Food Stamps to be drastically cut in the US

[Coito ergo sum]

I still think you should try it, post pics of your meals. You've nothing to lose but your beer belly....

I have 24-pack abs, I'll have you know.

[pErvinalia]

My wife is a recently sworn in US citizen, and she is very patriotic about it. She loves the US, memorized the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, and likes the flag and such. It's a bit quaint. Well, she ordered a new credit card from these companies that will give you some sort of image or pattern on the card. The one she wanted was an American flag. She later learned that the EBT card has the American flag on it, and she turned in her credit card for a new one because of the embarrassment of being thought to be using EBT. She's a great gal. Came to the US and made it by digging it out, making her own breaks, learning, working hard, getting it done. I am so proud of her. She's worse than me when it comes to the government benefits scammers. She sees how many immigrants scam the system for free stuff and it rightly pisses her off -- she played by the rules, filed all her taxes, did all the right things, and has always been ineligible for anything from the government. Lazy-asses and under the table scammers take advantage, and are handed almost blank checks.

Here we go. More nasty moralising from conservatives. The fucking rich skim more off the system than the poor. I'm so sick of conservatives losing their shit over this. Fuck off, the lot of you.

Just wanted to apologise for dragging your wife into this. I really do hate conservatives, but I shouldn't have stated that so strongly in a post that was largely personal.

Well, I'm not a conservative, and I'm opposed to the rich scamming the system more than the poor. I've said so in other threads, but this thread is about food stamps.

Just because Solyndra makes off with billions doesn't mean that it's o.k. for people who don't need food stamps to scam the system.

The thing is, these people largely lead miserable lives. You and other conservatives who don't understand psychology would want us all to believe that they choose to lead miserable lives. But that's nonsense. It's one form of the stupid moralising I am referring to. Ultimately, it comes down to what it's worth getting outraged by. Is it really worth, and just, getting outraged that a tiny percent of poor people rort the system, while they really aren't the real problem in our societies? I say it's not. A number of less conservative people like yourself might just feel it is worth it. Fair enough, I suppose. But most conservatives are fear and hate driven by things outside their comfort zone. They aren't thinking about this rationally. They are reacting with misplaced emotion. And to boot, a large number of them are probably religious twits, who couldn't think rationally about the majority of non immediately life-threatening events. They are essentially hate mongers, and they can all fucking die in a meteor strike for all I care about them.

[Coito ergo sum]

My wife is a recently sworn in US citizen, and she is very patriotic about it. She loves the US, memorized the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, and likes the flag and such. It's a bit quaint. Well, she ordered a new credit card from these companies that will give you some sort of image or pattern on the card. The one she wanted was an American flag. She later learned that the EBT card has the American flag on it, and she turned in her credit card for a new one because of the embarrassment of being thought to be using EBT. She's a great gal. Came to the US and made it by digging it out, making her own breaks, learning, working hard, getting it done. I am so proud of her. She's worse than me when it comes to the government benefits scammers. She sees how many immigrants scam the system for free stuff and it rightly pisses her off -- she played by the rules, filed all her taxes, did all the right things, and has always been ineligible for anything from the government. Lazy-asses and under the table scammers take advantage, and are handed almost blank checks.

Here we go. More nasty moralising from conservatives. The fucking rich skim more off the system than the poor. I'm so sick of conservatives losing their shit over this. Fuck off, the lot of you.

Just wanted to apologise for dragging your wife into this. I really do hate conservatives, but I shouldn't have stated that so strongly in a post that was largely personal.

Well, I'm not a conservative, and I'm opposed to the rich scamming the system more than the poor. I've said so in other threads, but this thread is about food stamps.

Just because Solyndra makes off with billions doesn't mean that it's o.k. for people who don't need food stamps to scam the system.

The thing is, these people largely lead miserable lives. You and other conservatives who don't understand psychology would want us all to believe that they choose to lead miserable lives. But that's nonsense. It's one form of the stupid moralising I am referring to. Ultimately, it comes down to what it's worth getting outraged by. Is it really worth, and just, getting outraged that a tiny percent of poor people rort the system, while they really aren't the real problem in our societies? I say it's not. A number of less conservative people like yourself might just feel it is worth it. Fair enough, I suppose. But most conservatives are fear and hate driven by things outside their comfort zone. They aren't thinking about this rationally. They are reacting with misplaced emotion. And to boot, a large number of them are probably religious twits, who couldn't think rationally about the majority of non immediately life-threatening events. They are essentially hate mongers, and they can all fucking die in a meteor strike for all I care about them.

