Dear Readers,
As the number of those collecting Food Stamps as grown to a record 47 million Americans, a Republican congressman has renewed his call for Congress to require able-bodied adults on food stamps "to work or volunteer" in order to keep receiving the benefits.
"I think it makes sense," Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., said on Fox News.
After a week during which the Obama administration proposed new initiatives to target poverty, both parties are floating ideas to address the problem.
Of course the newest Liberal catch-phrase these days is "income inequality." It comes after 50 years of the "War on Poverty."
Whether it is "Income Inequality" or "War on Poverty," the last 50 years have proven that Democrats Socialists only pay lip service to the problem.
They Dump Money Into The Welfare Program And Do Nothing Else.
Has it been successful?
Honestly, in Conservative terms of wanting to see folks get back 0on their own feet and do for themselves -they have had limited success.
In Liberal terms of wanting to see a huge increase of Democrat Voters all dependant on the Democrat Party in the exact same way slaves are dependant on the crumbs thrown to them by their Owners - they have had great success.
Over a 50 year span, Democrats have successfully taught those on government programs that Food Stamps and Welfare is their only course in life - no different than the slave who barely make it through life because he or she is fed everyday and has to do nothing in return.
Social Conditioning
Many on Welfare and Food Stamps today have become conditioned by Democrats to believe that that is their lot in live.
Republicans say they are better than that, that they can want and acheive if steered in the right direction
Representative Southerland's proposal "to work or volunteer" in order to keep receiving benefits was included in a House-passed version of a food stamp bill approved this past fall, but the House and Senate still have not agreed on final legislation addressing both food stamps and farm subsidies.
Southerland, co-chairman of the Republican Study Committee's Anti-Poverty Initiative, stressed that his plan would exclude disabled people, seniors and children.
He claimed most people would agree that food stamp recipients should work, train, look for work, or at least do volunteer work while on the benefits.
And yes, I think he is right.
But Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, noted that the other part of the House Republicans' bill would cut billions from food stamps over the next decade, and said many households receiving the benefits are in fact working households.
"You're actually sending a very bad message about work," he said.
But what's so wrong with the message when people want to work and be independant?
The problem is the Democrats and the Obama administration who are working so hard to stifle job creation across the country.
In a first, working-age people now make up the majority in U.S. households that rely on food stamps - a switch from a few years ago, when children and the elderly were the main recipients.
Some of the change is due to demographics, such as the trend toward having fewer children.
Obama seems to be the problem - his economic policies have made a lot of very wealthy Liberals but has had a horrible effect on average Americans who are now looking in poverty for the first time in their lives.
Our slow economic recovery with high unemployment, stagnant wages and an increasing gulf between low-wage positons and high-skill jobs also plays a big role.
While the government spends $80 billion a year on a Food Stamp program, twice what it cost five years ago, because of Obama's economic policies, many of the problems plagueing working people don't see an end to the troubles anytime soon.
Food stamp participation since 1980 has grown the fastest among workers with some college training, a sign that the safety net has stretched further to cover America's former middle class, according to an analysis of government data for The Associated Press by economists at the University of Kentucky.
Formally called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP, the program now covers 1 in 7 Americans.
This huge growth in the need for Food Stamps is a big part of Obama's legacy. It is a leading indecator of how the economy is doing.
Right now, the economy looks to be in the toilet for millions of Americans, it's a shame Liberals who see Obama as "can do no wrong president" would never admit to that.
Recognition of a problem is the first step in fixing it!
Tom Correa
