ahhh, the lure of the gooberment teat...
Posted on 11/28/2009 5:27:37 PM PST by reaganaut1
With food stamp use at record highs and climbing every month, a program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children.
It has grown so rapidly in places so diverse that it is becoming nearly as ordinary as the groceries it buys. More than 36 million people use inconspicuous plastic cards for staples [...].
Virtually all have incomes near or below the federal poverty line, but their eclectic ranks testify to the range of people struggling with basic needs. [...]
While the numbers have soared during the recession, the path was cleared in better times when the Bush administration led a campaign to erase the program’s stigma, calling food stamps “nutritional aid” instead of welfare, and made it easier to apply. That bipartisan effort capped an extraordinary reversal from the 1990s, when some conservatives tried to abolish the program, Congress enacted large cuts and bureaucratic hurdles chased many needy people away.
...
[T]he program is now expanding at a pace of about 20,000 people a day.
There are 239 counties in the United States where at least a quarter of the population receives food stamps
...
In more than 750 counties, the program helps feed one in three blacks. In more than 800 counties, it helps feed one in three children.
...
Although the program is growing at a record rate, the federal official who oversees it would like it to grow even faster.
“I think the response of the program has been tremendous,” said Kevin Concannon, an under secretary of agriculture, “but we’re mindful that there are another 15, 16 million who could benefit.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The more people who are in need from the government, the more easily it will be for them to pass government health care.
While responsible people are buying hamburger helper,
the welfare queens are buying steak and shrimp on their dime.
They had out something like a credit card. No stigma because it looks like the person is paying with a credit card.
Obama wants to wipe out the middle class.
Your correct........there is a fraud line to call when ya see suspect use. IOW’s clerks ringing up food when nothing but alcohol is on the counter.
Turn in the crooks that pander to the crooks !
The stigma went away when they started issuing debit cards, rather than coupons or stamps. Now you appear just like another shopper, no one can see the card you use. Social stigma is gone.
I went back to poaching small game and fish and found something else.
If they had actually given me one of those little cards? I would have lived about 3 months for every month of payments as far as good eats goes. And still had enough to get things I could ferment into good (fairly good to really good) pop-skull.
I did miss cheese for about a year.
/johnny
yea and those who are getting welfare or some anyway are driving a fancy car and living in a nice place.
Course they get their kids free breakfast too at our local school and yet do not work because hanging out on their front porch or playing playstation is more important .
Stop the free breakfasts and start looking into those who are getting this welfare.
They drive a fancy car then they don’t get welfare.
No more breakfasts at school for free either.
If a mother or a father cannot give a bowl of cereal to their kids in the morning then they should not have had kids in the first place.
I am sick and tired of standing in line at the shop and seeing a family in front getting loads of food paid for by me and then they driving off in a caddy.
One mother was at our local school shouting to everyone and claiming racism that her daughter should get free food at school.
Have these people got no shame at all.???
I wonder what the rate of obesity is for those receiving food stamps vs those who don’t?
“..a program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme..”
It’s still full of schemer’s, dummies!!
You know me, I'm your friend, your main boy, thick and thin.
I'm your pusherman.
I'm your pusherman.
*With all deference to Curtis Mayfield.
“luxury food” isn’t fraud, per se,
it’s just a huge pissoff.
No, none. I have lived amongst them. Shame is for not gaming the system. Everything is based on gaming the system.
/johnny
What these stories never reveal is that the income that is measured does NOT include any of the free or subsidized goodies people receive from the government. So one can have money coming in plus get food stamps, free medical care, free rent, subsidized utilities, and free food at school for the kiddies and still be considered to be living in poverty. That stretches the meaning of the word poverty beyond reality.
I’ve seen those credit cards they give out and can notice if they are the welfare ones especially seeing as they use WIC stamps too and then complain about how they wanted a certain food not covered and it should be.
Even if they had signs on their backs saying I love you paying my food many of them would still never be ashamed.
so long as it is free to them then so be it.
A kid was boasting to my oldest son how they get free breakfast at school and food.
I told my son to tell them that it is not free I’m paying for it and he did tell the kid.
You know what the kid said?
HA HA what a sucker we had lots of food last night paid by your dad.
My son wanted to smack the little free loader but of course if he had then I would have been sued and my son called a racist.
This whole set up and PC has destroyed/is destroying this country.
No problem helping out someone who is hurting.
I’m classed as lower than middle class I’m blue collar working class and I work as my wife does very hard.
I refuse to accept that I have to pay for those in the projects/take handouts who make it a living all their lives
looks like all the freeloaders are jumping on the gravy train.
I’VE SAID THAT THE OTHER DAY
Why is it those who claim they have no money and get welfare drive a fancy car and are way overweight?