Here is where you are wrong. Those scamming the system don't "largely lead miserable lives." You're not understanding what goes on.

I'm not conservative, so stop calling me that.

I have never suggested people "choose" to lead miserable lives. Although there is quite a bit of psychology behind self-destructive behavior that accounts for why people keep engaging in the same destructive behaviors over and over again. That being said - again - I never asked you to believe that people "choose to lead miserable lives." So fuck off with that. If you're addressing that to some general "conservatives do this or that" then don't address it to me as if I said it.

I'm not "outraged" by either one. This is thread about food stamps. So, coming out against food stamp theft is not me rolling in on a crusade about food stamp fraud.

And, as far as irrational people go, and overly emotional people go, they seem to cut across lines. A lot of them are scumbags who sit home collecting the dole doing nothing and complaining about the injustice of the world while feigning "disabilities." But, that's not anything I was referring to. I was referring to those that scammed the food stamp system.

So, I'm against food stamp theft and fraud. Aren't you? Can we agree on that? Or, are you in favor of allowing people who aren't considered "wealthy" to defraud the government benefit system?

[tattuchu]

How can someone eat on $10 a week?

Here is a list of groceries that can be purchased for approximately $10.

1. Baking Powder (MYO!)
2. Eggs
3. Flour
4. Fruits (on sale)
5. Hamburger
6. Rice or Ramen Noodles
7. Margarine
8. Milk
9. Potatoes
10. Salt
11. Vegetables (on sale)
12. Tuna (1 or 2 cans)

By Liss Burnell © 2001

This list is outdated. In the article, the author mentions splitting a twenty dollar bill between gas and groceries. With today's prices, ten dollars is less than three gallons of gas. That's not a week's worth of gas. As for this list, one dozen eggs costs three dollars at my local grocery and one gallon of milk is four dollars, I think. Not sure on the milk. I get Stonyfield Farms milk which is more like four dollars a half gallon. Anyway, milk and eggs, and maybe two cans of tuna if you're lucky. That's ten bucks with today's prices.

I'm getting fifty bucks a week, as I said. That seems generous to me, but I forgot to factor in meat. My freezer has been full of meat since I had stocked up months ago, so I haven't had to buy any with my food stamps. Meat is very expensive. Still, I'm sure I could get by on, say, forty dollars a week without too much trouble. I think I'm a pretty smart shopper. The thing that kills you, oftentimes, are the non-food items. Razors, shaving cream, soap, TP, trash bags, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, that sort of things, essential household items that aren't covered by SNAP.

So I have no problem trimming the budget a little, and I certainly have no problem eliminating fraud whenever possible. I think the broader issue, though, is, why do so many people need to get on food stamps to survive?

[Coito ergo sum]

Sure, but the list of foods above can still be managed by about $10/week. All that stuff at Wal-Mart is very cheap. I'm telling you, there are dirt cheap foods out there. But, the larger point is beyond the exactitude of $10. It may be $12 now, or $15. The point is that there is a lot of opportunity out there for savings.

[Warren Dew]

In any event, it matters not: It would be grossly unhealthy, and therefore doesn't count. Even "primitive" hunter-gatherers would have a much better diet than that.

"Primitive" hunter gatherers have a diet much healthier than almost anyone in the industrialized world. That's why their teeth are perfect, they don't get cancer or diabetes, etc.

Eating a "primitive" hunter gatherer diet is also extremely expensive in the western world, because of the cost of fully pastured meats, fresh vegetables, etc., and the complete lack of cheap staples like bread and potatoes. I don't think it's reasonable to expect people on food stamps to be able to eat a diet that the upper middle class can't afford.

Their teeth are perfect because they die before the age of 40. The diabetes I will give you because the rate of diabetes is directly linked to obesity. Cancer, of course, doesn't occur in as many instances when people die earlier, and also they don't have a good system of record-keeping of diagnoses in hunter-gatherer communities. They still die of evil spirits.

