Posted on 10/03/2013 2:19:51 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
After the vote in the House of Representatives to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, I wrote a column against cutting food stamps. This column generated more than 5,200 online comments and hundreds of e-mails.
Comments reflected, not surprisingly, the tone and tenor of the political debate: a lot of partisan passion, some mutual understanding, animosity based on stereotypes and a lot of misinformation.
I would like to address some of the typical concerns that were expressed.
For example, "Willis CurryFans" wrote, "These wealthy Republicans spend a lot of time RUNNING from the typical black person this affects. If they came and visited some of these neighborhoods, they would see folks that they KNOW they won't give a job to."
But who are the people using food stamps? They're us.
The Census Bureau, which gathers statistics house by house, reports that Americans on food stamps are 49% white, 26% African-American and 20% Hispanic. The Pew Research Center, a nonprofit polling firm, found in a July survey that self-identified liberals, moderates and conservatives who receive food stamps are in a statistical tie.
A lot of people who commented on the column wanted to regulate what foodstuffs program participants can buy -- often not realizing that alcohol and prepared foods are banned. And many respondents bashed food stamp recipients, declaring they should "get a job," "stop having kids on my dime" or giving a variation on such cliches....
The author
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I don’t generally mind the first part. It’s difficult to find the help you may need without a known “go to this place” kind of deal. Sure, churches, but, honestly, that’s a big “maybe.”
Your second point is where I hate the system, too. Maybe you can’t have the first without the second following for the reasons you stated? I don’t know.
What % are George Zimmerman?
Black or African American Hispanic 1,243,471 0.4 %
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