The Danger With Government Welfare Programs
 

Depictions of long bread lines during the Great Depression underscored how desperate many folks were back then. The Great Recession of 2008 version of these bread lines are now much more subtle, their called food stamps.

The number of people receiving food stamps has exceeded 45 million for 56 straight months (cite Department of Agriculture), meaning that an astonishing 14% of Americans are being fed by government. It means that 21.3 % (52.2.million) is one one or more means tested government program. Additionally most of this population also get special tax breaks, incentives or treatment, nanny government's tools for wealth redistribution and Sanders and Clinton advocate for more such social engineering.

Tracking for food stamp participation by the Department of Agriculture began in 1969. Food stamp population participation was 2.87 million people (14%) representing just 1.4% of total population. Statistically food stamp participation has increased 1,470% in 47 years yet the US population has had only a 56% increase.

The Department of Agriculture readily admit that the generous incentive for SNAP associated with both the 2002 and 2008 Farm Acts made benefits easier to secure and more generous.

Again we find Sanders and Clinton engaged in a battle over who will promise the most free stuff. Such promises are unconstitutional and unsustainable. These government welfare programs promote a disincentive to work and require unattainable monetary policy.

The printing/creating of money means more of the national wealth flows to the federal government. We see the same problem because of the FED monetary policies ( QE and low interest) stifling the economy money flow only to Wall Street and the US Treasury.

Government has to stop because its destroying us from within

Personal Best Regards:

Stock up on ammo!

Clinton will be elected president, there is nobody that can stop that. She will be elected by the 52% of voters that are on government assistance (it was 49% in 2013, do the math) and they don't care how many lies she tells, they don't care how many emails she has deleted, they don't care how many classified emails she sent off her personal server, they don't care how many people died in Benghazi, they don't want America to be put back to work...all they care about is "no cuts to their benefits" and she is that!

The ammo will be needed when this country goes bankrupt because it gives away more than it takes in, and because the working people can't afford the non working anymore. When those benefits stop coming; the recipients that have developed a sense of entitlement (some of them have had the last 3 generations of their families on welfare), they will seek to find food and money elsewhere. Get ready for Civil War II.

Go ahead and debate, the old and weak will be the first attacked...stock up on ammo!!

You might want to do some research before you speak:

The 7 Biggest Deadbeat States Who Mooch Off Taxpayers All Vote Republican

Now from the Pew Research Group:

The politics and demographics of food stamp recipients | Pew Research Center

The Top 7 states for food stamps:

7 States With the Most People on Food Stamps

Just another example of the hate speech coming from the Trump Camp!

I'll bet you go to church every Sunday....

Yes.....but....... Benghazie, Benghazie, Benghazie!

The farming and food industry, folks like Kraft, ADM, Cargill, Tyson, etc. Are the beneficiaries of the food stamp program. When the poor get "free money", they spend it on their food products, that's why they push for more and more welfare.

Yes it is destroying us from within. We keep voting for the D and R crooks, what do we expect?

Keep debating old fool (your Social Security checks will stop when Hillary runs the government into bankrupt).

Love liberal websites...yeah Hillary and Bernie are speaking of taking from the rich and giving to the poor Republicans, LOL.

I might vote for Hillary. Not that my vote will be needed, when she will already have 52% of the country voting for "no cuts in benefits" (all Republicans I guess). Most polls have her at 65% chance to win the presidential election, possibly you want to bet against them?

After the Civil War II; the country will start over and hopefully will be much better than it is now (Obamma, the first half white president, was a bust...Has the Standards and Poor ratings for the US improved?? Was Obammacare a success??) Really, are Hellary, Burn, Crud, and Trump the best people we have to lead this country? That is all we got? Is there nobody better that could garner enough votes to be elected?

You lost the bet! I am Agnostic, so no church for me. I do feel there are good ethics and morals in the Bible, I just do those for myself and not some God.

STOCK UP ON AMMO!

