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244 Comments
- DrDragun, on 03/31/2008, -3/+36Even better than the government's food stamp program is the invention of the dollar menu. You can get an entire day's worth of calories for $2.
- doktorrocket, on 03/31/2008, -2/+30FTA: "The percentage of Americans receiving food stamps was higher after a recession in the 1990s, but actual numbers are expected to be higher this year."
It's amazing the number of "all time highs" you can set when you use absolute numbers with an ever-increasing population. - DrDragun, on 03/31/2008, -4/+25Food stamps are way better than welfare. At least they force a person to buy food not spend their welfare on new shoes or a nail job.
- slantyeyed, on 03/31/2008, -6/+26if you're reading this with your own computer and a high speed internet connection and you still need food stamps, I don't feel sorry for you.
- uselessexpert, on 03/31/2008, -5/+20The other question here is, how many of these people are REALLY in need of food stamps, and the ones that are just lying to get them.
My father owned a "bodega" in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn many years ago, and it was insane the amount of people that you knew could afford to live without food stamps and still got them...
That whole system is in shambles. - scabbers, on 03/31/2008, -11/+25Maybe a hungry person should just beat you up and rob you... much more in line with your views.
- zengonzo, on 03/31/2008, -2/+15The cost is simply deferred to health care bills later in life.
With interest. - Zerohawk, on 03/31/2008, -2/+15This isn't about free, it is about survival. Trying to make it on minimum wage is bordering on impossible now, and there are quite a few Americans who find themselves in this situation. As the cost of living continues to increase and our economy continues to dive, people need to find some way to live.
- dcbebop, on 03/31/2008, -3/+15I'm assuming this is a shot at quoting Cheney, otherwise you are truly an *****.
- oxymoron69, on 03/31/2008, -4/+14Crazy.... you people can go drop $billions per day/month/x in iraq and wherever else you spread that wacky brand of 'freedom' as you call it.
But, give some poor folks some damn food, and you're all up in arms about how ***** lazy they are or calling it free handouts.
Maybe, just maybe, if you say oh, dont build some super crazy highspeed stealth plane for Billyjoebob to fly around and make crazy mother of all bombs to be used against your invisible enemies...
You could feed all of these poor folks around your country, and it wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket compared to how much the USA spends to rain fire down on those backwards ***** in the desert. - lnxfi, on 03/31/2008, -8/+17Food stamps are the worse idea ever. When I used to work as a cashier in highschool, I would watch people use them to buy fillet mignon and lobster with. I'm not on food stamps and I can't even afford to eat fillet mignon and lobster as often as these people do. They need to revamp it and do it more like the way WIC does it.
- isuisorisuaint, on 03/31/2008, -10/+19What about those that can help themselves but choose not to?
- Zerohawk, on 03/31/2008, -9/+18This is just another sign on how our economy is taking a large hit, and how it very much is having an effect on our daily lives.
- minox, on 03/31/2008, -3/+12Two things stick out to me as problematic in this article. The first is this:
"But access by legal immigrants has been partly restored and, in the current decade, the federal and state governments have used advertising and other measures to inform people of their eligibility and have often simplified application procedures."
The second is this:
"At the same time, average family incomes among the bottom fifth of the population have been stagnant or have declined in recent years at levels around $15,500, said Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington."
This second quote is troubling because family income is a notoriously unreliable statistic, as anyone who has read a book or article by Thomas Sowell knows. I would like to see the actual years being compared to get the stat from the article. One of the biggest unspoken reasons for a decline in household income is that household sizes have reduced, meaning less members of a household exist to even earn a pay check. - mikeymondavi, on 03/31/2008, -2/+11The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it. -H. L. Mencken
- inactive, on 03/31/2008, -0/+8Well, doesn't that go to show you how ***** up the food industry is? The more complicated the food, the cheaper it is. The more wholesome, healthy and simple the food is, the more expensive. Basically, eating healthy is for people who can afford it. The rest of us live on those dollar menus. I've had some tough times in my life and I am very thankful for $1 salads and chicken sandwiches. It might not be the best, but when that's all one can afford, it is gold.
- MiamiRox, on 03/31/2008, -5/+13There are so many people using food stamps because apparently it's so easy to fraudulently acquire them.
Who the ***** is honestly approving these people? I know far too many low lives that get stamps, who don't really need them. - o0joshua0o, on 03/31/2008, -7/+15I tried to use food stamps once, but the food came back with the words "insufficient postage" written on it.
- karel747, on 03/31/2008, -5/+13Well, ***** me for going to school full time, working part time, paying all my expenses and having to eat food, with no help from the folks. Not all of us are privileged, you know...
- strafefire, on 03/31/2008, -5/+13FTA:"Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices..."
Many of the above digger comments:
"Get a job bitch"
"Stop living off my paycheck"
"Stop being lazy"
When is actuality, a lot of the people already had jobs, and lost THEM!
