Gideon MacLeish Gideon MacLeish

Time to Put an End to Food Stamps!

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Time to Put an End to Food Stamps!

from JoeUser Forums

I have been thinking a lot about the food stamp program lately. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that food stamps are a program that the federal government can, and should eliminate.

Now of course, a lot of people will be asking "what about the starving in the US?" Their question, while sincere, is ignorant of the facts. The simple truth is, there is no reason for ANYONE in this country to starve. None.

Why do I make such a sweeping statement? Simple. Because private charities in the United States have done their job. There are food banks in all but the smallest communities, and while there are people to consider within those communities, they generally have a means of travelling to larger communities, or else they wouldn't live in those smaller communities in the first place. Communities too small to house a food bank are also unlikely to have a welfare office anyway.

The truth is, in my experience and that of many others I know, most food stamp money isn't used for food, but is "fenced" for drugs, cigarettes and alcohol despite well intentioned efforts to end such abuse. The same families that receive $500-600 a month in food stamps can also be seen at every local food bank  getting their weekly or monthly allotment of handouts. The food stamp money is a negotiable commodity for them, plain and simple.

What liberal in this country fail to recognize is the simple truth that private charities have been shown to work. Second Harvest and other similar minded organizations have done an unparallelled job of reclaiming our waste and ensuring that surplus food finds its way into the mouths of those who so desperately needed instead of the old system of being trucked to the local landfill.

Sure, I think there should be some sort of voucher availability for certain items that are hard to obtain at a food bank, such as milk, eggs, flour, oil, and similar products. But even a voucher system should be privately administered so that it can be customized to the individual needs of the families. There's simply no excuse for the waste that is the USDA food stamp program.

politics
12,005 views 50 replies
Reply #26 from JoeUser Forums Top
Wow I was sick of reading the thread and there was still so much more. Here's my two cents though.

whereas a federal program, such as food stamps, will guarantee that people will eat.


Not true. A major argument here is that food stamps are a commodity. Any paper of value can be traded. States like Louisiana and Texas have moved away from paper stamps and moved to a debit card system. This allows them to control what outlets are receiving the money. If Wal-Mart cashes in on $200,000.00 in a day no big deal, but if the mom and pop down the street does the same they will know something is fishy. I don't like the idea that most people on food stamps eat better than I do but life isn’t fair. States should all be using a debit based system. Paper has too many possibilities for fraud. With a debit based system fraud is still possible but it must be on a much smaller scale which makes it less profitable and less enticing.
Reply #27 from JoeUser Forums Top
Perhaps....BakerStreet
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Reply #28 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't like the idea that most people on food stamps eat better than I do


--not all do... we never had t-bones, or lobster,etc...
Reply #29 from JoeUser Forums Top
I am saying that those who call for the government to put more money into social programs, but don't lift a finger or donate their own money or means to those they say they care about are L-A-Z-Y. They pat each other on the back for their altruism, but they accomplish nothing.


Wrong. You are generalizing, without concern for anyone's extenuating circumstances.

What I mean is, where do you think all that food stamp money goes? It goes to enlarge corperate bottom lines. The food stamp program was not established to help your son, you, me, or any other individual who may be needy.


What corporate bottom line? Please be specific. And, wrong again. The food stamp program WAS established to help my son, and others like him. Unless you prove to me otherwise, and I do think your "proof" would be dubious at best, I continue to think that, in fact, my son is being helped, and that's the bottom line.

So, if a person protests the huge profits of major corperations and rich investors, but then demands more money goes into programs such as food stamps, they are basically protesting their own cause celeb.


Wrong again. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. I have no problems with corporate profits. I do have problems with those profits being made off the backs of the workers and the people. You cannot tell me that a company like the Long Island Power Authority, who continue to raise rates to some of the highest in the country, and to which it's getting harder and harder for the average person to afford, is acceptable, when the CEO's are reaping huge, as in HUGE salaries, in the seven figures. They are not interested in workers or people. They are only interested in their own vast wealth, more than anyone can possibly spend. Sure, they contribute to charities. But, what about those in the middle who can neither benefit from the charities or afford the increasing rates? Again, I am not against making money. that's ridiculous.

