funn::funn:I like stupid projects mo bettah than the heating bill getting cut.

 

[Mango]

Increasing the food stamp program during the ECRA was a good idea, but you have to admit a three fold increase is hefty. Maybe some people have not been exposed to some of the people who do get food stamps, but not everyone is using them for the right reasons. Many sell them at a discount and then use the money for luxury items, like cigarettes, booze and drugs and they have little ones sitting at home. In NY alone, the price of a pack of cigarettes has gone up to $10-$11 a pack, up about $4 from last year.

What would have been a smarter thing to do was decrease it some if you have to, but then give the money to Food Banks. Since food prices are lower, then the Food Banks will get more bang for their buck and we, as taxpayers, know that our monies are not being squandered. The Food Banks are still low on food and you would be surprised who drives up to them.

 

[Here4Good]

I don't accept the rationale that a program should be reduced/eliminated because some people abuse it. If that were the case, we would eliminate the Income Tax code, since it is the most abused "system" in the universe, and we certainly would not be enforcing the speed limit.

What's the percentage of abuse? Does it outstrip the actual valid use of the system? Why can't it be stopped? Do we know what the most expensive forms of abuse are, and have we looked at ways to stop it?

 

[30ashopper]

I don't accept the rationale that a program should be reduced/eliminated because some people abuse it. If that were the case, we would eliminate the Income Tax code, since it is the most abused "system" in the universe, and we certainly would not be enforcing the speed limit.

What's the percentage of abuse? Does it outstrip the actual valid use of the system? Why can't it be stopped? Do we know what the most expensive forms of abuse are, and have we looked at ways to stop it?

Try applying that logic to other things, like guns, or drugs, or online gambling, and see how if feels! You're a closet libertarian HFG, I know it!

 

[30ashopper]

Increasing the food stamp program during the ECRA was a good idea, but you have to admit a three fold increase is hefty. Maybe some people have not been exposed to some of the people who do get food stamps, but not everyone is using them for the right reasons. Many sell them at a discount and then use the money for luxury items, like cigarettes, booze and drugs and they have little ones sitting at home. In NY alone, the price of a pack of cigarettes has gone up to $10-$11 a pack, up about $4 from last year.

What would have been a smarter thing to do was decrease it some if you have to, but then give the money to Food Banks. Since food prices are lower, then the Food Banks will get more bang for their buck and we, as taxpayers, know that our monies are not being squandered. The Food Banks are still low on food and you would be surprised who drives up to them.

Abuse or no abuse, it's a drect injection of cash into the economy, like a tax cut. (I like the Food Bank idea though.) As long as it ends up getting spent on goods w/out getting watered down.

 

[Here4Good]

If you are saying that the only way to eliminate abuse is to eliminate the program, you are probably right!

I'm just saying that abuse, or perceived widespread abuse, is no reason to stop a program when there has been little or no effort to identify the scope of the abuse and to stop it.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

I think the actual use of the credit cards and not the paper stamps that used to be used have helped with stealing as the card can't be traded and gets recharged every month.

My mom and I had to use FS for a few months when I was a kid and my dad would not pay cs. I will never forget the look of disgust on the woman's face as she checked us out. This was a woman I grew up loving and got immediately that she did not have more of a clue than I did at age 9 that this was a half-to for us, not a want to. Her daughter later came to my mom to borrow money. My mom gave it to her and without the look. Kids aren't stupid, but adults can be.