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US To Materially Expand Food Stamp Program As America Prepares For Surge In "Poverty Effect"
One of the sad side effects of the recent record in food stamp participation is that apparently the 44.2 million Americans who now subsist below the poverty line and rely on the government for basic food needs, have become quite a drag on otherwise insolvent state and local governments. And with monthly increases projected to keep rising in line with the Russell 2000 as the Wealth Effect is constrained to Wall Street, and no end in sight to the Poverty Effect, states are getting nervous. Never fear: the US taxpayer is here. In a press release, the USDA has just announced that it "will award grants to improve access to and increase participation in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The grants are for
state and local governments and private non-profit organizations to
develop projects that simplify SNAP application and eligibility systems
and find efficiencies in the administration of the program with the goal
of providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need." Translation: the Fed is about to add the bailout if the Food Stamp program to the infinite list of subsidies that rely exclusively on the generosity of Vassarionovich-Packard.
And the funniest thing about the release, if one can call the progressive conversion of America to an improverished country funny, is the math provided by the USDA to justify the expansion of SNAP.
SNAP benefits, which are provided to recipients electronically, also provide an economic stimulus that strengthens communities. Research shows that every $5 in new SNAP benefits generates as much as $9.00 in economic activity. SNAP benefits move quickly into local economies, with 97 percent of SNAP benefits redeemed within a month. It is estimated that at least 8,900 full-time equivalent jobs are created from $1 billion of SNAP benefits.
So according to this Keynesian version of a perpetual engine, if only all of America's 330 million were to start collecting foodstamps, the benefit to the economy would essentially be 80%. As for the efficiency of the SNAP program, dividing $1 billion by 8,900 jobs, means that each job ends up costing a modest $112,360. That's government efficiency for you.
And the platitudes from the release continue:
These grants are part of a larger effort to end domestic hunger and improve the nutrition of all Americans in need," said Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. "The funding leverages our state and local partnerships to better reach individuals at risk of hunger and to increase SNAP participation among eligible households."
In 2009, more than 50 million individuals in the United States lived in food insecure households--over 17 million of them children. These households had difficulty providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources at some time during the year. SNAP provides crucial support to low income households by enhancing food purchasing power. Increasing access to this important nutrition program will help struggling individuals and families purchase more healthy food.
In other words, just like the Libyan invasion, this is a humanitarian intervention. Perhaps the government can just start shooting silver-tipped rockets at its population thereby creating an infinite economic growth curve once everyone is homeless, jobless and hungry. We can only hope that just like in Libya, Obama will use silver-tipped rockets which can subsequently be recycled into currency, which will immediately result in several million charges of domestic terrorism.... Assuming of course there is enough physical for that modest "wealth effect" detour.
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Bob Chapman's most recent interview on the gold & silver market, coming comex default: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDkT8_4tnis
I'm going to repo my food stamps to the Fed -- they're at least D-rated, right?
I watched that Chapman 2 part 20 min video and found it to be disjointed & uninformative, a rehash of many things already stated many times.
The moderator kept trying to bring him back to pm's but he kept straying from the subject.
the people will never rebel...food and netflix...keeps em happy
I thought it was Jersy Shore and IPHONE which will make people upset . Not sure if thsi si still the case
If remote wipe is simultaneously started on every i(whatever), the revolution will begin. Far too many will be shocked back to face their realities, and it ain't glamourous.
Saudi style!
SNAP = BREAD
LIBYA/JERSEY SHORE = CIRCUS
Ohh...SNAP!!!
The Cubans reacted to the loss of Soviet support by turning to growing food sustainably. They tell you that we could never feed the world without industrial fertilizer and techniques. This is true if you tried to do it on that scale. What will have to happen is what was done in the past, most people had their own gardens. That's also how the Russians survived collapse, they had already been dealing in underground economy to provide what the central planners couldn't.
The Cubans have about three growing seasons. A bit harder here in the Continental US.