Their average life expectancy is low due to high child mortality, which is in turn due to lack of antibiotics, not due to dietary factors. If they live to 20, they have a good chance of living to 60 - certainly enough do to identify differences like good teeth.

And since when do 40 year olds have perfect teeth in the western world? Most peoples' teeth are full of cavities by then.

Eating a primitive hunter gatherer diet is impossible in the western world, at least if you're going to buy anything at the store. But, it's easy if you become a hobo and head out into the wild and hunt and gather.

Where is this "wild" you talk about? Not much of it left in the western world, and if you hunt the larger game that primitive hunter gatherers would, the game wardens will soon arrest you.

[tattuchu]

Sure, but the list of foods above can still be managed by about $10/week. All that stuff at Wal-Mart is very cheap. I'm telling you, there are dirt cheap foods out there. But, the larger point is beyond the exactitude of $10. It may be $12 now, or $15. The point is that there is a lot of opportunity out there for savings.

Yeah, lots of folks don't know how to shop wisely, and don't know how to cook for that matter either. My hex roommate for instance bought nothing but prepared prepackaged meals. He bought pre-made individually wrapped pancakes for god's sake, and pancakes are about the easiest (and cheapest) thing to make in the world. Another example, the college age girls who come in and help take care of my sister. They are absolutely gobsmacked when they see my mother doing things like making cookies, as if they didn't know such a thing was possible!

[Coito ergo sum]

In any event, it matters not: It would be grossly unhealthy, and therefore doesn't count. Even "primitive" hunter-gatherers would have a much better diet than that.

"Primitive" hunter gatherers have a diet much healthier than almost anyone in the industrialized world. That's why their teeth are perfect, they don't get cancer or diabetes, etc.

Eating a "primitive" hunter gatherer diet is also extremely expensive in the western world, because of the cost of fully pastured meats, fresh vegetables, etc., and the complete lack of cheap staples like bread and potatoes. I don't think it's reasonable to expect people on food stamps to be able to eat a diet that the upper middle class can't afford.

Their teeth are perfect because they die before the age of 40. The diabetes I will give you because the rate of diabetes is directly linked to obesity. Cancer, of course, doesn't occur in as many instances when people die earlier, and also they don't have a good system of record-keeping of diagnoses in hunter-gatherer communities. They still die of evil spirits.

Their average life expectancy is low due to high child mortality, which is in turn due to lack of antibiotics, not due to dietary factors. If they live to 20, they have a good chance of living to 60 - certainly enough do to identify differences like good teeth.

And since when do 40 year olds have perfect teeth in the western world? Most peoples' teeth are full of cavities by then.

Not just infant mortality. A hunter-gatherer doesn't have a doctor to go to, and dies of a toothache or fractured bone, which gets infected. He doesn't have antibiotics or vaccinations, and dies in his 20s and 30s of a variety of diseases, ailments and accidents along the way. He lives a more labor intensive lifestyle, and therefore has more risk.

As for teeth --

Eating a primitive hunter gatherer diet is impossible in the western world, at least if you're going to buy anything at the store. But, it's easy if you become a hobo and head out into the wild and hunt and gather.

Where is this "wild" you talk about? Not much of it left in the western world, and if you hunt the larger game that primitive hunter gatherers would, the game wardens will soon arrest you.

Montana, Idaho, Washington State, North Dakota, South Dakota, most of Canada, Alaska, Wyoming..... plenty of room to walk about, hunt and gather. Plenty of deer and other animals all over.

But, the thing is, what is called the paleo or primitive diet these days is not what such people actually ate. http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... really-eat

[Tyrannical]

What about something like this?

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/augason-fa ... ction=push


This is currently a niche product now so the $675 price per year is high. If food aid was shipped out like this to millions we could do it very cheaply.

[Coito ergo sum]

We could always just go "to each according to his need..."

[pErvinalia]

And, as far as irrational people go, and overly emotional people go, they seem to cut across lines. A lot of them are scumbags who sit home collecting the dole doing nothing and complaining about the injustice of the world while feigning "disabilities."

