NEW YORK CITY: The Rich Get Much Richer, The Poor Get Much Much Poorer

From the New York Daily News:

The number of city residents receiving aid under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, soared from 1.3 million in 2008 to 1.8 million today. Yet, with so many people in need, the biggest benefit reduction in the 50-year history of food stamps took effect Nov. 1. That’s when a temporary increase in benefits — pushed through by President Obama in 2009 as part of his economic stimulus program — lapsed. New York households receiving food stamps saw their benefits decrease by an average of $30 to $50 a month, depending on a complex formula that takes into account family size and income. For a typical family of three, that meant a drop to $189 a month, down from about $220. Food pantry and soup kitchen operators said the impact was swift and dramatic: Although the economy had rebounded since the financial crisis, those at the bottom of the ladder had not fully shared in the recovery. Nearly every emergency food program in the city has struggled in the wake of the November cut in food stamps. “Eighty-five percent reported a drastic increase (in clients) in November 2013 compared to November 2012 — and remember we’d already set records that month because of Hurricane Sandy,” said Margarette Purvis, president of the Food Bank for New York City. Nearly 50% of pantries and soup kitchens ran out of food in November, and an additional 25% had to move to smaller rations, said Purvis.

One in five New Yorkers are now on food stamps.

Gregory Brothers Songify The News

Featuring a singing Newt Gingrich and Bill O'Reilly.  The "steak, vodka, and caviar" chorus is pretty catchy.

Bill Maher On Christian Values

Mediaite recaps:

Bill Maher ended his show Friday night with a blistering takedown of religious people who would love to do things like take care of the starving and needy if it weren’t always for some personal conflict getting in the way. Maher said these Christians should “just admit you’re selfish” and come to terms with the fact that their actions do not “mirror the spirit of Jesus.” Maher mocked the Christian message of “I believe in charity, just not for people who need it” and concluded that “there’s always a good moral Christian to tell everyone you meet to fuck off and die.”

Family Research Council: There Is Nothing More Christian Than Cutting Food Stamps

Family Research Council "senior fellow" Ken Blackwell speaks to the Christian Post:

"I think through empowering others and creating self-sufficiency…there within lies the path to sense of worthiness," Blackwell told CP. "When I was growing up, there was fundamental belief, that there were times in people's life when they needed a hand up…there were temporariness to hose programs, where they were structured so that they didn't breed so that they didn't breed dependency." Blackwell also suggested that there was "nothing more Christian" than "not locking people into a permanent dependency on government handouts, but making sure they are participants in their own upliftment and empowerment so that they in fact through the dignity of work and can break from the plantation of big government."

Last week the House approved a bill that cuts the food stamp program by $39B over the next ten years. Every Democrat voted against it.

Rep. Jackie Speirer Uses Steak & Vodka Props To Slam GOP Food Stamp Cuts

Just watch this. Watch the whole thing.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Speirer introduces House resolution against "ex-gay quackery."

Cory Booker's Day Six

"Today is my 6th day of the SNAP Challenge; my 6th sweet potato; my 6th day of canned beans; and, my 6th day of canned veggies. I still like those foods but I found myself craving some variety. I realize when you find food on sale or buy in bulk, you can end up eating a lot of the same thing over and over. As my food supply dwindles, I am keenly aware that millions of Americans face food insecurity and hunger on a daily basis. I am deeply concerned, and believe our nation needs to be more attentive and engaged. The SNAP program is at great risk for budget cuts as Washington pares federal spending to avert a year-end fiscal crisis. These cuts to SNAP funding could mean millions of more Americans - families with children, families with elderly and veterans - will live with less food, less options, and less hope." - Newark Mayor Cory Booker, writing yesterday on his LinkedIn blog.

Cory Booker's Third Day On Food Stamps

"My third day on the #SNAPChallenge was by far the toughest. Today, I was in motion and at meetings all day. My crazy schedule required that I prepare all of my food in the morning to enable me to eat on the go. In addition to preparing and packaging my meals, I realized early this morning that I am eating too much food per meal. If I do not cut back the amount I am eating at each meal, I will run out of food before the #SNAPChallenge is over.  In the days ahead I am now going to eat smaller portion sizes. I decided to eat my dinner of peas, black beans, cauliflower and broccoli in small bites between 3pm and 7pm in between meetings and calls hoping that would allay some of the hunger pains I felt yesterday. This actually worked and something I might try again tomorrow." - Newark Mayor Cory Booker, halfway through his week-long existence on food stamps money.   