Though not impossible.
This guy's low cap/low cost model in Wisconsin is brilliant.
http://www.growingpower.org/
He won a Mac Arthur Genius Award.
Solves all kinds of problems.
Great link!
There are some You Tube videos of his operation worth watching. Do a search. The quality of some are not that great.
He's able to raise a boat load of fish and grow greens throughout the winter using a small circulating pump. He heats his greenhouses with compost.
It is a simple, elegant system.
A guy in my medium size SMSA tried to get a conventional bank loan on behalf of a farmer's cooperative that sells directly to the public for this kind of operation. Bank after bank turned him down explaining that if wasn't corn or soybeans, they didn't understant it and wouldn't fund it.
This kind of moronic thinking has to stop.
Totally and utterly agreed on my part. I will check them out.
Not at all the same but, I used to live in an upscale neighborhood before I removed myself from "civilization" to a larger plot of land. I remember the fights with the HOA, when I originally started gardening. Calling my raised beds eyesores to the community. All because I raised vegetables instead of tulips. Fought over solar panels, fought over raising rabbits. Got on the board and tried to change the rules. Tried to start a community garden project on some never to be developed land. Lost at every turn.
I finally looked out one day at all the well manicured grass open areas around the "community" and realized all the land wasted by "civilized" people and their "civilized" ideals.
Oh well, he who laughs last, laughs best.
Don't worry, all those fine manicured lawns will become gardens one day again, once hunger sets in.
I've truck farmed before, and I see all the farm land turned into 5-7 acre ranchettes with 3500 sq ft homes. Neat they have put in sprinkler systems. Small tractor, a little know how and a house big nuff to house 3-4 workers/family and bingo a worthless piece of crap is turned into a 500 family food store. It's coming. Lots of vacant office buildings turned into condo's by out of work construction workers. And the beat goes on. Milestones
>I finally looked out one day at all the well manicured grass open areas around the "community" and realized all the land wasted by "civilized" people and their "civilized" ideals.
For me it was Fukushima. But the culture of "civilization" is utterly fucked.
Read Derrick Jensen for an intro.
I read it, didnt think about it for two years; then bam, Fukushima happens.
And all the pro-nuclear propaganda started. And I realized that humans are just too damn stupid.
We're just smart enough to get ourselves into deep trouble.
That's the kind of ingenuity that is going to benefit us in the future.
Another guy doing interesting things is Eliot Coleman http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/
He's been doing very interesting things with growing year round greens in low cost moveable greenhouses.
The argument put forth is that these techniques can't be scaled industrially. The response is; so what? Things are going to happen locally, and they'll have to.. because the threat of interruptions to the supply of petro chemicals will make it necessary. It will lead to better diversity and strength in the nations food security in the long run. Now, when there is a salmonella scare with spinach or something, it affects half the country because it all comes from the same place. That's a weak system in my view.
Unfortunately, you are overlooking the massive starvation and mafia hits that wiped out many people in both cases. Having spent time in Russia in the mid 90's (to restore some poultry stocks) I heard some horrific stories from folks around St. Petersburg (they were no longer referring to the city as "Leningrad" (In fact, that might have gotten you killed at the time). Think of the 20 million people in the L.A. basin alone and how they might "react" to the onset of starvation and not enough arable land, access to seed stocks, fertilizer or water. This is but one city.
I say we do this "experiment", but you better understand and be prepared for the massive "correction" that will accompany it.
We should start making bets on when that city is renamed to Petrograd. I will take the square for June 18, 2013. The Red Brigades will be wiping out the white armies and hunting down enemies of the people.
Now we just have to figure out if we use the Julian calendar for the pool.
Oh horse shit. Literally.
Dr. Chops - You're comment is essentially correct. BUT, how are we going to feed the millions upon MILLIONS who live in concrete jungles and have no means to purchase/barter? Seems to me that no matter how many extra pounds of spuds you and I grow, it isn't going to replace SNAP.