You really are a bigoted cuntbag. I'd seriously smash your fucking face in if I ever saw you in person.

So, I'm against food stamp theft and fraud. Aren't you? Can we agree on that?

Did you read what I wrote? No you didn't. Just like you never do. As i said, I don't have a problem with a tiny percentage of poor people skimming the system. The real problems in society are at the top end. No poor person gets judged by me for trying to survive a little better while ever the real thieves in society get away with their theft unpunished (or insufficiently punished).

[pErvinalia]

Iraq Veteran on Food Stamps Writes Letter to “Caring” Conservatives

Some people measure a society’s condition by the lifestyles of the rich and famous — and those people are usually the rich and famous. For the rest of humanity, a society’s success is measured by the living conditions of the poorest. And who exactly the “poorest” are.

This letter, posted on September 19th by a combat veteran named Jason, speaks volumes of what American poverty looks like on the side streets of our society, and of the people who sleep on them.

“My name is Jason. I turned 35 less than a week ago. My first job was maintenance work at a public pool when I was 17. I worked 40-hours a week while I was in college. I’ve never gone longer than six months without employment in my life and I just spent the last three years in the military, one of which consisted of a combat tour of Afghanistan.

Oh, and I’m now on food stamps. Since June, as a matter of fact.

Why am I on food stamps?

The same reason everyone on food stamps is on food stamps: because I would very much enjoy not starving.

I mean, if that’s okay with you:

…Mr. or Mrs. Republican congressman.

…Mr. or Mrs. Conservative commentator.

…Mr. or Mrs. “welfare queen” letter-to-the-editor author.

…Mr. or Mrs. “fiscal conservative, reason-based” libertarian.

I do apologize for burdening you on the checkout line with real-life images of American-style poverty. I know you probably believe the only true starving people in the world have flies buzzing around their eyes while they wallow away, near-lifeless in gutters.

Hate to burst the bubble, but those people don’t live in this country.

I do. And millions like me. Millions of people in poverty who fall into three categories.

Let’s call them the “lucky” category, since conservatives seem to think people on welfare have hit some sort of jackpot:

Those living paycheck to paycheck? They’re a little lucky.

Those living unemployment check to unemployment check? They’re a little luckier.

Those living 2nd of the month to 2nd of the month? *ding* We’ve hit the jackpot!

The 2nd of the month being the time when funds gets electronically deposited onto the EBT card, [at least in NY] for those who’ve never been fortunate enough to hit that $175/month Powerball.

I fall into the latter two categories. But I’ve known people recently - soldiers in the Army – who were in the first and third. They were off fighting in Afghanistan while their wives were at home, buying food at the on-post commissary with food stamps.

And nobody bats an eye there, because it’s not uncommon in the military.

It’s not uncommon – nor is it shameful. It might be shameful how little service-members are paid, but that’s a separate issue.

The fact remains anyone at a certain income level can find it difficult from time to time to pay for everything. And when you’re poor you learn to make sacrifices. Food shouldn’t be one of them.

The whole concept is un-American. People living here, in the greatest country on Earth, with the most abundant resources, should be forced to go hungry because of the intellectual notion of fiscal conservatism and the ideological notion of self-reliance.

Are you fucking kidding me?

I didn’t risk my life in Afghanistan so I could come back and watch people go hungry in America. I certainly didn’t risk it so *I* could come back and go hungry.

Anyone who genuinely supports cutting food stamps is not an intellectual or an ideologue – they’re a bully.

http://aattp.org/iraq-veteran-food-stam ... ervatives/

[pErvinalia]

Sure, but the list of foods above can still be managed by about $10/week. All that stuff at Wal-Mart is very cheap. I'm telling you, there are dirt cheap foods out there. But, the larger point is beyond the exactitude of $10. It may be $12 now, or $15. The point is that there is a lot of opportunity out there for savings.

Yeah, lots of folks don't know how to shop wisely, and don't know how to cook for that matter either. My hex roommate for instance bought nothing but prepared prepackaged meals. He bought pre-made individually wrapped pancakes for god's sake, and pancakes are about the easiest (and cheapest) thing to make in the world. Another example, the college age girls who come in and help take care of my sister. They are absolutely gobsmacked when they see my mother doing things like making cookies, as if they didn't know such a thing was possible!

