Americans are struggling to put food on the table......

StupidCowboyTricks · Post by **StupidCowboyTricks** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:08 am

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On a party-line vote, a Republican-run U.S. House of Representatives committee voted to cut food stamps by $844 million on Friday, just hours after a new government report showed more Americans are struggling to put food on the table.

About 300,000 Americans would lose benefits due to tighter eligibility rules for food stamps, the major U.S. antihunger program, under the House plan. The cuts would be part of $3.7 billion pared from Agriculture Department programs over five years as part of government-wide spending reductions.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051028/pl_ ... ts_dc;_ylt

So, in order to pay for the rebuilding of Iraq. Americans will have to starve but oil companies can get huge tax cuts?

Shouldn't the tax cuts be put off until Americans got back on their feet after all the natural disastors as well?

webbie · Post by **webbie** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:12 pm

Do Not Give Tax Cuts Or Credits To The Big Oil Companies. So For This Year They Have All Made Record Profits On Top Of Record Earnings. Tell Ins To Round Up All The Illegals In This Country And Send Them Back From Where They Came. This Will Open Up At Least A Million Jobs Across The Country, Thus Cutting Welfare Down To Close To Nothing, And The Need For Food Stamps Would Be Almost Nothing. Help The Low Wage Earners Out With Their Health Insurance. With These Waays All Americans Will Be Able To Eat, And Have Money To Spend, Thus Helping The Economy. Its Just A Big Circle.

LilacDragon · Post by **LilacDragon** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:42 pm

Collecting all of the illegals and sending them home would certainly be a good start - but it would NOT solve the problem of putting food on the table for America's poor. It certainly wouldn't help single parents.

Last I heard, minimum wage was $5.15 an hour (although I must admit that I could be wrong). I am fairly certain that it is below $6.00 an hour. At $6.00 an hour, working 40 hours a week, a person would earn $240.00 BEFORE TAXES. That is less then $1,000 a month! Now, where I live an apartment starts at about $600 a month. I pay $700, plus gas, electric and water. My water is $53.00, electric (in the summer with the A/C) is about $90.00 and my gas (for heating in winter) is about $30.00 - but that is sure to go up this winter. then there is my phone bill - $47.00 and cable (necessary so that I can talk to my DH while he is in a war zone) at $65.00. That is $1,032.00 And that doesn't begin to cover food, clothing, soap and other incidentals that a family needs in a month. And don't forget the all important gasoline for my car so that I can transport my children and look for a job. (Every job that I have interviewed for pays between $6.00 and $6.50 an hour, btw and are only looking for part time help.)

Sorry - cutting food stamps is just one more way of screwing the working class poor.

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:52 am

Minimum wage is a political pan & spoon politicians beat to get the low-income voters stirred up. Even McDonalds pays more than minimum wage.

Putting budgeting/money management into school curriculums, and teaching the same to welfare recipients, will do far more to help them than giving food stamps.

Cutting taxes puts more money into the economy, which puts more money in small business owners' pockets, which gives them opportunity to expand, which means more jobs, which actually increases revenue. Consider it feeding the golden goose.

People claim we need illegal aliens (who are criminals, btw) because they will do the work citizens won't. Citizens claim they can get work because the illegal aliens (criminals) do it cheaper. Get rid of the criminal element in this equation and the rest will work itself out.

If you have savings, invest part of it in oil.

greydeadhead · Post by **greydeadhead** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:21 am

I am sure that there are families out there that need assistance. But.. I am also sure that there are people out there abusing the system (I have seen it). If reducing thier benefits forces them to go to work.. awwwww.. ain't life a bitc*. Most jobs start at atleast $8 an hour.. I do realize that is not alot, but, do what I do.. work 2 jobs if you need to.

LilacDragon · Post by **LilacDragon** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:19 am

Well, I sure wish I lived where you guys do, with most jobs starting at $8 an hour. I would love to work 2 jobs - but will have to find the first one first.

Oh, I don't get foodstamps or any other assistance but I did for a couple of months many years ago. I know that there are abuses to the system, but I am not that person.

My taxes pay for those programs and I have payed plenty of taxes. Why shouldn't I be able to collect them when I need to?