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Judi Lynn

(160,530 posts)
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 04:27 AM Jun 2012

Republicans seek cuts to food stamp program with new farm bill

Source: Associated Press

June 19, 2012 4:02 AM
Republicans seek cuts to food stamp program with new farm bill

(AP) WASHINGTON - The 1,000-page "farm bill" being debated in the Senate is somewhat of a misnomer. Four of every five dollars in it — roughly $80 billion a year — goes for grocery bills for one of every seven Americans through food stamps.

Republicans say Congress could cut the cost $2 billion a year by just closing a pair of loopholes that some states use to award benefits to people who otherwise might not qualify.

"This is more than just a financial issue. It is a moral issue," says Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., one of several Republicans pushing for cuts in spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP.

The program has swelled from 28 million to 46 million participants and its costs have doubled in the past four years. The recession and slow recovery have increased the number of people unemployed over the same period from 8 million to 12 million.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57455799/republicans-seek-cuts-to-food-stamp-program-with-new-farm-bill/

21 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Republicans seek cuts to food stamp program with new farm bill (Original Post) Judi Lynn Jun 2012 OP
The repukes want to create their own dustbowl. truthisfreedom Jun 2012 #1
Republicans would rather see AsahinaKimi Jun 2012 #2
The Real Cost Is Even More Hidden TheMastersNemesis Jun 2012 #7
K and R..for this thread..and above post..nt Stuart G Jun 2012 #12
and still people who are poor... dennis4868 Jun 2012 #13
Disgustingly fascinating that 'morality' enlightenment Jun 2012 #3
Some politicians twist and distort morality in order to make malevolent acts look good. Larry Ogg Jun 2012 #17
Republicans are always searching for more ways to make people miserable and RKP5637 Jun 2012 #4
Once again, using "morality" to justify unethical behavior Scootaloo Jun 2012 #5
I bet he thinks spending on senseless war is just A-OK Skittles Jun 2012 #6
Breaking news suggest another form of the Senate bill in the offing. CBHagman Jun 2012 #8
RepubliCONS want to cut food stamps out of the Farm bill while still fasttense Jun 2012 #9
Some of those people are too lazy, to scrounge for food elsewhere BootinUp Jun 2012 #10
If everyone the Republicans are trying to kill would vote adigal Jun 2012 #11
What about loopholes for rich corporations? Seems like that is not a moral issue emulatorloo Jun 2012 #14
What are the loopholes they want to cut? When they give block grants Auntie Bush Jun 2012 #15
I wonder what goes through there little black hearts n/t hrmjustin Jun 2012 #16
It would make more sense to cut direct ag subsidies 4th law of robotics Jun 2012 #18
no problem for them because there are no republicans on food stamps madrchsod Jun 2012 #19
Wouldn't it be ironic if.... lib2DaBone Jun 2012 #20
Iowa is a blue state. Odin2005 Jun 2012 #21

AsahinaKimi

(20,776 posts)
2. Republicans would rather see
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 04:59 AM
Jun 2012

The poor die in the street of starvation. What does that tell you about their political party and what it stands for?

 

TheMastersNemesis

(10,602 posts)
7. The Real Cost Is Even More Hidden
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 07:03 AM
Jun 2012

When I worked 6 years at DOL in the Work Incentive Program from 1976 to 1982 we had full funding for for helping welfare recipients get work and back into the work force. We could write federal employment training contracts for up to a year and send recipients to school so they could get off of welfare. They also got support albeit somewhat limited from Social Services in the form of welfare and "food stamps". It allowed the women and children to survive well enough to get them a start. We had two profession units of employment professionals like myself and my fellow workers and a full staff of social workers and support aides to help them.

The GOP ended all that and replaced it with TANF. Temporary Assistance To Needy Families. It actually was just a "harassment" program to get women to take jobs they could not live on and feed their kids. I retired rather than allow myself to participate in such a program that I totally disagreed with. I could never understand why Clinton supported such a trashy deal.

I know what women went through trying to get a start. It was really hard to help even in 1976. Now it is impossible. When a country looks away from the most needy and begins to shortchange is children, I often wonder what my service in Vietnam even meant or that of all veterans. We are becoming a nation not to be proud of.