If I lived in a big city, whether I was poor or wealthy, I would be a nervous SOB.
Feeding some does not prevent the rest from finding their own solutions. I really recommend FerFAL's web site, "Surviving in Argentina":
ferfal.blogspot.com
I'll look into it. I think I have read a couple of his pieces. I don't disagree with what you say. I fear however, that the "solution" the rest is going to find involves bulldozers, really rank smelling fires, and a big hole.
There will have to be a lot more people involved in the production of food, and that is fine, because a lot of people need work.
There will have to be a tradeoff made where people come to terms with the fact that they can't eat large amounts of meat every meal.
A small plot of land can be very productive, a small plot here, a small plot there, it all adds up. It's going to take place at the neighborhood level. People getting together and organizing, specializing in various things so that there is a variety of things available. This will create trade. This is how markets evolve 'organically', the local market will work out what needs to get done.
Shit will become an extremely valuable resource, animal and human. It can all be safely composted. There was once an entire industry surrounding the collection of shit, becuase it is a valuable commodity. The future is shit!
I agree with James Howard Kunstler that over a period of time, decades, that the demarcation between urban and rural will become more definite, as it once was. Suburbia as a living concept has no future. It's a poor allocation of land and a form of malinvestment that has been particularly bad since the last asset bubble, but has been steadily taking place since the end of WWII
I don't agree with the concept of running away to a mountain hideaway to ride out the storm. People in cities need to band together at the local level and organize themselves. That's the key to security in both food and in person. The city or state government will absolutely fail at this when hell breaks loose, because they'll be too busy trying to keep up appearances.
Every scrap of wasted space currently being taken up by big box suburbia will revert back to a more productive purpose. Collapse doesn't have to be all zombies and cannibals.
You don't have to explain to me the possibilities, I understand, accept, and practice many of them. What I'm saying, is that long before any of this evolves, SNAP will fail, people will burn shit down, get shot, hauled to camps, ETC.....
"Every scrap of wasted space currently being taken up by big box suburbia will revert back to a more productive purpose. Collapse doesn't have to be all zombies and cannibals."
This is probably true, but a whollotta people are gonna are gonna starve to death before you can peel the asphalt up from the strip mall parking lot and restore the class 5 gravel base to productive soil.
I agree with you in principle, but believe it will be AFTER the SHTF that this takes place. The average American has the foresight of a lemming.
@Porkchop, I'm sure the Cubans, who have been starving, will be suprised to learn they were not really starving.
Fidel Castro was at the top of a personality cult. Everyone had to say he was the best at everything, no matter how trivial. A bit less butkiss than that idiot in North Korea, but still. He is also the "formost expert" on farming in Cuba, and he is not a farmer. Result? Famine.
Example: The farmers cannot switch from a wet season crop to a dry season crop without his permission, and he does not get told that the plans are now wrong because the weather is not cooperating.
Watch what comes next: Gas Stamps, or the Fuel Universal Car Keeper Program
Fuck. This could actually happen.
Also known as "fuel rationing".
Let's hope not. I'm sure the lessons from the 70's have been forgotten by those in charge, but maybe they won't make the same dumbassed mistake again.
technology will just save us right on cue...or are you becoming a nonbeliever?
I study economics. Price suppression creates shortages, and are short term, POLITICAL phenomena. Technology can not save us from politicians. It CAN save us from the gradual decline in oil production that may or may not happen at some point in the future. The gradual decline forces more and more resources into research until some alternative becomes economical. That level of price in and of itself will be high, and may force a reduction in quality of life. But the price at which the first prototypes become profitable is not the same price as the 100,000,000x scaled up version, which is likely to be far cheaper.
But hey, don't let me ruin your Mad Max jerk off fantasies where humans are no more than dumb beasts. If you want that, you can move to Detroit anytime. Oh, but you hate darkies. Ok, maybe you can move to the Kirin Brewery and be torn apart by Japanese looters who you claim don't exist.
