Food stamps on the rise oh noes!!

[Meow Mix]

What I want to know is this: is it really the case that there are more on food stamps who don't need it, or is it the case that people who have needed it all this time are finally getting the assistance they need?

I can easily imagine a scenario like this:

[Some alarmist]: "How terrible! It used to be that only three of those children were on food stamps, now ALL of them are! Obviously this is becoming a nation of dependence!"

So what's the real story? Anyone know where we can get information on what sort of conditions these "new additions" to food stamp programs are living in?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I know many of the new additions are from people loosing their jobs, having less hours, or taking pay cuts due to the recession.
In Indiana a part of it was from the sytem being privatized which royally screwed things up and denying people or cutting their benefits even though they shouldn't have been, and the additions where made when the system was moved back into the states control and the mess being sorted out.

 

[Meow Mix]

I know many of the new additions are from people loosing their jobs, having less hours, or taking pay cuts due to the recession.
In Indiana a part of it was from the sytem being privatized which royally screwed things up and denying people or cutting their benefits even though they shouldn't have been, and the additions where made when the system was moved back into the states control and the mess being sorted out.

Which, if that's the case, then shouldn't all this alarmism over the "increasing dependency" and calling Obama the "food stamp president" be exceedingly eye rolling? :flirt:

 

[Revoltingest]

What I want to know is this: is it really the case that there are more on food stamps who don't need it, or is it the case that people who have needed it all this time are finally getting the assistance they need?

I can easily imagine a scenario like this:

[Some alarmist]: "How terrible! It used to be that only three of those children were on food stamps, now ALL of them are! Obviously this is becoming a nation of dependence!"

So what's the real story? Anyone know where we can get information on what sort of conditions these "new additions" to food stamp programs are living in?

Here's one thing I hadn't considered...gov't advertising to boost the program.
Government runs ads to get more people on food stamps - Jun. 25, 2012

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Here's one thing I hadn't considered...gov't advertising to boost the program.
Government runs ads to get more people on food stamps - Jun. 25, 2012

That would have been nice back when I first moved out on my own, got laid off, and had to move back in with my parents because even after being short on bills I could afford very little food. Sure advertising helps raised the amount, but many times people that go from being well-off to having very little (as was my case) are unaware of benefits that can help them out.

 

[Dingbat]

Stupid poors getting poorer. You filthy poors get out of the way before I run you down with my vehicle that costs more than your house! Filthy Plebeians!

 

[Alceste]

I know this is going to seem completely loony, but I think in times of major economic stagnation and high unemployment, people become more reliant on social assistance programs to make ends meet. I know it seems implausible, but I've got a right to my crazy belief system.

 

[Dingbat]

I know this is going to seem completely loony, but I think in times of major economic stagnation and high unemployment, people become more reliant on social assistance programs to make ends meet. I know it seems implausible, but I've got a right to my crazy belief system.

That is just insane. Obviously poors breed and make more poors. If we just rounded up the poors and spade and neutered them then all our economic woes would be fixed.

 

[Alceste]

That is just insane. Obviously poors breed and make more poors. If we just rounded up the poors and spade and neutered them then all our economic woes would be fixed.

Actually, if we just went back to the kind of social safety net we had in place during the depression we wouldn't even have to neuter them. They would kill themselves and their families or starve to death, like in the good old days.

 

[Reverend Rick]

They would not starve to death, they just would have to lower themselves to shining shoes on the street and cleaning rich people's toilets.

There still would be soup kitchens to feed them after they worked hard all day for little money.

I'm thinking of all the immaculate lawns and polished wheels that would be out there. Every window would be perfect.

Perhaps slave fences would come back in style and the gene pool might be improved by the rich having their way with all the pretty young things out there in great need.

Before someone takes my head off, I am not being serious OK?

 

[apophenia]

This is what wars are for.

There is a wonderful symbiosis between the super-wealthy arms manufacturers and the trash.

People are losing their stomach for the circle of death. I blame education.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

Which, if that's the case, then shouldn't all this alarmism over the "increasing dependency" and calling Obama the "food stamp president" be exceedingly eye rolling? :flirt:

Yes which is why I find it funny that Mittens wants to "dismantle" ACA (Obamacare) and part of Medicare and privatize it all.

As far as public assistance, yea there are some abusers but it's not widespread as some republicans would have you believe.

 

[Revoltingest]

This is an odd thread. So many whom I'd expect to support Barry over Willard are talking about the reality of increased government dependence.
Underneath the cloak of scorn for conservatives who oppose a dependent class, I see a tacit admission that the economy is still faring poorly.
After 4 years of Obama's continuing the Bush agenda of bail-outs, welfare & stimulus, does it make sense to steer the same course & expect
different results?