Again, as for my son and our relationship, of course I would not let him starve. But, it's more complicated than that, and I'm not going to elaborate. I suspect it's alot more complicated for lots of people, and your judgmental simplicity is nothing but simplicity. And, judgmental crap.
Reply #30 from JoeUser Forums Top

What has to be done is a slow weening. People have to be made to earn the food stamps in some way, and the requirements for getting them should shave people off the top of the list a little at a time over a decade until only the truly impoverished get them, and then only temporarily.

See, and there you and I actually agree. I realize that to eliminate these programs overnight would be catastrophic, but I remain firm in my contention that they need to be eliminated.

BTW, you triggered a subject I was planning for another article.

Reply #31 from JoeUser Forums Top

The food stamp program WAS established to help my son, and others like him. Unless you prove to me otherwise, and I do think your "proof" would be dubious at best.


WRONG dabe! The food stamp program was established as part of the "farm subsidy" program. It was meant to help "farmers" not your son. It helping him is just a very good side effect. As far as proof goes, please do your own research.
Reply #32 from JoeUser Forums Top

I hate to sound insensitive, but I just don't buy the "social phobia" argument. As a sufferer of social phobia, I make do in public because I HAVE to; not because I WANT to. It's painful. It sucks. But I do what I have to do. In fact, I could probably argue my way into disability easier than some because of my dad's dealing with social phobia; he IS on disability, and it would be pretty simple for me to go down that road as well, simply by using doctors who are familiar with his case.

I feel for others who have social phobias, but the fact is, there is nothing wrong with expecting them to put out some effort to make a living. I don't feel that anyone owes me a living, nor do I owe them a living. Sometimes, as the saying goes, a man has to do what a man has to do. While you may be willing to pay taxes for welfare, other people are not. And it's wrong to force them to do so simply because it's YOUR ethical standard.

 

Reply #33 from PolMach Forums Top
Another thing i have noticed is that todays generation is geared into wastefulness..."use once and throw away",there are hardly any products out there that last....my moms generation,and some other younger ones...know how to stretch things...and make them last for months on end...
Reply #34 from JoeUser Forums Top
::::Wondering where his reply to Dabe ended up::::::
Reply #35 from JoeUser Forums Top
WRONG dabe! The food stamp program was established as part of the "farm subsidy" program. It was meant to help "farmers" not your son. It helping him is just a very good side effect.


Whatever, and EXACTLY.

He needs the help right now, and would suffer were it not for food stamps. And, all you generalizing nonsensical know-nots, my son lives in a different city than I do. I send him money routinely, to help him subsist, as the help he gets from the government is hardly a subsistence living.


If you so cavalierly yank the food stamp program, you'd cause a lot of starving people, looking to choose between housing, medicine and/or food. But, then again, like whipsy stated, let them all starve. Cavalier and heartless and totally dumb.
Reply #36 from JoeUser Forums Top
And dabe, I don't know why your relationship with your son would prevent you from feeding him, why its so "complicated" that you both find it preferable for him to be bellied up to the public trough rather than accept your help, but I can guess.....


Oh sure, you guess all you want. You are such a self-righteous loser. If you contend that cheap ol' wienies, which are junk food, is an adequate diet, then no wonder you're so brain damaged. You probably get angry when people spend food stamps on...... oh no....... expensive vegetables. They should stick to cheap ol' wienies and white bread, high in sodium, high in fat, high in nitrates, low in nutrition. And, I've got news for you..... you are not the end all/be all society cop. You're just a ....... oh, never mind.
Reply #37 from JoeUser Forums Top
I hate to sound insensitive, but I just don't buy the "social phobia" argument. As a sufferer of social phobia, I make do in public because I HAVE to; not because I WANT to.


Gid, I understand this. I agree that he needs to just overcome this, but so far, he hasn't. One of the reasons he does not live with me is because he really wants to be independent and wants to maintain his autonomy. I completely support him in this, and hope, like hope itself that he'll overcom his fears. If that means that he needs food stamps for a while, and he's only been getting them for about one year, then so be it. This is exactly what food stamps should do. So please, stop judging so harshly. We are trying to work it out. He is trying to work it out.

