BK>>   
    BK>> Read the entire story at:   
      
    BK>> http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2013/07/22/   
    BK>> Taxpayers-subsidizing-low-paid-employees.html   
      
    BK>> The battle over food stamps is clearly a smoke screen for the   
    BK>> Republicans just trying to extort more from the administration.   
    BK>> Without food stamps many employees of this country's largest   
    BK>> employer will go hungry.   
      
    LL> I really do not know what gives you the bizarre idea that   
    LL> any employer will go hungry, much less real people.  Just   
    LL> look at the facts -   
      
    I said, employees of this country's largest employer. IOW,   
    workers for Wallmart.   
      
    LL> There are some 47 million recipients of food stamps in   
    LL> America. The expenditures for last year alone was $78   
    LL> billion.  A very small price to pay, considering how much   
    LL> this country pays for national defense (what we spend on   
    LL> food stamps is less than the cost of five fighter aircraft).   
      
    Exactly right.   
      
    LL> Republicans want to cut SNAP (the official name of the food   
    LL> stamp program) by $4 billion annually.  That is an average   
    LL> of $36 less per month for a family of four.   
      
    With payments so low that's a major reduction in meals. It may   
    only be 5%, but over a year that's 18days worth of food.   
      
    LL> What that means is that roughly 5 million people would be   
    LL> eliminated from the program.  Not that any of those people   
    LL> are truly dependent on food stamps.  In fact, very few   
    LL> people are truly dependent on food stamps.  By very few, I   
    LL> mean only a handful - those folks who are too lazy to find   
    LL> their own food.   
      
    Now that is absurd.   
      
    LL> Republicans have always encouraged folks to be   
    LL> self-sufficient, and never to depend on government for   
      
    No, Republicans have always encouraged people to be serfs.   
      
    LL> You know the old adage - "Give a man   
    LL> a fish and he'll have food for a day.  Teach a man to fish   
    LL> and he'll have food for a lifetime."   
      
    Now then the river is fished out.   
      
    LL> Now some folks claim that Republicans have no alternative   
    LL> plan to replace food stamps.  That is simply not true.   
    LL> Republicans do in fact have a plan.  It is called Dumpster   
    LL> Diving.  For those who are not familiar with Dumpster   
    LL> Diving, here is how it works -   
      
    Ok, this I buy.   
      
    ...   
      
    LL> Sounds insane, doesn't it?  Liberals claim this Republican   
    LL> plan can never work.  However, instead of simply accepting   
    LL> that claim at face value, I decided to try it out to see   
    LL> for myself -   
      
    LL> One night, I found a dozen ears of corn.  Another time, 30   
    LL> packs of chicken.  Also melons, cherries, grapes, peppers,   
    LL> tomatoes, potatoes, and all sorts of other really good   
    LL> stuff.  Not sure what others found, but there was plenty   
    LL> enough to go around.   
      
    LL> When I got home, I made sure to thoroughly boil the chicken   
    LL> before eating it so as not to get sick.  I also washed the   
    LL> fruit, making sure to get rid of all the bugs, pouring   
    LL> boiling water over it just to make sure.  Sure, the fruit   
    LL> does lose a bit of color by doing this, but it still tastes   
    LL> sweet.  I also cook the vegetables, as it is rather hot and   
    LL> humid here which can spoil food (especially vegetables)   
    LL> rather quickly.   
      
    Ok, that was in the news not long ago. So, unless that was you   
    they were writing up, you need to splain.   
      
    ...   
      
    LL> The only problem with this Republican plan I can find is   
    LL> there is a stigma.  People give me dirty looks, sometimes   
    LL> cringing at the same time.  Even though I am very careful   
    LL> not to be seen, and try not to make a mess, people do not   
    LL> want me anywhere around digging for food or eating in the   
    LL> bushes.  I leave everything spotless and they still   
    LL> complain.  The store manager hates me.  And if my mother   
    LL> ever finds out about this, she'll kill me first and ask   
    LL> questions later.  Go figure.   
      
    She knows you so well.   
      
    LL> Why is this practice so despised?  Republicans approve it.   
    LL> And Republicans are the party of family values.  Or so they   
    LL> claim.  So what is the big deal?  Why should I have to pay   
    LL> all that money for food that nobody else wants?  Especially   
    LL> when I can get it for nothing?  This makes no sense.  No   
    LL> sense at all ...   
      
    No, it doesn't.   
      
      
      
   BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn   
      
   ... I got spurs that Jingo, Jingo, Jingo ... Phil Gramm!   
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