Obama promised to increase fuel costs in order to encourage alternative fuel development. That means that "fuel assistance" would be necessary for the "lower income". This was obvious from the beginning, but his supporters were not paying attention.
I don't even know where to begin. I guess I better go buy some Whole Foods calls.
I'm going to cash out my 401k and IRA to buy Lululemon stock for the long haul. I think that buying a powerhouse economic machine like LULU is the best bet for my future. Or should I just start betting on transvestite pudding wrestling on Christopher Street? Mmmmmm, pudding.
sigh. i m getting burned on my lulu puts. Its something I am totally unable to understand. No one in asia has even heard of lululemon. at least nike, reebok etc has a good brand value in the rest of the world.
Didn't we all know it would include this kind of move? Make the citizen dependent upon the government, and the citizen then becomes perfectly compliant.
The new American Marxist/Banker party welcomes all sheep to the food stamp line.
Yep. First the food stamp line. Then the Kalashnikov line. Then they're hustled out into the real world to do some good collectivisation for the state.
The birth of the dekulakization brigade.
A few million dead Kulaks is always good for the morale of the lazy and stupid.
the horror of the AmeriKulaks will be ignored like the slaughter of the farmers in South Africa
+ Rhodesia
+1
Did you see any video of the Wisconsin apparatchiks and their behavior when their government gravy train was threatened? Cogs depending on the government will love the government.
2 + 2 = 5
Love the Leader. "Na na na na na na na, Leader, Leader."
Classic, love it. Everyone needs to send this to their congressmen.
Remember the mantra of the central planners - "Our survival is mandatory, yours is illegal."
We can all look forward to melting down into our own share of food stamp heaven as wages remain stagnant but food inflation roars. At some point they will need to either raise the income limit for food stamps of prepare for civil unrest.
Remember that this is the 'bread' portion of the bread and circuses formula. If I can no longer afford to buy a $15 loaf of bread, the government's gonna need to buy it for me. Which brings up another question. When I finally qualify for food stamps, do I need to settle for colon clogging white bread or will the government contribute to my 'regular' bowel movement by offering whole wheat?
Don't worry, Comrade, the mighty, intelligent, and handsome folks at the Bureau of Nutritional Embetterment foresaw your problem, and fixed it by adding cellulose fiber material to the bread. "Sawdust"? Pshaw, that's an archaic name. Sort of like "money printing". We aren't printing money, we are embiggering the economy!
Well........if that's the case I'd like to request cedar so my shit will stink good.
Or how about knotty pine so when they come around for my daily buggering they'll feel the pain as much as I do? What's a few knots between master and slave? :>)
Remember a couple of years back when 'time dated money' to get people to spend was run up the flagpole? Now they won't have to time date the money. Instead we will be given 'food stamps' that will not be legal for use in anything but food purchases...and, if one's food stamps for current month are not used then they expire worthless.
Time dated food.
I'm glad I missed that. "Time stamped money" Sheesh.
Fortunately, food can usually be held for a couple of years.
As I recall, people can use the food stamp card to withdraw money, making the food stamp program more of a "general assistance card". How would that fit in?
The state seems do everything in their power to prevent people from taking action to be independent and fend for themselves.
Keep thinking things like that and you will end up over at the Breitbart sites and attending TEA Party demonstrations. (Paraphrase?): "Any government able to give you all you want is able to take everything from you."
Embiggering...yeeesss!
Word of the day comrade -- doubleplusgood
A government takeover of all food production, for the duration of the crisis, would solve all these worries.
You do love your government, don't you, Comrade?
The government takeover of food production occurred a long time ago. Managed via USDA and controlled via the Monsanto lobby. Wake up already.
Should I have included distribution, as well?
Yep, this will be a marketing coup for Monsatan and the Frankenfood agribiz. Watch for it. Only `approved' foods will be enabled for the Link cards.
