US Bishops: Save SNAP

[TMC]

I take it, as someone who has been here for 6 years, you are including yourself as part of that CAF tradition? Or, are you somehow special and superior?

I try my best, but fail often. Not superior to anyone.

 

[99th_Monkey]

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. - Barack Obama, 2006

Maybe you should check into how many times the debt limit was raised and under whom. You might be surprised if you do the research.

 

[99th_Monkey]

For crying out loud, didn’t it make sense to waive the work requirement (on the request of several governors, is my recollection) when there were LESS jobs available to people? In case you forgot, we went through a great recession…so unless we were to ask the unemployed to make bricks without straw, the work requirement had to be waived.

And for the second time, making people aware of what help is available does not make them automatically eligible for food stamps any more than pointing the way to the hospital with highway signs, makes more people sick.

I wanted to post the exact number of states who waived the work rules since I just read it this afternoon. It was more than half to be sure. I couldn’t find the article, but will post I link when I get a little time.
My point is that it is not uncommon.

 

[DeniseNY]

Maybe you should check into how many times the debt limit was raised and under whom. You might be surprised if you do the research.

Thanks, but I have that info. You’re just missing the point

 

[billcu1]

I can never understand why some folks are so willing to repeat GOP talking points like “it is not a cut - we are just slowing the rate of increase in funding” - that is so insulting to anyone with any level of intelligence.

Arbitrarily limiting the amount of funding for SNAP does nothing to slow the actual rate of food insecurity in the United States. All it does is force more people to make due with the same pool of money - which means that either services get cut or people get cut. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 92% of the money for SNAP went directly to benefits that households used to purchase food - that means there is not much waste in the program.

The only way to fix the problem of food insecurity is by strengthening the economy - something the GOP seems willing to throw under the bus with their latest move to shut down the government over funding Obamacare and threatening not to raise the debt limit.

Shutting down the government is nothing. Everyone will still get their checks and the government will basically function. The congressmen will have to push their own elevator buttons though and get their staff cut. Let’em go for it.

 

[99th_Monkey]

I’d like to see the food stamp program totally revamped. No pre-packaged foods, no pop, no candy, no pre-packaged cakes, cookies, or other health destroying, diabetes creating junk food.

Poor Americans make the worst food choices, are the fattest, and need education and guidance, not a carte blanche to buy more junk at the supermarket. The only thing they are starving for is a balanced diet, which is totally doable on food stamps, I used them myself for four kids while going through nursing school.

I don’t think poor Americans make bad choices. I believe the choices are bad for poor people. Have you checked out the prices for fresh fruit and vegetables lately? If you are poor you are reduced to feeding your family with mac and cheese ( not even real cheese) hot dogs just to cur the hunger pains. Nutritious food is becoming very expensive. It’s a crime.
’

 

[99th_Monkey]

Thanks, but I have that info. You’re just missing the point

What’s the point I am missing?

 

[Jeanne_S]

For crying out loud, didn’t it make sense to waive the work requirement (on the request of several governors, is my recollection) when there were LESS jobs available to people? In case you forgot, we went through a great recession…so unless we were to ask the unemployed to make bricks without straw, the work requirement had to be waived.

And for the second time, making people aware of what help is available does not make them automatically eligible for food stamps any more than pointing the way to the hospital with highway signs, makes more people sick.

Why are there less jobs?The incentive for businesses to expand,or for that matter,for anyone who may have considered starting up a new business have been quashed by the impending unsustainable costs of the ACA,add to that Onama’s not so subtle dislike of small business.Sooooo,of course there are no jobs for young and old alike! Oh,and,Obama promising a colledge education( at the taxpayers’ expense)to anyone and everyone hasn’t helped matters any. Those who continue to support this clueless empty suit are part of the problem.Why he ever got a second term is really beyond my understanding.

 

[99th_Monkey]

Why are there less jobs?The incentive for businesses to expand,or for that matter,for anyone who may have considered starting up a new business have been quashed by the impending unsustainable costs of the ACA,add to that Onama’s not so subtle dislike of small business.Sooooo,of course there are no jobs for young and old alike! Oh,and,Obama promising a colledge education( at the taxpayers’ expense)to anyone and everyone hasn’t helped matters any. Those who continue to support this clueless empty suit are part of the problem.Why he ever got a second term is really beyond my understanding.

