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Activist Post
It seems whenever the government injects money into a specific industry, prices climb quickly and a bubble of some sort ensues.
We had the real estate bubble which was aided by government guaranteeing the risky loans that banks made to unqualified buyers. Likewise, we're still in the midst of an unprecedented college bubble which is inflating costs far beyond the official rate of inflation due to the government's monopoly and loose requirements on student loans. And, predictably, the mandates of the Affordable Care Act (sic) are already driving up healthcare costs even faster than quasi-monopolies were afforded before the law passed.
This government spending has, for all intents and purposes, created a false demand that would not have naturally existed in the marketplace. Could the same thing now be happening to food prices due to an infusion of government money?
As food prices are already skyrocketing from the pressures of record droughts, biofuel mandates, commodity speculation, and good old fashioned currency debasement, there is certainly enough blame to go around. But should government spending on food stamps be added to this list of culprits?
A new report from last week showed food stamps hit another record of 46.7 million recipients in June, an increase of 173,000 from the previous month. That's nearly 1 in 7 Americans now dependent on government food aid.
At an average monthly cost of $134 per recipient, that's $6.26 BILLION injected into retail food stores every month. Or roughly $75 billion per year.
Total supermarket sales in 2011 was $584.369 billion. Using this number as a gauge, current food stamp use represents nearly 13% of all retail food sales.
That's not exactly a government monopoly like they have on student loans or mortgage guarantees, but it's certainly enough to contribute to price increases. And if we were to add in other welfare programs and farm subsidies, the percentage of food sales with government handouts is likely much higher.
Additionally, since the U.S. government borrows 54 cents of every dollar it spends, every expense adds to the weakening purchasing power of the U.S. Dollar, putting further pressure on the cost of essentials like food and energy.
It is not a question of whether or not food stamps are the right thing to spend money on, especially during such tough financial times and rapidly rising food prices.But it should be noted that food stamp costs now exceed what the Pentagon spends each month on the war in Afghanistan.
Although government spending still represents a relatively small percentage of retail food sales, they appear to be striving for a monopoly in regards to food charity with the criminalizing of feeding the poor and homeless happening all around the nation.
This is how they trap Americans into dependence on their system. By eliminating alternatives to charity, much like they've eliminated alternatives to student loans or health care services, they can better dictate the rules to the slaves such as drug testing welfare recipients.
What's more, by eliminating the competition, they're able to funnel the proceeds into their crony corporations. By the way, JP Morgan runs and gets a cut of the food stamp program. But I digress.
Clearly, struggling Americans can hardly be blamed for their predicament since they had nothing to do with the offshoring of jobs, the reckless deeds of Wall Street, the unforgivable war costs, or high food prices that are devastating the U.S. economy.
But we would be remiss to not ask if government spending was ultimately doing more harm than good.
Read other articles by Eric Blair HERE
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29 comments:
Government spending is ALWAYS corrupted and inefficient. When it comes to government less is more. The most usless people in the world are the political class, they are the 'useless eaters' in fact a good way to assess information is to apply the contrarian theory, everything the government says about 'the people' is actuall a statement about themselves.
The author has things backwards. The issue is that more people need food stamps. Most everyone living in America (99%) are only a few paychecks from being on the streets. Be glad that food stamps exist, because most Americans are on the fringe of having to use them.
Be wary of the comment above. Only eugenicists consider people "useless eaters" and not fit to live.
Food Stamps need to be eliminated NOW! I am getting sick and tired of the fat, lazy welfare bums getting a free ride. If you cannot work or buy your own food like the majority have to, then starve.
why should i work to make food if someone can get it without having to?
Thank you for the sane comments #2. You can't cut food stamps in the middle of a depression, we need more. Did you also not see the article the other day about 50 million Americans being hungry?
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/sep2012/food-s07.shtml
These are the bread lines that we've all seen pictures of from the 30's. Would you have argued back then to stop handing food away to hungry people?
Is it really worth starving 50 million people to prove your point?
