Trump Administration working hard to make sure that poor children go sick and hungry

What does it say about our political system when in middle of a pandemic and depression the White House can declare war on food and health care for the poor and the opposition party has nothing to say about it?
19 million poor children are at risk of homelessness or going hungry or both. In response to this crisis the Trump administration has conducted a full scale attack on what is left of the social safety net.

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Republicans have been going after food stamps for a long time but this is the first time they've done it during a depression.

Amid a global pandemic that has rattled the United States economy and led to record-breaking job losses, the Trump Administration is continuing to push to restrict access to the nation’s largest food assistance program.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly issued a notice that it was appealing a judge’s injunction that blocked the cabinet agency from proceeding with cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps.

If the USDA wins its appeal, the new requirements would strip 688,000 Americans of their food benefits, according to Department’s own estimates.

Nothing drives Republicans more insane with fury and outrage that the idea of hungry poor people getting free food. They simply can't stand it. They seem to believe that poor children should go hungry for the crime of being poor.
The demographic most dependent on food stamps is children.
On the off chance that you doubt my claim that Republicans are intentionally targeting poor children, check this out.

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Since the start of the Covid-19 closures, school districts have served millions of packaged meals at no cost and without eligibility requirements to all children at food distribution sites made possible by a series of federal waivers, the latest being the “Seamless Summer Option.” Some districts, such as Los Angeles and Fresno Unified, even kicked in money from their general funds to also feed adults.

But the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at the start of the new school year returned to its pre-Covid rules — only reimbursing districts for meals served to children who qualify for free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch.

The other thing that drives Republicans bonkers is poor people being able to see a doctor. They hate the very concept of it so much that they are willing to sacrifice their own health in order to make sure that poor people can't get health care.
Of course much of this anger comes from the need to own the libs.
But mostly it comes from the belief that no one should be exempt from going bankrupt if they get sick.

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So far Republicans have been thwarted by the courts, but Trump is appealing this all the way to the USSC.

In a related note, the number of jobless remains near 80-year highs.

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27.02 million people (not seasonally adjusted) continued to claim unemployment insurance under all state and federal programs, down by 1.04 million from the prior week, according to the Department of Labor this morning.

This means that 16.9% of the civilian labor force (160 million) continues to claim unemployment benefits.

While UI payments just fell off a cliff.

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Bisbonian's picture

What's that?

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29 users have voted.

"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

@Bisbonian
Around the same time we learned the Bill of Rights and democracy.

All really cool ideas that existed once.

Now the opposition party 1) complains about mean tweets 2) demands that we don't engage rival nations with diplomacy 3) and promise to "restore dignity to the office" in place of doing things that matter to you.

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Pricknick's picture

@Bisbonian
what you call those on the other side of the parking lot during a tailgate party.
Thanks for the giggle.

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10 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

vtcc73's picture

The goal is for guys like him to be allowed hoover up everything they desire without restriction or limitation. Sick, hungry children is just a side benefit. How do you gloat at healthy well fed children for being too lazy and unworthy?

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14 users have voted.

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

to see how many citizens are eligible for food stamps, the requirements to be qualified, and all the people that could be eligible and meet the requirements for food aid that never even try. There is your opposition party.

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@Snode
In 2005 I applied for LIHEAP (heating assistance program). First hurdle, proving your income is zero. If it was minimum wage you could produce a pay stub. How to prove a total absence of income. I explained my job loss (they replaced all citizens with H1-B's, even the Indians and Chinese who had gained citizenship), that I had run my savings out (could produce a bank statement for that) and had sold all my stocks. The woman stiffened at the last claim. Afterward, my daughter told me, "You shouldn't have mentioned the stocks. Did you see her look? I doubt if she ever owned a share in her life."
That was November. They finally approved the application in April. I started working at the USPS in March.
So I got approved only after I no longer needed it. No wonder people sell crack and policy tickets on the street.

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17 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness @The Voice In the Wilderness that neither party or the media is interested in. How many more are there with similar stories? Mine isn't that much different. I keep hoping there will be a tipping point where us leftovers outnumber the true believers.

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5 users have voted.

@Snode
Because he doesn't have a job! If he had a job he wouldn't need food stamps!

Luckily he has a grandfather with disposable income and a mother that grows food.

More and more, I like the idea of UBI. No investigators, no application, no need to prove "need". Everybody gets the same amount just for being an American. or even just a legal resident.

Above a certain point the tax burden becomes more than the benefit. I wonder where that point is. Theoretically, if voters were sane (a huge "if") and the balance point was somewhere in the upper 50%, we could have it. Note that existence of a subsistence UBI would drive wages up by reducing the labor pool. I wonder if there any studies out there.

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9 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Nothing drives Republicans more insane with fury and outrage that the idea of hungry poor people getting free food. They simply can't stand it. They seem to believe that poor children should go hungry for the crime of being poor.

Yah, I have noticed over the years that one of the main hot buttons for the gop is food stamps. Unfortunately, democrats went along with cuts during the Obama years. But really, this is just outright sadism.

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15 users have voted.

@MrWebster
Just as my daughter explained LIHEAP (see above) to me. "Don't feel guilty, dad. The legislature didn't do it for you. They won't allow your gas and electricity to be shut off in Winter. This is just their way of making sure that ComEd and NI gas get paid."

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12 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.