election

One million more Americans sign up for food stamps in only a year

(RT.com) “The number of Americans going to the government for assistance has once again hit a new high. More than 46 million Americans are now enrolled in the federal welfare food stamps system, more than double the amount from only a decade earlier.

The latest statistics made available by the United States Department of Agriculture reveal that more Americans than ever before are enrolled in the social welfare program, with numbers from the month of July 2012 indicating that the current roster of recipients amounts to 46,681,833 persons.

The newest figures indicate that enrollment continues to surge, with around one million more people receiving benefits now than just a year earlier. Last year, RT reported that the number of persons enrolled in the food stamps system consisted of roughly 45 million, or 15 percent of the country’s population.

By comparison, only 31.98 million people were receiving assistance in January 2009 when US President Barack Obama took office, indicating an increase of roughly 15 million in less than four years. 

Republican lawmakers have pounced on the latest news and say that the Agriculture Department is openly advertising the program to non-citizens, making federally funded assistance appealing to those who do little to contribute to the country’s resources.”

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I know I’ve heard the radio commercials where Father and Daughter excitedly cook dinner in preparation for when Mom gets home; and would you believe it! They got all that yummy food from food stamps.  I’m not going to debate you on the idea that we need resources for those on hard times who need help getting food for their families, but we’re now advertising it as healthy, fun, and normal?  

Total spending on food stamps is projected to reach nearly $800 billion over the next ten years, with no fewer than 1 in 9 people on the program at any given time.  Spending on the program and food stamp participation is never expected to return to pre-recession levels at any point in the next ten years, says the Weekly Standard.

Mitt Romney is quoted in Tuesday’s debate: “How about food stamps? When [Obama] took office, 32 million people were on food stamps. Today, 47 million people are on food stamps.”

What does all of this mean for us?  It tells us that the government likes us on these programs and has every intention of allowing us to remain on them for the next ten years.  Obama has removed the work requirements from welfare and participation has now doubled.  Those in the working class are now paying for the food of those not in the working class, and they’re not required to ever go back to work, either.  

Edit: There seems to be some discussion about whether or not the aforementioned action is true.  Please see the Washington Post’s analysis of the situation here.  Obama’s administration did assert waiver authority over the work requirements in section 402, but no official plans have released to drop all work requirements yet.

If you want to ignore all of this and make the assumption that those “footing the bill” are just the rich, be my guest.  But Obama’s healthcare bill has raised costs by almost $2,000 for middle class families and his spending plan will bring about at least a $1,500 increase in taxes for those making as little as $30,000 annually.  Not only that, but their tax plan calls for a 40% increase in taxes on small businesses.  Who is that going to hurt?  Big corporations?  I don’t think so.  

- The Vocal Libertarian