by moshe 70 Replies latest social current
In the USA a new record was set on food stamp enrollments, which seems ironic. You would think as unemployment drops , food stamp usage would be dropping, too. Maybe those government unemployment numbers are fake numbers. - and what gives with Oregon having the same percentage as Mississippi and New Mexico?
-http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2013/03/29/47-Million-Americans-on-Food-Stamps
My 2 cents worth. Besides obviously working/fudging the numbers, most of the new jobs created since The Great Recession are in low paying service sector. People need 2 or more of them just to make ends meet and the competition is fierce. A large number have just given up looking for work and are not even included in the stats right now. I'd hate to be graduating from college right now...
One Dr. on the Dr. Oz TV program pointed out that good nutrition is more costly than the high calorie but low nutrition foods.
Vermont just reported 4.4% unemployment, how are they doing on food stamp applications.
Maybe the laisse faire captialists should write in the memo section of their checks to the IRS 'not one dime for school lunches'.
Because some people work but don't make enough money. Also, after you haven't had a job for a certain amount of time, you are no longer considered unemployed.
Income inequality.
During the economic downturn, the government push was on to sign people up for food stamps. The more people on food stamps, the more they could show need for spending on programs to relieve poverty.
Jobs at places like Walmart don't pay much, and the hours are not even half time in many cases, so while a person may be "employed", they're actually underemployed thus entitled to food stamps. That's how the employment numbers can be up at the same time as food stamp recipients can be up.
Oregon has no sales tax, and I've read that because there are no funds being collected, there are far fewer (tax funded) services in Oregon, so it's logical that Oregon would rank as it does.
AB
I work at an elementary school. I've seen all kinds of kids on a free breakfast and lunch program get picked up in the afternoon by a mom with a big late model car or SUV, with an expensive iphone, hair and nails done, etc. so I don't get it, either.
A link from Breitbart.com to a Fox News video? If you want your argument to be taken more seriously you should use sources with a little more credibility.
It looks like there has been an increase in the percentage of Americans receiving SNAP benefits in the last few years.
So the honest questions we should be looking into is, have the requirements for acceptance into the program changed? Or is the increase based on other external factors?
moshe, do feel that the food stamp program should be eliminated entirely, or merely reformed in order to reduce the total number of recipients?
In my town, my former real estate agent is now a waitress. The guy flipping pizza was a mortgage broker. The spec. homebuilder is a handyman. These types of people might need foodstamps but can't get unemployment.
Resistance is Futile
