retailers worry over food stamp cut

[superpunch]

nm

 

[therealdope]

Yes. A post about families with starving kids. If you didn't mean it to include all poor people, maybe you should clarify what you meant.

The post you quoted didn't say, "The drug addicted parents of starving kids."

It just referenced parents with starving kids, to which you replied:



So, to you, all parents with starving kids are spending their money on cigarettes, drugs, and booze. If I'm wrong here, you need to clarify your position.

I did not refer to drug addicted parents. Why would I do that when my point was to call out that there are parents who don't look out for the interests of their kids and they prioritize their own poor habits. That's only one (very unfortunate but true) aspect of what I call poor people decisions. What don't you understand.

Let me ask you, what do you think of parents who are so poor that they need aid but still cannot prioritize their kids' needs ahead of their own poor choices?

Have you lived in gov't housing or with generationally poor people? No? I suggest you try it as a sociological experiment. You might learn where exactly the needs of kids fall in a shocking portion of families in poor neighborhoods. I don't have an answer for how to help those kids, I wish I did.

 

[HomerThompson]

Let me ask you, what do you think of parents who are so poor that they need aid but still cannot prioritize their kids' needs ahead of their own poor choices?

I think that they're pathetic scumbags, but I'm not willing to starve children because I greatly dislike assholes. I'm also not willing to demonize all poor people because there are a lot of assholes in the world. It's lazy thinking, and it won't solve any problems.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Correct.

What it comes down to is that the Right just doesn’t want poor people to exist. Period.

I hear this stuff from leftists all the time, but it's hard to believe people seriously think this. Do you think there is no welfare or care for the poor in right wing states? Do you think the growing shanty towns of homeless people living in left wing metropolises like Seattle represent better care for the poor? I think the Left does care for the poor, but their polices do seem to have massive blind spots in terms of creating perverse incentives. I also think the Right cares for the poor, and they come off as uncaring, but it's really a sensible demand that people be responsible for themselves and their families whenever feasible.

Truth is, it's hard to help people. Anyone who has ever tried to help someone knows this. I've spent more than a decade working closely with the homeless. It's a balancing act of challenging them to achieve on their own and be independent and helping alongside whenever needed. I've seen a lot of government programs help people, and I appreciate that. I've also seen a lot of right wing people committing lot of time and money in the effort to help people. I appreciate that too.

 

[kpt018]

I hear this stuff from leftists all the time, but it's hard to believe people seriously think this. Do you think there is no welfare or care for the poor in right wing states? Do you think the growing shanty towns of homeless people living in left wing metropolises like Seattle represent better care for the poor? I think the Left does care for the poor, but their polices do seem to have massive blind spots in terms of creating perverse incentives. I also think the Right cares for the poor, and they come off as uncaring, but it's really a sensible demand that people be responsible for themselves and their families whenever feasible.

Truth is, it's hard to help people. Anyone who has ever tried to help someone knows this. I've spent more than a decade working closely with the homeless. It's a balancing act of challenging them to achieve on their own and be independent and helping alongside whenever needed. I've seen a lot of government programs help people, and I appreciate that. I've also seen a lot of right wing people committing lot of time and money in the effort to help people. I appreciate that too.

The safety nets exists because cutting them is very unpopular with regular people, even conservatives. The GOP in power very much wants to cut these programs, though. Why do you think "reform" (cutting benefits) has been a part of their platform for a long time?

 

[therealdope]

I think that they're pathetic scumbags, but I'm not willing to starve children because I greatly dislike assholes. I'm also not willing to demonize all poor people because there are a lot of assholes in the world. It's lazy thinking, and it won't solve any problems.

So you haven't lived in a poor area. Just as I thought. So your ideas are theoretical.

What you don't grasp is how bad the problem of bad parenting is, and how it negatively affects those in real need who do need help. When i think back to the subsidized apt bldg that we lived in there were like two legit families in the whole bldg. A french Canadian family with a construction working father who had just relocated to Ontario (they were out of that bldg as soon as they saved enough money), and a family from Trinidad (same story as the French Canadian family). The rest were mostly generational 'Canadian' with alcohol being pretty much the norm starting in the am.

I have no idea how you even help those kids out. I would like to say they could go to the Y on weekends and the boxing club during the summer/school year, like I did; but it won't help when they go back to their home and their shit bag parents.

Whatever the solution it must be multiple things of which aid is only one element.

 

[therealdope]

The GOP in power very much wants to cut these programs, though.

Now I know you're bowing hot air when it's well known that GOP strong hold states are the biggest recipients of aid.

'want' being very vague. The GOP ain't doing shit to upset their voting base, and risk sending them to the Dems.

 

[kpt018]

Now I know you're bowing hot air when it's well known that GOP strong hold states are the biggest recipients of aid.

'want' being very vague. The GOP ain't doing shit to upset their voting base, and risk sending them to the Dems.

Huh? You basically repeated the part of my post you cut out.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

The safety nets exists because cutting them is very unpopular with regular people, even conservatives. The GOP in power very much wants to cut these programs, though. Why do you think "reform" (cutting benefits) has been a part of their platform for a long time?

