Off Topic · When foodstamps are cut for 9 Billion Dollars by Congress what will people do ? (page 1)

The cuts to the program, which will affect nearly a million households over the next decade, are part of multi-year farm bill which sets spending levels for federal agriculture and food policy.

The giant piece of legislation is expected to get a vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, after which it will be subject to a vote in the Senate.

What are these people in Congress flipping thinking?!?

Are they deliberately trying to start riots, as food prices rise, and people on food assistance cannot buy enough to feed themselves and their families?!?

On Oahu, the state money for food assistance runs out in the 3rd week of the month, and people - and their kids - go hungry.

This shouldn't be happening in a country with such vast wealth.

The line for the food bags get larger, and the demographic is trending younger.

But this cut in Federal benefits makes absolutely no sense, and is a slap in the face of the good people in this country whose jobs have been outsourced/off shored, and have been scrambling to find decent-paying jobs, all to no avail.

Remember the US gives Israel Billions a year & gives Congress a 1 million each and spends 900 billion on Miltary & just gave themselves 1 trillion. The Real Debt is 75 trillion.

These creatures of the dark found another way to continue to starve their own people...I am sure the extra 9 BILLION will do well in their WAR FUNDING...these creatures are morally and spiritually bankrupt nothing but a bunch of parasites destroying this planet one bomb at a time. These demons are mentally sick with GREED, those awakened are repulsed by these demons of the dark and for a good reason. Soon they will be cut out like a cancer,right now they are exposing their true evil nature for ALL to see.

Foodstamps? We throw away something like 14 trillion tons of perfectly good food a day.
Unemployment is going on forever. WIC programs are forever.

Does anything good ever happen in your world while living in the US equivalent of paradise?

playa2 wrote:awmakers in both chambers of US Congress have reportedly reached a deal to cut almost $9 billion from the food stamp program on which nearly 47 million Americans rely to afford food.

The cuts to the program, which will affect nearly a million households over the next decade, are part of multi-year farm bill which sets spending levels for federal agriculture and food policy.

The giant piece of legislation is expected to get a vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, after which it will be subject to a vote in the Senate.

What are these people in Congress flipping thinking?!?

Are they deliberately trying to start riots, as food prices rise, and people on food assistance cannot buy enough to feed themselves and their families?!?

Here on Oahu, the state money for food assistance runs out in the 3rd week of the month, and people - and their kids - go hungry.

This shouldn't be happening in a country with such vast wealth.

Two churches (my Methodist church and the local Catholic church) co-sponsor two food distribution programs, one for hunger insecure kids at the local elementary school, and one for other individuals and families certified by the state as being food insecure.

Every time Mike and I volunteer, the line for the food bags get larger, and the demographic is trending younger.

But this cut in Federal benefits makes absolutely no sense, and is a slap in the face of the good people in this country whose jobs have been outsourced/offshored, and have been scrambling to find decent-paying jobs, all to no avail.

I'm a Progressive but I think it's ridiculous that people who work full-time and who sometimes have a 2nd job, need to be on food stamps. Often times, these people work for fortune 500 companies who are making record profits; so, I'd prefer that we raise the minimum wage in a manner that keeps up with productivity and caps the wages of CEOs and other executive officers. Fair is fair. We'd cut government spending AND further the general wellbeing of the whole.

playa2 wrote:This all part of Agenda 21 and putting more people into what will be FEMA camps. The Homeless are the first to go.

Remember the US gives Israel Billions a year & gives Congress a 1 million each and spends 900 billion on Miltary & just gave themselves 1 trillion. The Real Debt is 75 trillion.

These creatures of the dark found another way to continue to starve their own people...I am sure the extra 9 BILLION will do well in their WAR FUNDING...these creatures are morally and spiritually bankrupt nothing but a bunch of parasites destroying this planet one bomb at a time. These demons are mentally sick with GREED, those awakened are repulsed by these demons of the dark and for a good reason. Soon they will be cut out like a cancer,right now they are exposing their true evil nature for ALL to see.

LOL, somebody just got a redflag on his NSA file.

NardDogNation wrote:

playa2 wrote:This all part of Agenda 21 and putting more people into what will be FEMA camps. The Homeless are the first to go.

