America’s Real-Life ‘Hunger Games’

[BelgianMadCow]

From Consortiumnews:

All this might be even more darkly comic if not for the fact that here in the real world, Washington is playing a Hunger Game of its own and the results are devastating. Yes, winter is coming, the holidays are on their way, and on Nov. 1, the United States government cut food stamp benefits by 13.6 percent.

Meanwhile, this has a real and drastic impact on every one of the 48 million Americans – that’s one in seven of us – who receives the aid, now officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. (The cut marks the end of extra funding that was put into the program as part of the stimulus package in 2009.)

If ever there was such a gathering of the pennywise and pound foolish as this current band of representatives, I’d like to hear about it. For one thing, they fail to take into account the estimation that every dollar of SNAP assistance actually generates $1.70 in economic activity – that’s money spent on food in grocery stores, bodegas and big box giants like Wal-Mart and Target that then goes toward paying their workers and suppliers and on and on.

But worse may be the failure to contemplate the long-term effect of these cuts not only on poor adults but future generations. As Reid Wilson reported in The Washington Post, “SNAP benefits disproportionately help families with children. More than 21 million children — one in four children in the country today — live in households that participate in the program. More than two-thirds of the $5 billion the government saves will come from households that include children.”

The fact that one dollar of SNAP generates 1.70 dollar in economic activity is what economists call the multiplier. There is another interesting one: the IMF had to admit that it significantly underestimated the negative multiplier effect of austerity. Oops!

Blanchard and Leigh deduced that IMF forecasters have been using a uniform multiplier of 0.5, when in fact the circumstances of the European economy made the multiplier as much as 1.5, meaning that a $1 government spending cut would cost $1.50 in lost output.

See, the idea that this austerity is to give "oxygen" to "the economy" is total BS. It's just using a crisis to advance a radical neoliberal agenda. Which is impossible to believe as a result of a crisis that was caused by that agenda, but here we are.

When 'the economy' is doing okay, yet the number of people on SNAP has never been higher, I'd say the economy no longer serves its purpose. Whenever you read "the economy" in mainstream media, substitute "capitalists' profits". Suddenly headlines make much more sense.

Much strength to all the people who have a hard time making ends meet, especially in winter time.

[Laelth]

1. k&r for the truth. n/t

-Laelth

[Berlum]

2. "Smirk" - Republicons Against America

[chervilant]

3. In the check out lane, last night,

I was behind an elderly woman and her granddaughter. Grandma used SNAP to purchase a meager amount of groceries. The clerk swiped her card and then announced she owed about $5 more. A manager was called to explain why a box of gingerbread cookies was not a SNAP purchase. The manager said they changed a lot of things with the new law.

As they walked away, the grandmother told the little granddaughter she was sorry she couldn't get her cookies.

(BTW, I think the child chose the expensive box of cookies because of the brightly colored, Xmas themed deliberate marketing ploy by the manufacturer.)

[BelgianMadCow]

9. Interesting points you bring up there

"the manager said they changed a lot of things in the new law" - I thought it was just a question of supplemental spending (which has now ended), I had no idea there were also qualitative changes to SNAP. Gonna see what I can find.

As to your note: I keep telling my kids what commercials are used for: to make you buy stuff you don't need whilst making unrealistic claims. Myself, I only watch pre-recorded and zooming through commercial breaks at X64 is the best part of most TV experiences I have (which are rare anyway, mostly to join with my kids).

If you're interested, there's a brilliant documentary on marketing (and mass psychology), called The Century Of The Self.
You can find it here, to watch for free: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-century-of-the-self/

This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings profoundly.

His influence on the 20th century is widely regarded as massive. The documentary describes the impact of Freud's theories on the perception of the human mind, and the ways public relations agencies and politicians have used this during the last 100 years for their engineering of consent. Among the main characters are Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in advertising. He is often seen as the father of the public relations industry.

[chervilant]

10. Thanks for the resources.

I don't watch television. I recommend "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television" by Jerry Mander. Also, I am well acquainted with Edward Bernays--which is why I eschew advertising in any medium.

[freedom fighter jh]

4. Time to give to food banks.

BelgianMadCow, I could not agree more that this should not be the way it is.

But we're not going to change it immediately. Given the way it is, those of us who are able can help out by giving money or good, nutritious, non-perishable food to local food banks.

[BelgianMadCow]

6. I,m in a town council, and we just debated starting one

Because also here in belgium, though we have a better safety net and weren't hit like southern europe, there are many reports of children going to school with empty lunchboxes. But as usual, people are ashamed and everybody LOOKS like they're doing ok. What i find very enlightening is when i speak of our relative middle class poverty, no holidays, one pair of shoes, that kind of thing. Suddenly everybody has a story...

Thanks for doing what you do!

[Bluenorthwest]

7. I love Belgium, and here is a link to our local Food Bank which has some inventive

programs and fundraising methods which you might find useful.
http://www.foodforlanecounty.org/en/programs_services/

[BelgianMadCow]

8. lots of ideas! Stuff the McDonald :-)

http://www.foodforlanecounty.org/en/news_events/event_calendar/food_drives/413/stuff_the_mcdonald

Thanks for sharing! I live in a rural area, and we're looking at involving the farmers as well.

[woo me with science]

5. K&R