With 47 Million Americans on Food Assistance, Congress Considers Cuts,vote next Monday

[Lady Freedom Returns]

Last edited Fri Jun 7, 2013, 06:05 PM - Edit history (2)

As the American people get sucked into scandal after scandal, Congress is slipping this by. Those on food stamps and work for peanuts are now looking at trouble they really don't need.

The Senate agreed today to move forward with a vote next Monday on a wide-ranging farm bill. More than three-quarters of the money for it, or about $760 billion over 10 years, would go toward food stamps, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. SNAP has grown in the wake of the recession. Roughly 47 million Americans, or about 15 percent of the population, receive assistance from it.

But now there's a push to cut back. The Senate bill would trim it slightly by $4 billion over 10 years. A version moving through the House would cut at least $20 billion, possibly more.

We look at all this now with Lori Silverbush. She's a filmmaker who produced the documentary, "A Place at the Table," which explores hunger in the United States. And Chris Edwards, he's director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute and he's editor of its downsizinggovernment.org website.

PLEASE WATCH and READ the transcript @ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/government_programs/jan-june13/foodstamps_06-06.html

[Lady Freedom Returns]

1. kick.

[Honeycombe8]

2. I'm getting tired of this.

Not tired of posts like this. Tired of cutting things for the poor and working class and even middle class, while fighting cuts and subsidies for corporations and the wealthy, and fighting fair tax increases.

Imagine it. Trying to justify taking food out of people's mouths AFTER A RECESSION THAT WAS CAUSED BY THE WEALTHY! Just at the time when the food is desperately needed. I'm frickin' tired of it, and I'm pissed off.

I don't wanna hear this crap come out of any politician's mouth again!

[Lady Freedom Returns]

4. Bad part is that they are voting either the 10th. or 17th.

If it is on the 10th., I don't think we can get enough to call their reps. and senators.

If it is the 17th. there would be a small window to get some action done.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

3. This needs to be looked at.

Many Americans are going to be hurt by this!

I'm not sure if it is the 10th. or the 17th. We may have time to call if it is the the 17th. If not many of our fellow Americans will start hurting.

This is going to be a slow "slaughter" of many working poor and working homeless. They are changing the qualifications, turning back the clock, and no one has changed the minimum wage to compensate. No one wants it to change.

Prices of food are up, but they want to use old numbers and say we are fine as a nation.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

9. yes

[Digit]

6. What ever happened to empathy?

Sad, very sad.

I can't imagine how many people will be impacted by this.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

7. From what I have been able to find out..

It will be a slow process. But the first on the list will be the working poor. They are wanting to push the clock back in the way they find a person eligible. All your belonging will come into question. The fact you have a job will come into question, not how much you make.

This whole thing is going to hurt more than it will help. Many will decide it is better not to try anymore. At lease that way they can eat.

[woo me with science]

8. Wanna take bets on the outcome? nt

[Cha]

10. K&R! thanks Lady

[sakabatou]

11. Death by a thousand cuts

[Knightraven]

12. +1

[freshwest]

13. Meanwhile the media dredged up anything they can to keep the public's eyes off this calamity.

I'm at the point where I no longer believe anyone cares about the poor, just their heroes that argue about stuff that doesn't make them suffer, while they ignore this as those people mean nothing at all.