Remember the US gives Israel Billions a year & gives Congress a 1 million each and spends 900 billion on Miltary & just gave themselves 1 trillion. The Real Debt is 75 trillion.

These creatures of the dark found another way to continue to starve their own people...I am sure the extra 9 BILLION will do well in their WAR FUNDING...these creatures are morally and spiritually bankrupt nothing but a bunch of parasites destroying this planet one bomb at a time. These demons are mentally sick with GREED, those awakened are repulsed by these demons of the dark and for a good reason. Soon they will be cut out like a cancer,right now they are exposing their true evil nature for ALL to see.

LOL, somebody just got a redflag on his NSA file.

Dude I was flagged after I figured out how they fooled millions of sheeple about 9/11 .

jrodmc wrote:One question: How can you live in Oahu and be this patently miserable? Were you an unhappy Marine guarding the nukes or something?

Foodstamps? We throw away something like 14 trillion tons of perfectly good food a day.
Unemployment is going on forever. WIC programs are forever.

Does anything good ever happen in your world while living in the US equivalent of paradise?

Jrod, its not his words. He does not even try to make them his. He cuts and pastes other rants in other blogs.

Of course all good americans go after the Israeli thing. Why doe we keep sending money to Israel when we have unemployed hungry!!!
or any of the other 45 countries we send aid to.

Small minded folk like Playa don't think, they digest others ideas.

Why Israel? Good question, I mean really, don't Jews have all the money anyway?

Its about oil! Yep, sure is!!

Well then, don't we have enough oil in North America to keep us independant on the middle east? Yeah we do, but "WE" don't own it! Oil companies do. Oil companies are not public domain, that would be communist or heavy socialist thing. If the middle east lights up and israel retaliates, and there is a big problem with oil production guess what? The price goes up as supply runs down. The price of the commodity would skyrocket!! Oil Companies could then export to meet demand. Can they do that? Sure, its NOT OUR OIL!!!!! Our trading partners need oil.

Many of the Patriotic crowd like to think we control our oil but the very paranoid subset of "Them taking over" would be that our government take the very private property and nationalize it! The New World Order does not allow a gov't to take a private owned entitiy like an oil company. The Government is the police to guard the private propety and the taxes we pay is the fee. "Oil companies don't pay taxes"!!!! Well our politics need to work on that but if we tax the crap out of them they just move their domicile over seas.

See, Europe and Asia need Saudi oil and if that supply ends because of a nuclear war well lets just say the world economy goes to hell and them food stamps won't be an issue anymore cuz we all screwed. We don't need to be the police in the middle east but I don't think we want China and Russia to be in control of that do we?

So while we all rant and rave about isolationist type thinking, or paranoid conspiracy theory we often forget the big picture which is:
The world is a phuched up place that operates at different levels. If you want to participate then save your money and buy some oil stocks and when it all goes to hell those oil stocks will jump in value. Those defense stocks will jump in value. The company with lots of Gov't logistic military contracts will jump in value.

Wait, is Hawaii even a state? How many morons think Obama is not a citizen becaue he was born there?

Nalod wrote:

jrodmc wrote:One question: How can you live in Oahu and be this patently miserable? Were you an unhappy Marine guarding the nukes or something?

Foodstamps? We throw away something like 14 trillion tons of perfectly good food a day.
Unemployment is going on forever. WIC programs are forever.

Does anything good ever happen in your world while living in the US equivalent of paradise?

Jrod, its not his words. He does not even try to make them his. He cuts and pastes other rants in other blogs.

Of course all good americans go after the Israeli thing. Why doe we keep sending money to Israel when we have unemployed hungry!!!
or any of the other 45 countries we send aid to.

Small minded folk like Playa don't think, they digest others ideas.

Why Israel? Good question, I mean really, don't Jews have all the money anyway?

Its about oil! Yep, sure is!!

Well then, don't we have enough oil in North America to keep us independant on the middle east? Yeah we do, but "WE" don't own it! Oil companies do. Oil companies are not public domain, that would be communist or heavy socialist thing. If the middle east lights up and israel retaliates, and there is a big problem with oil production guess what? The price goes up as supply runs down. The price of the commodity would skyrocket!! Oil Companies could then export to meet demand. Can they do that? Sure, its NOT OUR OIL!!!!! Our trading partners need oil.