I can't wait to be able to eat my first loaf of Fukushima brand bread. Not only will it glow but it will come already toasted and be able to walk over to me while I rest in bed.
Glow in the dark bread! Novel idea, save on electricty! Find your bread without turning on the kitchen light...
The vision of bread walking over to you in bed made me laugh.
The real rebels out there are the ones keeping seedbanks alive and heritage breeds. They are literally banking the genetic future of our food supply.
'Rodent Freikorps' lol thats hillarious.
Don't forget cost controls... Uncle Sam just caps the price of bread at $5 a loaf.
And the good black market stuff will cost $28.00 plus a night with your wife. I don't mind giving somebody a night with my wife but $28.00 for a loaf of bread?
Every man has his limits. Clearly we have found yours. :>)
I'm searching for your Clarity!
You can make your own bread, low tech style very cheaply. Even butter can be made on the cheap.
Prepare. And when and if the time comes, living in Bosnia wil help you realize that on the short term cigarrettes and small bottles of liquor are better to trade than gold (short term). No one will take it to things settle down a little bit.
Cigarettes... we'll be living in the prison economy!
Tobacco seed varieties. http://www.superseeds.com, http://www.newhopeseed.com and http://www.crosscreekseed.com.
Yes you can make your own bread...and your own flour. You can do it in a cob oven requiring only wood as your fuel. see this:
http://www.lifeunplugged.net/greenbuilding/build-a-wood-fired-cob-oven.aspx
"Nuclear War Survival Skills" Kresson H. Kearny. PDF online, free download. Includes instructions on using a bundle of pipes to turn grain into meal and flour. The fallout shelters described (and he explains the difference between these and blast shelters) can also be used for cold weather shelter, or adapted for use in snow.
toilet paper, toothpaste, coffee, deoderant .... those little things will get more valuable over time.
And the Black market will have plenty of Loaves..while the Government store will be empty..only supplied on Thursdays...so wait in line...remember the Soviet pictures of the milk bread and vodka lines....
I remember stampedes across town based on a rumor a meat shipment had come in.
Yes, during this time period the government was telling the people that the reason American stores were so full was because the Americans could not afford to buy any of the items. Classic soviet propaganda.
Just so I got this straight: I can find a good use for my wife and I'll be able to stand in line for FREE vodka... Count me in!
Yep, sex is a SHTF negotiable.
Hmm.
Well I'll just have to tell the wife 'if you want to eat you're gonna have to swallow'.
Pics, please.
Presuming such market won't be enforced out of existence.
Based on what I've witnessed (regularly), you're required to buy only processed food, high sugar snacks and beverages, and lots of potato chips...all name brand of course (private label is strictly prohibited). It's also optional, but highly encouraged, that you own a smart phone, drive a moderately expensive car, and smoke like a chimney.
I'm not opposed to programs like SNAP, as I think it's insane for anyone (especially children) to go hungry in this country, but the abuse of the system is enough to make my blood boil every time I see it (i.e., every time I go to the grocery store).
Will SNAP purchase cigs for poor smokers that can't afford them now? How about weed for those with gaucoma? ...also, cheap wine for those that can't afford it and regular gas and condoms and chocolate and...
It is WIC cards that are for more wholesome food.
Is that the paper card the cashier marks off for purchases of milk, baby formula, etc? I've never had a problem with that.
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/wichd/ebt/ebt1.shtm
TEXAS WIC SHOPPING GUIDEShttp://www.dshs.state.tx.us/wichd/approved_foods/new_foods.shtm
I worked for a vegetable farmer during high school and college, about 15 years ago, and we accepted WIC checks when we sold at the farmers' markets. It was either funny or sad, depending on your disposition, because most of the WIC users clearly had never dealt with raw, unprocessed vegetables before -- no idea how to clean them, cook them or even which parts were edible.
