A good friend of mine posted on Facebook, about the benefits of food stamps, and how they had played in instrumental role in helping her family in hard times.
Some people, like myself, responded very well.
Some others did not.
There were the typical rants about how some people were getting food stamps that did not deserve them. Anecdotal stories about the person in front of you in the grocery store who is dressed too well, drives too fancy a car, buying too upscale of food, getting stuff for free that you worked hard all your life to get. And there go your tax dollars to support this freeloader. Others were angry at the perceived fraud and abuse that takes place within the food stamp program. More anecdotal stories pour forth. Meanwhile, the story of my friend and her family, and the story of countless other families that have been helped by this program, are drowned out in a sea of negativity.
The food stamp program is not a permanent status. The average length of time spent on food stamps in nine months, according to SNAP statistics. My friend quoted another source that said five and a half months. The point is these programs do have turn around. The vast majority are not on the program long term, nor do they want to be.
The stereotype that these people should look worse than us is just stupid and cruel. This is a program designed to help us...there but for the grace of God. It's possible to dress fairly well and be in need. We're not supposed to be judging each other in that way, but I guess we just can't help it.
Is there fraud and abuse in the food stamp system? Oh, you betcha! This is America, after all, land of the free and home of the con! We love our con men in this country! Look how we celebrate The Wizard of Oz, Jack Sawyer in Lost, Robert Redford and Paul Newman in The Sting, Ric Scott and Donald Trump, Bernie Madoff and Pat Robertson - we love them all!!! Figuring out loopholes to tax law and regulations is The American Pastime! As soon as a law or regulation is passed in this country, lawyers and accountants start holding seminars to show how to get around them. And yet, according to SNAP, their error rate is 3.81%, considerably below that of many other government programs.
According to a study done by Moody Business ( a fairly conservative, business oriented think tank), the number one smartest way a government can invest to most quickly get out of a recession is food stamps. They return more money back in than is invested, and fuel economic growth faster than anything else. It may not be pretty but it's true - if you want to get the economy going and growing, increase food stamp availability.
But our politics are greatly divided, and nothing I or my friend or others say or do is going to make any difference. Most conservative thought in this country is fueled by fear of the OTHER. There is someone out there who is not deserving, who is going to take your hard earned money and get things free that you had to work hard for. And the concentration of attention is always on those who are perceived to be economically below you - never on those who are wealthy or large corporations; their thievery is always ignored or justified.
So for those of you in this intractable camp, I have a modest proposal:
WARNING! THIS IS THE SWIFTIAN SATIRE SECTION OF THE POST:
If you are offended by people being in line with you that are using food stamps, why don't we create separate grocery stores for them to go to? And of course, those grocery stores should only sell base commodities, not the fine, fancy foods you think they should be denied. Bags of rice and flour, no name generic products, government cheese and surplus, Nothing fun or interesting, because they should be punished and humiliated for their inexcusable poverty.
No cars made in the last ten years should be allowed in the parking lot. No one should be allowed in who has a manicure or clothes that are not clearly ragged hand-me-downs. Use of proper grammar could result in expulsion.
But why stop there? To be sure we are screening the right people, they should be made to wear an identifier on their clothing, say a yellow star. It could even be a tattoo! Somewhat removable, of course, using a special government process, but maybe leaving a little after mark so those people can forever be stained by their slovenliness, even if it is temporary.
But why stop even there? Let's keep track of people and their level of moochery. Let's implant a chip that keeps track of all the money you've paid into the system,take it out when you use a government service, and when these people start to run deficits, garnish their wages to make restitution for their mooching ways.
But why stop there? Why don't we use the chip for everything, and just stop one's government benefit when the chip zeroes out, or make you start paying for your services? Your chip starts to run negative for traveling on public roads - get off or start paying a toll! Chip runs negative for public school? Get your kid out and start sending him to private school or keep the little moocher at home! It could track how much you've put into Social Security and Medicare, and boot you right straight snap out of the system once your own funds are exhausted!
But why stop there? No matter what you do, there are still going to be those incapable of contributing. People too old or disabled or unlucky, those who simply have a hard time with their family living in a van down by the river, catching contaminated, polluted fish and wildlife (poisoned by a lack of regulation on industry), working jobs paying at Bangladesh level wages. For those who just refuse or are unable to get their chips into balance, there is another solution, one that might help us with those Food Stamp commodity stores.
And that solution is.......
Soylent Green.
To paraphrase one of my favorite Pogo comic strip sayings....
We has met the moocher......
...and he is us.
Amen!
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