Soap Operas to Promote Food Stamps?

(Searched..nothing found on program ending)
USDA buckles, removes Spanish food stamp soap operas from website

Following The Daily Caller’s expose of the United States Department of Agriculture’s food stamp outreach to Spanish-speakers via radio novelas, or Spanish language soap operas, the agency removed the series from their website.

Each of the 10 novelas promoting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, had been available as a resource for state and local outreach partners as late as Thursday.

Source

Well, pardon me for being a little slow here, but I thought the goal of good governance was to move people off benefit programs and make receiving them something of a challenge in the first place, lest it become more appealing than working for it.

The story is about the program being ended. This is good news. I'm somewhat amazed and angry the program ever existed. I've heard several different programs talked about recently whose sole purpose is to recruit more benefit recipients and encourage a growing % of the population to get on the dole in one form or another. If this isn't moving in entirely wrong directions, I'm not sure what is.

What say everyone? Is promoting benefit programs like they were a positive and noble thing to aspire to, a problem? Should the Outreach programs go even further then they do?

Good way to buy votes sounds like a Chicago politics on a national level. Open the border and give more free stuff away

While it's political in nature and very much madness, I don't mean this to be an Obama statement. Bush's people had a few pretty robust outreach programs going as well. It's been awhile it seems, since the Government wasn't working harder to get people ON welfare programs than they are to get them OFF in a productive way.

At this rate, we'll have socialism by default and without debate as we wake up and realize one day that we're all on benefits of some kind..and hey, that just defined a critical part of that system.

While I am not overly fond of the idea of advertising Government services and programs, I can understand why they would this. Imagine not speaking good english, low employment prospects and not knowing what assistance you might qualify for and the need becomes apparent. I'd rather see advertisements for programs designed to help you learn english, and help acquiring an education or some such thing but it is what it is.

Originally posted by KeliOnyx
While I am not overly fond of the idea of advertising Government services and programs, I can understand why they would this. Imagine not speaking good english, low employment prospects and not knowing what assistance you might qualify for and the need becomes apparent. I'd rather see advertisements for programs designed to help you learn english, and help acquiring an education or some such thing but it is what it is.

Yeah, I'm kinda with you on this. I used to work as a liaison in downtown Seattle and one of my duties (among security for ambassadors) was to direct homeless folks to shelters and programs. Many of these people were malnourished and had no place to even shower. You know how hard it is to job hunt when your stomach is three days empty and you smell like garbage? Pretty hard.

Telling people who need help where to find help is not always a case of enabling people to be lazy. In most cases, it is that extra hand that helps them actually become productive again. But no matter what, nobody should be starving in my country for any reason and no matter what language they speak. I believe in being a good host.

Originally posted by Cuervo

Originally posted by KeliOnyx
While I am not overly fond of the idea of advertising Government services and programs, I can understand why they would this. Imagine not speaking good english, low employment prospects and not knowing what assistance you might qualify for and the need becomes apparent. I'd rather see advertisements for programs designed to help you learn english, and help acquiring an education or some such thing but it is what it is.

Yeah, I'm kinda with you on this. I used to work as a liaison in downtown Seattle and one of my duties (among security for ambassadors) was to direct homeless folks to shelters and programs. Many of these people were malnourished and had no place to even shower. You know how hard it is to job hunt when your stomach is three days empty and you smell like garbage? Pretty hard.

Telling people who need help where to find help is not always a case of enabling people to be lazy. In most cases, it is that extra hand that helps them actually become productive again. But no matter what, nobody should be starving in my country for any reason and no matter what language they speak. I believe in being a good host.

I'll say that the example you cite here is completely different in my mind and I have no problem with. Food Stamps and the other programs are there specifically for the type of people who are in the shelters and are literally at the bottom with nothing left.

Where I'm having the problem is the open advertising and outright recruiting going on through programs like this. I'd considered mentioning the Spanish aspect, but decided I didn't want to even begin down the road of it being about language or culture, because it really isn't. Pelosi wasn't speaking Spanish when she said a couple years ago that, to paraphrase, Expanding Food Stamps grows the economy. Billboards exist around the nation advertising this and other programs. That is what I find obscene, not to mention the actual MONEY spent on outreach outside places like the shelters.

I'll say though if ANY programs need to expand and ANY place needs focus for resources, it's the street people and shelters. NO ONE is going to the street level to mooch the system. It's insane. Those are the people who absolutely NEED the help, at least where the person themselves wants it and can make productive use of help, IMO.