Many of the Patriotic crowd like to think we control our oil but the very paranoid subset of "Them taking over" would be that our government take the very private property and nationalize it! The New World Order does not allow a gov't to take a private owned entitiy like an oil company. The Government is the police to guard the private propety and the taxes we pay is the fee. "Oil companies don't pay taxes"!!!! Well our politics need to work on that but if we tax the crap out of them they just move their domicile over seas.

See, Europe and Asia need Saudi oil and if that supply ends because of a nuclear war well lets just say the world economy goes to hell and them food stamps won't be an issue anymore cuz we all screwed. We don't need to be the police in the middle east but I don't think we want China and Russia to be in control of that do we?

So while we all rant and rave about isolationist type thinking, or paranoid conspiracy theory we often forget the big picture which is:
The world is a phuched up place that operates at different levels. If you want to participate then save your money and buy some oil stocks and when it all goes to hell those oil stocks will jump in value. Those defense stocks will jump in value. The company with lots of Gov't logistic military contracts will jump in value.

Wait, is Hawaii even a state? How many morons think Obama is not a citizen becaue he was born there?

I thought he was born in Kenya?

Tip: there is nothing secure about securities.

Nalod wrote:

jrodmc wrote:One question: How can you live in Oahu and be this patently miserable? Were you an unhappy Marine guarding the nukes or something?

Foodstamps? We throw away something like 14 trillion tons of perfectly good food a day.
Unemployment is going on forever. WIC programs are forever.

Does anything good ever happen in your world while living in the US equivalent of paradise?

Jrod, its not his words. He does not even try to make them his. He cuts and pastes other rants in other blogs.

Of course all good americans go after the Israeli thing. Why doe we keep sending money to Israel when we have unemployed hungry!!!
or any of the other 45 countries we send aid to.

Small minded folk like Playa don't think, they digest others ideas.

Why Israel? Good question, I mean really, don't Jews have all the money anyway?

Its about oil! Yep, sure is!!

Well then, don't we have enough oil in North America to keep us independant on the middle east? Yeah we do, but "WE" don't own it! Oil companies do. Oil companies are not public domain, that would be communist or heavy socialist thing. If the middle east lights up and israel retaliates, and there is a big problem with oil production guess what? The price goes up as supply runs down. The price of the commodity would skyrocket!! Oil Companies could then export to meet demand. Can they do that? Sure, its NOT OUR OIL!!!!! Our trading partners need oil.

Many of the Patriotic crowd like to think we control our oil but the very paranoid subset of "Them taking over" would be that our government take the very private property and nationalize it! The New World Order does not allow a gov't to take a private owned entitiy like an oil company. The Government is the police to guard the private propety and the taxes we pay is the fee. "Oil companies don't pay taxes"!!!! Well our politics need to work on that but if we tax the crap out of them they just move their domicile over seas.

See, Europe and Asia need Saudi oil and if that supply ends because of a nuclear war well lets just say the world economy goes to hell and them food stamps won't be an issue anymore cuz we all screwed. We don't need to be the police in the middle east but I don't think we want China and Russia to be in control of that do we?

So while we all rant and rave about isolationist type thinking, or paranoid conspiracy theory we often forget the big picture which is:
The world is a phuched up place that operates at different levels. If you want to participate then save your money and buy some oil stocks and when it all goes to hell those oil stocks will jump in value. Those defense stocks will jump in value. The company with lots of Gov't logistic military contracts will jump in value.

Wait, is Hawaii even a state? How many morons think Obama is not a citizen becaue he was born there?

Israel's GDP ranks 43rd, which is pretty strong considering how small a nation it is in terms of geography and population. I'd think you'd have to be nuts NOT to question why we're giving these people aid of any sort. Yes, several dozen other countries may receive aid from us but Isreal receives the 2nd highest amount and that figure is far and away more than the other countries on the list (by at least a factor of 3). And I fail to see or understand any strategic importance to maintaining an alliance with them. If anything, they are more a liability than anything else because most of their neighbors don't like them. So I don't buy the argument about them being some guardian of peace and market stability out there.