I've never heard of any major Republican who wants to eliminate the social safety net. Again, this seems like petty political point scoring that does nothing to help the poor. As far as cutting them, I think there are too many people on SNAP who don't need the assistance. This is anecdotal, based on what I've seen in my city.

I also think reform is desperately needed. I just went down to the social security office because many people on disability have their status under review. The lady I was accompanying had her status confirmed and continues to receive disability. But there were a lot of able bodied people waiting for their cases to be reviewed. Perhaps all of them had mental problems, and no doubt some did. But observing the system closely, even if one appreciates the programs in question, is enough to make anyone see reform is necessary.

 

[kpt018]

I've never heard of any major Republican who wants to eliminate the social safety net.

The entire safety net? I didn't claim that. I said they want to reduce benefits, and pretty dramatically too. Just look at everyone that wants to privatize social security on the right (in other words, eliminate it).

Again, this seems like petty political point scoring that does nothing to help the poor. As far as cutting them, I think there are too many people on SNAP who don't need the assistance. This is anecdotal, based on what I've seen in my city.

I also think reform is desperately needed. I just went down to the social security office because many people on disability have their status under review. The lady I was accompanying had her status confirmed and continues to receive disability. But there were a lot of able bodied people waiting for their cases to be reviewed. Perhaps all of them had mental problems, and no doubt some did. But observing the system closely, even if one appreciates the programs in question, is enough to make anyone see reform is necessary.

I'm certainly not claiming the programs are perfect, achieve every goal and that there aren't better ways to accomplish these goals. I'm claiming the GOP wants nothing to do with these goals and the only thing holding them back is their voters would crucify them.

 

[Fugazy]

And a lot of those people call themselves "Christians".

Actually a lot of those Christians are far more giving of their time and money than bleeding heart liberals, and don't want government waste weighing down the money thet are giving to the poor.

 

[Seano]

"Some food retailers were alarmed by a separate proposal by the Trump administration, which in February suggested shaving about $129 billion in SNAP spending over a decade by shifting food-stamp dollars from benefit cards to a food-box-delivery program that would be state-run."

I don't see how this would be a cheaper option.

Not cheaper, it eliminates the fraud and frivolous spending on nonsense.

 

[Fugazy]

I'm for giving a helping hand as well. Food and shelter... if you are dependent on others for your food, you dont get to choose what you want.
Poor people should be able to buy steak and energy drinks. They should do it with their own money

I get your point, but steak isn't all bad or unreasonable.

I can understand having a problem with people blowing their SNAP on $39/lb filet, but there are lots of reansonably priced steak options that eat good with a little finesse in the kitchen.

 

[Scott Parker 27]

I could lose my job today and wouldn’t need to work a day in my life. I was responsible and saved and invested wisely. I’m not sorry that you guys didn't.

Are you a Dr or did you live with mommy and daddy until you were 33? One of the two or you are lying.

 

[kpt018]

I get your point, but steak isn't all bad or unreasonable.

I can understand having a problem with people blowing their SNAP on $39/lb filet, but there are lots of reansonably priced steak options that eat good with a little finesse in the kitchen.

These people are not reasonable. They'll criticize folks on food stamps for eating cheap, junk food and for eating more expensive healthier foods.

 

[tkotom]

I remember when we were young we didn’t have government assistance for food because we weren’t lazy as fuck. There’s always work out there somewhere if you’re willing. Unfortunately the food stamps and hand outs keep people buttered up constantly and they have no motivation to function and they pass this shit on to their next gen. Get a fucking job, uproot your life until your kids have degrees and so on. Unless there’s disabilities in the family and things of this nature, I have no deep sympathy for fully able people who need random people in the government to make a living for them.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Before you cut aide spending there needs to be reform on food waste -- 1/3 or 160 billion dollars worth of foodstuffs are wasted every year -- re examining how retailers discard "best before" items and redistribution of that could go along way to addressing snap costs and food insecurities

 

[tkotom]

The usual lack of intelligent discourse on this subject. No intelligent person should ever rationally argue that people should go hungry because they're poor while living in a capitalist economy. The point of the capitalist system is to overwhelmingly reward the most effective companies. That means that some people will by necessity be poor and remain there since capitalism is designed push the lower end into obsolescence. And the upper end of companies don't need to hire the entire population. So there will always be an absolute number of poor people in this country. Some will rise out of poverty, some will not. Some non-poor people will fall into poverty as their employers lose the capitalist battle to other companies.

A good government recognizes this and puts programs into place that lessen the basic burden of capitalism on the people as the economy goes through it's natural culling process. The Norwegian countries have figured this out while we're trying to go backwards.

The entire population of Scandinavia isn’t even half of a California

These comparisons will never work.

 

[FrontNakedChoke]

Make America hard working again.

F*** any lazy piece of sh** who wants to leech of the system.

 

[cincymma79]

One thing I know is it is impossible to run programs cheaper while retaining benefits and cutting fraud. Impossible. So trump is literally killing babies and now is finally literally hitler.