The topic is " Government Welfare Programs" . I do not consider Social Security nor Medicare to be welfare programs nor entitlements because American workers were forced to participate. Politicians like to brag about them as entitlements as if they are your benevolent benefactors. But the truth as we know it is that it had been because of their mis-management that these two programs are in dire straits. So in my mind discussion of Social Security/Medicare is a separate issue

This mismanagement also applies to welfare programs. There is no question that some of us will need a helping hand for a brief period and some of us because of disability will need to be provided for life. It is the human thing to assist and its the Christian thing to do.

However, the federal government too often knowingly use these programs as redistribution schemes and as vote getters quid pro quo arrangements and the like. And/or they lack the knowledge or the motiviation to fight fraud and abuse

I hold both Democrats and Republicans equally responsible for allowing this to continue because it has created generation after generation of slacker and the ranks among them are growing .

I also chose this topic because I am sick and tired of talking about candidates ad nauseam. By now we all know who they are and we all have made up our minds about the spin that surrounds their campaigns.

It would seem reasonable to discuss substantive issues, policies etc and the affect we believe they will have on us

Personal Best Regards

I've been hearing the same bs since I was old enough to read about politics.
The sky is falling.

Why don't you take a day off and go help somebody in need rather than sit there all day biting each other's heads off. Wake up.

Really?

So where does the doubling of those getting food stamps under Obama fit in your life long education of this matter?

You want to talk about "Government Welfare Programs". Fine. All the tax benefits given to the top wage earnings, what do you call that? How about this? Welfare for people that don't need it.

Saying that food stamps are for slackers is just plain wrong. It is painting everyone with the same brush. Is there fraud? Of course, there is. Is it wide spread? No, it isn't. When everyone that doesn't agree with you has to be your enemy, this is what you get. Just blame them for everything. That way you don't have to look in the mirror at part of the problem.

If you think that companies supplying items to the military are completely honest, you are not living in the real world. There is fraud everywhere. The problem is how much money do you want to spend uncovering it? The cost may be more than the benefit.

The welfare moms disappeared in 90s.

In addition to the so called isolated fraud(?) the bigger, much bigger numbers are those who no longer qualify but remain on the rolls collecting the benfits.
The government just does not police status. Once you are on you are on....no enforcement! The politicians are not going to be the ones to stand up and state taking people off the programs......that would be losing a vote.
Hence like most federal programs, out of control spending, no enforcement to maintain voter block.

I watched all of the last session.... Your guys got nothing but egg on their face!

And you would have more credibility if you could spell it correctly!


Benghazi

Great post!!! Then we could talk about Corporate Welfare and Tax evasion!

Think by Numbers » Government Spends More on Corporate Welfare Subsidies than Social Welfare Programs

If you want to talk about government welfare and the billion of dollars it costs - start talking about farm subsidies!

You will very rarely meet a poor farmer but you will always meet a farmer who claims to be poor.

Be careful, now. Those farmers are Democrats. Democrats always have good reasons for giving your money away.

That is an interesting subject. Warren Buffett can afford to be a philanthropist with the farm subsidies he applies for and accepts. For gods sake man; I can give away your money too!

You would have to be wise enough, talented enough, and hard working enough to own a corporation that made enough income to consider tax evasion first!

I am guessing you are more of a taker than a provider based on your ignorant comment.

I guess that you have never heard of inherited wealth. It takes a real talent to start as president of a corporation. Take a good look at the starting dates of the corporations of well to do families.
Family Fortune: The 20 Richest Families in America - TheRichest
Sometimes the only thing that providers provide is stupidity.

You might be overstating the problem somewhat, but I don't think by much. I also think all hell is going to break loose when government benefits of any kind get reduced due to just plain not be able to borrow or print the money to continue them. There are a lot of people who believe deficiets don't matter and can continue forever, I guess I'm not one of them. If deficiets don't matter why don't we just place barrels of freshly printed money on all street corners and tell people to take just what they deserve, kind of on the honor system. That will help economy, at least many think so.

Farmers are Democrats? Tell that to the evangelicals in Iowa who gladly take farm subsidies! Every farmer I have met - and that is a lot - have all been Republicans. And they all love their government subsidies.

