House passes farm bill, eliminating Food Stamps

[krazen1211]

The original post is lying. The bill doesn't eliminate food stamps.

[krazen1211]

The original post is lying. The bill doesn't eliminate food stamps.

It guts and takes the teeth out of the program.

No, it doesn't do that either. Someone is whining to prevent a 3% reduction to an extremely expensive program.

[krazen1211]

For the record, this is a prime program to cut to reduce government spending in the latest poll.

[krazen1211]

The original post is lying. The bill doesn't eliminate food stamps.

Taking out the funds is effective elimination, at least for the time.

They didn't take out any funds.

[krazen1211]

The original post is lying. The bill doesn't eliminate food stamps.

Taking out the funds is effective elimination, at least for the time.

They didn't take out any funds.

In this era, I trust Republicans as much as I would trust my local neighborhood bank robber. Steal from the poor and give to the rich is the Tea Party Republican way.

You don't need to trust them to be a remotely honest man.

[krazen1211]

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021413860_foodstampsxml.html

$526 on food spent on 3 people in 2 weeks. $12 per person per day.


These food stampers must be eating like kings.



Amazing how the taxpayer is expected to shell out $80 billion for a fatso who is, err, too, uncomfortable to cook.

[krazen1211]

BTW, I fixed krazen's broken link in the quote below:

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021413860_foodstampsxml.html

$526 on food spent on 3 people in 2 weeks. $12 per person per day.


These food stampers must be eating like kings.

Somehow, I doubt that all the food they eat is consumed on the last day that food is purchased.  If like most people, they make weekly shopping trips, then that $526 dollars is lasting three weeks, not two.

But even $12 a day is not eating like a king.  If you think that is the case, you must not be the one who does the grocery shopping in your household.  At $8/day (over three weeks if one takes a reasonable inference from the story of how long she makes the benefit last instead of your hyperbolic one) or $6/day (over four weeks, which the person in the article says she could do if she didn't include items like fresh veggies in her family's diet) the resulting diet is even less kingly.  As noted in the article, she doesn't have full access to a kitchen of her own, so even if she had the time, cooking every meal from scratch isn't an option.

I have the space to buy food on sale for later use and the time and facilities to cook it myself and yet despite living in area that has a lower cost of living than both Tacoma and where you live krazen, I doubt I could fix myself a healthy diet on $6/day.  I could make it stretch if I dumped things like fruit and veggies from my diet and subsisted on 88¢ Banquet frozen dinners every supper. (As an occasional small meal, they're acceptable, but I shudder to think about anyone forced to eat one of them or the equivalent every day.  The sodium alone would likely kill them and if not that, then the fat would.) [Note: 88¢ is the sale price on them.  Usually they're in the $1 to $1.25 range depending on the store.]

Food at the local Tacoma safeway costs far less than $12 a day for anyone who isn't a 400 lb hog. Cereal + milk costs roughly $.33 per serving according to the posted prices.

It is astonishing and highly amusing to claim that 3 unemployed adult or near adult women cannot boil $1 pasta + $1 sauce for a $2 meal for 3 folks. If not 4.

The safeway in question is .4 miles away from Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood.

For the record, eating highly expensive frozen dinners is what they are doing with the taxpayer's dollars. How nice of them. Shame those types aren't so uncomfortable with dumping taxpayer funds in a foolish manner.

[krazen1211]

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021413860_foodstampsxml.html

$526 on food spent on 3 people in 2 weeks. $12 per person per day.


These food stampers must be eating like kings.



Amazing how the taxpayer is expected to shell out $80 billion for a fatso who is, err, too, uncomfortable to cook.

I wouldn't call it eating like kings. $12 a day will keep you from starving, but it's not going to buy a feast for every meal. People can be very bad with their money, but my point is $12 a day for food isn't eating like a king.

The US government allocates  $57 per week, or $8 a day, for the moderate cost plan. $36 a week or $5 a day for the thrifty plan, per person. $12 per person per day is even in excess of the liberal plan.

It's curious to think a $12 per person sloth can't afford a 3% cut in food stamp allocation.

[krazen1211]

BTW, I fixed krazen's broken link in the quote below:

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021413860_foodstampsxml.html

$526 on food spent on 3 people in 2 weeks. $12 per person per day.


These food stampers must be eating like kings.

Somehow, I doubt that all the food they eat is consumed on the last day that food is purchased.  If like most people, they make weekly shopping trips, then that $526 dollars is lasting three weeks, not two.