Go to the projects and you won’t see many underweight people.
A guy for Africa on a business trip once told me that in his country the poor are skinny because they cannot afford food but in this country the poor are the fat ones.
very good observation by him.
Those on welfare should have drug tests, not have a BMW or caddy chromed out and how can they be poor and be a woman at 5,5 when they weigh(unless medical) over 200 pounds
Spot on. My wife and I both make good money, but I haven't eaten so much pasta, bologna and hot dogs since the '70s.
Isn't this money that Obama would have used for his stimulus plans?
Shame is an emotion of the past (well, OK, these people probably NEVER had any).
They think us fools for supporting them and will take everything we are stupid enough to give them. And no doubt call us racists if we don’t, in some cases.
Cloward Piven strategy in action.
Those on welfare should have drug tests....
Correction, those on welfare should lose their right to vote for two years, from the date of their benefits inception.
lived in a on the line of a place called Mattapan/hyde park in Boston when I had to live up north.
I lived in the ghetto and it was a living they made on welfare, also off topic but the racism towards me and other whites was rampant.
makes me sick I have t go without as does my kids because we do things how they used ot be and how we got that American dream.
We waited for kids for years until we got enough money, we lived in crap areas until we got enough money.
I worked over 80 hours a week to have what I have now(out of debt including the house)
I now have 3 kids and never got one bit off the Govt and I tell my kids that if they want something they work for it .
That is the big difference form the left.
I came to this country and worked my arse off and I see no reason why there is a population unwilling to work for that life they get on welfare
very true
ahhh, the lure of the gooberment teat...
There was a stigma?
We make decent money (for this economy) and we have cut way back ourselves.
nail on head
If I say no to a black family or hispanic then I am a racist
if I say no to a white family then I am insensitive
well I am now past the point of being called a name by a stranger.
I care what my wife and kids think of me and that is it.
> Now you appear just like another shopper, no one can see the card you use. Social stigma is gone.
In some liberal states, the welfare card has an Orwellian name like “The Freedom Card.”
Well, this stuff irritates me to no end, but really...whose fault is it?
Of course it’s the fault of Government and our loser CongressCritters, and fifty-plus years of Socialism being crammed down our throats, BUT...
...it is ALSO the fault of you, me and every OTHER taxpayer who knowingly GIVES their hard earned dollars to Uncle Sam as an interest-free loan each and every year and then salivates, waiting for their tax refund!! Aarrgghh! It’s YOUR money - quit giving it away!
So, who’s the sucker? Yep. Each and every one of you that doesn’t pay attention to your base tax rates and the taxes you knowingly and unknowingly pay (but can learn about!) day in and day out. (I live in Wisconsin; I know all about high tax rates!)
Government does not produce ONE RED CENT to support itself year in and year out. Those trillions of dollars it’s blowing through? Yep. Yours. All yours!
Stop the cashflow to the Beast that is Big Government, and it will die. My poorly-run state is laying off goobermint workers, not filling vacancies and also furloughing workers! It’s a start! :)
Tax revenue flowing into Government is already DOWN 25% right now JUST due to the 0bamaconomy. If each and every one of you (becasue I already do) would pay a little bit of attention and get your own finances in order, we could have that down/up to 50% in lost revenue to Big Government in a heartbeat! Well, within a year at this rate.
I’m just sayin’...we’re knowingly funding these people and their grifter lifestyles. B*tchin’ about it is just that.
Action is required, Freepers! :)
What are you talking about? Food stamp fraud from 1982? What food store doesn’t use a scanner? No food stamp/debit card is going to work on alchohol. Heck, I saw one lady in front of me have a balance of cash left to pay after food stamps were deducted because she got the wrong chicken out of the deli case that wasn’t “EBT approved”.
Stop the free breakfasts and start looking into those who are getting this welfare.
They drive a fancy car then they don’t get welfare. No more breakfasts at school for free either.
If a mother or a father cannot give a bowl of cereal to their kids in the morning then they should not have had kids in the first place.
I am sick and tired of standing in line at the shop and seeing a family in front getting loads of food paid for by me and then they driving off in a caddy.
With you 100%, esp. that last one. Nothing burns me more. I am a full time working person who does score some freelance sometimes and gets by. I don't drive a fancy new vehicle either or wear top of the line clothes. The amount of fraud in welfare is almost beyond belief.
You can drink all you want, they do have drug screening, but you can legally be on a methadone program.
What you are witnessing is the victory of the political class.
The average person cannot imagine the level of corruption that takes place on the political level. From development, contracting and taxation all kinds of shenanigans go on to the tune of tens of millions of dollars even at the local level.
Politicians are takers not makers. Letting them run our lives is like paying the mob not to be robbed too much. The extent of control we’ve granted to weasels whose major skill is obsequiousness is mind boggling.
