Calling your senators is easy and quick!
STOP CUTS to SNAP / Food Stamps!
Tell Congress that the middle of a recession is not the time to cut food stamps – don’t roll back the fight against hunger.
- http://j.mp/bbaY9S (individuals)
- http://j.mp/arDs8R (nonprofits)
Use the phone:
It only takes 3 minutes to call our representatives in the Capitol!
- The White House: 202-456-1414
- Senator Boxer: 202-224-3553
- Senator Feinstein: 202-224-3841
Ezra Klein lays it out in his Washington Post article:
Senate cutting food stamps to pay for Medicaid and teacher funding
It’s the Sophie’s choice of budget decisions: Should we cut Medicaid? Fire teachers? Or slash food stamps?
How about all three? In order to get less Medicaid and teacher funding than we actually need, we’re cutting food stamps by $6.7 billion (and closing some foreign tax loopholes, rescinding some spending decisions and changing Medicaid’s drug pricing).
The Recovery Act included an immediate 13.6 percent increase in food stamps (which are now known as SNAP). That increase equals out to a maximum of $80 per household — and these are not rich households. But the price of food has leveled out, and in some cases decreased, in the recession. Meanwhile, the number of people who needed help skyrocketed to more than 40 million. For that reason, the program’s costs ballooned from an expected $20 billion to about $65 billion. The new price tag scared some, so people began talking about cutting the benefits back.
And here we are. Democrats needed to offset spending on two worthy, important programs. So they’re cutting another important, worthy program. But you really can’t think of a worse program to cut than SNAP. SNAP is an extraordinarily well-targeted stimulus. It goes to poor households, for something they need to buy. According to Mark Zandi’s numbers, it’s literally the most stimulative way to spend a dollar: Better than state and local aid, or unemployment insurance. You get more than $1.70 of economic activity for each buck you put in.
I worked two full time jobs(and paying taxes) putting my husband through college. While in the grocery store I waited in line behind people paying with food stamps. I could not help but notice what purchases were in their cart. Soda, meat . . things I could not afford. I worked so much (and payinig taxes), sometimes I did not even have time to eat. I suppose the over weight, well provided food stamp recepients had my hard earned taxes to thank for their nice food. Food that I, who was workig, could not even afford for myself.
I suppose it was how I was raised. My mother taught me to work and take care of myself. I did it. It was not easy, but I did it without takig an easy handout. That mother of mine raised 3 children by herself on the pay of an uneducatead textile worker and NEVER took a hand out. She sacrificied and all of her children are college graduates. College graduates who sacrificied and are working hard to pay taxes so that this cycle of irresponsiblity, entitlement and hand outs can continue.
I worked two full time jobs(and paying taxes) putting my husband through college. While in the grocery store I waited in line behind people paying with food stamps. I could not help but notice what purchases were in their cart. Soda, meat . . things I could not afford. I worked so much (and payinig taxes), sometimes I did not even have time to eat. I suppose the over weight, well provided food stamp recepients had my hard earned taxes to thank for their nice food. Food that I, who was workig, could not even afford for myself.
I suppose it was how I was raised. My mother taught me to work and take care of myself. I did it. It was not easy, but I did it without takig an easy handout. That mother of mine raised 3 children by herself on the pay of an uneducatead textile worker and NEVER took a hand out. She sacrificied and all of her children are college graduates. College graduates who sacrificied and are working hard to pay taxes so that this cycle of irresponsiblity, entitlement and hand outs can continue.
Oh, I rarely see (I work in health care and see everything) people on food stamps who don’t have expensive tatoos, body piercing, hair weaves, Air Jordans, or have money to buy cigarettes, alcohol and illegal drugs.