The farmers loved the program, though, because a lot of the WIC folks weren't too particular about how they spent their checks because it was "free money" and since they had to use up their checks or lose them, it was a guaranteed sale. Fairly often you'd see WIC users bringing along friends or family (usually grandparents who had an appreciation for fresh produce) and buying for them just to use up their checks. At least the program ended up helping some people ...
Teabaggers unite! End poverty now by wiping out the poor bastards who have taken advantage of our lords of Wall. Payback is a bitch, and I'm so tired of sick and hungry families taking advantage of the rich "providers". Science experiments for the lot of 'em.
Funny how you think "teabaggers" don't hate Wall Street too.
Useful idiot.
But.....bu....bu...t the talking points I got from headquarters said they love wallstreet......., there's plenty of money out there, and food stamps are good for people.....
It is funny how the idiots think that if you dislike government you must love Wall Street. And those idiots outnumber us about 2,300 to 1.
Yep. Don't seem to see how Wall Street is in bed with 'government' be it dems or repubs, so when a group comes along wanting to end status quo they must be demonized. Thinking without talking points is hard I guess.
tmosley, I do not know where you get the energy to fight the libtards in here...
Troll blood. Tastes almost as good as unicorn blood, but it's much easier to source.
I like my unicorn medium rare. It gets chewy if you cook it any longer. Since trolls are so full of shit you really have to cook them a long time.
gotta "purge" them with clean food for a week or so. Makes the taste better, like with raccoon or mangrove crabs.
Don't tell Rocky that.
Don't cross the coon.
There are two teabagger groups. The one you align with because of your beliefs that really started with the likes of Ron Paul(one of the few honest people in DC), and the other one is the one Everybody else talks about / ridicules that was created / co opted by Wall Street and The Neo Cons....
Yes. I am an equal opportunity hater. I have MORE than enough for everybody.
involuntary organ donors would see more profit margin at least on those that qualify. the diseased can be used for research.
what happens when we abuse the law?
to the house of pain.
There are a lot of mouth breathers I see walking the street that could spare a kidney. Too bad they obviously don't have any brains to spare.
you mean American Idolatry?
I wonder just how high that 44.2 million figure is going to go WHEN (not if) states and the feds really, really, really have to cut spending...
Oh, SNAP!
The "Food Stamp" recovery.
Just another name for this awesome recovery we are experiencing.
May become the "Food Stamp and Geiger Counter Giveaway" recovery soon.
Time to party on government cheese!
Today's line at the Bailout Center:
-- OK, SNAP, here you go.
-- Next!
"and improve the nutrition of all Americans in need"...well hells bells......I want to eat better food....so it looks like i need to sign up....I didn´t know the government cared so much about what I eat.......steak and potatoes for me......but then again..how come all the fat food stamp people I see are buying junk food????? This is the true employment number....they never drop off of this roll
So C is now capturing USDA officials as part of its growth strategy, I see.
Ben calls them wealth stamps.
LSAP benefits, which are provided to recipients electronically, also provide an economic stimulus that strengthens the financial sector. Research shows that every $60,000,000,000 in new LSAP benefits generates as much as $0.01 in economic activity ex-investor class. LSAP benefits move quickly into financial sector executive bonus pools, with 97 percent of LSAP benefits squirreled away into offshore banking centers within a month. It is estimated that at least -666 full-time equivalent jobs are created from $1 quadrillion of LSAP benefits.
An Ipad in every pot?
If you're substituting iPads for dog-food meatloaf, you're too smart for the food stamp pogrom and are helping to keep transitory inflation down to boot...so no food stamps for you!
Misean I like you. Get over the APL thing.
A smile on every face, or a boot up every ass!