I don't know what it's like in the US, but outside of bigger towns in Oz, food is WAY more expensive. So it's not always going to be a case of heading to your nearest superstore to get cheap shit. Some people don't have that option.

[Coito ergo sum]

And, as far as irrational people go, and overly emotional people go, they seem to cut across lines. A lot of them are scumbags who sit home collecting the dole doing nothing and complaining about the injustice of the world while feigning "disabilities."

You really are a bigoted cuntbag. I'd seriously smash your fucking face in if I ever saw you in person.

Unprovoked personal attack. Look, there are scumbags who scam the system. Just because you want to pretend they don't exist doesn't make me a bigot.

i'm sick of your garbage. Go fuck off, why don't you?

Look at the shit you say about conservatives. You "hate" them. You make stereotypical generalizations all the time. And, you claim I'm a bigot because I oppose people who scam the system? Fuck the fuck off.

So, I'm against food stamp theft and fraud. Aren't you? Can we agree on that?

Did you read what I wrote? No you didn't. Just like you never do. As i said, I don't have a problem with a tiny percentage of poor people skimming the system. The real problems in society are at the top end. No poor person gets judged for trying to survive a little better while ever the real thieves in society get away with their theft unpunished (or insufficiently punished).

You have no idea what you're talking about. It's not a small percentage that scam the food stamp system in the US. The system is rife with abuse, both in fraudulent applications and misuse of the funds once they're received.

And, you're the one who falsely accused me of not caring if rich people scam the system. I do, yet you constantly pretend that I don't. This thread is not about the rich people scamming the system. This is about the food stamp system.

[pErvinalia]

And, as far as irrational people go, and overly emotional people go, they seem to cut across lines. A lot of them are scumbags who sit home collecting the dole doing nothing and complaining about the injustice of the world while feigning "disabilities."

You really are a bigoted cuntbag. I'd seriously smash your fucking face in if I ever saw you in person.

Unprovoked personal attack. Look, there are scumbags who scam the system. Just because you want to pretend they don't exist doesn't make me a bigot.

i'm sick of your garbage. Go fuck off, why don't you?

Look at the shit you say about conservatives. You "hate" them. You make stereotypical generalizations all the time. And, you claim I'm a bigot because I oppose people who scam the system? Fuck the fuck off.

You are a bigot because you attack disabled people and generally get frothy about anyone who is disadvantaged, like the obvious conservative you are. And my personal attack was most certainly not unprovoked. How stupid do you think we are? When the fuck are you going to man up for the shithouse things you say? You are a big fucking skirt. And by the sounds of your wife, I bet you hide behind her when an argument gets heated. Man up.

Regarding me attacking conservatives, they are that way by choice. UNLIKE people with disabilities and a lot of poor people. You are a scumbag of the lowest kind. I actually hope I get to meet you one day.

So, I'm against food stamp theft and fraud. Aren't you? Can we agree on that?

Did you read what I wrote? No you didn't. Just like you never do. As i said, I don't have a problem with a tiny percentage of poor people skimming the system. The real problems in society are at the top end. No poor person gets judged for trying to survive a little better while ever the real thieves in society get away with their theft unpunished (or insufficiently punished).

You have no idea what you're talking about. It's not a small percentage that scam the food stamp system in the US. The system is rife with abuse, both in fraudulent applications and misuse of the funds once they're received.

So you keep saying, shock jock style. Where's your evidence that shows that it is "rife"? And what sorts of money are we talking about here? How does that level of money stack up to the trillions stuffed offshore by the rich in tax havens? How does it stack up to the disaster that some financial organisations have reeked on individuals and the whole fucking economy?

And, you're the one who falsely accused me of not caring if rich people scam the system. I do, yet you constantly pretend that I don't. This thread is not about the rich people scamming the system. This is about the food stamp system.

Your narrative on the board is conservative to the core. Attack the poor and disadvantaged out of proportion to the way you attack the rich(er). I don't know who you think you are kidding. Everyone knows you are a conservative. How many people do you need to tell you that you are one before you man up and just admit that you are one?