Blessed Are The Poor ...
... for they shall go hungry.
Watching America had plenty of interesting stuff up this weekend, but the article which grabbed me did so because it alerted me to something we haven't heard much about here in the US. It has to do with another instance of the Republican's destruction of the social safety net.
From the U.K.'s Guardian:
With the latest set of proposals, "belt tightening" will have a very literal meaning for millions of Americans as Republicans in Congress have now proposed cutting and radically restructuring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (Snap) – the programme more commonly known as food stamps – despite record numbers of people presently on the rolls. Without question, these cuts and changes would prove devastating for many of those to whom food stamps represent a last line of defence against hunger. ...
In March 2011, a record 44.5 million Americans received food stamps, which was an 11.1% increase over the year before. Even more illustrative of the profound impact the economic recession has had on poor and working-class Americans is the fact that this represents a 64% increase over the number of recipients in March 2008. [Emphasis added]
Yes, House Republicans have gone after another program intended to help the poor and are doing so at a time when it is desperately needed. We heard plenty about Paul Ryan's plan to dismantle Medicare, but our press has been curiously silent about this attack on an important program, one that was intended by FDR, first, and LBJ, later, to assist people to even make it to old age.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republican and House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" budget proposes deep cuts to Snap, and even more fundamental changes to how it is administered:
"[P]rogrammes that subsidise food and housing for low-income Americans remain dysfunctional, and their explosive growth is threatening the overall strength of the safety net."
His plan would turn Snap into a block grant programme in 2015 (along with Medicare, starting 2013), meaning the funds would be delivered to the individual states with only loose stipulations about how they are to be used. The belief is that this improves flexibility and promotes innovation and creativity in the delivery of federal funds. But coupled with Republicans' intention to slash Snap by 20% over the next ten years – or $127bn, as the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities calculates – Ryan's plan could leave millions in danger of going hungry. [Emphasis added]
Pass me my pitchfork.
Watching America had plenty of interesting stuff up this weekend, but the article which grabbed me did so because it alerted me to something we haven't heard much about here in the US. It has to do with another instance of the Republican's destruction of the social safety net.
From the U.K.'s Guardian:
With the latest set of proposals, "belt tightening" will have a very literal meaning for millions of Americans as Republicans in Congress have now proposed cutting and radically restructuring the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (Snap) – the programme more commonly known as food stamps – despite record numbers of people presently on the rolls. Without question, these cuts and changes would prove devastating for many of those to whom food stamps represent a last line of defence against hunger. ...
In March 2011, a record 44.5 million Americans received food stamps, which was an 11.1% increase over the year before. Even more illustrative of the profound impact the economic recession has had on poor and working-class Americans is the fact that this represents a 64% increase over the number of recipients in March 2008. [Emphasis added]
Yes, House Republicans have gone after another program intended to help the poor and are doing so at a time when it is desperately needed. We heard plenty about Paul Ryan's plan to dismantle Medicare, but our press has been curiously silent about this attack on an important program, one that was intended by FDR, first, and LBJ, later, to assist people to even make it to old age.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republican and House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" budget proposes deep cuts to Snap, and even more fundamental changes to how it is administered:
"[P]rogrammes that subsidise food and housing for low-income Americans remain dysfunctional, and their explosive growth is threatening the overall strength of the safety net."
His plan would turn Snap into a block grant programme in 2015 (along with Medicare, starting 2013), meaning the funds would be delivered to the individual states with only loose stipulations about how they are to be used. The belief is that this improves flexibility and promotes innovation and creativity in the delivery of federal funds. But coupled with Republicans' intention to slash Snap by 20% over the next ten years – or $127bn, as the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities calculates – Ryan's plan could leave millions in danger of going hungry. [Emphasis added]
Pass me my pitchfork.
Labels: General Welfare, Poverty
posted by Diane at 11:00 AM
3 Comments:
Just like (wingnut) Jesus said.
~
But we continue to pour billions into wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, and probably Somalia.
Our cities are falling apart, our people go hungry and sick and we have no money...
Not just a pitchfork... a RUSTY pitchfork.
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