Geez you guys bought out Walmart when Obama was elected!!!! :boxing2:LOL

:bigbow::bigbow:

Times change. I feel fortunate to have lived through a great period, rapid expansion and technological progress. Tech Progress is a killer. We all read how the middle class has gotten nowhere in recent decades. The fact is, we continue to be more productive, year after year. But all the rewards go to the owner/executive class. It'll only get worse. The pace of Technology is increasing. I worry for my kids, grandkids, and future generations.

Consider autonomous vehicles, they're right around the corner. In a few years you'll call up a ride on your smartphone and the car (maybe a convertible, minivan, or pickup, whatever you ordered) will pull up without a driver! It won't be long after that you'll decide you only need one car, then none. Maybe convert the garage to a workshop. Sounds silly now but folks in the future may wonder why anyone every had tons of steel sitting in a garage 23 hours a day.

"Transportation as a Service" is the future. Manufacturers have to reset, marketing to the Uber's of the world. Truck driver is the #1 job in the country, they're all vulnerable. If individuals don't own cars, what happens to Service Stations, mechanics, parking ramps.... Self-driving cars are only the beginning. What about 3D printing, dark factories, Robotics, on and on. The point is, jobs and the need for human capital is going away. Not a bad thing if we manage it.

I grew up on Sci-fi and reading Popular Mechanics (still no flying cars). I expected we'd be further along now. When I started working I felt fortunate. My Dad worked 7 day, 60+ hour, weeks all his life. I started and fell into the 40 hour work week and expected that was only the beginning. By now we'd all live a life of luxurious leisure (I think that was actually in Popular Mechanics). It didn't happen. Unfortunately, the middle class was exploited and it's really gone the other way. Where I worked, people now work 24/7. Literally, it's an International Corporation and they often have global online meetings, which can be anytime day or night.

Exploiting workers just gets worse. Today. we have people working 40 hours at McDonalds and Walmart and they're eligible for Food Stamps. I guess that's a form of Corporate Welfare.

My concern is that Technology continues to carve out the middle class and we end up with all wealth and power in the hands of a few. Maybe that's the ultimate for Capitalism. The only distinction from Communism is that Communism has all wealth in power with a single dictator.

We need to plan for this future. I think there's only two options. Well, maybe three, we could go full Capitalism, survival of the fittest, and let everyone fend for themselves. I don't see that happening. So, either we provide a basic level of subsistence for all, or we create "Meaningless" jobs so everyone can work.

The solution is clear to me, and many others. Universal Basic Income (sometimes Basic Income Guarantee) is being talked about everywhere (not so much in the US). The ideal implementation would give everyone a check equal to Poverty Level income. As an example, you get a monthly check for $1000 just for being a citizen.

It sounds ridiculous (I can't wait to read the comments). But it's a major step toward that future world I dreamed of as a kid. Instantly, no more poverty. Hundreds of Govt programs go away, Welfare, Food Stamps, Unemployment, Housing Assistance, Student aid, on and on and on. All the people that work in these "industries" will be out of work. Frankly, they aren't doing anything productive for society anyway. They will have to live on Basic Income too. Shut down the computer systems and sell off the real estate.

Basic Income is a win-win all around.The single Mom working multiple jobs will have some options. Maybe more parents can avoid daycare and raise their own kids (that's our future). Young folks could stay in (or go back to) school. I have difficulty identifying negatives. The idea is popping up all over and pilots are planned, Canada, Finland, UK, Scotland, Switzerland,and others.

Instead of falling into the trap of divisive political banter, concentrate on solutions. Google "Basic Income", read a bit and consider the potential. I'd be interested in hearing the negatives.

Never met a Democrat farmer in Farmersburg, Iowa! All would be for Cruz but he is a foreigner to them. Trump is a billionaire but all they hear is his "Make America Great Again" - even though those farmers have never had it better. They just cannot get over the country is led by a black foreigner.

Ah yes, the race card. That usually closes any argument when the left has no point it can make.

Just stating the truth about the closed minded mentality of mid-western small rural towns.

FDR's New Deal, Congress passed the Agriculture Adjustment Act in 1933. (our socialist president)

More than half our farmers do not receive subsidies.

But, in general most farmers lean toward the Republican party.

