Tonight I am ashamed of my Democratic Party, those in the House have given in to corporate interests. I condemn all those who have gone along with this "compromise." Thank you Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI for caving to the Plutocrats who run things. Guess you are one of them? As a life long Democrat, I must say you have gone against everything I have held as Democratic ideals for six decades, as a middle class working person and now as a retired woman (living in poverty due to health problems, being unable to work for several years).
NYT: An agreement has been achieved. Democrats in the House have agreed to cut $8 billion from food stamps in legislation that will cut the program by that over ten years.
This comment from Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger says it right:
They are gutting a program to provide food for hungry people to pay for corporate welfare....
The full bill hasn't been released but has more "significant changes" than we've had in decades including farm subsidies changes that might look good initially. Prof. Vincent Smith of Montana State U., critic of the subsidies calls it a downright "bait-and-switch":
“They’ve eliminated the politically toxic direct payments program and added the money to a program that will provide farmers with even larger subsidies.”
They are doing this at my expense and maybe your expense, if you are an American getting food stamps, desperately needing, relying on it. Some of us live on Social Security (mine is a whopping $793 (and that's it!). We "elderly" are having difficulties enough.
Over the past year and a half my food stamps have been cut from $145 to $91. But of course they need to cut it more! And that is the only government aid available to me. Ilive in Florida where there is no public transportation, drive a 20 year old vehicle, have to have insurance, pay the high price of gas to drive 20 miles to a Publix, the monopoly here, the only grocery store within that distance. Let's see you do that and pay rent and phone and so on, on a SS income. Then get your $91/month for food cut.
Apparently this Bill cuts the drug testing aspect, but apparently will try to get us to work. HA. I'd like them to get me a job. They don't seem to eager to do that. They think poor people as a group do not work!?! People who don't have enough food, who can work, they do not want to work? How insane.
Benefits would be decreased to two million Americans. And by a lot to nearly half of them:
The $8 billion cut would reduce benefits by about $90 a month for 850,000 households.
So lots of little kids will go to bed hungry and moms will go without so their kids can eat dinner. For shame, Democrats, for shame!