If people could afford their own health care, wouldn’t that make it better for small business. People would not have to stay at a job they hate just for the insurance.
If you think that people can get a college education at taxpayers expense, I would love you to direct me to this information.
As far as the job situation, that was a Republican promise…Jobs…Jobs…Jobs…Where are they? Young and old alike? Well, there is always Walmart.

 

[Jeanne_S]

If people could afford their own health care, wouldn’t that make it better for small business. People would not have to stay at a job they hate just for the insurance.
If you think that people can get a college education at taxpayers expense, I would love you to direct me to this information.
As far as the job situation, that was a Republican promise…Jobs…Jobs…Jobs…Where are they? Young and old alike? Well, there is always Walmart./

People will be paying for their own healthcare come this coming year.It won’t be affordable and it won’t be of their own choosing.That’s the big lie about Obamacare,everything he promised early on like,you can keep your own insurance if you like it,more affordable for all,blah,blah,blah…a better plan would be to dump all HMO,PPO,go back to major medical coverage,everything else out of pocket.Gee…Wevare self employed,always have had to
Purchase private insurance,Why can’t this be the case for everyone.This has become a perk of employment,but not always the case.Obama and his strong arming is responsible for the stagnant nature of our economy.The only jobs bring created are part time and government positions.Very few full time private sector,he is this a Republicsn issue?

 

[Trader]

If you believe the Obama administration’s economic forecasts and its employment projections (something I would never do!), the need for food assistance should be projected much lower. How did they miss that? Do they believe their own rhetoric or not?

Answer: NO

 

[ishii]

How is it a cut rather than a slowing of increased funding? Let me give that a shot just with my basic math skills.

If an institution houses 100 people today and has a budget of $100,000, a projected yearly population increase of 10% would mean 110 people in 2014, requiring a budget of $110, 000. So if the administration were to decide to slow that projected increase in spending, to say, $105,000 it would mean that when the additional 10 people come, there would be less than the current $10,000 being spent per person. That means less of something/s: food, amenities, security…per individual, which = a cut, unless we also estimate that next year the institution’s population will remain at 2013 levels, in which case it would = a raise.

I think even basic math skills would suggest that the increase from 28 million on foodstamps in 2008 to 47 million today is not commensurate with a “modest increase in population.” In the bizarro world of liberalism, an increase is actually a cut. Anything to demagogue, I guess.

Ishii

 

[ishii]

I can never understand why some folks are so willing to repeat GOP talking points like “it is not a cut - we are just slowing the rate of increase in funding” - that is so insulting to anyone with any level of intelligence.

Arbitrarily limiting the amount of funding for SNAP does nothing to slow the actual rate of food insecurity in the United States. All it does is force more people to make due with the same pool of money - which means that either services get cut or people get cut. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 92% of the money for SNAP went directly to benefits that households used to purchase food - that means there is not much waste in the program.

The only way to fix the problem of food insecurity is by strengthening the economy - something the GOP seems willing to throw under the bus with their latest move to shut down the government over funding Obamacare and threatening not to raise the debt limit.

Oh, and like your post isn’t Democrat talking points! Please. Wasn’t Obama supposed to fix the economy? If he’s such a great president then why is the economy so weak as to all time record number of people (47 million) on foodstamps? And why did the Obama admin spend millions on ads to encourage people to sign up for foodstamps, that weren’t getting them originally ? So let me get this straight: run ads to achieve record numbers of people on foodstamps. Then complain that an increase is actually a cut - in order to demagogue the issue. Nice.

Ishii

 

[seekerz]

Why are there less jobs?The incentive for businesses to expand,or for that matter,for anyone who may have considered starting up a new business have been quashed by the impending unsustainable costs of the ACA,add to that Onama’s not so subtle dislike of small business.Sooooo,of course there are no jobs for young and old alike! Oh,and,Obama promising a colledge education( at the taxpayers’ expense)to anyone and everyone hasn’t helped matters any. Those who continue to support this clueless empty suit are part of the problem.Why he ever got a second term is really beyond my understanding.

Dear Jeanne, again, I’m sure we live in the same country where the Great Recession began before Obama took office and before the ACA was passed. Even now the ACA has not been fully implemented, so how could it have taken away the jobs people lost in 2007-2008 and which have only slowly and partially returned, mainly as low wage opportunities? The problem is that these jobs have not been coming back, partly because of slow economic growth and outsourcing but perhaps mainly because the needs of business (skills, education) are changing on a global level.