The fact is that our economy is in a shitty predicament and each side (Democrat and Republican) are prepared to eat the others young to spare a few dollars for the budget. And yet the fiscal conservatives who are willing to let the AMERICAN poor starve and the tree-hugging war-hating liberals are more than willing to blow +$3 billion a year on a country that shouldn't need the money. Something is up. Our country is so damn xenophobic that we rather tolerate the shittiest healthcare system in the industrialized world than to try solutions that worked in Europe but somehow everyone thinks AIPAC farts rainbows and sunshine despite them lobbying to use AMERICAN taxpayer dollars to support another country? Come on. I don't buy most conspiracy theories but there has to be something going on in this respect.

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

I guess irony can also be synonymous with bullshit, lol.

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

Food stamps are to help people get back on their feet, not to live on for a lifetime.

NardDogNation wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

I guess irony can also be synonymous with bullshit, lol.

I don't like your tone. If you want to act like this than I'll leave you to post your threads and discuss them with yourself. I don't need to be here engaging you in conversation, so if you find it so unbearable let me know and I won't respond to you anymore.

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

I guess irony can also be synonymous with bullshit, lol.

I don't like your tone. If you want to act like this than I'll leave you to post your threads and discuss them with yourself. I don't need to be here engaging you in conversation, so if you find it so unbearable let me know and I won't respond to you anymore.

Well, I've never liked the bull-headedness and hypocrisy in your tone. I knew what you were getting at indirectly in your response.

izybx wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

Food stamps are to help people get back on their feet, not to live on for a lifetime.

And is that the case for everyone in the program? Because that is who these cuts will effect, even though multi-million dollar farm companies will still get their unnecessary subsidies.

izybx wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

Food stamps are to help people get back on their feet, not to live on for a lifetime.

The average food stamp recipient is in the snap program for 8-10 months. Here are some more myths about food stamps.

http://mannafoodbank.org/the-facts-and-myths-about-fns-food-stamps/

Whether you call it FNS, SNAP or food stamps, there is a lot of misinformation out there. Get informed.
FACT: The stigma associated with FNS is so great that many families will not seek assistance or will only do so by the time their family is in a devastating crisis.

Regular families in economic crisis – many that were recently middle class – are the people that receive benefits. Times are tough, together we can break the stigma. Let’s give struggling American families some dignity and spread the truth about food stamps.

Check out these FACTS and MYTHS:

MYTH: Most people are on food stamps for life.
FACT: The average length of time on food stamps is 8-10 months. (i)

MYTH: Benefits are too generous.
FACT: The average monthly SNAP benefit per person is $133.85, or less than $1.50 per person, per meal. The average SNAP household consists of 2.1 people with a gross monthly income of $744. (i)

MYTH: FNS is for lazy people.
FACT: 76% of SNAP households include a child, an elderly person, or a disabled person – the most vulnerable in our society. These households receive 83% of all SNAP benefits. (i) Many people qualifying families include full-time workers at low wage jobs.

MYTH: FNS recipients don’t work.
FACT: The overwhelming majority of SNAP recipients who can work do so. Almost 70 percent of SNAP recipients are not expected to work, primarily because they are children, elderly, or disabled. (ii) In North Carolina, almost 73% of all SNAP participants are in families with children. (iii)

Of households with children, almost 87% worked in the previous or following year of receiving and 60% worked while receiving SNAP. (ii)

MYTH: SNAP fraud and abuse is out of control.
FACT: SNAP has a strong record of program integrity. SNAP error rates are at a record low of 3.80% in FY2011. The SNAP accuracy rate of 96.2% (FY2011) is an all-time program high and is considerably higher than other major benefit programs. (i)

MYTH: SNAP is a drain on taxpayers.
FACT: Moody’s Analytics estimates that in a weak economy, $1 in SNAP benefits pumped about $2.43 billion into North Carolina’s economy in 2012. (iii)

SNAP not only helps low-income people buy groceries, it frees up cash for other expenses, such as medical care, clothing, home repairs and childcare. That benefits local businesses and their employees, which boosts the economy as a whole.

MYTH: Participation in the program has ballooned in recent years, that proves it is being exploited and abused.
FACT: The food stamp program is designed to be responsive to economic downturns; it closely correlates to unemployment. The number of unemployed people increased by 94% from 2007 to 2011; SNAP participation increased by 70% during the same time period. The economy is slow to improve (even slower for Western North Carolina). As the economy recovers and people go back to work, SNAP participation and program costs, too, can be expected to decline. (i)

SNAP is responsive to changes in need, providing needed food assistance as families fall into economic hardship and then transitioning away as their financial situation stabilizes.

