Who is John ________?
Honestly, I'd never heard of John Linder before. Apparently though, this congressman from Georgia is the senior Republican member sitting on the House panel for US Welfare Policy. Living On Nothing But Food Stamps by Jason DeParle and Robert M.Gebeloff brought Linder to my attention this morning though. The article, while illustrating how the relatively few social safety nets we do have in place are being stressed as never before, places a special emphasis on those who live SOLELY on food stamps, with no other means of income.
Some staggering numbers are found in this article:
The reason I bring up Linder is for the following quote regarding the possible expansion of the Food Stamp program to offer additional assistance::
“This is craziness, We’re at risk of creating an entire class of people, a subset of people, just comfortable getting by living off the government. You don’t improve the economy by paying people to sit around and not work. You improve the economy by lowering taxes so small businesses will create more jobs."
While I'm sure Linder--who again, was appointed by House Republicans to oversee Welfare Policy--is just the right guy for Atlanta's white-flighters, I lament the fact that We--big W here--have created an entire class of people--an entire subset of people--just comfortable spouting ideological rhetoric instead of looking for ways to fund programs that can get help to people who fucking need it. And then We sent them to Washington to represent us.
If I could convey a few things to my Republican friends, acquaintances, &c., I'd start by pointing out that while someone is bleeding is not the best time to discuss ways to avoid bleeding in the future. Not by itself at least. I"m all for it, if while you're talking, you're setting sutures, starting transfusions, stabilizing the patient and so on. Then I fully support it and hell--would be even more interested in hearing an opposing view, because it's coming out of a praxis indicating that one is serious about the issue. To only talk theory about what can be life or death matters though--directly in the face of them--creates a serious problem for me as a human being. Especially when these matters can easily be addressed in material ways that will affect the outcome.
(and in case anyone is wondering, "my grandchildren" will be glad to foot the bill if they absolutely have to, because I'll teach them to watch out for folks who might not be as fortunate as they are at the time.)
It's depressing how our political culture over at least the last decade and a half, has devolved. Platitudes and slogans created by political interests and rattling about in the echo chambers of the day are pwning us these days and our POLICY SUCKS because of it! The situation above is just one example: people are hurting - the job market is hard - double digit unemployment nationwide and some people suddenly find themselves supporting families on $300 a month (or less) in Food stamps as a result. The response to that should not be a statement on tax policy or the regurgitation of something they heard from someone else who went to school in Chicago. This is a standard response though, and I suppose the fact that a comment like this isn't news in and of itself just adds a bit of insult to an already festering wound.
*lest stereotypes end up being employed instead of people.
Some staggering numbers are found in this article:
- Ratio of Americans who receive Food Stamps to those who do not: 1:7
- Percentage of US children reliant upon Food Stamp programs: 25%
- 1 in 50 households reports no income whatsoever outside of Food Stamps (six million people; 1.2 million of which are kids)
- The number has almost tripled in Nevada over the past two years.
- The number has doubled in Florida and New York.
- 90% increases found in Utah (hi, Orin!) and Minnesota.
- In Wayne County, MIchigan one in every twenty five adults is living on Food Stamps with no other income.
- $60 Billion will be spent this year on Food Stamps alone.
- 42% of recipients are white, 32% are black, 22% are Latino with whites growing the fastest.*
The reason I bring up Linder is for the following quote regarding the possible expansion of the Food Stamp program to offer additional assistance::
“This is craziness, We’re at risk of creating an entire class of people, a subset of people, just comfortable getting by living off the government. You don’t improve the economy by paying people to sit around and not work. You improve the economy by lowering taxes so small businesses will create more jobs."
While I'm sure Linder--who again, was appointed by House Republicans to oversee Welfare Policy--is just the right guy for Atlanta's white-flighters, I lament the fact that We--big W here--have created an entire class of people--an entire subset of people--just comfortable spouting ideological rhetoric instead of looking for ways to fund programs that can get help to people who fucking need it. And then We sent them to Washington to represent us.
If I could convey a few things to my Republican friends, acquaintances, &c., I'd start by pointing out that while someone is bleeding is not the best time to discuss ways to avoid bleeding in the future. Not by itself at least. I"m all for it, if while you're talking, you're setting sutures, starting transfusions, stabilizing the patient and so on. Then I fully support it and hell--would be even more interested in hearing an opposing view, because it's coming out of a praxis indicating that one is serious about the issue. To only talk theory about what can be life or death matters though--directly in the face of them--creates a serious problem for me as a human being. Especially when these matters can easily be addressed in material ways that will affect the outcome.
(and in case anyone is wondering, "my grandchildren" will be glad to foot the bill if they absolutely have to, because I'll teach them to watch out for folks who might not be as fortunate as they are at the time.)
It's depressing how our political culture over at least the last decade and a half, has devolved. Platitudes and slogans created by political interests and rattling about in the echo chambers of the day are pwning us these days and our POLICY SUCKS because of it! The situation above is just one example: people are hurting - the job market is hard - double digit unemployment nationwide and some people suddenly find themselves supporting families on $300 a month (or less) in Food stamps as a result. The response to that should not be a statement on tax policy or the regurgitation of something they heard from someone else who went to school in Chicago. This is a standard response though, and I suppose the fact that a comment like this isn't news in and of itself just adds a bit of insult to an already festering wound.
*lest stereotypes end up being employed instead of people.