But even $12 a day is not eating like a king.  If you think that is the case, you must not be the one who does the grocery shopping in your household.  At $8/day (over three weeks if one takes a reasonable inference from the story of how long she makes the benefit last instead of your hyperbolic one) or $6/day (over four weeks, which the person in the article says she could do if she didn't include items like fresh veggies in her family's diet) the resulting diet is even less kingly.  As noted in the article, she doesn't have full access to a kitchen of her own, so even if she had the time, cooking every meal from scratch isn't an option.

I have the space to buy food on sale for later use and the time and facilities to cook it myself and yet despite living in area that has a lower cost of living than both Tacoma and where you live krazen, I doubt I could fix myself a healthy diet on $6/day.  I could make it stretch if I dumped things like fruit and veggies from my diet and subsisted on 88¢ Banquet frozen dinners every supper. (As an occasional small meal, they're acceptable, but I shudder to think about anyone forced to eat one of them or the equivalent every day.  The sodium alone would likely kill them and if not that, then the fat would.) [Note: 88¢ is the sale price on them.  Usually they're in the $1 to $1.25 range depending on the store.]

Food at the local Tacoma safeway costs far less than $12 a day for anyone who isn't a 400 lb hog. Cereal + milk costs roughly $.33 per serving according to the posted prices.

It is astonishing and highly amusing to claim that 3 unemployed adult or near adult women cannot boil $1 pasta + $1 sauce for a $2 meal for 3 folks. If not 4.

The safeway in question is .4 miles away from Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood.

For the record, eating highly expensive frozen dinners is what they are doing with the taxpayer's dollars. How nice of them. Shame those types aren't so uncomfortable with dumping taxpayer funds in a foolish manner.

Not everyone in a household might qualify though. Let's say the husband has been laid off and works part time while the wife also works part time. The husband collects unemployment which is enough to pay for the mortgage and therefore can't collect food stamps while the wife qualifies and uses the money to pay for food for both of them. Or what if they have kids? If it were a single adult living on their own, then I could see $12 a day from the government being a little high, but it's not always the case.

$12 is per person. The unemployed person in question is spending $36 per day.

The so called children in this case are old enough to work.

[krazen1211]

Food at the local Tacoma safeway costs far less than $12 a day for anyone who isn't a 400 lb hog. Cereal + milk costs roughly $.33 per serving according to the posted prices.

And what fruit or other sides are you including to make it a balanced breakfast?  Or do you think because fruit grows on trees, it is free?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

What is astonishing and highly amusing is your pretense that a balanced diet does not include fresh fruits and vegetables.  But perhaps you think that because they are poor they should be relegated to malnutrition?  You also have conveniently ignored my point that last shopping day does not equal last eating day and the fact that her current living situation does not afford her the chance for proper kitchen facilities.  Or are you in favor of seeing to it that she is assured of an adequate place to live that would enable her to spend less on food?  That is indeed one of the tragedies of poverty.  Inadequacies of one resource often leads to inefficient usage of other resources.

I was told the jobless don't have time to prepare proper meals and that a proper meal took more than 20 minutes to prepare.

Well, if all the woman in question was doing was sitting around her rented rooms with her two kids, she'd have the time, but I doubt you or krazen want her to be doing just that. She certainly doesn't.  And you try fixing something more nutritious than pasta and sauce from scratch in under 20 minutes, including prep time and cleanup.

Fresh fruits are $1.79 per pound. Bread is $1.49 a loaf. Chicken is $1.29 a pound.


The article in question states that she has at the minimum a microwave and a freezer, and that said individual is 'uncomfortable' cooking food like normal americans do, not that she doesn't have whatever you deem to be a proper kitchen. In order for your point to be accurate, the individual in question must be able to store excess food in some pantry like apparatus, which of course implies you do have something resembling a kitchen.

Of course, the individual in question has a secondary supply of food from those food banks and still churns through $526 in 2 weeks.

You'd be hard pressed to churn through such sums at safeway unless you are buying ribeye steak.

[krazen1211]

Well, if all the woman in question was doing was sitting around her rented rooms with her two kids, she'd have the time, but I doubt you or krazen want her to be doing just that.

I have no idea what you're trying to imply, but good job not being a dick about it!

You must be logged in to read this quote.

A sandwich, a bowl of soup and an apple.  BAM! A glass of juice on the side.  4 funking minutes.  Not everything has to be a 5 course meal with the exact right amount of vitamins and calories.  Especially if you don't have very much money.

or an egg, a bowl of cereal, a banana and a glass of milk.  8 minutes

or some rice, a corn dog, some green beans and some tea.  12 minutes

or...well, you get the idea.