They can make or break you with little recourse. We’ve been slaves for a long time. It is just that the water is coming to a full boil so it feels very hot.
But, will the frog jump?
> In some liberal states, the welfare card has an Orwellian name like “The Freedom Card.”
My memory was flawed. It is called “The Independence Card” in Maryland.
No, it should be like bankruptcy they should be vote-less for seven years.
I work in Big Pharma, my wife for a GM dealership (a surviving one.) We're hedging our bets, especially since we have a 13 year old who will be going to college in five years.
During the late 70’s when GM went on strike and my dad was laid off, our family qualified for food assistance for a few months.
It left my mother bitter. We’d never eaten better than when we received food stamps. There was food in the ‘fridge, we had chicken more often, sandwiches with meat on them rather than just peanut butter, fresh fruit, etc. It made mom angry that when my dad was working long hours to pay the bills our pantries were bare, but when we he wasn’t working we had food.
Now my husband trains social workers on the BRIDGES computer system (which crashes often) here in Michigan on how to process applications for food stamps. That’s all he’s doing for the forseeable future — train stand-up and webinars on food stamp processing. His job security is bittersweet.
7/10 black kids are raised without a father. According to this article 25% of children are getting Food Stamp support.
If we don’t stop it now, these demographics will kill us.
Honestly, I’d be happy with two years; a cycle of the House of Representatives. No sense allowing the inmates to run the asylum. Also, I meant to say two years from when the benefits END, not start.
Bankruptcy doesn't disenfranchise anyone. Nor should it.
Try speaking in a foreign language, buying with the food stamp card and driving off in a late model Lexus, Mercedes or BMW.
I am a witness to this and there are often several women all related and shopping together driven away by one man.
Fine, although that would be lifetime for many recipients if not most. One of the greatest dangers is getting on welfare. It is hard to get off.
Actually, unlike other forms of welfare, food stamps should be very easy to get and use for extended periods of time, because their use actually helps farmers as well, without, oddly enough, driving down food prices.
The one condition is that they shouldn’t be issued by the federal government, but by the individual States.
This is because American agribusiness is immense. We have enormous amounts of food that rots by the hundreds of tons every year. 41 of our 50 States grow wheat. Virtually every State grows something, and most grow a lot of different crops. We are up to our eyebrows in extra food.
Weirdly enough, one of the problems with food stamps is that there are a lot of people out there who will only buy two types of food: rice and beans. The rest of their food stamps are unused at the end of the month. They refuse to eat, or feed their children, anything but rice and beans.
Again, unlike other forms of welfare, a lot of people who would otherwise cheat the system, don’t, because they don’t want to eat the limited types of food that can be purchased with food stamps. They want stuff like fast food, soda and beer, and junk food. So they would rather pay cash for stuff like that, then eat food stamp food for free.
So when the government gets every one on the dole, WHO pray tell, will then provide the income to allow those on the dole to stay on the dole??? We are about to hit the tipping point of more takers than producers. When that happens, it will be anarchy and chaos in the streets.
The fraud is massive - took 5 years to arrest these people:
Arrests made in $2 million food stamp fraud scheme (10:52 a.m.) - Recordnet - 03/27/2009
Brothers Ahmad Khan, 51, and Mumraiz Khan, 48, are charged with conspiracy, food stamp fraud, money laundering and conducting a monetary transaction in criminally derived property. Ahmad Khan’s daughter, Naheed Khan, 23, is charged with conspiracy.
In the alleged scheme, the three bought food stamps at 50 cents on the dollar from customers at the Smoke Shop & Snack at 425 E. Miner Avenue. The shop had been allowed to redeem food stamps for the last five and a half years, prosecutors said.
By law, only eligible food stamp recipients can buy food at authorized stores. The brothers drew the money-laundering charge on suspicion that they transferred money to Pakistan.
See enough of that at the local Wal Mart. These people buy a few carts worth at a stroke. What they buy would keep me going for a couple of months, no problem.
Out of context reply.
I meant that like bankruptcy which can only be done once every seven years, a welfare recipient should not get to vote for seven years.
Thus ending the dangerous cycle of being able to vote yourself money.
Ah... I get you, and I agree.
There are many items at the grocery store that Food Stamps will not buy. Such as paper towels, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc.
Personally, I’d like to see Food Stamps restricted to actual food items. This would leave out all “empty calorie” items.
It’s really discouraging to see an obese Mom and her fat kids in the checkout line when she whips out the Food Stamps Debit card and her basket is filled with nothing but non-nutritional items (cookies, potato chips, Doritos, ice cream, pie, pop-tarts, soda pop (usually Pepsi or Mt. Dew), etc.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.