Trump Administration Moves to End Food Stamps for 700,000

It's not about saving money....but 5.5 billion dollars is a lot of frickin money. That's the entire GDP of Guam.

The "tax breaks were for the ultra-wealthy" is a lie you were sold. First of all, the poor don't even pay taxes. Poor people actually receive more income tax back than they pay, so that's a net zero right there. Of course someone who pays a million in taxes is going to get back more than someone who paid $100. IT'S A PERCENTAGE. A percentage of which the rich pay a much higher rate of.

Getting people off welfare is not a bad look. It's only a "bad look" if you see taking people off government assistance as a bad thing. We've been over this.

Yeah, the military budget is always a bad look until we need the military. If we ever need it...it will be too late to spend the money.

Besides, aren't Dems telling us we need to give billions to other countries to stop Ruuuusssiaaa?

 

That's our (First) world. The 'poor' scoff meat all day long, while the wealthy eat rice and beans.

Any attempt to discuss rich vs poor in that context is like holding water in your hands.

 

So it isn't about the money? Then you are making a moral judgement, which is your right. I happen to disagree.

 

Anyone with a window can grow pots of perpetual lettuce, kale, spinach, bok choy, etc etc. You just snip a few leaves when you need them, the plant keeps growing.

 

What's the point of welfare.

 

Not on a scale that you can eat them regularly.

 

To help those in need.

 

Not only does it save us money, but it's also about breaking the cycle of dependency, and pushing people to be more productive independent human beings. The welfare mentality is like a cancer. Sometimes it can take a kick in the butt to break that mentality.

 

Back in the day, the government used to literally drive trucks into the slummy parts of towns and hand out food (a lot of which was cheese products and butter) right there at curbside to anybody who came up and wanted it. BUT, giveaway programs that actually involved FOOD weren't good enough. Oh, no! No, we had to get rid of that and just start giving them CREDIT CARDS (EBT cards) instead so that they could just do whatever they wanted with the 'benefit', including scamming refunds for drug purchases, buying alcohol, or just playing it straight and buying filet mignon steaks, caviar, goose liver pate, etc., etc.

The more successful scams involve getting on welfare and signing up for multiple numbers of EBT cards, and then selling them AND the fake ID's to go along with the duplicate EBT accounts.

Conclusion: if the whole idea is to give away FREE FOOD, then let's bring back the neighborhood trucks and GIVE AWAY THE ACTUAL FREE FOOD! To hell with all this other scam-related bullshit and the corruption, crime, and government waste that seeps out of it....

 

I think this is a great move. Thing I don't understand is the 50 year old cut off. If you are able bodied at 49 "No food stamps for you". If you are able bodied and 50 "Here are your food stamps". I think if the idea of "able bodied" is the determining factor then they should apply it over the entire lifetime. If you are 60 and able bodied your entire life why did you not earn and save enough to take care of yourself now? It is people responsibility to plan to take care of themselves when they get old not the taxpayers.

 

An ex serviceperson is not a veteran - at least not in my country. Here, a veteran is someone who served in a theatre of war. They are the only ones entitled to benefits.

 

Excellent idea. And make damned sure that food is beans/rice, fresh produce, low sodium canned tuna, and wholemeal bread. No meat, no packaged foods, no snack foods, no deserts, no dairy apart from plain milk.

 

"Kick in the butt"? What does that mean? Making them go hungry? Making their children go hungry?

 

Those poor starving orphans. Where's the humanity !!!!!!!!

 

I'm really digging this post. Yes, yes, and another yes. Make it more direct.

Edit-O.K., this is my only issue: Having a truck bring your families food to you would carry a stigma. As a child I would be humiliated. That may be something you have no problem with.

 

No. It's to help them become self-sufficient.

 

You can, actually. If you have several 8" pots in each window that receives direct sun, you can produce enough. If you have a balcony, even more so. But even without lots of window space, you can grow enough to subsidise your costs by a good margin.

 

That is simply not true.. eating health is very inexpensive chicken and pork are very cheap and easy to cook as are fruites and vegetables. You could do a pork and broccoli dinner for 4 cheaper than Mc Donalds.
The idea that good food is expensive is compete hogwash.

 

There is no stigma in feeding someone who is in GENUINE need, and suffering GENUINE hunger. Anyone who is too damn 'good' to take free food when it is offered to them can go hungry if that is what they prefer....

 

I agree with that.

 

The whole family would be stigmatized. Do you live in America? That **** is hard on kids. And it isn't the kids fault he/she just have shitty parents. Luck of the draw, I guess.

 

I am a farmer. More often than not, subsidies have a negative affect on producers in the long run.

One recent example is the recent bankruptcy of Dean Foods (dairy industry). There was a thread here on PF. Anyway, dairy demand has been falling. Instead of letting the market steer some resources towards other sectors of agriculture, subsidies ensured dairies would continue to overproduce. This continues until there is complete collapse.

Heavy subsidies to commodities like corn have been partially responsible for poor diet in the US. Cheap carbohydrates have brought us to the point a big percentage of youth are too fat to serve in the military.

Also, subsidies always encourage less than ideal behavior. Heavy subsidies in the name of drought mitigation under the Obama administration simultaneous with historically high commodity prices caused many operators to overspend on unnecessary “equipment”. When prices fell, many could not cash flow their operations. Many farmers in trouble today are still feeling those negative effects.

Another big subsidy that promotes poor business decisions is federal crop insurance.

I could go on, but that’s an overview.

 

Chicken is pretty healthy, and affordable. Steak and seafood, not so much.

 

Well, what I have seen with food stamps has not been positive.

First are people buying crap expensive prepared foods then complaining about the amount of food stamps.

Next are people in newer and nicer cloths than me using food stamps while wearing the latest expensive sneakers.

What I have seen as a positive are people that buy good food products and prepare their own meals at home and have food stamps left over at the end of the month.'

Also, apparently the 700K number is being used as a woe are they instead of looking at it for what it is, stopping the abuse and overuse by people that should not be getting food stamps in the first place. The 700K number is 0.0016% of food stamp recipients.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write that post. It's nice to hear it from the source.

All those things look detrimental to me. No arguments here.