Food Stamps and programs like it ultimately effect women and children more than anyone. Yet they seem to be invisible. And yet we have a GOP Senate candidate who is complaining that he is hearing too much about the poor and downtrodden.

enlightenment

(8,830 posts)
3. Disgustingly fascinating that 'morality'
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 05:16 AM
Jun 2012

has reverted to the worthiness test - that somehow, poverty and deprivation are a signifier of poor character. Is that really what Mr. Sessions thinks of the 16.6% of the population of his state that qualifies for SNAP? (Don't answer that - I think I know the answer).

Miserable excuse for a human being, he is.


(slightly off topic - I don't care for the graph they are using in that article. It fails to adequately express the issue since it doesn't take into account total population by state. California is colored red, with almost 3.7 million receiving benefits - but out of a population of 37.69 million, that's less that 10% (still distressingly high). Next door, Nevada is colored pale yellow, with 'only' 332,959 receiving benefits . . . but the population of the entire state is just over 2.7 million, meaning that 12.2% of the population is receiving benefits. A silly niggle, I know . . .)

Larry Ogg

(1,474 posts)
17. Some politicians twist and distort morality in order to make malevolent acts look good.
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 02:55 PM
Jun 2012

The word that best describes "moral values", that have been weekend to the point they no longer have anything to do with true morality, is "Paramoralism"

It is the best word that I have seen, and it explains how Republicans (for example), while claiming the moral high ground, can be the leader of evil deeds, while most people will never see the evil deeds for what they are, and therefor support the people who do them, even though it is against their own best interest.

RKP5637

(67,108 posts)
4. Republicans are always searching for more ways to make people miserable and
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 05:31 AM
Jun 2012

to kill off more. It's an egregious party that will eventually consume itself, but will take many with it ...

 

Scootaloo

(25,699 posts)
5. Once again, using "morality" to justify unethical behavior
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 05:33 AM
Jun 2012

This is why I get irritated when people conflate the two terms. Guh.

They scream "class warfare" but they better count their fucking blessings; if we fought back as hard as they attack us, they would be exterminated.

CBHagman

(16,984 posts)
8. Breaking news suggest another form of the Senate bill in the offing.
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 07:35 AM
Jun 2012

I don't have the details yet, but it appears the Senate bill, at least, won't have the cuts the 'cans want.

Of course that leaves the House, and if the Senate has the likes of Rand Paul and Jeff Sessions, we all know the House has equally odious, possibly worse, members.

 

fasttense

(17,301 posts)
9. RepubliCONS want to cut food stamps out of the Farm bill while still
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 07:41 AM
Jun 2012

giving away millions of dollars to wealthy farmers.

One of my neighbors who inherited 300 acres from his father and has thousands of sheep, got millions to build barns and put up fencing from the farm bill. Yet the starving poor should get cuts in their food stamps. I think this man could have survived if he built one less barn (he had 5 already) but the starving poor should be fed less.

 

adigal

(7,581 posts)
11. If everyone the Republicans are trying to kill would vote
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 09:31 AM
Jun 2012

the Republicans would never, ever win another election.

Auntie Bush

(17,528 posts)
15. What are the loopholes they want to cut? When they give block grants
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 01:00 PM
Jun 2012

to the states...they use them for all sorts of different stuff and they say there is no more money for food stamps. Tough luck kiddo!

 

4th law of robotics

(6,801 posts)
18. It would make more sense to cut direct ag subsidies
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 03:20 PM
Jun 2012

and use the money on the consumption side (ie food stamps).

madrchsod

(58,162 posts)
19. no problem for them because there are no republicans on food stamps
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 04:07 PM
Jun 2012

plus people on food stamps do`t vote! win win for the republicans!

 

lib2DaBone

(8,124 posts)
20. Wouldn't it be ironic if....
Tue Jun 19, 2012, 10:26 PM
Jun 2012

What would happen if there was a gigantic killer Tornado that swept thru Iowa this summer... and left thousands hungry and homeless?

Not saying I would want that.. but it would be interesting.. considering that the good Evangelical religious right-wing synchophants found it so necessary to reduce all food stamps and , they themselves.. were caught in the trap?

Sometimes.. reality happens....

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