Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

[Rajiv]

Re: Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

Nah.
I suspect it has ever been thus around the world for folks of simple means.
"bastard" is a very old word.

You might find this book useful in evaluating this topic - The Multiple Scandals of Child Support

[Jeff]

Re: Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

Food Stamp programs used to be very popular in the farm belt, as more money was going to be spent on American made food. Members of my family have spent time receiving food stamps during the last 10 years, and in every case they were either in the military, or in grad school while working full time and too proud to ask me for money when there's a government program just sitting there. None of them got hooked as if this were a government crack giveaway, and in every case, once they got established, they stopped using the program.

I'm still getting dribs and drabs of money back from the Bernie Madoff fiasco, and I'm sick of Wall Streeters furious at Obama for saving their bacon. If you can't imagine that this is an attempt (likely successful, given history) to switch the blame to black and brown babies, then you must have spent the last few decades in a coma.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

Food Stamp programs used to be very popular in the farm belt, as more money was going to be spent on American made food. Members of my family have spent time receiving food stamps during the last 10 years, and in every case they were either in the military, or in grad school while working full time and too proud to ask me for money when there's a government program just sitting there. None of them got hooked as if this were a government crack giveaway, and in every case, once they got established, they stopped using the program.

I'm still getting dribs and drabs of money back from the Bernie Madoff fiasco, and I'm sick of Wall Streeters furious at Obama for saving their bacon. If you can't imagine that this is an attempt (likely successful, given history) to switch the blame to black and brown babies, then you must have spent the last few decades in a coma.

Agree.
My wife and her mother spent a little time on food stamps when we were in college, and she, too, never became dependent on handouts.
That assist allowed her to stay in college rather than drop out to feed her mother.
Now she pays far more federal taxes every year than the total combined amount of all the food stamps they accepted.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

You might find this book useful in evaluating this topic - The Multiple Scandals of Child Support

Realistically, I won't read the book to become more informed on this topic.
But I concede there may be some factors at work I don't understand. You seem to do a good job on your research, Rajiv.
None the less I know several people quite well in this boat, and their situations were unaffected by trends in income levels.

[jk]

Re: Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

$700 billion for a few millionaire bankers! (not including FED money)

$50 billion for 40 million lowest income Americans who might have to choose between homelessness and eating!

DAMN those hungry kids for crashing our economy!

gee, and i thought the $700 billion you had in mind was the continuation of the bush tax cut for the upper 2% of income earners. we've got to keep our $700 billion subsidies straight here.

[tsetsefly]

Re: Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

$700 billion for a few millionaire bankers! (not including FED money)

$50 billion for 40 million lowest income Americans who might have to choose between homelessness and eating!

DAMN those hungry kids for crashing our economy!

Among the reasons is family disintegration. Forty percent of all children in America are now born out of wedlock. Among Hispanics, it is 51 percent. Among African-Americans, it is 71 percent.

Brilliant Pat! In the midst of a FIRE caused depression, let's distract everyone and blame it on black and brown hungry kids!
What a piece of crap he is.

THe wonders of welfare and vilification of abortion by religious institutions. I wouldn't say he is blaming it on them per say because, latin's and blacks dont even account for 20% of the population.

[Rajiv]

Re: Food Stamp Nation by Pat Buchanan

Realistically, I won't read the book to become more informed on this topic.
But I concede there may be some factors at work I don't understand. You seem to do a good job on your research, Rajiv.
None the less I know several people quite well in this boat, and their situations were unaffected by trends in income levels.

Thrifty,

I am not necessarily disagreeing with you. However, the closer you are to penury, the more likely it is that you will default. It is very easy to slip into a blame cycle when one is living on the edge. However, most defaults on child support payments come when one is barely making it, and one gets an unexpected bill that must be met. Then the system that has been set up to police "Child Support" kicks into gear, and basically makes things worse -- Here is a shorter article that serves to highlight some of the issues.

In Defense of “Deadbeat” Dads