Quote Of The Day - Cory Booker

"This morning, I will begin living on a food budget of $30 a week / $4.32 per day.  This is the financial equivalent of the budget provided to people participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, in the State of New Jersey.  I will live only on a SNAP equivalent food budget for the next seven days. [snip]  As I begin this journey, I am doubling down on my commitment to the Food Justice Movement that is gaining awareness and participation in this country.  We have much work to do at the local level to address a legacy of structural inequities in the American food system.  As more and more working people and families - many holding down more than one job - face greater and greater challenges to juggle housing, medical, and transportation costs, meeting nutritional needs becomes a serious problem and a social justice issue." - Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who will be documenting his week via frequent social media updates.

Cory Booker To Go On Food Stamps

After a flame war with a Twitter user who calls herself "the enemy of communism and socialism," Newark Mayor Cory Booker challenged her to join him in trying to live on food stamps for one week.

Booker, who’s prolific on Twitter, on Sunday tweeted out a quote from Plutarch: “An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.” That set off a wave of discussion, including one tweet asking, “So you want to redistribute wealth???” Another respondent was “Twitwit,” who at one point wrote that “nutrition is not a responsibility of the government.” Booker responded, “We have a shared responsibility that kids go to school nutritionally ready 2 learn.”

Booker eventually challenged “Twitwit” to experience what people on food stamps are going through. “Lets you and I try to live on food stamps in New Jersey (high cost of living) and feed a family for a week or month. U game?” After “Twitwit” – the aforementioned Daughter of the American Revolution who identifies as an “Army Veteran, Army Daughter, Army Wife” – said yes, Booker wrote, “We will have to get a referee – DM me your number so we can see if we can work out details.” He also tweeted, “Lets film it and see how we do.”

Booker will take part in a University of Bridgeport program which challenges critics of the food stamp program to try and live on the meager amount given out weekly in the state in which they reside. Reportedly Booker will have to subsist on New Jersey's $35 weekly food stamps allotment. Under the rules, he is not permitted to eat food already in his home.

From MoveOn.Org

Source.

Food Stamp Presidents

(Via JMG reader Ray)

Food Stamp Usage Soars

(Source)

Food Stamps For Fast Food

The parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut is lobbying the Kentucky government to allow the use of food stamps in their stores.

Currently Kentucky's Food Assistance Program provides money to those in need to buy food -- but that does not include fast food. Yum! says the elderly, disabled, and homeless should be able to use food stamps to buy hot meals, especially those unable to cook. But members of the African-American Think Tank disagree, as Rev. Gerome Sutton explains: "What that will ultimately do is, it will affect the health and well-being of our community and drive up the cost of health care for the state."

Quote Of The Day - NY Sen. Ruben Diaz

"Mr. Mayor, will you please make up your mind? Last week, Mayor Bloomberg released a video wherein he stated his support for marriage equality ‘Because government shouldn’t tell you who to love or who to marry’. Today, Mayor Bloomberg sought permission from the Federal Government to prohibit New York food stamp recipients from using their food stamps to purchase soda and other sugary beverages. Mr. Mayor, will you please make up your mind? It is hypocritical to say on one hand that the government should not be involved. Today, however, that is exactly what you did. Either the government should or should not be involved in telling people what or what not to eat, drink, and smoke, or who they can or can’t marry. You can’t have it both ways." - New York's most infamous homophobe, NY Sen. Ruben Diaz.

(Via - Good As You)

Food Stamps Nearing Record Use

The number of Americans relying on food stamps is nearing records not seen since the 1960s.

Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s.

The number of recipients, who must have near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits averaging $100 a month per family member, has fluctuated over the years along with economic conditions, eligibility rules, enlistment drives and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, which led to a spike in the South.

And it's going to get worse.