Whitehouse Threatens Veto of Second Stimulus Over Food Stamps & Unemployment Benefits

Whitehouse Threatens Veto of Second Stimulus Over Food Stamps & Unemployment Benefits

thinkprogress.org

Today, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a statement of administrative policy today recommending Bush veto a proposed second stimulus package. The $56.2 billion package, announced yesterday, would extend unemployment benefits for seven weeks, increase food stamp benefits by 10 percent, and provide $50 million for food banks, among other proposals. This afternoon, Senate conservatives successfully blocked the bill, as the motion to proceed won 52 votes, eight shy of the necessary 60.

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Hmm, now let's see here:

$700 Billion to bail out the fraud criminals on Wall Street = YEA

$600 Billion to continue indefinte foreign wars, occupations, and no bid contracts = YEA


$56 Billion to provide extra food stamps for increasingly struggling and hungry citizens, and to extend the ever-increasing folks who no longer have jobs benefits = NAY


Yep, sounds like priorities are in order, as usual.
*SNIP*
thinkprogress.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

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[edit on 26/9/2008 by Mirthful Me]

Man i just can't understand this reasoning. Bailout the corrupt bankers that took risks ran their compainies into the ground. But refuse to help the people that really need help with rising food prices and paying their bills because they lost their job because their employer couldn't get the credit they need to stay in business because the bankers killed our economy.

This is BS just goes to show you that the little guy means nothing in this country just the corrupt bankers and CEO's

reply to post by Mercenary2007




thehill.com...

Didn't we just have another stimulous package a couple months ago?
Did it help?
How many more do you want?
This is a stunt by the Dems for political cover of their support for the $700B plan.
.02c

the people who i personally know who receive food stamps take advantage of the system. dude who sells me bud gets food stamps. he sits on his butt all day messing with his humongous TV. his kids dont even live with him, which is good because they dont need to be around that. Government reditribution of wealth on any level for any reason is mighty communistic.

WELFARE IS NOT GOOD. im not saying there arent people out there who genuinely need it, but there is a higher percentage of people taking advantage of the program.

give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish he eats for life.

break the supply chain. if someones food money dries up, they tend to get hungry. unemployment is ridiculous. work at a restaurant. garbage collector, call center, hell do yard work or take care of kids. if anyone here does not have a job and simply relies on unemployment scams, then U2U me and I GARUNTEE i can help you find work before the end of that business day.

AS LONG AS PEOPLE ARE GIVEN THINGS THEY WILL NEVER LEARN HOW TO EARN THEM FOR THEMSELVES.

Our entire government is just criminal!

I will cheer when every one of these traitors are strung up from the nearest lamp pole.


My worse fear is that day will never come......

You can't stimulate the economy by encouraging people to stay unemployed longer by extending benefits. You also can't stimulate the economy by giving them more money for food.

Want to stimulate the economy?.....reduce the benefits....shorten the time people can draw unemployment.

reply to post by RRconservative


LOL, when theres 50,000 less jobs with each consecutive month, how exactly is that going to be MORE helpful? The economy is in the toilet, and so is hiring. If you want an a lovely, outsourced, overseas, slave-labor occupation, then opportunities are rife I suppose.

Originally posted by RRconservative
You can't stimulate the economy by encouraging people to stay unemployed longer by extending benefits. You also can't stimulate the economy by giving them more money for food.

Want to stimulate the economy?.....reduce the benefits....shorten the time people can draw unemployment.

I dont think Food stamps and unemployment is the cause of our problems now lol and nor will cutting it off either. Im for self reliance but some people generally do need it and Im really thinking of the kids more than anything. When you look how much we spend on our military and how much goes to these programs its almost laughable. Especially vetoing it the same time we are asking the people to foot 700 billion for Wall Street.

It's clear where Bush's priorities are. That's pretty sick.

Originally posted by drsmooth23
AS LONG AS PEOPLE ARE GIVEN THINGS THEY WILL NEVER LEARN HOW TO EARN THEM FOR THEMSELVES.

Good point! Let the CEOs that Bush is trying to bail out learn how to run a business for themselves!

I know some people abuse food stamps, but trust me, there are people out there who are using them correctly and the system is helping them get back on their feet. I don't believe they should be punished because of the abusers.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
It's clear where Bush's priorities are. That's pretty sick.

Originally posted by drsmooth23
AS LONG AS PEOPLE ARE GIVEN THINGS THEY WILL NEVER LEARN HOW TO EARN THEM FOR THEMSELVES.

Good point! Let the CEOs that Bush is trying to bail out learn how to run a business for themselves!

I know some people abuse food stamps, but trust me, there are people out there who are using them correctly and the system is helping them get back on their feet. I don't believe they should be punished because of the abusers.

not to mention, alot of the food stamp recipients do have jobs...the jobs just pay crap! don't like food stamps, unemployment benefits, fine....don't give $700 billion dollars out to a bunch of educated fools who ran our economy into the dust either!
personally, I'd rather feed the kid, I am sure those educated fools have plenty of food, and money, whatever they need to survive, even if their companies crash and burn!
but, either everyone, including those in the business sector is held accountable and faces the music of their bad decisions, or well, why bother holding anyone accountable...heck, maybe I will just be as unresponsible as these guys on wall street or our elected officials were, run my c redit card up, borrow and borrow, start screwing around at work let the work sit there, get fired, and whine to be bailed out too! why not. seems like everytime my family gets itself in a halfway comfy position some fool in washington has to come along and blow it to hades anyways.
tell ya what, I want my healthcare dangit!! sick and tire of having to work while I am sick and tired!! they have a choice, either cut the medicaid or extend it so that everybody who needs the help gets it...
they have about one year to do it, maybe less...
then they can kiss my taxdollars good bye!
along with the revenue they get from the sales tax on things I purchase.
I am sick and tired of this scam that they call a economy!

