Food stamps a small benefit with big impact - Letter by Carol Stahl

Reproduced here for fair use and discussion purposes. My comments in bold.

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Here's another response to Tom Burnett's letter, which once again imputes to Mr. Burnett a malevolence not in evidence by his presentation. This is the way the Left rolls. Any criticism of a government program precipitates a howl of indignation from the True Believers. They cannot countenance a world without government supplying the solution to every problem, so any questioning of the god of government is tantamount to heresy. It therefore must be shouted down vociferously and completely.

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Food stamps provide support at one-third of the poverty line. Small as the total amount is, food stamp programs create significant benefits to our wider economy.

Statistics from the Dept. of Agriculture show that every $5 of food stamps generates $9 in economic activity. And $1 billion of retail food purchased by food stamp recipients generates 3,300 farm jobs. (This is an astonishing claim. Not for its magnitude, but for its complete lack of economic understanding. I know I've covered this ground before, but I need to do it again. There is no possible way that there is any sort of multiplier effect to food stamps or any other government-sourced assistance. The government has no money of its own. It can borrow it, print it, or tax it. It must take money from somewhere before it can give it elsewhere.

Whatever the source, each dollar comes from someone who already possesses it for their own use and purposes. That person is denied the economic benefit of how they might choose to spend that dollar. The government substitutes its use and purposes and spends it themselves. It's the same dollar, spent by a different party.

Because there is no new wealth created via government spending, there is no additional employment or economic benefit. Indeed, the dollars are simply redistributed to different people in different geographical locations who spend it on different things.)

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports 83 percent of food stamps go to feed children, seniors, and non-elderly people with disabilities. These are populations unable to obtain jobs paying enough for them to feed themselves. (Hmmm. Why does Ms. Stahl want children to find jobs? And might we politely ask why so many people are having troubles finding adequate jobs? Would the answer be Obama's economy, perhaps?) The other 17 percent are temporary beneficiaries.

Food stamp programs help increase children’s intake of iron, zinc, niacin, thiamin and vitamin A. (Wow, those food stamps are sure nutritious. Sorry for the sarcasm, but this actually evidences an aspect of Leftist thought. They believe that government programs feed people. Cut a government program, and people starve. So people who believe in limited government are therefore in favor of starving people. Yes, this is really what the Left thinks.) This can reduce the risk of obesity, hypertension and diabetes later in life, when as adults they will need less health care for those diseases and lose fewer work days. (Wow, so you mean that food makes people healthy? Really? This is news to me...)

In 2012 the average food stamp allotment per person was $133.41 per month, or $1.48 per meal. Since Nov. 1 the average allotment is $1.40 per meal.

Can either Glen Johnson or Tom Burnett feed himself on a maximum of $1.40 per meal every day for a month? (Most certainly. It may be a challenge at times, but it can be done.) An honest attempt, without resorting to hoarded food, invitations out or family assistance (This demonstrates what I asserted above. They really believe that government, and government alone, should feed needy people. It's cheating to get food elsewhere. If you betray government compassion by accepting private compassion, you are violating the Faith. They just cannot have that happen.) would teach them some respect. Since Nov. 1, desperate people have to survive a year on an 11-month food budget. (Can we ask how much Ms. Stahl personally pays to feed the hungry? Perhaps she does. If so, kudos. But I am almost completely sure that she expects others to help people, using the force of government to extract compassion out of them.)

Glen Johnson wrote that all hungry people should be punished for minor fraud in food programs. (I've reproduced Mr. Johnson's letter below. I challenge you to find any statement about punishing hungry people.)  It’s a disgrace that anyone thinks it is okay to starve hungry disadvantaged people. Plus, it would cost more to the whole economy than the provable amount of fraud merits. (Our only conclusion is that Ms. Stahl opposes reducing waste, fraud, and abuse because it's still good to have people spending that money to help the economy. Truly nonsense.)

Carol Stahl

Glen Johnson's letter:

In a recent Chronicle article about the farm bill's related food stamps program, the newspaper rounded up and corralled "the usual suspects" for proposing cutbacks in the $80 billion program. It is those pesky Republicans taking food from the mouths of babies again! However, the last few "throw away lines" in the last paragraph blew the rails off the corral releasing all suspects.

Does anyone believe that a cut of 5 percent off a partly inexplicably burgeoning federal program in an improving economy, without change of qualifying income levels, spells disaster for truly needy families? I doubt it! Just a little needed, judicious pruning of abuse and fraud in the huge program will handle that reduction very nicely, thank you!