(actually, you will no doubt have some huge problem that isn't really a problem with this too.  I have NO problem with the food stamp program, I actually think farm subsidies are MUCH worse for everybody.  I've been poor.  I could have been on food stamps, I was on WIC (well, I wasn't, but I've certainly used the checks and even went to a WIC "store" in Mississippi because it was cheaper for them than handing out checks).  Hell, I'm still poor.  Kids are expensive even when you're a cheap ass like me.  I just thinks it's ridiculous and unfair to assume everybody must spend hours preparing healthy meals every day when you clearly don't have to.  I'd question the sanity of anybody that would...unless they are into that kind of thing, then more power to 'em.)

Carrots. $.49 a pound. Of course that requires the elbow grease of, well, washing and peeling, so lazies need not apply.

[krazen1211]

I wasn't aware that opening a can of soup counted as from scratch.  As for fruit juice, that's barely better than soda whether fresh squeezed or from a container.  It's still sugar water, just without the carbonation and a few vitamins.

OTOH, I will agree that without an excessive amount of time or effort, tho certainly more than merely 4 minutes, soups and stews could be made that would be far healthier than the sodium saturated canned variety, assuming she has access to a slow cooker and a place to let it sit without being a fire hazard.

Why must things be "made from scratch"?  Sure, I'd agree that everything else being equal, "made from scratch" is better, but most people, those on SNAP or not, don't have the time (or knowledge) for that.  You can eat healthy and cheaply making things that aren't made from scratch.

But nevermind all that, what do you want everybody to drink?  Does that need to be made from scratch too?  Does every meal need to be made from scratch to meet your approval?  Can lunch or breakfast be something fast and easy or should every meal in the day take 3 hours to prepare?  Do you have a "made from scratch" meal everyday?  3 a day?  Who makes them for you?  Do you expect everybody else to do it too?  Are you disappointed when you find out your friends and family don't live up to your, frankly, outrageous expectations?

Well in a healthy diet, water is quite sufficient, especially if you have food you want to enjoy rather than wash down.  As for knowledge, it takes fairly little knowledge to make a basic soup or stew.  We're not talking souffles or other fancy dishes.  Living alone, I do all my own cooking, tho not always from total scratch, tho I'd be healthier if I did.  Still, I grew up in the era before the home microwave oven was commonplace, and we always had a sit-down family dinner every night.  I could actually survive and thrive if all microwave ovens were to suddenly disappear from the face of the earth.

My little diatribe about from scratch was probably a bit overenthusiastic not because of krazen's outrage that people on SNAP eat prepackaged foods.  Still, even the healthiest of prepacked food generally has too much sodium, and the cheaper versions are sorely lacking in vitamins and usually even worse about the sodium and have too much fat for the bulk they have.  I do usually have a fairly simple salad with my main meal of the day consisting of just  few leaves of romaine lettuce to give my diet the fiber it needs. (No dressing, I never saw the point in drenching a healthy food in oily goop and lettuce tastes good as it is, just as broccoli definitely does not need cheez sauce.)

Are my tastes typical?  No, but I don't get disappointed in the tastes of others.  Are there things I would do to improve my diet?  Of course there are.  However, for krazen to castigate the poor for not living up to a food standard I doubt he himself follows, since few do so of any economic station, set me on edge.  Especially when he castigates the woman in the article for not making more use of her friend's kitchen.  Given that their friend is letting her family stay in a couple of rooms for a decidedly below market rental rate even for this area of cheap rents (Tacoma may be as cheap as here, but I severely doubt it is cheaper), I find it quite understanding that she doesn't want to bother her friend more than she absolutely must lest she become homeless again because her friend finds her too bothersome.

I assure you that I do. You see, I don't get a free $526 from the American people, and wasting my own money hinders the path to riches. For some reason bothering the american people doesn't matter to these types.


An iceberg head of lettuce is $.99. Quite expensive for someone who only receives a free $513 from the American people.

[krazen1211]

http://m.nypost.com/p/news/local/isle_take_that_welfare_scam_VBsTspIxia2GA9o2oS505L

Food-stamp fraud in New York has turned into foreign aid — to black-market profiteers in the Dominican Republic.

Last week, The Post revealed how New Yorkers on welfare are buying food with their benefit cards and shipping it in blue barrels to poor relatives in the Caribbean.

But not everyone is giving the taxpayer-funded fare to starving children abroad. The Post last week found two people hawking barrels of American products for a profit on the streets of Santiago.