By increases the amount of money for food stamps and extending unemployment benefits you are not stimulating the economy. You are stimulating peoples dependence on goverment, not themselves.

This is a stimulus bill not a welfare expansion bill, and it should be vetoed.

I'm sorry, but this stereotype that all recipients of public aide are shiftless, lazy, ne'er-do-wells is both ignorant and offensive. The sterling management of this country's economics has thrust the majority of people into economic crisis. Lots of these people have families. People with homes have lost most the equity and can no longer borrow on what's left to get them through these tough times. Job losses are skyrocketing. Business closures are at an all time high.

So what becomes of these people? Just screw 'em? This isn't any Democratic 'ploy'. This is beyond politics. People are in serious, serious trouble and we're just in the overture. The show hasn't even started. And (as usual) government would rather give automakers $25B, spend $590B defense bill, $700B wallstreet bailout after a couple hundred billion in the earlier bailouts. And all this, of course, is just the start of the handouts.

But people trying to keep their families togther? Screw them. Get a job. Oh wait...

Anyone who sees this not passing as a good thing has never been forced to eat one meal a day so their children can eat more then one.

They have never been so demoralized by the lack of income from a 9-5 job that pays less then 12$ an hour, yet worked so hard they deserve 40$ per hour.

They have never been so tied with bills, cost of food and gas to put in their clunker car that they can't afford the basics in life like a new pair of pants for work or a haircut.

They don't understand how people can ask for help, because they have never truly needed it themselves.

Yes, people who don't need it abuse the system. Yes, thats wrong.

When some children in this country are starving and people eat meals costing well over 100$, stop and think.

Not everyone on food stamps is milking the system. Some people literally can't survive without them because they lose a loved one or have car problems that cost them more then the car itself.

I am sad that this happened and hope that people who truly need help during these hard times are able to find it out there from those of us who don't spend all our time feeling superior because we don't need help.

Look around you people. We are each others keepers.

reply to post by Ellipsis


Sorry, but you're dead wrong.

I've been through times where I've gone weeks without eating lunch at work, and my wife and I have shared dinner so that our daughter could get extra snacks and things that she liked.

I've never once asked the government to help me and I never will.

When we got into those tough times I found a second job, or I did odd jobs for friends and family and earned my way.

To say that anyone who opposes this has never been in that situation is foolish. I'm living proof of that.

I watched that on CSPAN. The Congressman from Massachusetts made a compelling case. Unfortunately, the rich need iced pudding.

reply to post by nyk537


I am not wrong.

You may have struggled a bit, but unless you know what it actually feels like to have literally nothing, you don't understand the desperation it takes to ask for help.

You had to skip lunch? Have you ever had to skip whole days worth of food so your child can eat at all, not just so she can have snacks she likes?

You have your wife to help. What about those who are single and supporting their children all alone? They should suffer in these economic times without help?

I don't know what to say when people are so cold and seriously devoid of support or sympathy for others.

Listen, I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you over who has struggled more. That is nonsense and it doesn't matter.

The funds are there for those who truly need them. Increasing that funding does nothing but increase dependency on government.

If we really want to help those who are struggling. We could help find them better jobs, affordable childcare and other initiatives to allow them to help themselves.

Some people just don't get that though. Some people see the government as a big parent who is supposed to support and take care of them.

I don't see it that way.

reply to post by nyk537


There is a difference between helping and what you are saying.

Let's use an analogy.

The people who need welfare have broken their legs, they are literally laying on the ground asking for help because they cannot walk.

So we as good, common, decent human beings do not walk by them and say it is their problem and why cant they walk when we can.

Instead we give them crutches ( welfare ) to support them and help them to heal so one day they can walk again without the crutches.

In turn they pay into the system and their money goes to supporting other people who break their legs and need crutches.

Some people become paralyzed for life and need wheelchairs. ( still using the analogy, although handicapped people are in the system ) We can't let them rot away either so we support them for life.

Do you see what I am saying?

Some people literally CANNOT help themselves for whatever reason. We cannot and should not deny them basic human necessities.

It's not a difficult thing to grasp.

Your constantly acting like the people on the programs are already walking and only want crutches because then they don't have to walk. Thats why we have a system in place to validate the need of the crutches.

Denying them extra support when cost of living and life and food has increased is nothing short of selfish and wrong.

reply to post by Ellipsis


if you seriously ever need food that much you should go to a local church, fire department, or even a womans shelter. also jobs at diners and restaurants are good. especially if they are mon and pop operations because they are pretty nice about mothers letting their well behaved kids hang out and do school work and color while you work.

this is more of a matter for the local communities and NOT the federal government. if your city lacks ANY of the above described structures and facilities, then get on the phone with your elected officials.

THE MORE WE ASK BIG BROTHER TO HELP US THE MORE LIBERTIES THEY WILL RELIVE YOU OF.