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

izybx wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

izybx wrote:Spending on food stamps has doubled in the past 5 years. Like all handout programs it is rampant with fraud and misuse. I'm sure that people will be just fine. Maybe it will be incentive to go back to school, work harder, etc

Are you aware of the fact that "going back to school" is the rough equivalent of purchasing a 2nd home? The tools for social mobility don't exist anymore unless you got that type of dime. And somehow it amazes me that you think the poor are slackers when productivity is at record rates and our standard work schedules exceed that of any industrialized nation.

I grew up poor as dirt. My mother got food stamps and our church gave us clothes. My mother went to school full time while working full time and raising 4 kids alone. She got a better job and got off food stamps. I joined the Army to pay for my tuition. So I don't believe that there are no options besides sitting on your butt, making excuses, and holding out a hand. Don't people have any self respect anymore? I would be ashamed to take a handout.

Let me get this straight, you and your family were fed because of food stamps and now you talk about people having no shame taking a handout?

Food stamps are to help people get back on their feet, not to live on for a lifetime.

The average food stamp recipient is in the snap program for 8-10 months. Here are some more myths about food stamps.

http://mannafoodbank.org/the-facts-and-myths-about-fns-food-stamps/

Whether you call it FNS, SNAP or food stamps, there is a lot of misinformation out there. Get informed.
FACT: The stigma associated with FNS is so great that many families will not seek assistance or will only do so by the time their family is in a devastating crisis.

Regular families in economic crisis – many that were recently middle class – are the people that receive benefits. Times are tough, together we can break the stigma. Let’s give struggling American families some dignity and spread the truth about food stamps.

Check out these FACTS and MYTHS:

MYTH: Most people are on food stamps for life.
FACT: The average length of time on food stamps is 8-10 months. (i)

MYTH: Benefits are too generous.
FACT: The average monthly SNAP benefit per person is $133.85, or less than $1.50 per person, per meal. The average SNAP household consists of 2.1 people with a gross monthly income of $744. (i)

MYTH: FNS is for lazy people.
FACT: 76% of SNAP households include a child, an elderly person, or a disabled person – the most vulnerable in our society. These households receive 83% of all SNAP benefits. (i) Many people qualifying families include full-time workers at low wage jobs.

MYTH: FNS recipients don’t work.
FACT: The overwhelming majority of SNAP recipients who can work do so. Almost 70 percent of SNAP recipients are not expected to work, primarily because they are children, elderly, or disabled. (ii) In North Carolina, almost 73% of all SNAP participants are in families with children. (iii)

Of households with children, almost 87% worked in the previous or following year of receiving and 60% worked while receiving SNAP. (ii)

MYTH: SNAP fraud and abuse is out of control.
FACT: SNAP has a strong record of program integrity. SNAP error rates are at a record low of 3.80% in FY2011. The SNAP accuracy rate of 96.2% (FY2011) is an all-time program high and is considerably higher than other major benefit programs. (i)

MYTH: SNAP is a drain on taxpayers.
FACT: Moody’s Analytics estimates that in a weak economy, $1 in SNAP benefits pumped about $2.43 billion into North Carolina’s economy in 2012. (iii)

SNAP not only helps low-income people buy groceries, it frees up cash for other expenses, such as medical care, clothing, home repairs and childcare. That benefits local businesses and their employees, which boosts the economy as a whole.

MYTH: Participation in the program has ballooned in recent years, that proves it is being exploited and abused.
FACT: The food stamp program is designed to be responsive to economic downturns; it closely correlates to unemployment. The number of unemployed people increased by 94% from 2007 to 2011; SNAP participation increased by 70% during the same time period. The economy is slow to improve (even slower for Western North Carolina). As the economy recovers and people go back to work, SNAP participation and program costs, too, can be expected to decline. (i)

SNAP is responsive to changes in need, providing needed food assistance as families fall into economic hardship and then transitioning away as their financial situation stabilizes.

How did you manage to educate yourself so well on this stuff? I had no idea that this was the case.