In their never-ending efforts to buy votes with other people’s money (see the first cartoon in this post), politicians have been expanding the welfare state and creating more dependency.
This is bad for the overall economy because it means a larger burden of government spending and it’s bad for poor people because it undermines their self reliance and self respect.
It also has very worrisome long-run effects on the stability and viability of a culture, as shown by these two cartoons.
A stark example can be seen in the food stamp program, which has morphed from a handout for the genuinely poor to a widespread entitlement for everyone from college students to the Octo-mom, and for products ranging from luxury coffee to lobster.
Here are some of the unpleasant details about the fiscal costs from Veronique de Rugy’s column in the Washington Examiner.
When the food stamp program was first expanded nationally in the 1970s, just 1 in 50 Americans participated. Today, 1 in 7 Americans receive $134 each month… With the bipartisan Farm Bill going through Congress right now, these high levels of dependency may become permanent. Some 70 percent of the nearly $1 trillion Farm Bill recently passed by the Senate will be spent on food stamps — that’s $770 billion over ten years. …An estimated 45 million Americans received food stamps in 2011, at a cost of $78 billion. That’s a twofold increase from just five years ago when 26 million people received benefits at a cost of $33 billion. …food stamp enrollment increased and spending doubled, even as unemployment and the poverty level dropped modestly between 2007 and 2011. The more important part of the story comes from the eligibility changes implemented by the Bush and Obama administrations.
The last sentence is the key. Eligibility has been expanded dramatically. Food stamps are slowly but surely becoming mainstream and that should worry all of us.
But food stamps are just one form of income redistribution. Welfare spending also is a problem.
Here are some excerpts from a New Hampshire story, featuring a store clerk who got fired because she didn’t think welfare cards should be used to buy cigarettes.
Jackie R. Whiton of Antrim had been a six-year employee at the Big Apple convenience store in Peterborough until a single transaction sent her job up in smoke. The store clerk was fired after she refused to take a customer’s Electronic Balance Transfer card to pay for cigarettes. …Whiton said she did not think EBT cards could be used to purchase cigarettes and refused to sell to him. The two “had a little go-around” as the line got longer behind him, said Whiton. “I made the statement, ‘do you think myself, that lady and that gentlemen should pay for your cigarettes?’ and he responded ‘yes,’ ” Whiton said. …Charles E. Wilkins, the general manager of the C.N. Brown Co. that runs the stores, said the EBT cards in the cash phase could be used for any items, including alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Wilkins said the company gave Whiton the option of staying but she said she would not accept the cards anymore. “She didn’t think it was right and just wasn’t going to sell to people in that program anymore,” Wilkins said. Whiton said when she came to work the next day, her manager asked her how much notice she was giving. When she responded “a week,” she was told the home office had just called and fired her.
Ms. Whiton is now one of my personal heroes, joining Mr. Mothershead, another store clerk who had the right reaction when confronted by someone who tried to get something he didn’t earn (albeit using a different tactic).
Last but not least, here’s something that arrived in my inbox yesterday.
A bit harsh, but we have gotten to a strange point where the Obama Administration is bribing states to add more food stamp recipients and even running ads to lure more people into food stamp dependency.
So, yes, Billy Fleming (assuming he’s real) has a right to be upset.
P.S. Here’s some more welfare humor.
[…] power of government to obtain unearned benefits. And that’s true whether the benefits are food stamps or […]
[…] power of government to obtain unearned benefits. And that’s true whether the benefits are food stamps or […]
[…] power of government to obtain unearned benefits. And that’s true whether the benefits are food stamps or […]
[…] highlights some of the worst numbers, most notably the huge growth in food stamps and Medicaid […]
[…] Food Stamps […]
[…] Food Stamps […]
[…] Our real challenge is redistributionism. Far too many people think it is okay to use the coercive power of government to obtain unearned benefits. And that’s true whether the benefits are food stamps or bailouts. […]
[…] bar chart on the right and see that spending on the program has tripled in the past 10 years. Heck, food stamps were about 70 percent of the cost of a recent Senate “farm […]
[…] cartoon is an apt illustration of where we are today with programs such as Food Stamps and disability, with ever-greater numbers of people being lured into lives of […]
[…] power of government to obtain unearned benefits. And that’s true whether the benefits are food stamps or […]
[…] power of government to obtain unearned benefits. And that’s true whether the benefits are food stamps or […]
[…] bar chart on the right and see that spending on the program has tripled in the past 10 years. Heck, food stamps were about 70 percent of the cost of a recent Senate “farm […]
[…] bar chart on the right and see that spending on the program has tripled in the past 10 years. Heck, food stamps were about 70 percent of the cost of a recent Senate “farm […]
There is no greater fear than losing a steady handout and then being forced to work for a buck. Self-esteem or annoying alarm clocks are not needed for those that choose to suck on the big nipple. More than one hundred million recipients depend on Obama for their survival; he is the great provider and jungle king.
Thank you for that hilarious “Do not feed” picture!
[…] Liberty / Govt. Liberal Berkeley Poised to Acquire Armoured Vehicle What DC Schools Can Teach Us about Obamacare Food Stamps, Handouts, and the Ever-Expanding Welfare State […]
I am a single mom of two children and take nothing for granted. I am grateful for any little bit of help I can get. It is reading stories like this that make me so sad for the future. Even tho the clerk stood her ground, there are unfortunately stores that will ‘help’ the scammer. They will take your food stamp $ and ‘convert’ it to cash so you can buy what is known to be illegall in the system. Even more reason to ‘hate’ the system… those that do need the help (such as myself) are being pushed out and told no so others may take advantage! Keep fighting America!
After reading this, how can you not conclude that our nation is on the path of destruction.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-2142647%2FPresident-Obamas-illegal-immigrant-uncle-Onyango-Obama-eligible-drivers-license.html&ei=-CPvT77rKuLY0QGtsqz7Ag&usg=AFQjCNFTyBHut5lFH-Ab0o-eUA1rwLL-og&sig2=mtS3IAWKFF9-hy6kKJPaJQ
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CGAQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQHoAuk76fT8&ei=0iPvT9DbHojp0gGHsJT9Ag&usg=AFQjCNGls-2qZBYbBuM8CVlEKmFFyBytJg&sig2=pmm_z8YsoDUxugocjbzR_A
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyxcLO8PXAiM%26feature%3Dshare&h=JAQGcp-_R
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gopetition.com%2Fpetitions%2Fstop-hud-housing-from-neglecting-abusing-tenants.html&h=yAQGV2mSl
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fpetitions%2Fthe-president-of-the-united-states-congress-senate-stop-abusing-and-neglecting-tenants&h=LAQG61DAl
STOP WITH ALLOWING THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN TO THIS COUNTRY AND HANDING THEM EVERYTHING SUCH AS HOUSING, FOOD STAMPS, WELFARE, HEALTH INSURANCE, JOBS, SCHOOLING,FOOD-STAMPS, TAKE CRE OF US THE UNITED STATES CITIZENS!!!!
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Food Stamps, Handouts, and the Ever-Expanding Welfare State