Gosar, Franks, Salmon and Schweikert Gang up to Kick the Poor in the Teeth

By Michael Bryan

The Republicans of Arizona's Congressional delegation ganged up with their Tea Party hooligan buddies to kick the poorest and most defenseless among us while we are down last week. The bill slashing SNAP (food stamps) passed on a purely partisan vote, including those of all four of Arizona's Republican Congressional Representatives, cutting $40 billion from the program over the next decade.

Of course, the bill won't become law, but will likely become the basis for compromise" -but still crippling - cuts to the program; that's a policy that most Americans (more than 70%) say is the wrong way to cut government spending. The result will be more poverty and food-insecurity, adding to the staggering 50 million Americans already living on the edge of insolvency, poverty and hunger, and pushing millions of those already hurting deeper into misery.

Here in Arizona, a monthly average of one million Arizonans were assisted by SNAP in 2011. The number qualifying for assistance more than doubled following the 2008 fiscal crisis. These folks are the hard-working poor and their dependent children, and seniors living on insufficient fixed incomes, not "takers" living high on their average of $133 dollars a month in benefits.

SNAP isn't just good for the recipients of aid, it's good for our economy. Each dollar spent on food support generates $1.80 in economic activity. With over $1.5 billion a year in aid in Arizona alone, that translates to an ongoing boost to Arizona's economy of $2.7 billion a year. Apparently, these four congressmen think that feeding the poor and supporting Arizona's economic recovery are a poor use of your tax dollars. Most of you disagree, and should tell them as much.

There are hundreds of thousands of families who will be harmed by these cuts just in the districts of these four pro-hunger Arizona Republicans. Many families will fall into poverty and their children will know hunger because of the heartless, un-Christian, immoral votes of these men. The Congressional GOP has gone insane, leaving even the majority of Republicans (60%) who support assistance to the poor scratching their heads in wonder at the heartlessness and depravity of their elected representatives.

I hope these Representatives will be forced to look those men, women, and children in the eyes back in their districts and explain why, at a time when the Federal deficit has been cut by half since Obama took office, this essential anti-poverty program had to be so drastically restricted.

Shame of each of you, Representatives Gosar, Franks, Salmon and Schweikert. I challenge each of you to answer for your immoral vote to consign millions of our fellow citizens to poverty and hunger.

Comments

[Francine Shacter]

We are all doing a lot of handwringing over this - my question is: What do we have to do to change it?

[Randall E Shelton]

If you continue to hand out there will always be someone with their hand out.I'm sure everyone has been in line at the grocery store and see the food stamp card used to buy item that most consumers pass on because of the price, and then wheel their heaped up shopping carts to a high priced vehicle. There are those that truly need help but the majority are laughing at the idiots in Washington.Come on little sheep we are serving Kool-Aid at you voting locations today !

[Just a thought]

aiding the "poor" with tax dollars will not bring this state to "economic recovery". Help only works if one is teaching the "helped" how to become independent . not make the person more dependent.

[lori oien]

Food Stamps ahh yes, help for the poor and needy, well maybe not I have witnessed families buying everyone Starbucks for family of 4 which $18- $20 bucks with their EBT Card. I can't afford this we need to have conditions and restrictions, what you can and can't buy
(I know cigs and booze and Starbucks too) and we need to have amount of time you can receive EBTs.

[E]

WTF is anyone thinking? This photo has nothing to do with what you were writing about. I don't care what your opinion is putting this picture is stupid.

[Randy Graf]

There are no cuts, here are the facts:

This is written by Ira Stoll:
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the House bill would spend $725 billion on food stamps over the years 2014 to 2023. The Department of Agriculture’s web site offers a summary of spending on the program that reports spending totaling $461.7 billion over the years 2003 to 2012, a period that included a dramatic economic downturn.

This is a great example of how and why it is so difficult to cut government spending, and how warped the debate over spending has become. The Republicans want to increase food stamp spending 57 percent. The Democrats had previously planned to increase it by 65 percent (to $764 billion over 10 years instead of the $725 billion in the Republican bill), so they depict the Republicans as “meanspirited class warriors” seeking “deep cuts.”

[PapaTodd]

So I'm just a simple business owner here in Tucson. Please explain to me in layman terms how $1 of food stamps and magically turn into $1.80 of spending. If this is true, I'll gladly close out my 401K and invest in food stamps, where according to you, I'll get an 80% return.