High Food Prices and Global Hunger Equals Riots, Civil Wars and Revolution:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/261860-food-prices-and-global-hunger-equal-riots-civil-wars-and-revolution?v=1302035907&source=tracking_notify
Research shows that every $5 in new SNAP benefits generates as much as $9.00 in economic activity. SNAP benefits move quickly into local economies, with 97 percent of SNAP benefits redeemed within a month. It is estimated that at least 8,900 full-time equivalent jobs are created from $1 billion of SNAP benefits.
Research brought to you by the SF Fed?
They gave up on 'time dated money' that expires useless unless spent. Now we have time dated food stamps and no raises in employment. Same diff...
So, we hear the you can't have real estate deflation during hyperinflation......how the hell can you be expanding the food stamp program in the midst of a recovery?
This is dollar positive. Right? The more people on food stamps, the more the government spends. The more the government spends, the higher GDP. The higher GDP, the stronger our economy is. The stronger our economy is, the stronger the dollar is.
This is great news.
Like many ZHers I have been spewing the "we have a broken economy" line for about 5 years. I have won over several people to my thinking. Those that still can't quite agree at least fear repeating stupid platitudes that you might hear on CNBC. Then an old friend this morning tells me "gold is in a bubble". I just replied, "why do you comment on things of which you know so little?"
We need to quit kidding ourselves. There is no hope. We are truly fucked. The number of us that actually get what is going on is so small, and our power so limited, that we can do nothing but ride this stage coach as it goes over the cliff. Now to more important things. I need to find where I hid the single malt.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE ECONOMY. Now....end of the line for you.
And...don't ever ever say "there is no hope". That's what they want....despair and hopelessness. Fuck them. Get angry and stay angry. There is hope...as soon as we kicked these asshols to the curb!!!!!!
When the crisis started, most people said:
Give us all 20K and let the banks go bust!
If they did that, they would have been way better off and it might have actually worked!
TPTB substituted a tube of KY for that 20k. Think happy thoughts.
Hell, at this rate Postage stamps will be worth more than a George Washington.
Yea, but the new Forever food stamps will stop inflation cold.
What is this "inflation" thing you guys keep talking about? Hold that thought. I have to let the Dominon's Pizza guy up. I just need to scratch together $96.42 for my cheezy bread and 2 liter of Coke. Now, where were we again?
Now that was fun! A hunski on a cheap pizza. My neighbor will throw in a glass of bathtub Gin to consummate the trade.
Looks like I picked the wrong week to keep working for a living.
yippee!! steak for dinner tonight honey. Thanks taxpayers!
Instead of giving out food stamps, why not just give them iPad 2's? The FED seems to think you can eat them ...
Tyler, you have no idea what you are talking about. SNAP is a Federally funded program that is administered by states. SNAP funding has been boosted by TARP, and will decrease by about 30% in 2014. The program is also being raided to fund things such as child nutrition, Michelle Obama's pet project.
One of the problems with SNAP is that some states like Texas throw up impediments and red tape to prevent people from applying. Many of the people who also qualify, simply choose not to apply. Since the average benefit for an individual is only $133, it's easy to see why many choose not to bother.
Ideally everyone who qualifies should be able to apply-- that might the only benefit some will ever collect from the Fed government.
"SNAP is a Federally funded program that is administered by states. SNAP funding has been boosted by TARP, and will decrease by about 30% in 2014."
--------------------------------------------
What is your bloody point? The message remains the same, the recovery is bullshit. Moreover, what do expect to happen when the numbers climb even higher and the money runs out?
You get food stamps, don't you.
130 per month is sufficient for a person to eat healthy food if you dont spend all the money on coke and potato chips. I spend only 200$ on groceries a month and I do buy quite a bit of stuff that I could cut down on and still eat healthy.
a couple of decades ago people were totally content with eating rice beans veggies and some meat. its only now that people think that they deserve to order a 15$ pizza and a 5$ coke for lunch cos they are too lazy to get off the couch and make a healthy meal. fuck the "american way of life".
