If you're hungry, are you free?
By louisehartmann
If you're hungry, are you free? According to Republicans, over 17 million more Americans are free because of 30 years of Reaganomics. You need to know this: The US Department of Agriculture is reporting that 17.4 million households in the country had trouble finding enough food to eat last year. In fact – in one out of every eight homes – someone went hungry at some point throughout the year. Children in single parent households were most affected by a food shortage – along with African Americans and Hispanics. All in all – 14% of the households in our country – the richest nation in the world – suffered from what economists call food insecurity and the rest of us call hunger. And these numbers could have been much higher. The Department of Agriculture reports that though the number of hungry families spiked much higher in 2007 when the recession began – it has held steady since – thanks in large part to federal assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and free and reduced school lunches. On top of that – economists have proven that federal food assistance programs actually have a stimulative effect on the economy – with every dollar given out in food stamps producing $1.73 in economic activity as it circulates from the hungry person to the retail store to the wholesaler to the farmer. Unfortunately Republicans – didn’t get that memo. They still insist a 3% tax cut for millionaires and billionaires so they can put more money in Swiss banks is a better stimulus for America, and they're willing to cut federal food assistance programs to pay for it. There you have it – the Republican Party is literally taking food off the table of hungry Americans – so fat cat banksters can get a million dollar tax-giveaway bonus, borrowed from China and handed to billionaires courtesy of Uncle Sam.
Comments
#2
Mr. Jacobs (if serious) needs to learn how to read. The facts are all there and unless you're a republican facts are what makes the world turn. Of course if you are a republican - why the world turns isn't important, controlling the spin is what makes their day. How this country has turned away from reality and embraced mythology and ignorance as an actual way of life is astounding. Ignorance, fear and hate - the gifts that keep humanity stupid and the republicans only tactic, except for the tax giveaways.
#3
On October 31st., the birthday of the Reformation by Luther, our minister gave a great sermon on the reformation. A scholar of the 16th Century, he described how people lived under feudalism, describing it as a triangle with the king at the top and then spreading out to a wide bottom and how everyone paid homage to those above them. It was a long time before there was much action on Luther's 95 paragraphs on reforming the Catholic Church, but in Geneva Switzerland, in the 16th century, they start believing in the equality of the common man . . . people knew if they went to Geneva, they could get a stipend to help them get settled and into where they could function and contribute to society . . . then realizing that they had to have rules to live by, they decided that the Bible was their best refuge, so in order to enable the populace to read the Bible, the first public schools were started. Recognizing that people did not do well when they were sick and unhealthy, the first hospitals were started . . . all of this in the 16th. century. How can people be free if there is just a small group of people who control everything . . . we can only be free if all of us are in the loop, living by the golden rule of helping one another and making sure that we all have opportunity to succeed. It seems that our country has lost it's focus. As our minister told us, about every 500 years, there is a new reformation, and he believes that we are in the throes of one and it will up to each and everyone to participate and cut the polarity and enhance the opportunities for all of us in the community!.
#4
Thom, Unless you are going to talk about restoring a sound money supply the rest is all just smoke and mirrors, and one may even suspect that you have no clue as to the real economic issues or the causes of economic disaster. You are a good historian. Tell us about the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 and the Steagel Amendment and how that actually worked. Tell us about the history of the Federal Reserve and the debt based instrument that is our currency supply and how this is at the heart of all the rest you talk about. Sometimes hearing people rail about the problems without calling out the foundation for the problems is like listening to people talk about a building with a bad foundation and them saying that the weight distribution of the building is wrong and that is why it is leaning.
#5
Check out the writing of this guy and many more who are informed on the issue
#6
A very sad commentary, isn't it, Thom?
For those who thought there was not enough information in what Thom wrote, there was. And this week the Repubs voted down benefits for the unemployed. First they create a situation where companies get tax breaks for sending jobs abroad, then punish the people here who can't find jobs.
They don't cooperate with the president to create jobs...
#7
"every dollar given out in food stamps producing $1.73 in economic activity as it circulates "
Swiss Cheese ?
The more unemployment claims that run out the more demand for food stamps. The more food stamps issued the more robust the economy ?
This remains an economy still searching for a bottom.
Disney Land Economics, promoting debt and trading IOU's. Saves face for the politic in the short run but exasperates the public dilemma in the long run. How long can they perpetuate this facade before the whole thing pancakes in slow motion. When times get tough , shop till you drop. Insane.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann seeks out interesting subjects from such disparate outposts of curiosity that you have to wonder whether or not he uncovered them or they selected him."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"With the ever-growing influence of corporate CEOs and their right-wing allies in all aspects of American life, Hartmann’s work is more relevant than ever. Throughout his career, Hartmann has spoken compellingly about the value of people-centered democracy and the challenges that millions of ordinary Americans face today as a result of a dogma dedicated to putting profit above all else. This collection is a rousing call for Americans to work together and put people first again."
From Cracking the Code:
"In Cracking the Code, Thom Hartmann, America’s most popular, informed, and articulate progressive talk show host and political analyst, tells us what makes humans vulnerable to unscrupulous propagandists and what we can do about it. It is essential reading for all Americans who are fed up with right-wing extremists manipulating our minds and politics to promote agendas contrary to our core values and interests."
I don't think you are going to get a response from so much BS Thom!
You’re going to have to be more specific in your accusations.
Like who, what, when, and were!!!!