This is what wars are for.
There is a wonderful symbiosis between the super-wealthy arms manufacturers and the trash.
People are losing their stomach for the circle of death. I blame education.

I hope that your suggestion is sarcastic. But there are those who really believe that war rescues an economy. (I hope they're not listening.)
We've had non-stop war for about a decade now, & things are worse than before.

 

[Storm]

This is an odd thread. So many whom I'd expect to support Barry over Willard are talking about the reality of increased government dependence.
Underneath the cloak of scorn for conservatives who oppose a dependent class, I see a tacit admission that the economy is still faring poorly.
After 4 years of Obama's continuing the Bush agenda of bail-outs, welfare & stimulus, does it make sense to steer the same course & expect
different results?

I think, given the Republican policy of blind obstructionism, it's remarkable he's accomplished as much as he has, actually. That's not limited to the economy.

And please, PLEASE don't dismiss that as me being an Obama fangirl - I'm massively disappointed in him, not least because he pandered to said obstructionism.

God, politicians disgust me. I miss Tom Potter..... :sad4:

 

[Revoltingest]

Obama had a Democratic majority during the 1st half of his term, yet that was when he began his continuation of the Bush economic & war agendas.
Besides, this isn't about partisan sniping, & the continual invocation of blaming Bush or Republican obstructionism. Moreover, if obstructionism were
responsible for our plight, then Obama won't be any more effective in a 2nd term. More significantly, Obama doesn't really propose anything radically
different. While I'd expect Romney to be more savy about economics (having played the game), his lack of specificity makes me wonder just how
different he would be.

I argue that it's time to reexamine the entire system, since rampant spending & fiat currency is failing us, & pay-back will be an economic damper
for some time to come.

 

[Storm]

Obama had a Democratic majority during the 1st half of his term, yet that was when he began his continuation of the Bush economic & war agendas.

And wasn't even a month into it when Reid (as I recall) announced publicly that the top goal was ensuring he was a one term president.

Obama was still twee enough to pander to them instead of actually using his leverage, until the people who elected him to get **** done got fed up, and took said leverage away.

Besides, this isn't about partisan sniping, & the continual invocation of blaming Bush or Republican obstructionism.

Did I mention Bush? Are the GOP NOT being obstructionist? Did I say Obama was blameless?

This isn't partisanship. I don't even LIKE the Democrats. But Republicans have gone completely off the rails, and the frightening fact is that one of them will take the White House. The Democrats may suck, but at least they're not actively trying to drive the country into a third world theocracy.

Moreover, if obstructionism were responsible for our plight, then Obama won't be any more effective in a 2nd term.

No, he won't.

More significantly, Obama doesn't really propose anything radically different. While I'd expect Romney to be more savy about economics (having played the game), his lack of specificity makes me wonder just how different he would be.

Romney is dangerously disconnected at best.

I argue that it's time to reexamine the entire system, since rampant spending & fiat currency is failing us, & pay-back will be an economic damper for some time to come.

I'm pretty ignorant wrt economics, so I can't really contribute to that conversation.

I just want to be able to vote without holding my nose.

ETA: Thanks ever so for believing me when I said I wasn't an Obama fangirl. /sarcasm

 

[Wirey]

What the Hell is a food stamp?

 

[Revoltingest]

ETA: Thanks ever so for believing me when I said I wasn't an Obama fangirl. /sarcasm

I intend no offense. In post #13, I generally addressed those who'd prefer Barry over Willard.
To speak of preference for one over another is a long way from calling anyone a "fanperson".
Just trying to be fair here.

 

[Revoltingest]

What the Hell is a food stamp?

It's a weird kind of government scrip which is issued to the needy for purchase of food.
(But it also can get one booze & smokes.)
Hey, what kind of crumbs do Canuckistanians toss to their poor?

Steering us back on topic, eh? Good! Meow Mix brought up an important topic.

 

[Storm]

I intend no offense. In post #13, I generally addressed those who'd prefer Barry over Willard.
To speak of preference for one over another is a long way from calling anyone a "fanperson".
Just trying to be fair here.

Sorry, when your post immediately followed mine, I presumed it was a direct response.

It's a weird kind of government scrip which is issued to the needy for purchase of food.
(But it also can get one booze & smokes.)

No, it can't. I've been on food stamps - they're issued in a debit card that will not function if you try to buy such things. How that works, I have no clue, but the transaction will not go through. (I never tried it on those particular items, but random foodstuffs have the same issue.) There are people who sell their food stamps, usually to get cash for booze, smokes, or worse, but getting caught means you're cut off for a minimum of one year.