Food Stamps are part of the Farm Bill.

There's big difference between "truth" and your opinion. Truth is backed up by facts. You opinion is just fool blathering.

And they're happier than all the "enlightened" city folk. Sorry, I'm not open minded either when it comes to certain things...neither should you.

Here is a big negative = there is no incentive to work in your program. If you provide food and housing to everyone, we will have what we have currently = people that have a sense of entitlement and no ambition to support themselves.

Are you suggesting single moms deserve some kind of pass in life? Were they all raped, beaten by there spouse, abandoned? The ones I know of were too stupid or lazy to practice birth control while having sex (our niece got knocked up in her parents driveway, one of our son's friends has had 3 abortions and 2 kids by 2 different guys), and I have known of a few moms that cheated on their husbands and caused a divorce... Oh you poor things, everyone else should take care of you!

Kids could stay home in school and play video games all night, just think how much they can learn that won't be used to support themselves.

great plan = STOCK UP ON AMMO!

While your opinion is rated what?

Now you are just...
 

fear mongering and stealing a post in lieu of starting your own. Will you man up and admit you were wrong when she does't become president? Thought not. Cowards and trolls are cut from the same cloth....never owning up to their actions...sounds a lot like Hillarity Clinstone.

But all the rewards go to the owner/executive class. It'll only get worse.

Remember the 1968 debate between Buckley-Vidal. Vidal warning that the top 1% own 22% of the countries wealth.

Consider autonomous vehicles, they're right around the corner.
I don't think so for liability reasons not because it isn't possible.

Exploiting workers just gets worse. Today. we have people working 40 hours at McDonalds and Walmart and they're eligible for Food Stamps. I guess that's a form of Corporate Welfare.

We need to plan for this future. I think there's only two options. Well, maybe three, we could go full Capitalism, survival of the fittest, and let everyone fend for themselves. I don't see that happening. So, either we provide a basic level of subsistence for all, or we create "Meaningless" jobs so everyone can work.
or---we provide training for worthwhile jobs in the service industry

The solution is clear to me, Universal Basic Income As an example, you get a monthly check for $1000 just for being a citizen.

Instead of falling into the trap of divisive political banter, concentrate on solutions. Google "Basic Income", read a bit and consider the potential. I'd be interested in hearing the negatives.

I enjoy thinking outside the box. Have you seen manufacturing in China? It's not exactly the WPA but it does provide jobs and training. Remember the manufacturing efforts of "Rosie the Riveter". We need to declare a war on poverty, retool and manufacture products we will use at home.

Trump sells a hat for $25. The American company he uses sells it plain online for $21. He could buy a similar hat from China for $2. I'm not judging. I think there must be a way to get the American price much lower.

I think people will work very hard if there is light at the end of the tunnel. I chance to be wealthy and give your children a wonderful life. Wealthy enough to go on vacations, not so wealthy that you are worth 10,000 times more than most.

Yes, I agree that a great number of the rural people PLUS you are bigots.

Bs, the majority are democrats. See I can make outrageous statements also!

I agree that people will work hard to get ahead. That's why I believe that given a basic poverty level income, most would still strive for more. And they'd have the opportunity to negotiate for their labor. Too many are trapped in jobs just to get bare necessities today.

That is ridiculous and naive thinking. If what you said was true, then no one would be on welfare. If you GIVE everyone a poverty level income, then you stagnate the economy. Only the motivated would work.

An example of people choosing not to work once they have a guaranteed income are retirees. There's a hundred thousand examples here in the Villages. I am not saying that they are not motivated, but now that they have secured their income, they no longer need to work for a living. And I do not mean that in a derogatory way. NO, Obama's Utopia is a fairy tale. Same as Bernie's.

Fear Mongering? Stealing Posts?
Hillary will become president for sure, if not I will "man up" and state I was wrong - no problem. How about when she wins will you remember I told you so?

Thought not? I don't see a lot of evidence of thought in your post...not sure if you noticed everyone on here has the same screen name = "Guest".

STOCK UP ON AMMO!

Ammo won't do you any good if Hillary gets in. She wants to take your guns away.