Clearly we can't cut a pittance out of this expensive wasteful program.

[krazen1211]

Apparently slate found another food stamp recipient who is able to mooch $15-$20 an hour. They also grossly botched basic arithmetic, but that's nothing new. Oh, and they drink Kool-aid.





Debra: Yes, I’ve thought about it, and my daughter is also considering it. But my food stamps, rent, VA compensation, and social security would be affected. I’d have to make a lot of money to overcome all the reductions, something like $15 to $20 an hour.

[krazen1211]

Apparently slate found another food stamp recipient who is able to mooch $15-$20 an hour. They also grossly botched basic arithmetic, but that's nothing new. Oh, and they drink Kool-aid.





Debra: Yes, I’ve thought about it, and my daughter is also considering it. But my food stamps, rent, VA compensation, and social security would be affected. I’d have to make a lot of money to overcome all the reductions, something like $15 to $20 an hour.

I won't stoop to agreeing with Krazen, but that article does not present Debra as a very sympathetic figure. She says she's on disability but never explains how she's disabled. Her 21 year old daughter lives with her but doesn't work; not sure what's going on there. And her whole attitude is just very passive and lackadaisical. If Republicans wanted to put food stamps on trial, she would be an excellent prosecution witness.

The 21 year old is apparently counting down the days until she becomes a 22 year old, upon which time she apparently can put on her big boy pants and collect full scale free money courtesy of the hard working men and women of the United States.

What an amazing thing to aspire to be.

[krazen1211]

Well in a healthy diet, water is quite sufficient, especially if you have food you want to enjoy rather than wash down.

How boring!

[krazen1211]

Apparently slate found another food stamp recipient who is able to mooch $15-$20 an hour. They also grossly botched basic arithmetic, but that's nothing new. Oh, and they drink Kool-aid.





Debra: Yes, I’ve thought about it, and my daughter is also considering it. But my food stamps, rent, VA compensation, and social security would be affected. I’d have to make a lot of money to overcome all the reductions, something like $15 to $20 an hour.

I won't stoop to agreeing with Krazen, but that article does not present Debra as a very sympathetic figure. She says she's on disability but never explains how she's disabled. Her 21 year old daughter lives with her but doesn't work; not sure what's going on there. And her whole attitude is just very passive and lackadaisical. If Republicans wanted to put food stamps on trial, she would be an excellent prosecution witness.

The 21 year old is apparently counting down the days until she becomes a 22 year old, upon which time she apparently can put on her big boy pants and collect full scale free money courtesy of the hard working men and women of the United States.

What an amazing thing to aspire to be.

Who is this fellow and does he collect not one, not two, not three, but four forms of welfare?

[krazen1211]

krazen if you find this stuff so outrageous, why not just quit your job and live the life of luxury that below-poverty-level government benefits provide?

America is already overburdened by leeches.

[krazen1211]

Who is this fellow and does he collect not one, not two, not three, but four forms of welfare?

So now VA benefits are welfare?  So much for Republicans supporting the troops.

That would actually be number 5, even if you charitably referred to a nurse as a member of the troops. Number 4 is whatever sad sap got stuck paying for the astonishing medical cost of twice a week individual therapy.

[krazen1211]

Who is this fellow and does he collect not one, not two, not three, but four forms of welfare?

Its a meme called "Scumbag Steve." Ah, I forgot you weren't very savvy when it comes to pop/meme culture. I suppose that tends to happen when you live in a neat little bubble. Anyway, the meme is often used to call out hypocrites.

In real life, its sounds like he goes to school and works. Of course, ill-informed people like you would very much like to label him otherwise based on superficial criteria.

Curious reference. Especially as this individual actively keeps an adult daughter out of work in order to keep the taxpayer spigot pumping the Koolaid.

[krazen1211]

Curious reference. Especially as this individual actively keeps an adult daughter out of work in order to keep the taxpayer spigot pumping the Koolaid.

Well, anyway, you just proved the point of my meme:

America is already overburdened by leeches.

You just love labeling people, don't you?

I don't see why you don't just drop this act. I mean, when I go over to RRH, I see that you usually post well-informed comments. Yet, when you come over here, you're an inflammatory partisan troll. Its a really odd disconnect. Do you just like the attention?

Why can't you just grow up? Thats what bugs me the most about you. You're a smart guy and could be a good poster, yet all you want to do is bash the poor and talk about how every other poster here is dumb liberal. Its really a shame.

It is bizarre to get upset about the obvious answer to the question that was asked. This is the land of opportunity. I know my parents and I didn't come here to sit on the government dole.