Regardless of the reason people don’t have jobs, you can’t very well say to them: I will help you feed your kids only if you find a job that isn’t there!

 

[seekerz]

I think even basic math skills would suggest that the increase from 28 million on foodstamps in 2008 to 47 million today is not commensurate with a “modest increase in population.” In the bizarro world of liberalism, an increase is actually a cut. Anything to demagogue, I guess.

Ishii

I could try the example again with a large family that increases in size versus a bag of apples or a gallon of milk. Any way you slice it, more hungry mouths necessitates either an increase in expenditure or decrease in the amount each mouth gets.

The numbers of people on food stamps increased because the economic crisis hit those at the bottom the hardest. On Wall Street, the recession is just the fading memory of a bad dream, but I know people who still have not been able to get employment that earns anywhere near what it once took them to maintain home and family. Call it demagoguery if you wish, I call it basic facts.

 

[ishii]

I could try the example again with a large family that increases in size versus a bag of apples or a gallon of milk. Any way you slice it, more hungry mouths necessitates either an increase in expenditure or decrease in the amount each mouth gets.

The numbers of people on food stamps increased because the economic crisis hit those at the bottom the hardest. On Wall Street, the recession is just the fading memory of a bad dream, but I know people who still have not been able to get employment that earns anywhere near what it once took them to maintain home and family. Call it demagoguery if you wish, I call it basic facts.

Wow - people still cannot get jobs and Obama has been president for 5 years almost? Amazing.

Seriously, the gloomy picture you paint still does not account for almost double the population on food stamps. You will have to come up with a better argument.

Ishii

 

[jediliz]

I don’t think poor Americans make bad choices. I believe the choices are bad for poor people. Have you checked out the prices for fresh fruit and vegetables lately? If you are poor you are reduced to feeding your family with mac and cheese ( not even real cheese) hot dogs just to cur the hunger pains. Nutritious food is becoming very expensive. It’s a crime.
’

I got organic bananas for 88 cents a pound yesterday (and no, not at Whole Foods. At a REGULAR grocery store) That was about $2 for the 2 pounds I got.

If there was a way to stop the fraud (if someone can afford a big screen tv or go on a trip to Hawaii they need to have their Food Stamps taken away.) If they can afford those things, they can BUY FOOD with MONEY instead of using food stamps which are meant for the poor and those unable to work.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Possibly it would be good to directly address the topic.

1. “The bishops” are not opposing “cuts” in the food stamp program. The letter is from Bp Blaire alone; the one who previously accused the Ryan plan of “cutting” food stamps when the plan only proposed reducing the rate of increase from 12% to 8%. He is also the one who endorsed Obama’s “gun control” plan before Obama even proposed one. Bp Blaire speaks only for himself. Unfortunately, he does it on USCCB letterhead.
2. There are no “cuts”. It is only proposed that congress enforce the longstanding requirement that ABLE-BODIED recipients with NO DEPENDENTS work 20 hours/week, or be available for work even if it’s community service, or be in job training. The $40 billion “cut” is only an estimate of what it would perhaps save over ten years if those requirements were not waived.

All of this talk about “cuts in food stamps” is totally, utterly without foundation. The only people imaginably affected would be able bodied people who don’t work, refuse employment or training, and have no dependents.

Now, who is willing to defend opposition to that on its true terms?

 

[Jeanne_S]

I got organic bananas for 88 cents a pound yesterday (and no, not at Whole Foods. At a REGULAR grocery store) That was about $2 for the 2 pounds I got.

If there was a way to stop the fraud (if someone can afford a big screen tv or go on a trip to Hawaii they need to have their Food Stamps taken away.) If they can afford those things, they can BUY FOOD with MONEY instead of using food stamps which are meant for the poor and those unable to work.

This is the crux of the issue.The fraud that goes on,coupled with the complacency of the gov’t. in doling out taxpayer funded money like it was candy! Obviously,it is next to Iossible to monitor all the fraud,but there is no effort whatsoever to discourage II.So,when there’s an active campaign to encourage more welfare,even the most liberal among us has to wonder what’s going on!

 

[estesbob]

Wow - people still cannot get jobs and Obama has been president for 5 years almost? Amazing.

Seriously, the gloomy picture you paint still does not account for almost double the population on food stamps. You will have to come up with a better argument.

Ishii

Bush’s fault. Everybody knows that:shrug: