Food Stamps

Our wars are wrong, but nobody is willing to make the changes in their lives to stop consuming oil. People are selfish consumers who have no love for other living things. End our wars, change our culture and feed and educate and love each other.

Our wars are wrong, but nobody is willing to make the changes in their lives to stop consuming oil. People are selfish consumers who have no love for other living things. End our wars, change our culture and feed and educate and love each other.

Problem is, Jamison, the ballgame mentality that makes people support a team as long as it seems to be winning. As long as the US seems to be "winning" wars and kicking butt all over the globe, people can shout "we're number one" and keep supporting the MIlitary-Industrial-Congressional-Media complex that is ruining their lives.

When the US military gets its butt kicked by tackling a strong opponent (Iran, Russia, China), people will stop mindlessly supporting endless wars that are bankrupting us as a country.

Heck, even suggesting that the US will have its military butt handed to it if it tackles Iran, Russia, or China will bring the hawks out in droves, ready to go to war to prove you wrong.

I don't think that's true. If we lost a war it would change nothing, except we'd gut the life of our country.

Holy smokes. talk about abuse. .. We already had one poster implode and 'quit the board (which is probalbly a good thing, since the overall tone of "VI now" is kinder and gentier since her firey departure). ... I fing it very strange that people come on here and write horrible things that they would nver dare say to thier nieghbor's face.

No worries, blu, still pop in every few days to see what's going and it's always such a pleasure to read more of your exaggerated negativity. To correct your latest dig, I did not either "implode" or make a "firey departure" but made a calm and measured exit primarily because of personal attacks from such as yourself which continued unabated. Since I've contributed for so many years I felt it only proper to give my reason for doing so. I too, "fing it very strange that people come on here and write horrible things that they would nver dare say to thier nieghbor's face."

Yeah oldtart kind of like when you said you were at the DTA and the people that were abusing the system stuck out like sore thumbs....would you say that to their face? Do you really find it that strange?

As soon as you were gone we met cityguy here on the forum. You two are like two peas in a pod....it was almost like you were replaced on the forum with someone exactly like you.....even to the point that when asked to back up things that he said he would dissapear just like you.....

Our wars are wrong, but nobody is willing to make the changes in their lives to stop consuming oil. People are selfish consumers who have no love for other living things. End our wars, change our culture and feed and educate and love each other.

That's not entirely true. Many consumers are opting for a less pretroleum based life style. Installing solar pannels and driving hybrid cars are just two examples.
Make no mistake, the war is/was/and will continue to be about oil. Our support of isreal is about oil too.

good grief, can't you guys give it a break. there are a few that seem to find pleasure in baiting others for their own enjoyment. ot did nothing wrong. jeeze, just leave it alone already.

gringoli,
Back up what, my statements were and are facts that had been proven. I didn't go anywhere, just got tired of your silly antics and endless hypotheses. How many more "What If's" could you come up with????????:S

I believe SNAP is important!

Nice insertion. Maybe I'm the only one who clicked on the link, and I agree totally in the importance of this SNAP organization. Anyone in a position of influence who abuses children should be first against the wall when the revolution comes - celebrities to the front of the line of course. Not that this has anything to do with food stamps, or the rampant speculation as to why we've never seen cityguy and oldtart in the same room, but important none the less. 😎

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/17/usa-foodstamps-idUSL1E9CH2YI20130117

I agree food stamps are important, but they should be to help you get back on your feet, not as a way of life. We are all a corporate buy out from the unemployment line and food stamps. I was behind a guy the other day at Pueblo buying his groceries who reeked of weed. Really?!?! Dude maybe if you gave up the weed you could afford food. If you requre food stamps a drug test sould be mandatory.

The issue we are having here in VT is people will sell their EBT cards for cash. Same as it was with food stamps. 300 in EBT for 150. We have had a few get caught but they never revoke their benefits.
I got assistance when my daughter was born. At the time minimum wage was 4.10 here. I worked at the grand union and IBM plus guard weekends and still needed food stamps. But I worked and stopped getting them when my income went up.
But as far as making g random drug tests mandatory, you will spend more on testing than it is worth. Spending billions more to catch the few who abuse the system is even more of a waste of tax dollars. You won't save money, you will spend much more. Waste of time and resources.

I agree about the drug testing, it should be required. The problem with the logic of how much it will cost is people always assume that everyone who gets food stamps will be tested.

First of all, there is no reason the govt cant get those instant pee tests for aroud 50 cents a piece.

Now its not going to be 50 million people being tested, just the adults. I am not sure of the exact number of familes on food stamps but lets say 15 million.

Now remember that many of the people who are doing drugs WILL NOT SHOW UP FOR THE TEST. So if they are using drugs its a win win. We dont have to pay for the test and they also lose benefits.

Now let the naysayers start saying "why should the children suffer because of what the parents do blah blah blah" Its to bad Oldtart isnt around anymore, at least in name anyway.

FOOD STAMPS------THE THREAD THAT WONT DIE!

Also, people sell their food stamps here too.......

