Food Stamps... A Victim Of Deficit Reduction Mania

I'm not a big fan of obsessive focus on deficit reduction. I'd rather see the government investing in the country's future-- our people and our infrastructure. But the Obama Administration has successfully fought to cut the deficit at a faster rate than any other Administration since World War II. I don't blame just Obama. The Republicans have made a really bad situation much, much worse. All this deficit reduction is called Austerity, the failed European budget slashing program that has devastated most European economies.

Ideologically, the Republicans laser in on government functions and services for the poorest among us, a unique and mysterious interpretation of Jesus' message they profess to adore. And this week, they are, once again, obsessed with all that food poor people eat. Do they really have to eat so much? House Republicans they can cut back $40 billion worth. Very brief digression: I returned from nearly 7 years living abroad and didn't have enough money to eat and pay my rent. So I lived on food stamps for about a year. I'm not certain how much those food stamps put the taxpayers out but I eventually got on my feet, started my own business and was successful enough to have paid millions of dollars in taxes. Had I starved or been forced to move back to Holland or been forced into menial labor, I never would have paid all those taxes in. Thank you for the opportunity, tax payers. We both got a good deal. Monday the Republicans introduced food stamp slashing legislation to cut $40 billion in food stamps over the next decade. The debate on the bill is tomorrow. A satanic character from Iowa, hatemonger Steve King is in charge of the whip operation for the bill tomorrow, although Boehner's bumbling whip, Kevin McCarthy from Bakersfield is helping him by circulating twisted and distorted talking points.

The bill contains twice as much in cuts as the House Agriculture Committee originally sought for the program and it was devised by a task force led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) after an integrated farm bill failed on the House floor this summer.

The House later passed a bill just dealing with the rest of the farm bill, including crop subsidies and crop insurance, before the August recess.

Rural Republicans appeared torn on the new bill, which has 10 times the level of cuts to the food stamp program as the Senate-passed farm bill. The difference could make it impossible to complete a planned House-Senate farm bill conference.

"You’re talking about $40 billion in cuts vs. $4 billion, which is a huge gap," said Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.). "We need that farm bill and cannot do an extension of the Pelosi farm bill. If that happens we are really going to get screamed at the town halls."

...Democrats, including rural deficit hawks like Agriculture Ranking member Colin Peterson (D-Minn.), pounced on the new food stamp bill.

"Even if this bill is defeated, as it should be, I worry the debate will eliminate any remaining goodwill needed to pass a farm bill," Peterson said in a Monday statement.

“The Majority is again catering to the extremes of their party, pushing messaging bills to nowhere. It’s time to get serious. If they will just get out of our way, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees can work together and provide farmers, ranchers and consumers the certainty of a five-year farm bill.”

This chart shows what one dollar of spending yields back into the economy. Food stamps looks like a pretty efficient way to get things moving-- a lot more efficient than more corporate tax cuts favored by Republicans and neo-liberal Democrats:

King and McCarthy are pushing canned right-wing talking points from their fake "think tanks" claiming they're not harming anyone and that, basically, no one will even notice the cuts. But Monday new independent estimates showed that as many as 3.8 million people would lose their food stamp benefits in 2014 under the GOP plan.




UPDATE: The Vote

The House vote to take $40 billion out of the food stamps program passed 217-210, with every Democrat voting NO and 15 Republicans, almost all in swingy districts, voting with the Democrats. Had 4 more Republicans crossed the aisle, the starvation bill would have failed. Walter Jones (R-NC) voted NO because he didn't believe in the bill. The rest of the Republicans were afraid of being defeated in 2014. These are the 15 Republicans who voted against Boehner and Cantor:

• Shelley Capito (WV)
• Michael Fitzpatrick (PA)
• Jeff Fortenberry (NE)
• Chris Gibson (NY)
• Michael Grimm (NY)
• Richard Hanna (NY)
• Walter Jones (NC)
• Peter King (NY)
• Frank LoBiondo (NJ)
• Pat Meehan (PA)
• Gary Miller (CA)
• Chris Smith (NJ)
• David Valadao (CA)
• Frank Wolf (VA)
• Don Young (AK)

Most repulsive vote among the Republicans: farm-state slug Steve King took $3,588 for food & lodging during a six-day trip to Russia where he gorged himself on caviar and vodka. He has several thousand families in his district who could have survived on his misuse of taxpayer funds. Republicans are cheats and crooks-- so they assume normal people are as well and insist food stamps users are gaming the system, something that has always proven to be a lie.