Considering $16,000,000,000,000 got spent on TARP for the banksters (yes that is trillion), I think we could feed the poor for about 200 years. Of course bankster welfare is for people who are already wealthy and just indulged in risky gambles in the biggest casino in the world. Had their investments turned a profit then they would keep them and dodge taxes. However, had they not gotten the TARP $ then they wouldn't have starved.
$16trillion TARP bailout for banksters ( could feed the poor for 200-300 years) who are already wealthy and wouldn't have starved. Spend $75 billion on feeding PEOPLE and commentor # 3 (d-bag) is angry and dehumanizes. I bet you don't know what work is, what real hunger is, what a heart is. Please drive to the poor side of town (you know, the one you are afraid of), look the children in the eye and tell them your opinion.
Yes. If you look at the weekly ads, the best prices are at the end of the month once all the food stamp people run out of money. For example I only buy steak on the last weekend of the month and save about 25%.
I was in Wal-mart grocery shopping and a 20 something guy comes up to me and asks if I would like to get all my groceries at half price.
Wary, I asked what I had to do.
He said to let him pay for the whole cart with his food stamps and then out in the parking lot he would give me the cart and reciept and I give him cash for 50% of the amount on the receipt
I guess it's a question of whether the US government should be in the charity business or not?
Clearly, people need help during these times. But if we're as compassionate as we think we are, we don't need the government to feed people.
Saying that these people will starve without food stamps is like asking "who will pick the cotton is slavery is abolished".
People are resilient, alternative economies and markets will spring up, and charities will swiftly move into action.
More $ is made available. So all the good little capitalists go after it and jack up the prices! Any kid with a lemonade stand could tell you that.
Ka-Ching!
To the non human above who feels people should go hungry and not have food stamps. I read online somewhere that it was stated the govt does not really need the money the IRS steals from us as it makes so much money. I never minded paying taxes, I always felt like I was contributing to the welfare of someone else. We are all supposed to help each other.
Simple arithmetic did these people appear out of nowhere having never eaten anything anywhere that they had to buy at a supermarket? First of all, supermarket sales are up because people have stopped eating out as much. Second, the new ones on stamps are buying cheaper than they usually do to make or attempt to make the stamps go through the month. Third, prices go up every year, usually because food suppliers want to make money. The agri-business big guys can manipulate prices where the small farmers cannot. Ever heard of price fixing ? with the weather as an excuse they can set a price and who will question it/ So get your ducks in a row before you start laying blame on someone that needs help. They may be in this position because they took Jesus at his word. He said that whoever takes care of the least of you will have a place in Heaven. and he also said not to judge one another. Actually walk in their shoes for one hour befor blaming another.
I think the author did great job on this article. He did not say "end foodstamps" he was
merly pointing out how government spending drives up prices, and enslaves those on it. As mentioned, people did fine with charity groups, until the charity business was put out of business by government tactics.
The fact is, its too late to do anything about it, ya cant stop food stamps Too many people were sleeping while our country was being destroyed. I wonder what will happen if there is no money and the EBT cards are useless? It IS a possibility. FEMA camps anyone? Millions have high student loans, and the senate voted that they cannot file bankruptcy. They are all now government debt slaves. Til they die.
Of course prices rise with food stamp use, just like medical services rose with health insurance.
There are so many knee jerk comments and insults to the author and commentors about being "non human" for suggesting that food stamps are not the answer.
The author doesn't say they are bad, or that they should be ended. It just seems like we should discuss if this is the best way to go about feeding the hungry.
I think food stamps are absolutely necessary in the short term, but clearly it's not a sustainable way to run a society given that the number of people who need them has QUADRUPLED in the last 10 years.
As long as the jobs aren't HERE where they are needed just how exactly does anyone think that foodstamps should be stopped? The charity system is broken so what is the alternative?
My gut is telling me that once so much more debt is formed the government is going to suddenly going to try to declare 'bankruptcy' on the American public and cut foodstamps eventhough it'd kill those same millions which desperately need it.
That's not soft kill. That's blatant hard kill. But they'll do it. Watch and see. Then the real violence will begin.