As for whipsy's demeaning and totaly bullshit garbage, oh...... never mind.
Reply #38 from JoeUser Forums Top
Another thing i have noticed is that todays generation is geared into wastefulness..."use once and throw away",there are hardly any products out there that last....my moms generation,and some other younger ones...know how to stretch things...and make them last for months on end...


You're not kidding. One of the things I really hate is packaging. We're seeing all this extravagant and expensive packaging. Cheese and crackers are so ridiculous, they should be illegal. (But then, you libertarians would cry foul about that too. But that's another issue.) It's what sells products, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the food inside. Just causes everything to cost more. I hate packaging, and will buy loose, bulk products whenever possible. If something is overpackaged, I'm pretty much convinced it's garbage, anyway.

As for throw-away, look at all the disposable crap out there, from toilet bowl cleaners to dish rags, diapers, etc. What a waste. We are definitely the most wasteful country on this planet. There ought to be a law.
Reply #39 from JoeUser Forums Top
While you may be willing to pay taxes for welfare, other people are not. And it's wrong to force them to do so simply because it's YOUR ethical standard.


That's exactly how I feel about the war in Iraq, and the failed abstinence only education, and a bunch of other things our government spends money on. But, the government doesn't give us these choices. So, we all pay into everything.
Reply #40 from JoeUser Forums Top
Maybe your wacked out son is the way he is because mommy never let him have a nasty old hot dog as a child?


FK U
Reply #41 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hey Gid, please delete the multiples. As much as I'd like them to remain, I'm sure you'd rather not. As a matter of fact, I sure wouldn't mind you removing that hateful lowlife scumbag post from whipsy, the society and ju copsky.
Reply #42 from JoeUser Forums Top

(But then, you libertarians would cry foul about that too. But that's another issue.)

Of course we would. People have a right to eat junk (hehe)

Reply #43 from JoeUser Forums Top
As a rule, I don't delete responses. But, since we ALL have a problem with multiple posts, I will assume that multiples weren't intended and delete all but one. After all, if someone comes up with a clever retort further along, we DO want to know what they're responding to, right? (lol)
Reply #44 from JoeUser Forums Top

Each half-cup serving of dry beans provides six to seven grams of protein, meets at least 10% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein, yet costs about 20 cents per serving.

Less in bulk. I pay about 50 cents a pound (or less) for pinto beans. 4 servings to a pound, that's 12.5 cents a serving. Served over cornbread and the whole family eats for about $2. make it whole grain bread from the day old bread store (85 cents a loaf; about half a loaf to go with the beans for our family), and it's a buck total for the main course

Reply #45 from JoeUser Forums Top

#37 by dabe
Saturday, June 04, 2005





WRONG dabe! The food stamp program was established as part of the "farm subsidy" program. It was meant to help "farmers" not your son. It helping him is just a very good side effect.


Whatever, and EXACTLY.

He needs the help right now, and would suffer were it not for food stamps. And, all you generalizing nonsensical know-nots, my son lives in a different city than I do. I send him money routinely, to help him subsist, as the help he gets from the government is hardly a subsistence living.


If you so cavalierly yank the food stamp program, you'd cause a lot of starving people, looking to choose between housing, medicine and/or food. But, then again, like whipsy stated, let them all starve. Cavalier and heartless and totally dumb.


Oh, I see how it is. Because the truth does not support you precarious position, it's "whatever".
Reply #46 from JoeUser Forums Top

FK U

So much for civility from Dear Dabe.

Reply #47 from PolMach Forums Top

Reply #53 By: Citizen Dr. Guy - 6/6/2005 6:51:36 AM
FK U

So much for civility from Dear Dabe.


--Dr. Guy, there is no civilty,and will never be any....in debating....
Reply #48 from JoeUser Forums Top
--Dr. Guy, there is no civilty,and will never be any....in debating....


curse words and personal attacks aren't debate.
Reply #49 from JoeUser Forums Top

--Dr. Guy, there is no civilty,and will never be any....in debating....

In arguing, perhaps not.  In Debating, there always is.  That is the difference between debating and arguing.

Reply #50 from JoeUser Forums Top
ooo..ohhh..did I pluck a nerve there, dabey dearest?


nah, not really. Just that I think you're scum, and your posts are scum, and you're one sicko b.