But, let's not pay attention to that part there. Nope, not at all, because EVERYONE that uses food stamps are incredibly lazy people, who don't do anything, and just mooch off of everyone in America. Nothing to see here people, turn around, just a bunch of lazy people who were laid off because their corporate fat cat bosses screwed the pooch accidentally [or purposely. You never know]. But they are ALL lazy, because they were laid off!
Some of the people on this site just disgust me.... - Acewrap, on 03/31/2008, -5/+13They're fat because they are too poor to afford a healthy diet. Crap food with empty calories is cheap.
- inactive, on 03/31/2008, -16/+23Spoken like a true liberal. Here's a thought, some of us poor, working, taxpaying people are sick of supporting free loading, lazy people who prefer to lay around on the couch watching Springer to getting up and looking for work. And before you get your lib-tard panties in a bunch, I'm not saying all people receiving government hand-outs fit this description but if you were to take a close look at those receiving hand-outs, you would find that most of them are more than capable of getting a job. Sure it may not be a glamorous job like they see on TV but it will be an honest wage earning job. And yes, some of them may need to get two jobs to support their lifestyle. Been there done that!
- slantyeyed, on 03/31/2008, -5/+12welfare and food stamps have been around BEFORE Bush . . . and will still be around after Bush leaves.
- Monk22, on 03/31/2008, -0/+6they sell them for half what they are worth (e. they sell a $100 book or whatever for $50) so they can buy crack about 2 blocks down from my house.
- karel747, on 03/31/2008, -3/+9Except socialism is an economical model, not a political one (e.g., democratic republic).
- SammyJr, on 03/31/2008, -2/+8***** food = big gut and nutrient starved. Its tragic when its cheaper to buy boxed crap rather than fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat.
- TimDigg, on 03/31/2008, -0/+6http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/worlds-fattest-co ...
income doesn't correlate to obesity, its all over the place really....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_ ...
I also think some nations tend to deal with obesity better as a genetic factor...ever notice somoans are usually obese...almost as a rule, but deal with it better than most americans could
In my personal situation, my health is inversely proportional to my income situation
the more money I make, the better I tend to eat, I'm less stressed, can afford a gym etc - Solstice, on 03/31/2008, -0/+6Except that most food stamp systems are chock full of fraud. There's always someone who will exchange food stamps for cash. It may be pennies on the dollar, but it's still cash to buy new shoes or a nail job.
- art42, on 03/31/2008, -0/+6"People can start out at community colleges..."
Gov't supported. Tuition does NOT cover the costs of community college. OMG SOCIALISM!!!! - inactive, on 03/31/2008, -4/+10selling out of AMERICA
Almost all of the American fortune 500 are now in China. two words: Cheap Labor. (also >10% annual growth)
Paying Americans American 1st world wages is now too much. Doesn't pay to study engineering now in the US when you have to compete with the cheaper wages of India and China. what does pay? Financial gambling stock market mumbo jumbo, Pharmaceuticals, and of course military.
America is in trouble. - TimDigg, on 03/31/2008, -0/+5its tough man, I agree with what you're saying, I think where libs worry though is the fact that there are probably FAR more lazy americans who HAVE jobs, that its irrelevant to complain about the poor
for example a buddy of mine who is a lazy sack of potatoes who gets jobs because they are given to him...well paying ones too, jobs he couldn't win if he really had to compete...
on one hand we really have some poor who are lazy, thing is we have probably the same proportion of middle-class, rich who JUST AS lazy...but have more luck, connections etc...
so sometimes its almost benign to say the poor are lazy especially when you have co-workers like I do who say "sorry I was 2 hours late, had to go to starbucks" "ok lets take a 2 hour lunch" "lets go home early".......all in the same day...everday for years
and then those same people complain that their taxes are too high and don't wanna pay for some lazy bum
I think Chomsky said it best "they try to teach, market discipline and hard work to the poor, yet the rich need safety nets and golden parachutes and welfare and all of that"
How come big banks get bailed out of making bad decisions, while your avg guy gets nothing for his bad decisions...
Why do you think most businesses operate in blue states?....because thats where all the welfare is...even though they pay higher taxes, they still make more money
the president of my old company said it best "would you rather make 50% of 10 million or 90% of 5 million"
and he's right... - inactive, on 03/31/2008, -3/+8I'll agree with you on that
- IronDonut, on 03/31/2008, -6/+11Well... we had a multi-year drunken debt based party. Now it's time for the hangover.
Rather than letting the .com bubble pop and deflate and let the economic imbalances self correct, the administration, Federal Reserve, and willing partners in the banking, mortgage, construction and real estate industries puffed up an even bigger bubble in real estate. - TooSquirrely, on 03/31/2008, -0/+5It's funny how everyone on digg "knows" people abusing food stamps. For such upstanding diggers you guys sure do associate with a lot of "low lives".
