So as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is increasing in correlation to U-6, the dire straits of our economic situation become painstakingly clear. It is important to remember that the right-left paradigm is false when observing entitlement issues due to the 'divide and conquer' mentality displayed by the elite. First, lets set aside arguments over entitlements and whether individuals should or should not be given government assistance so that we can take in the heaviness of our economic predicament. Nearly doubling from ~4 years ago, the amount of people on food stamps is at its highest number ever at 43.2 million. This is staggering, and it means that these individuals are either unemployed or underemployed to the extent that they need direct monetary aid just to subsist. These people need help due to the economic ponzi scheme we have all been subject to. Through manipulative boom-bust economic strategies, where our rulers profit on both the bubbling up and the implosion of the malinvestment, over 14% of the US population have very little means to afford basic food necessities. These people MUST get food from SOMEWHERE.
Now, I have no doubt that in terms of overall efficiency in supplying direct aid for 'nutrition,' having a personal card to swipe makes spending easy for those on the program. (Especially when most fast food chains will gladly take your subsidized govt' fiat.) But if we delve into where the money from SNAP actually goes, we can see that the largest food corporations benefit from the spending of taxpayer money. Opportunity costs must be taken into consideration.
How many burgers could a family buy at (twin golden arches) for $20- or how much junk food, GMO-chemical-marinated-processed food product could be purchased, and what companies does that money flow to for the average grocery shopper? - now also consider the amount of food a family of four could get when spending $20 at a local farmers' market (granted, one cooking requires more ingredients than a typical farmers market could provide). The overall local economic benefit is no comparison. Clearly, the family would have more quality foods at the farmers market than from either the fast food chain, or processed food items in a grocery store. support local farming entrepreneurs and keeping that money circulating locally can increase local wealth and the economy.
With this said, the issue of our government using my tax dollars to help the needy sits much better on my stomach than spending money for defense or bailing out some elite-thug on wall street-- and besides the fact that the federal reserve over monetary expansion and contraction processes causes the poverty to begin with -- coercing those on food stamps to only spend at designated sources ensures that the governments corporate cronies ultimately increase profit revenues from the misfortune of our populace. This also means that individuals who receive help will be much more likely to psychologically support the hand that feeds them...
I feel that utilizing churches for providing meals and canned food items along with supporting food-bank charity and good 'ol fashioned farm-work for food may be a necessary step to further extend a loving hand to these people in need. Giving away tax-payer money to an ever increasing percentage of the population just for subsistance is quite obviously not a sustainable solution. A 'solution' would involve a complete restructuring of our economic society, but the powers that be will ensure an utter collapse before the current 'extend and pretend' status quo is eliminated.
Anyway, the chart speaks for itself.
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