quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Here is an idea.... Lets make a law that all churches that claim a tax exemption be required to donate 10 percent of their collections to a food fund distributed by states monitored by the Federal government.

Butch

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

quote:

ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

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ORIGINAL: Lucylastic

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) refused to say whether “every American is entitled to eat” and the food stamps program is the best way to ensure that they have the food they need.

NPR’s Scott Simon interviewed Smith on Saturday about the farm bill and President Donald Trump’sproposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. In the president’s budget, the White House is seeking $193 billion in cuts to SNAP over 10 years, an amount equal to more than one-quarter of the program’s cost over that period.

There is room for “very minor shifts” in SNAP that “make sure we do not harm the most vulnerable among us,” according to Smith.

“Especially for people in need we do not want to leave our most vulnerable without nutrition,” he said. “Looking at that, we always want to keep that in mind.”

But Simon pressed Smith on his views about the program’s underlying philosophy.

“Let me ask you this bluntly: Is every American entitled to eat?” he asked.

“Well, nutrition obviously we know is very important and I would hope that we can look to ―” Smith began.

“Well, not just important, it’s essential for life,” Simon interjected.

Smith conceded that nutrition is essential to life.

“So is every American entitled to eat and is food stamps something that ought to be that ultimate guarantor?” Simon persisted.

“I think we know that given the necessity of nutrition, there could be a number of ways that we could address that,” Smith answered.

As Smith later observed, a president’s budget is merely a set of suggestions that reflect the president’s fiscal priorities. It is up to Congress to allot the funds for federal programs. The president can then sign or veto budget legislation they craft.

Smith refused to rule out reductions in SNAP spending as part of that process, however.

“I want to look at our entire budget, look at all of the details,” he said.

Roughly 43 million low-income Americans receive SNAP benefits, which are vouchers to buy food. Enrollment has dropped significantly since 2014 due to improvement in the economy.

Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, by claiming there are people receiving benefits who do not need them given how long ago the recession was.

The administration has not been clear about its intentions for the means-tested aid program though. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, whose department oversees SNAP, has defended SNAP’s performance and claimed that it will be up to Congress to decide how much it wants to reduce the program’s spending.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-congressman-declines-whether-every-173031436.html


im wondering why people are so silent about this....

Probably for similar reasons that people were so vocal during Johnson's reign among others where free (everything) was handed out and it changed nothing and in many ways, made things worse.

It was Pres. Clinton who first said "ya'll gotta do something...if you can....no more free anything".

He cut assistance programs across the board by limiting the time span allowed wherein which people could remain on programs designed for a hand up, that had evolved in to programs that were a hand out.

Productivity (for a lot of other reasons) rose faster than at any recorded time in U.S. history and we quickly approached a rare opportunity to pay off the debt (in full) only to watch the next Pres restore many of those assistance programs and raised our debt (for a lot of other reasons) because we "had the money to do so".

But we don't anymore.

And if we simply wrote off the entire debt...all 20 trillion....we still....don't anymore.

Made things worse? Hardly.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Here is an idea.... Lets make a law that all churches that claim a tax exemption be required to donate 10 percent of their collections to a food fund distributed by states monitored by the Federal government.

Butch

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ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Here is an idea.... Lets make a law that all churches that claim a tax exemption be required to donate 10 percent of their collections to a food fund distributed by states monitored by the Federal government.

Butch

Until the government got in the business of redistribution....that's how this was done for millennia.

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

In the decade following the 1964 introduction of the war on poverty, poverty rates in the U.S. dropped to their lowest level since comprehensive records began in 1958: from 17.3% in the year the Economic Opportunity Act was implemented to 11.1% in 1973. They have remained between 11 and 15.2% ever since.

Note that increases happened under stagflation in late Carter, Reagan (never came back down to starting point), Bush I, and Bush II.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

quote:

ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Here is an idea.... Lets make a law that all churches that claim a tax exemption be required to donate 10 percent of their collections to a food fund distributed by states monitored by the Federal government.

Butch

Until the government got in the business of redistribution....that's how this was done for millennia.

...to the extent it was done at all.

There's the problem.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Here is an idea.... Lets make a law that all churches that claim a tax exemption be required to donate 10 percent of their collections to a food fund distributed by states monitored by the Federal government.

Butch

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ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

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ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Here is an idea.... Lets make a law that all churches that claim a tax exemption be required to donate 10 percent of their collections to a food fund distributed by states monitored by the Federal government.

Butch

Until the government got in the business of redistribution....that's how this was done for millennia.

...to the extent it was done at all.

There's the problem.

No argument.

Samuel Clements once said "the good old days....they never was".

I can't say what it was like under those conditions but, once we all decided that the feds or the state can do it better (something I think we can all agree weren't never true), we all stopped offering a hand and now, are pissed when the feds don't (even as individually....barking out all the "why don't you's?" that we have in our available vocabulary....we also....individually.....don't.....anymore).

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

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ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

quote:

ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

quote:

ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Here is an idea.... Lets make a law that all churches that claim a tax exemption be required to donate 10 percent of their collections to a food fund distributed by states monitored by the Federal government.

Butch

Until the government got in the business of redistribution....that's how this was done for millennia.

...to the extent it was done at all.

There's the problem.

No argument.

Samuel Clements once said "the good old days....they never was".

I can't say what it was like under those conditions but, once we all decided that the feds or the state can do it better (something I think we can all agree weren't never true), we all stopped offering a hand and now, are pissed when the feds don't (even as individually....barking out all the "why don't you's?" that we have in our available vocabulary....we also....individually.....don't.....anymore).

Sorry, but it's just not true.

There is no point where charity did a better job than the state stepping in.

People only talk nice. In real life, they're selfish.

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

Then I misinterpreted, and I apologize.

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ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

Frankly, I wish Trump would keep the tax rates as they are, cut spending across the board (in real cuts....not...."reductions from what we were going to spend") by 2% and then, freeze all spending budgets to whatever we spend today until we reach equilibrium/zero deficit.

(But....I'm not the Prez).

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ORIGINAL: kdsub

I thought you liked State control...then what is your solution... you do a fine job of bitching... but never any substance. Saying people should turn to churches is easy... but what if you are gay... will your church be charitable? What if you are an atheist...will your church be charitable? What you are of a different religion without resources... will your church be charitable? As you know churches are quickly losing their flock... what happens to the poor and destitute then?... Should we let them eat cake?

Come on lets have some answers not bull crap rhetoric. If part of the condition for tax exemption is to be a charitable organization... then let make them be charitable to the tune of 10 percent.

Butch

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ORIGINAL: tamaka

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ORIGINAL: AtUrCervix

Frankly, I wish Trump would keep the tax rates as they are, cut spending across the board (in real cuts....not...."reductions from what we were going to spend") by 2% and then, freeze all spending budgets to whatever we spend today until we reach equilibrium/zero deficit.

(But....I'm not the Prez).

I'll vote for you.