Most of you people commenting are idiots. This article is right wing crazy propoganda. Did you people not realize that we just had a drought! The hottest July in records! What do you think that does to farming and cattle. Moronic article and moronic comments.
Hmmmm
Wow what a load of baloney. Lets blame poor starving foodstamp mothers for high food prices. Forget the massive government subsidies for ethanol. Forget the even more massive speculation and manipulation starting last year (yes look back) of the key elements of the worlds food commodities.........And lets not forget Obama. He started draining the US massive grain reserves almost from the day he entered office. Instead of increasing a steadily declining strategic food reserve he accelerated the outflow. It is just about at zero now. SO there is no way for the government to stop this.
What a lovly lovly lovly coincidence for all those traders on Wall street who are cashing in literally billions in profits.
Now as to the drought. While it has been bad it wasn't that bad. And a whole lot of people beleive that given our power to manipulat the weather our government stopped the rain. Why would they do that?
Well as the dollar collapses food would naturally be one of the first staples to see inflation; now they can blame it on the weather on welfare moms.....And it also creates a perfect distraction from the phony and illegal wars for Israel still on going. It also gets peoples attention away from the in your face election fraud committed by the GOP and the US media against the peoples choice Ron Paul. The list goes on...But the publics ability to remain apathetic boggles the mind. You don't suppose it has anyting to do with the highest sugar content diet in the entire world. Or maybe the chemtrails. Or the flouride in the water. How about the chemtrails. The 1% havn't been this rich realitve to the rest of the world since Roman Times. Of course some of us actually know what happened to the Romans..........
After reading these blogs, it seems most people still don't realize all of this is a big scam. Who is paying for these food stamps? It's just another tax to suck money from the tax payers. I would say that most people getting food stamps don't even qualify and are too lazy to even look for work. Families have been on welfare for generations and wouldn't have it any other way just like politicians who are the biggest welfare recipients because all they do is suck money from us for nothing in return and want to keep it that way.
Lazy? Have you REALLY checked out the available jobs for people to apply for? Google it! There have been cases where Walmart, etc. have had 3,000 people apply for ONE position! The so-called ''fatness'' of the ... bread-line as pictured is a psy-op! Not ALL of them look like that, number one; and number two, that fatness or overeating is not the problem! It is the SYMPTON! Judgment like that may render you the wearer of their shoes and needing foodstamps! What goes around comes around...
Nope, will no create major inflation of food prices. The people on SNAP can not afford most fruit/vegetables/protein sources and resort to cheap 'sugar' snacks as food. Saw an example of this just the other day. Lady had a cart full of junk....aka little debbie cakes, hostess products, cereal, noodle products, etc. Total came to $60 and she paid with SNAP. I had a couple of steaks some fresh veggies and egg/dairy products. My total $60.....
My stuff could be carried in a single grocery bag.
The point is that it is the state of mind that needs that kinda 'consolation' . . . and having to even be ON SNAP is depressing. Ya know? Like a loss of choice and THEY set your limit on what you can eat. Oh and another thing. If she is homeless, and I am so I know, you have nowhere to COOK a steak, no utensils to cut up the veggies for the salad and STORE the veggie/egg products! When a relative mailed me food, I am awed at two eggs overeasy. Perhaps you could practice visualizing living in that body and what it might be like . . . my people perish for a lack of knowledge was written somewhere. Perhaps there is an experience not given or not capable of being given by the parents, school etc., for them and so they don't know what question to ask or what to 'pray' for. Your attitude sounds like mine is better than yours . . . although I have myself noticed the attitude of some like that in line as you say . . . it's a call for love.
Rightwing nuts use "welfare/food stamp" every election cycle as code words to their racist, selfish, greedy haters. These people make up approximately 42-43% of voters in our nation.