++++. Maybe some of these people who can't get by on their "allowance" should discover the wonder of the navy bean and the pork hock, instead of bitching that a Marie Callendar casserolle costs $9.00.
I'm partial to pinto beans with ham bone, a little red onion, and some iron skillet cornbread. A side of collard or mustard greens is nice, too. But then I'm an Arkie who was raised on this stuff.
That's awesome. Maybe if more get back to some basics, they'd save a few dollars AND not be obese. Know how long you can eat off of a 10.00 pot of chicken soup? Days.
Favorite meal EVER: Hamburger Gravy, (for you non bible belt midwesterners, browned burger, little onion, thickened beef stock) over fresh dug new potatoes, and green beans from the garden. Maybe a little stewed rhubarb for dessert. Admittedly I grow all of the shit, but that's a FEAST for a few dollars.
I admit the cost of food is going up, but fuck these frozen dinner eating, fast food driving through people who bitch that they can't afford to eat. Fortunately, I can afford to eat basically anything I want, but when I go out of town for the week, I have a cooler full of home canned shit in Mason jars. I eat while living on the road for pennies a day. For dinner tonight I took a chicken and veggies out of the deep freeze, and am going to eat a simple supper that would only cost 8.00 even if I had to buy it at the store, AND it will be soup tomorrow.
I wish everyone would send a couple Mason jars of their home canned shit to Washington.
I suppose that "17 million are children" line is supposed to make me weep instead of gnash my teeth.
What kind of person is it that has children when they cannot feed themselves? The Pew Center for Hispanic Research, hardly a teabagger organization, usefully points out that there are 5.5 million children of illegal immigrants in the US most of whom are eating courtesy, not of their parents, but Uncle Sam.
Why do you hate children so much, you racist bastard?
/sarcasm
"[...] there are 5.5 million children of illegal immigrants in the US most of whom are eating courtesy, not of their parents, but Uncle Sam."
Yeah but you're forgetting what they give us in return, something far far better than money: the gift of diversity. It's our greatest strength, you know!
I have got to get out of this fucked up country.
Taxed to death when I make it, taxed again when I spend it, the rest is just given away to deadbeats.
What's wrong with this picture?
Let me encourage you--GTFO.
Thank you!
Sounds like you still can't get that ray shield to work up at Mulligan's Valley.
Careful what you wish for, if he leaves, then I gotta pay for that much more of your SNAP. Oh wait, that really wouldn't bother you would it?
smart people feeding dumb people - stupid - and the dumb people get to vote - who are they going to vote for? The person who promises the most freebies and promises "change"
People on government assistance who don't produce shouldn't be allowed to vote...even people on unemployment for more than a year - something's gotta give. But then again - like voting REALLY matters anyways. The game is rigged - you aren't free - you don't have freedom of choice. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/hot-mic-dem-senator-complains-rigge...
Don't worry, something will give, it always does. People forget that Nature makes no promises regarding their survival. Healthcare can be thought of the same way. For example, if you know someone has weak genes and is prone to sickness and treatments costing millions, should any company or organization or society be forced to support the perpetuation of those genes so that there are more such people that need to be cared for in the future? Extrapolate any policy out many years and you see just how non-sustainable the whole thing is. Just saying, all you can do is hedge accordingly.
Yes nature does make a promise regarding survival. That you will die. Some see life only as a mugs game, to be avoided at all costs.
"Drink well this cup of life, for this is your first and only round."
-BBQ
Living in NYC I have noticed more homeless in the streets the last 6 months . I have asked co-workers for uneaten fruit, rolls, and sealed snacks. When i see a homeless person I look them in the eyes and offer them food and some words of encouragement. Some co-workers are starting to do the same.
I did that right up to the point that the homeless guy started to attack me and my 4 year old. One day you will run into someone with real mental health issues and you will wish you mind your own business.
I am at that point. I no longer hand out anything. We give to charities we believe in but I don't even make eye contact any more. The number has definitely increased and they are getting scarier.