- inactive, on 03/31/2008, -2/+7ugh ugh ugh.. i don't understand where anyone on foodstamps would WASTE their money on that.. a single person gets $155 to last THE WHOLE MONTH... do you really think they are going to go buy the most expensive food on the list when that would mean they'd get to eat for 2 days?? whoever that person was.. they were either a complete idiot or they were lying and getting paid under the table
- Y2JCrisis, on 03/31/2008, -0/+5That is completely inaccurate. And food stamps and welfare are different on a state to state basis.
- karel747, on 03/31/2008, -1/+6And a cardiac attack at the age of 35.
- TimDigg, on 03/31/2008, -0/+5I agree with this scenario....here in DC we have tons of job fairs....not only that, but they are held on weekends so people can actually get to them....and wonderful public transit to boot
We always wanna say "I'd rather teach a man to fish than give him one"
yet....there are FAR more people giving out fish than people trying to teach people how to fish....maybe because we live in such a privledged society, many people who have fish don't know how to catch them
More job fairs, more job training, more trades....etc....immigration doesn't help though - ZenMojo, on 03/31/2008, -0/+4The vast majority of small businesses end in the first year, Sherlock. IT'S A RECESSION. Until someone proves otherwise, I am labeling everyone complaining about food stamps without a personal anecdote, unlike mlirbir, an idiot.
- Monk22, on 03/31/2008, -0/+4more likely they are being sold for cash more frequently. come to south city in st. louis, mo youll have any number of offers to buy foodstamps. i just tell them i already paid for them and your welcome. glad to see they are making a profit off my tax dollars.
- punchinelli, on 03/31/2008, -0/+4Some people need to get off the couch and get a job! Give an inch, they take a mile. When they decided to hang with the thugs because it was cooler than doing your homework, they ultimately decided to sit on the couch as an adult and reap the Food Stamps that I work hard for. We need to nip this in the bud and legalize crime! Let those criminals make MONEY off their wrongdoings! Then we'll all win.
- izackcarson, on 03/31/2008, -1/+5Have you ever heard of old people, the disabled, or minimum wage jobs? What to you propose to do for people who are poor?
- Griberal, on 03/31/2008, -2/+6So I guess the spin about illegal aliens only take jobs that "Americans won't do" is pure BS. These people that have been laid off and are now on food stamps can do these jobs that we're outsourcing to illegals. If you're hungry and without work, you can't be too picky about the job you take. Unless, of coarse, you have a government that will take money away from the people that are out working hard and give it to the people that are too good to do certain jobs.
- inactive, on 03/31/2008, -3/+7The primary difference between a liberal and a conservative is that a conservative is ok with himself for not giving a ***** about other people. They don't mind the government using socialist tactics to bail out corporations or spend billions on defense. Oh, but to help some people eat, to the conservative, that is like the crime of the century. Go find a ***** heart.
- inactive, on 03/31/2008, -3/+6Except it doesn't really work that way.
When I use to work in downtown Minneapolis I worked right next to the welfare office, the same place people would get their food stamps.
Many would stand out on the corner offering their food stamps for sale. They would try to sell you $100 worth of food stamps for $50. The police did nothing, the welfare office did nothing and people would buy them.
I believe they have gone to an electronic "benefits" system now but I am sure they have found ways to get cash out of that too.
Welfare is a great idea on paper but when it comes to practice it is exploited constantly. Most people on welfare are "single mothers" that have 9 kids. They won't get married because then they would lose their welfare. When they want a raise they just have another child, thus more "benefits".
The terrible part is that they tend to breed a habit. Their children grow up with no work ethic and eventually begin sucking off the welfare teet.
We need to reform welfare now so we can get the scammers out of the system so the people that genuinely need it can get a decent amount to live off of while they are in transition. - Derrekito, on 03/31/2008, -2/+5I have lived below the poverty line for most of my life. I have been on Medicade and food stamps. For as long as I live I hope to NEVER have to go through that again. Whenever I would get sick and have to miss school, I would be stuck in a state funded doctor's office and would wait for 8+ hours in the waiting room. ***** that. I'm sorry, but that's *****. Maybe we can through more money at the problem when the end goal is to kill people like me instead of helping them?
If 85% are really lying, then why isn't people like your wife trying to fix the ***** problem? Many people out there really need the help, and she just allows them to get through? Are there no audits in the system at all? Maybe we should merge her department with the IRS. - omegared, on 03/31/2008, -1/+4like the 17% of all children that live in the USA that live in poverty? Or do the rich that pay the same amount of social security as the middle class, and pay less tax?
- laughandsing, on 03/31/2008, -0/+3not $100 shoes/
- Y2JCrisis, on 03/31/2008, -0/+3And I'm sure nobody ever gave you anything. I'm sure you got no help from anyone. *****. There are very few people in this country who were able to put themselves through college and get a good enough job to support a family without help along the way.
- Y2JCrisis, on 03/31/2008, -2/+5Why do you say "socialism" like it's a dirty word? Sometimes a little socialism goes a long way.
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