No longer surprising but always disgusting.

K&R!

they paid in taxes. I'd be willing to bet they are way in the black tax wise.

Although I have a funny feeling that it would still be beyond the needs of some small towns.

...they'll never be confronted. The older I get, the more convinced I become that democracy and unfettered capitalism are fatally incompatible.

In 2000, we spent $18b on food stamp programs. In 2012 we spent $85b.

in 2000 we were in an incredible boom. In 2012 we were in the most significant economic collapse since the great depression. When was the last time we had seen an actual decline in property values nationwide which is never taken in consideration when we talk about the economic collapse. it was the great depression.

Also inflation has to be factored in. Please don't give us this crappy "numbers".

If it comes up, we better have an answer why spending is 3x what it was 15 years ago.

If it's not enough, then we better have a reason why it's not enough.

It is up because wages have not kept up with inflation. We have people working who cannot support a family, therefore they need food stamps to supplement their earnings. The top percentage earners fight minimum wage hikes with all their power. Their greed is keeping many people from getting off of food stamps. Since most of the economic gains have gone to the top 10% on the backs of the lower 90%, it has put more people in the ranks of people who need food stamps to survive. As the wealth goes to fewer and fewer people, the ranks of the poor get larger and larger, hence the increase in food stamps. We now have veterans needing food stamps because there has been such a squeeze on all services, including veterans benefits.

And the super rich have literally tens of TRILLIONS (yes, TRILLIONS) parked around the world doing absolutely nothing. Time for torches, pitchforks and tumbrels.

without any explanation, that conservatives use to justify calls for safety net cutbacks. I absolutely agree with the conservative meme that we need to get spending under control. But if you aren't willing to start with cutting the defense budget, then we are thru talking.

Should not one look at the per capita in addition to the absolute (presuming the absolute is taking COLA and other factors into account)?

move jobs overseas, more and more of the lower classes are going to foodbanks and soup kitchens and using foodstamps. Ironically I think your use of statistics was intended to disparage those on foodstamps but it really points our the growing wealth gap.

Right Wing "Libertarianism" seems to be a by-product of deliberate propagandizing.

Ayn Rand and all other idiots who have invented fiction to justify their selfishness.

But their real amazing feat has been getting a whole bunch of Republican poor cheering them on.

I'm beyond words, this is just too disgusting.

That old trickle down, supply side. It has proven to be destructive to our democracy.

All taxes to support America are the albatross of the middle class. The rich get off tax free. That's America

then you get this huge transfer of wealth from labor and savers to the uber wealthy. American labor has little to no political or economic power. They cannot raise their wages in accordance to the loose monetary policy. This allows for inflation without hyper inflation.

Loose monetary policy is going to largely benefit the top 1% because it makes their assets grow exponentially.

and not get thrown out.

the party that'll cut food stamps all the way and coddle the rich way harder will get in!

The right-wing of our party gets its funding from some of the same people who fund the obstructionist party that cuts food stamps.

We have to decide whether we are for or against higher taxes for the rich. And we need candidates who will run on promises to raise taxes on the rich. We cannot afford compromise on this issue.

them.