Thread: USA becomes Food Stamp Nation but is it sustainable?

Obama Economy Fun Fact #1: American households are now receiving more money directly from the federal government than they are paying to the government in taxes. This has not happened since the Great Depression. Do you agree the Obama Economy is a failure?

Obama Economy Fun Fact #2: During Obama’s first term in office, the number of Americans on food stamps went up an average of 11,000 per day! Another example of Obama’s failed economic programs!

PUT ME IN CHARGE . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job. ...

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, or smoke, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common good.."

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Gov't subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov't welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

Now, if you have the guts - PASS IT ON...I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET THIS BACK, IF EVERYONE SENDS IT, I WILL GET OVER 220 BACK!!! I WOULD KNOW YOU SENT IT ON!!!

America's Debt Challenge
House bill would take 3.8 million off food stamps
By Jennifer Liberto @CNNMoney September 19, 2013: 12:34 PM ET

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) House Republicans on Thursday will take up a controversial bill cutting 3.8 million people from food stamp rolls next year by making it tougher for some families to qualify.

The bill would cut $40 billion from food stamps over the next decade, which would force about 14 million people from the program by 2023, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The bill would tighten the rules for getting into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which has seen enrollment soar with the struggling economy.

Some 47.6 million people, or nearly 15% of the population, get food stamps, according to September federal data. In 2007, only 26.3 million, or 8.7% of the population, got food stamps.

The average benefit is $133.19 per person each month.

The Obama administration said Wednesday it would veto the bill that trims 5% from the budget of food stamps budget. And Senate Democrats assure the bill won't get far in their chamber. "In the richest country in the world, 1 in 6 people are in danger of going to bed hungry tonight, and half of those people are children. But despite these sobering numbers -- and despite the difficult economic times -- House Republicans... are determined to gut the nutrition assistance program," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday.

But House Republicans say their bill makes reforms that would eliminate those who shouldn't be getting food stamps by closing "loopholes which have let people whose monetary resources are above eligibility standards into the program," according to a a memo from the Office of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Basically, it would cut benefits for "able-bodied adults" who aren't caring for children to only 3 months of food stamps during any 3-year period, unless they also work part-time or are in a job-training program.

The bill also scrubs a provision that gives states the option to allow some working families and seniors to get food stamps, even if they have a little more in total assets that allowed by the eligibility rules.

Early Thursday, it wasn't clear that Republicans had enough votes to pass the bill, with House Democrats opposed and some Republicans, particularly from rural areas, quietly questioning the bill.

Even if no changes are made in current law, in November food stamp benefits will drop for all beneficiaries by about $11 per person a month, when a recession-related boost to food stamps -- part of the 2009 stimulus package -- runs out. To top of page

http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/19/news...uts/index.html

Walmart Shelves Emptied in Food Stamp Shopping Spree
By SUSANNA KIM | Good Morning America – 1 hour 37 minutes ago

Louisiana officials are trying to decide what to do about a massive shopping spree by families on food stamps when a power outage lifted the caps on their spending cards. Police were called to Walmart locations in Mansfield, La., and Springhill, La., on Saturday as shoppers cleaned out store shelves.

Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd said some customers were pushing more food than any household could store in a refrigerator and freezer. "I saw people drag out eight to ten grocery carts," he said.

Lynd said customers were "not unruly." There were no fights or arrests made, but the scene was still chaotic, he said.

"It was definitely worse than Black Friday. It was worse than anything we had ever seen in this town," Lynd said of Springhill, which is near the border with Arkansas. "There was no food left on any of the shelves, and no meat left. The grocery part of Walmart was totally decimated."

He said one customer made about $700 in food purchases.

Lynd said that around 9 p.m. CT on Saturday, a Walmart employee made an announcement on the intercom saying that the computer system had been restored and card limits had returned. At that time, customers left shopping carts full of food in store aisles. "At that point in time, they knew the jig was up and they couldn't purchase what they wanted to," Lynd said.

