The Goat Pen

I'm almost surprised when I go to the grocery store now and see someone paying for food with something other than a food stamp card. It's ridiculous. And they're almost always buying things that I routinely avoid in lieu of cheaper alternatives.

A way to save an entire 112 billion over 10 years. The comments below the article are pretty good...everybody hates it.

Why not this: to save Social Security, abolish the SS COLA. That's what the few businesses that provide pensions to their retirees do. That would encourage people to work longer before they retire, which would save even more money.

I imagine most have not had any contact with 90% of those government agencies

I have a basic rule of thumb: if you are deciding whether or not to abolish a government agency, ask yourself: if this agency were to disappear tomorrow, would anybody notice? If not, abolish it. That would be the case with probably half the agencies on the above list.

Food Stamp Program:

As a result of the Act and the booming economy of the late 1990s, participation in the food stamp program plummeted (The best way to decrease the expenditures of the food stamp program is to decrease poverty)

ParticipantsAccording to the United States Department of Agriculture (based on a study of data gathered in Fiscal Year 2006), statistics for the food stamp program are as follows:[15]

49% of all participants are children (17 or younger), and 61% of them live in single-parent households.
52% of food stamp households include children.
9% of all participants are elderly (age 60 or over).
76% of all benefits go to households with children, 16% go to households with disabled persons, and 9% go to households with elderly persons.
33% of households with children were headed by a single parent, the overwhelming majority of whom were women.
The average household size is 2.3 persons.
The average gross monthly income per food stamp household is $673.
43% of participants are white; 33% are African-American, non-Hispanic; 19% are Hispanic; 2% are Asian, 2% are Native American, and 1% are of unknown race or ethnicity.[15]
From the above data 8% of the white population of the United States of America are participants, 39% of African-American non-Hispanics are participants, 15% of the Hispanic population are participants, 9% of the Asian population are participants and 31% of the Native American population are participants.
An annual report released by the USDA about the composition of households participating in the Food Stamp Program is identified as the Characteristics Report.[16]

[edit] Fraud and abuseAccording to the Government Accountability Office, at a 2009 count, 3.53% of food stamps benefits were found to be overpaid, down from 7.01% in 1999.[17] A 2003 analysis found that two-thirds of all improper payments were the fault of the caseworker, not the participant.[17] There are also instances of fraud involving exchange of food stamp benefits for cash and/or for items not eligible for purchase with food stamps.[18] In states that have a bottle or can deposit, people will commit fraud by using their EBT to buy canned drinks, then dump the contents out so the cans can be returned for deposit. People are able to buy tobacco and alcohol this way, avoiding the restrictions that prohibit purchasing non-food items.[19]

Scandal is getting so big that now even the Wall Street Journal is covering it extensively. Sooner or later, FoxNews may even cover (at least cover it more than saying it's being overcovered). The head of Scotland Yard has apparently now resigned. The FBI is looking at whether or not local media interest hacked the phones of 9/11 victims

So not 3-fold. I heard that somewhere, but obviously was mistaken. Not really the point I was making. Still will need big cuts that would include cuts in defense and other popular programs and increases in taxes. Republicans could not agree. Obama could push the Dems towards it.

Moody's has recommended the feds just get rid of this whole debt limit periodic vote. This has been my stance for awhile (I suspect not paying all debts are unconstitutional anyway)

Hacksaw wrote:I'm almost surprised when I go to the grocery store now and see someone paying for food with something other than a food stamp card. It's ridiculous. And they're almost always buying things that I routinely avoid in lieu of cheaper alternatives.

I've heard about this - hipsters such as Hack who routinely shop on the wrong side of the tracks, snagging bargains intended for the rabble and assorted ne'er-do-wells.

it had to be personal to Hack. I just don't see foodstamps being used that often. Perhaps more common rurally. Or perhaps Hack's location is rampant with cheats and fraud.

Moody's has recommended the feds just get rid of this whole debt limit periodic vote. This has been my stance for awhile

I disagree. Not keeping track of and approving the debt limit is like not having a check register in your checkbook. Just write all the checks you want in any amount you want. The money to cover the checks will just magically appear.

Not keeping track of and approving the debt limit is like telling business they don't have to report debt on their balance sheets or income statements.

Incidentally, I also didn't realize that Hack buys his groceries at dumpsters and Aldi's.

Next week we'll hear complaints about bowling alley cuisine. Or

dim lighting in bus terminals!

It's really not nice of you rich guys to make fun of working-class guys like me.

If you were really poor or working class you'd be a democrat.

I saw the pics. Hack did Toyko bigger than Bill Murray.

Sorry. I ain't buyin "All my neighbors are on the dole (or scammin' the dole)"

Which reminds me of a similar injustice that I ran across.

A guy named Artie on welfare goes to buy some food at Krogers and sees a dollar bill the floor. Two other people attempt to pick up the bill off the floor and are attacked and strangled by Artie. The police come and taser poor Artie then take him into custody. The next day the local paper ran the following headline: "Artie Chokes Two for a Dollar at Krogers."

Professor Tiger wrote:If you were really poor or working class you'd be a democrat.

I didn't say I was retarded.

bluetick wrote:I saw the pics. Hack did Toyko bigger than Bill Murray.

Sorry. I ain't buyin "All my neighbors are on the dole (or scammin' the dole)"

My company paid for most of that. I was lucky and I enjoyed and appreciated every bit of it. I would never have been able to afford it if I was footing the bill.

And, as usual, you are putting words in my mouth. Never said all my neighbors were on the dole -- or that those who are on it are guilty of scamming it. But you knew that already.

Hacksaw wrote:

Professor Tiger wrote:If you were really poor or working class you'd be a democrat.

I didn't say I was retarded.

Others have though

bluetick wrote:Which reminds me of a similar injustice that I ran across.

A guy named Artie on welfare goes to buy some food at Krogers and sees a dollar bill the floor. Two other people attempt to pick up the bill off the floor and are attacked and strangled by Artie. The police come and taser poor Artie then take him into custody. The next day the local paper ran the following headline: "Artie Chokes Two for a Dollar at Krogers."

Jungle Rat wrote:

Hacksaw wrote:

Professor Tiger wrote:If you were really poor or working class you'd be a democrat.

I didn't say I was retarded.

Others have though

This is true.

Never said all my neighbors were on the dole

Wait. Where in blazes did I get the idea that nearly everybody pays with a food stamp card at your grocery store? And that you resent the top shelf items they DO buy?

Hacksaw wrote:I'm almost surprised when I go to the grocery store now and see someone paying for food with something other than a food stamp card. It's ridiculous. And they're almost always buying things that I routinely avoid in lieu of cheaper alternatives.

It's a mystery I tells ya..

bluetick wrote:Never said all my neighbors were on the dole

Wait. Where in blazes did I get the idea that nearly everybody pays with a food stamp card at your grocery store? And that you resent the top shelf items they DO buy?

Hacksaw wrote:I'm almost surprised when I go to the grocery store now and see someone paying for food with something other than a food stamp card. It's ridiculous. And they're almost always buying things that I routinely avoid in lieu of cheaper alternatives.

It's a mystery I tells ya..

As usual, I make a comment and you purposely misinterpret it in order to feel like you're making some semblance of a point. I'm happy to work for what I have and I have no interest in sidling up to the public teet. I just wish more of my fellow citizens felt the same way. Maybe you've always lived a life of privilege and just wouldn't understand.