Food stamp use is NOT the cause of inflation on food. Unknown to the idiot rightwing nuts is something called world competition in the markets. While the elite were busy outsourcing our jobs (like Mitt/Bain) over the past 30+ years, they created a middle class in India and China(countries with billions of citizens, not 330 million like us). Now we are competing with them for oil, food, etc. on the world stage. Erin Burnette "Out Front" was just busted by economist for saying the same ignoranat thing about oil prices. Add in the drought in our "bread basket" this year and you haven't seen anything yet. Prices are going up, not down.
Of course to know any facts, education is required. Unfortunately, education is not very high on these 42%-43% list. They don't believe in science and prefer to use manmade religions as their guide. Unfunding public education and more home schooling by religious zealots is making them more stupid every year. Over 3 million jobs can't be filled now in America because the education required for the jobs is absent. Hence, private sector companies are bringing in foreigners to perform the work.
Imagine if all these people using food stamps didn't have them in this economy. Hungry people do not sit in the corner and die quietly. Crime would be way up. Where would our economy be right now if this money was not be circulated through private businesses?
One should educate themself on facts, not lies and garbage of the rightwing nuts. So far, nothing the rightwing has claimed is true.
The liberals commenting here are totally missing the point. Just because someone points out that gov't spending raises prices, doesn't mean they think it's morally wrong to help the poor.
Society should help the poor, but you liberals are defending such a criminal government who steals from you and gives to the rich.
Food stamps are merely bribes being used maliciously to trap people into dependence and enrich the crooks who buy elections. They are not charity in the purest sense.
You liberals love your slavery and will defend it to the very end. If you want to make a difference, go volunteer at a homeless shelter and stop demanding the gov't save us.
Hi Folks,
Thanks for the thoughtful comments on my article.
I want to clarify something: I'm not fundamentally against government helping the poor. However, I wish these programs were empowering instead of a trap.
As I said, clearly it's not the fault of the poor that they're struggling in this economic collapse.
I firmly believe that if they were given the freedom to do so, those struggling would find alternatives to government aid -- much like is happening in Greece and Spain.
Perhaps they would grow some food, volunteer at a local garden or farm, engage in barter, or start a community food center or related business. All of these options are better than relying on the gov't and big box stores for survival.
But the gov't doesn't want us to seek alternatives, or self-empowerment. That is evident.
What's also clear is gov't deficit spending is forcing prices higher. It's not the only factor in rising food prices, but it can't be argued that it's not part of it.
If I had my way, I would end all foreign wars, cut CIA, NSA, DHS, FBI, and DOD funding and corporate welfare to fund programs that empower the poor to become self-reliant -- not programs that simply appease the status quo.
"Give a man a fish and eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for life."
Thanks again for taking the time to read and comment.
Make it a fantastic week!
Eric Blair
Food stamps is not what is driving up the cost of food. What is- is the speculation of commodities on Wall Street. Have you ever seen potatoes skyrocket based on speculation? No because potatoes are not a commodity traded on Wall Street but corn, wheat, and soy are. Their prices have skyrocketed while potatoes are very very cheap at a couple of dollars for ten pounds. The same could be said of oil. If oil were not a commodity on Wall Street, it would probably cost 50 cents a gallon but you see that the middle men want their cut of the pie and guess who pays them a cut - a very big cut at that - YOU!
Anyone can grow potatoes, in barrels if they choose. Then they can eat them right away. Not everyone can grow and process soy or wheat. And corn requires a lot of land.
There's no incentive to make potatoes a commodity which makes it a great survival food for the poor.
Food stamp recipients should grow tons of potatoes.
"Food stamp recipients should grow tons of potatoes."
Yeah. And starve to death. --- unless their sweet potatoes as opposed to white potatoes. To grow amaranth and/or quinoa makes more sense. White potatoes are virtually lacking in nutrients. Amaranth and quinoa are powerhouses of nutrients.
Learning to make kefir is also a way to boost your nutrient intake. It's very VERY easy. I can make kefir for my whole family for only the price of milk and using a quart Mason jar.
The entire stock market system is a scam. Stock brokers wouldn't know how to exist in the real world and grow their own food if their lives depended on it. They're too willing to gamble everything away.
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