In the Walmart store in Mansfield, about 80 miles south of Springhill, staff temporarily closed the store to new customers to prevent a fire hazard with the existing number of shoppers. Mansfield's chief of police Gary Hobbs said no arrests were made and there were no incidents besides customers "pushing and shoving." Hobbs said there were reports that customers were checking out with six to eight shopping carts, then returning later in the day to purchase more.

Unlike Walmart, other grocery stores in town told customers they would not accept EBT cards until the card limits were evident again, Hobbs said.

The Department of Agriculture, which administers the food stamp program, said the issue was not related to the government shutdown.

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services' spokesman Trey Williams said the agency is meeting today to discuss how to handle the issue.

The shopping frenzy was triggered when the Electronic Benefits Transfer system went down because a back-up generator failed at 11 a.m. EST Saturday during a regularly-scheduled test, according to Xerox, a vendor for the EBT system and based in Norwalk, Conn.

The outage allowed recipients to spend unlimited amounts of money because the spending limit was removed for their EBT cards.

The EBT system was affected in 17 states, where individuals and households access programs like Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and other programs. "The loss of power triggered a preventative shutdown of the EBT system to protect its overall integrity," according to a statement from Xerox spokesman Kevin Lightfoot. "While the system was restored within 22 minutes, the network experienced connectivity issues until our technical staff were able to re-establish full access just before 10 p.m. EST."

Lynd said the Springhill Walmart store manager called police on Saturday morning to ask for advice over crowd control. When he arrived, Lynd told the Walmart staff that they had the right to refuse service if they chose to, but Walmart's corporate office advised the store to allow customers to purchase what they wanted with the cards.

A spokeswoman for Walmart, Kayla Whaling, said the frenzied shopping in Louisiana "was isolated and is not representative of the what our stores experienced across the country."

Xerox said that it continues to "investigate the cause of the issue so we can take steps to ensure a similar interruption does not re-occur."

A spokeswoman for Xerox, Jennifer Wasmer, said, "If there is an EBT system outage, there is an agreed and documented process for retailers to follow. The process includes a 'per cardholder, per day' spending limit that is set at a state level."

In Louisiana, the limit is $50 per cardholder per day, she said. "The emergency process allows retailers to meet the critical food needs of cardholders even if the system is temporarily down," she said.

When asked about reports that Walmart customers were spending hundreds of dollars more than their account limits, Wasmer said ABC News would have to speak to retailers. Walmart did not respond to a question about whether its Louisiana stores imposed a $50 limit.

http://gma.yahoo.com/walmart-shelves...opstories.html



Walmart to Get Stuck With Most of Food Stamp Shopping Spree
Oct. 14, 2013

A couple of Louisiana Walmart stores will be stuck with most of the bill after food stamp recipients went on a colossal shopping spree when a power outage temporarily lifted their spending limits, state officials said today.

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services' spokesman Trey Williams said the retailers who chose not to use the emergency procedures that limit sales up to $50 per cardholder during an emergency would be responsible for any additional amount spent over eligible benefit balances.

Following the policy clarification by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Walmart told ABCNews.com the incident was "isolated" and the company doesn't believe it had any material impact to its U.S. business.

The shopping frenzy was triggered when the Electronic Benefits Transfer system went down because a back-up generator failed at 11 a.m. EST Saturday during a regularly-scheduled test, according to Xerox, a vendor for the EBT system and based in Norwalk, Conn.

The bill could be a sizeable one for Walmart.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/walma...ry?id=20563982

Our Chief Strategist talked food stamps on Fox Business and said something surprising. Click here to watch: http://www.tpnn.com/black-tea-party-...-massas-table/

Food stamp benefits to be cut next week
Friday, October 25, 2013 - 8:34pm

UNITED STATES — Millions of Americans who rely on food stamps will soon see a change in benefits. Starting next Friday, food stamp benefits will be cut. More than 47 million people currently receive food stamps, which is about 15 percent of the U.S. population – that’s up from 8.7 percent in 2007.

The average benefit per person now stands at a little over $133 a month. That amount will be reduced. All total, the cuts add up to $5 billion. Congress can halt the decision but, it's unlikely.

http://www.nbc33tv.com/news/local-ne...benefits-to-be

great story ... zero details... no information....