Cutting Food Stamps to Save Teacher Jobs: A Hateful Trade-Off

[villager]

Cutting Food Stamps to Save Teacher Jobs: A Hateful Trade-Off

Though many in the education community are celebrating last week's Senate vote for the so-called Edujobs bill, I can't find any joy in it. In fact, I am shaken and ashamed because, to pay for it, the Senate snatched $11.9 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

That's right: They cut food stamps. For the first time ever, this move would gouge the monthly benefits that low-income families receive. Beginning in 2014, America's poorest families will--if the House concurs during a special session this week--see $59 disappear from their food stamp benefits every single month.

The families and individuals who depend on food stamps are our nation's most vulnerable. They tend to be the young, the old, the black, and the brown. They now total more than 40 million Americans. And despite cold, inside-the-Beltway rationalizations that food prices have not risen as steeply as had been anticipated--and that this cut will "just" return benefits to pre-2009 levels--I challenge any who support it to feed their own children on $4.50 a day. That's the average per-person benefit now, before the Senate cut takes effect.

It is no wonder, then, that experts predict the passage of this bill will put more families back in lines at soup kitchens and food banks. That's why so many social justice and faith-based groups are expressing strong opposition to the proposed cuts.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kati-haycock/cutting-food-stamps-to-sa_b_674770.html

[w4rma]

1. I recommend the House strip the language from the bill and let the Senate and Obama deal with fixing

the bill correctly.

[Blue Owl]

2. Cut the goddamned military/war goliath budget

Enough of this gouging of our own poor.

Remind me -- who was again it that said: "...At what point do we say, 'Enough?'"

[EC]

3. I did hear somewhere

that they were going to deal with that..

[havocmom]

4. Hungry kids do not do well in school. Teachers will be blamed before neoDEMs will

x(

[Monique1]

5. This really ticks me off!

I know someone who is on food stamps - does not receive enough a month - and they do keep cutting his food stamps. $30.00 in the last 6 months. This person does not waste either. We run around to different stores like day old bread, veggie and fruit market where prices are cheaper. This person cannot cook so we bring some of the food to my place so I can prepare decent meals to freeze for him. This is sad. Sometimes I help pay for his food, money that is taken out of my food budget but I am eating less and preparing foods differently too.

I did write Obama about this situation. Those in power just don't give a crap for people. They eat at fancy restaurants and food served to them so they just don't care. They better fix this.

This person is disabled and a vietnam era vet. He doesn't drive either.

[Igel]

7. It's an accounting trick.

They spend the money now. Officially they're borrowing it from 2014/15's budget. Notice that it's currently 2010. No cuts now. Now cuts next year. No cuts the year after that. At least not any cuts that result from this "budget cut."

But in 2011, or 2012, or 2013, two things will happen: Either they won't need to have the foodstamp budget as high as it is, so the borrowing is ultimately painless (borrowed from projections that never come to pass) or the money will be the object of a political firestorm: How dare they reduce foodstamps, esp. when the money doesn't "go" to any worthwhile cause.

This trick could be handy. $1.4 trillion deficit this year? Nah, just borrow it from 2019-2022. Heck, borrow a trillion from 2023 and hand out $3k to each American and *still* balance the 2010/11 budget. Leave it to the schmucks in 2019-2022 to actually implement your cuts.

[madmax]

8. My Mom was getting

something like 16.00 a month in food stamps. She had nothing and never did. Not her own home, a car, or money in the bank. She scrubbed floors her whole life.

I told her to tell them to shove the food stamps and I bought her groceries. We were both lucky to have each other. She was there when I was growing up and I was there for her when she needed caring.

Not everyone has children or children who can afford to help them out so food stamps mean a lot.

[madrchsod]

6. what good Christians they are......

taking the food out of people`s mouths.

[awoke_in_2003]

9. we have to be one of the most...

fucked up industrialized nations in the world. I cannot think of one damn thing we manage to do right.