You're right about the tests. They could use the cheap dip strips. But as a govt employee I can pretty much assure that they wouldn't go with the cheapest way. They will use the same old expensive tests that run about $150.00 a test. I don't disagree that it should be done. But the govt won't do it in a fiscally responsible way. The last report I saw estimated that a third or more of the US population are now receiving some sort of public assistance. It didn't mention what types, so could be unemployment SSI or SSDI etc. But something has to be done to improve the system for the folks who truly need it. Public works projects for the unemployed. It worked in the thirties, why not now?

Social Security isn't "government assistance". People paid into it and when needed, take their money back (retirement or disability). The issue is too many people are given SS when they didn't pay into it. It really annoys me that for 30 years I've been paying into it but by the time I'm able to retire it probably won't be there for me.
Sorry, just hits a sore spot for me when people call it "government assistance".

I realize it isn't assistance . The article didn't specify what every program was. It just stated that's the amount of people drawing money from the govt. ]And no, it probably won't be there even though we pay in tens of thousands of dollars to a system designed to make retirement a little easier to attain. It's sickening that the Govt "borrows" our money with no plan in place to pay it back. But you better believe when you owe them 10¢ they are right there with hands open and waiting for or back. My apologies it came across that way.

No worries...like I said it's just a sore spot with me! I could have done much better (and have with my investments) if I'd been allowed to keep the money I earned and apply it to my retirement. By the way, when it was started was never to have been touched or used for anything but Social Security payments and might (might) still be viable if it had been left that way.

In fact, if it had never been touched and invested properly the monthly payments would have been much more than they are currently. I work in Military logistics which closely mirrors the Federal way of spending. It isn"t pretty they way we spend. At some point they will have to start finding new solutions. Unfortunately once they do it will still be the middle class supporting the brunt of it.
makes me wonder why we are STILL giving 100's of billions in foreign aid to countries that would rather we withered and died.

Oh Good morning before I forget.

A SNAP story that you've got to love.

"Though he attended college and trained as a recording engineer, Greenslate prefers bunking rent-free in dwellings of his friends, family, and occasionally girlfriends, not holding a steady job, and jamming on some tunes while barbequing lobster and noshing on sushi “all paid for by our wonderful tax dollars.”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/08/12/why-does-this-beach-bum-spend-your-tax-dollars-so-he-can-surf-drink-and-score-free-food-year-round-because-its-awesome/

"Jason Greenslate, a surfer and musician who used to work as a recording engineer but now takes food stamps, described his happy lifestyle this way to Fox News: 'Wake up, go down to the beach, hang out with my friends, hit on some chicks, start drinking'.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/12/california-dreaming-food-stamp-man-finds-life-wond/

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Injunction Halting Florida's Drug Testing of Welfare Applicants

If he only had some of that Microsoft money that's headquartered in offshore accounts, tax free! Dude could be eatin'
Filet Mignon and sippin' champagne!!! GOD Bless America !!!

U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Injunction Halting Florida's Drug Testing of Welfare Applicants

Thank you for bringing up the article I am not sure if it mentioned the statistics.I will post this one as well. http://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-racial-justice/just-we-suspected-florida-saved-nothing-drug-testing-welfare

_____________
"In the four months that Florida's law was in place, the state drug tested 4,086 TANF applicants. A mere 108 individuals tested positive. To put it another way, only 2.6 percent of applicants tested positive for illegal drugs — a rate more than three times lower than the 8.13 percent of all Floridians"

Gov. Rick Scott argued that this law was necessary because, he said, welfare recipients used drugs at a higher rate than the general population.
________________

So this program cost the state of Florida a lot more money than it saved. I am glad the court system had common sense.

Food stamps are on the chopping block FYI
http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/02/19831109-republicans-to-propose-40-billion-cut-over-decade-to-food-stamps-program?lite

Food stamps help people who need it, however, from what I have observed in the VI it does enable people to become dependent on corporate food. Yes, food stamps subsidize big corporations so people buy at the first of the month the most unhealthy, fattening, frozen foods with tons of packaging that ends up in the landfill. This "food" was shipped in with cheap oil we invade and occupy other countries for. It is economically unsound and expensive. I find it shocking that the projects have no community gardens, chickens, etc. yet this is what Peace Corps volunteers set up in other countries! I find this disabling and disempowering, not giving people the skills to provide for themselves nor the meaningful satisfaction of growing one's own food. I think it's intentional and racist. Of course people say locals equate farming with slavery, but in these days self sufficiency equals freedom. Food stamps are slavery. My farmer friend Tonio lives off the food he grows, minus rice and beans, coffee and less than $500 month. Farming to him is "entertainment." At 73 he's thin and healthy as a horse. He's the wealthiest man in the world in my opinion. Growing and cooking one's own food is discouraged in America because it doesn't make big corporations money with individual servings and packaging companies, or military industrial complex to go out and steal the world's resources with play money the Fed whips up out of thin air to fund it and its banksters.

i have observed the 1st of the month buying frenzy by mistake. the carts were full of crap

Food stamps are on the chopping block FYI
http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/02/19831109-republicans-to-propose-40-billion-cut-over-decade-to-food-stamps-program?lite

won't happen with a democratic administration at the helm....

Proposed is just that... something they proposed... besides this is written like it's from a tea party conservative & they seem to not have much traction on any issue.