Open Thread | Taking Away SNAP Benefits…Because The Cruelty IS the Point of This AdministrationšŸ˜ šŸ˜ šŸ˜ 

Posted on September 9, 2019 by rikyrah

Never EVER forget: The Cruelty IS the Point

The Trump administration plans to gut food stamps, hitting red states hardest

3.6 million Americans will lose food stamps under a regulatory maneuver nobody in Congress likes. 1.9 million of them live in Trump country.
ALAN PYKE
SEP 5, 2019, 8:00 AM

President Donald Trumpā€™s latest attack on working families will hit especially hard in the states that voted for him: More than half of the people who are set to lose access to food stamps under regulations proposed this summer live in states that went for Trump in 2016.

One in every twelve people who receives food stamps nationwide will lose them under the policy ā€” some 3.6 million people, according to new analysis by Mathematica, the private policy analysis firm the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has relied upon for the past 40 years.
ā€œI was surprised by the extent of the impact in some of the southern states, such as Texas,ā€ Mathematica senior research programmer Sarah Lauffer said. The impact was always going to be severe in states that apply the current rules in the most generous fashion, but southern states have generally not extended their eligibility lines quite as far. Despite that, Lauffer said, her team found ā€œ34% of elderly Texans receiving benefits will lose them through this rule.ā€

Almost 400,000 people in Texas currently receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would lose them. Another 328,000 in Florida, 200,000 in New York, 97,000 in Georgia, and 176,000 in Washington state face cuts, to name just a few standouts.
ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦..

The administration plans to slash benefits by ending a popular, bipartisan policy known as broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE). That policy protects low-wage workers from a quirk of poverty-assistance law known as the ā€œbenefits cliff,ā€ whereby earning or saving slightly too much money can trigger a low-income familyā€™s eviction from public assistance programs.

Ending the expanded eligibility system for SNAP will also boot roughly half a million kids out of free school meal programs nationwide. The administration has insisted those kids could all hop right back in by filling out application forms currently mooted by the BBCE system, but experts have warned it doesnā€™t necessarily work that way.

Many have pointed out that this cruelty is part of a con game. Once they kick all these people off SNAP, then they will turn around and declare that this Administration has lowered the poverty rate, because, look, there are fewer people who use SNAP.

Their cruelty aside, once again, they havenā€™t thought things through. Sure, they will hurt ā€˜ those peopleā€™, but, the bottom line is that SNAP is nothing but another FARMER WELFARE PROGRAM. ā€¦and a federal subsidy for WALMART. The farmers might not care, after all, heā€™s bankrupting them, and destroying their overseas markets, and they still support him. Let him destroy their domestic market tooā€¦.but, heā€™ll be hurting ā€˜ the right peopleā€™, so theyā€™re cool with it. But, WALMARTā€¦. The amount of funds they will lose if they lost the SNAP benefits. It is quite obvious that SNAP benefits are beneficial to the economy, because, this is money that is immediately spent and put back into our economy. Weā€™ve already seen the signs of a slowing economy. Take away the buying power of 3.6 MILLION peopleā€¦.you donā€™t think that wonā€™t have a negative ripple effect upon the economy?

But, as alwaysā€¦.THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT.

PS-So sorry to see ThinkProgress fold…this story is part of the good, informative work that they did.

This entry was posted in Food, Health & Nutrition, Open Thread, Politics, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

96 Responses to Open Thread | Taking Away SNAP Benefits…Because The Cruelty IS the Point of This AdministrationšŸ˜ šŸ˜ šŸ˜ 

  2. Liza says:
    September 10, 2019 at 4:19 pm

    I’d be more shocked if he were honest…
    https://twitter.com/AriNatter/status/1171457695032860680

    Reply
  4. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    Serena Williams sizzles in low-cut white slip dress with Alexis Ohanian at The Game Changers premiere in NYC

    By RACHEL MCGRATH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

    PUBLISHED: 23:56 EDT, 9 September 2019 | UPDATED: 08:55 EDT, 10 September 2019

    She dramatically lost her US Open final match to 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu on Saturday.

    But far from retreating to lick her wounds, Serena Williams made a stunning entrance at the New York premiere for documentary The Game Changers on Monday.

    Reply
  7. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 11:25 am

    Bolton got fired via tweet?

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 9:56 am

    Gillian Anderson casting as Margaret Thatcher in The Crown prompts a VERY mixed response – with fans joking that they don’t want to ‘fancy the Iron Lady’

    Gillian Anderson, 51, will play Margaret Thatcher in season four of Netflix drama
    Actress will portray former prime minister from time in officer from 1979 to 1990
    Social media users had mixed response to news, with one saying it’s ‘best choice’
    Meanwhile, another called it a ‘travesty’ and vowed not to watch the new series
    By CHLOE MORGAN FOR MAILONLINE

    PUBLISHED: 05:24 EDT, 10 September 2019 | UPDATED: 06:08 EDT, 10 September 2019

    Reply
  10. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 9:22 am

    Ok…they’re REALLY trying to get rid of Pence…

    BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA AH HA

    Mike Pence’s ‘money hungry’ wife Karen – dubbed ‘the real VP’ – double-billed Trump’s inauguration committee for her ‘tacky’ ball gown and demanded $1.5M to redo the vice president’s residence, new book claims

    Tom LoBianco writes Pence’s wife Karen, who he calls ‘Mother’, is the real VP in his upcoming book Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House
    LoBianco, a reporter who covered Pence as Indiana’s governor, claims Karen is so crafty she gives him advice on the phone so she won’t be seen hanging around him
    The author claims that Trump’s team had no problem with Pence but were concerned about Karen, who they had heard ‘horror stories’ about
    Trump was so impressed by Pence’s indifference to becoming his running mate in the 2016 Presidential Election, it earned him the job as VP
    LoBianco writes that Trump yelled at Pence: ‘I need killers! Do you want this thing or not?’
    Over breakfast in Indiana, Trump asked why Pence was even bothering to be in the race and Pence said: ‘You’re in my home, you tell me’
    Trump said ‘Wow’ and was impressed by the indifference that Pence showed to him – earning him his spot on Trump’s ticket
    Karen is also ‘obsessed with money and demanded $1.5 million from the Trump inauguration committee fund to renovate the Vice Presidential home’
    By DANIEL BATES FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

    PUBLISHED: 13:51 EDT, 9 September 2019 | UPDATED: 19:31 EDT, 9 September 2019

    Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 9:18 am

    RIP….she and her husband did so much for the city…

    Joan Johnson, Who Co-Founded Johnson Products and Thus Co-Helped Us Live Our Best Black Lives, Has Died at 89

    Panama Jackson
    Yesterday 12:28pm

    Universal blackness suffered a tremendous loss last week when Joan Johnsonā€”who along with husband, George Johnson, founded Johnson Productsā€”passed away at age 89. Johnson Products, which brought to us such omnipresent hair products as Afro Sheen, Ultra Sheen, and Gentle Treatment, could (and actually, probably, still can) literally be found in black bathrooms, kitchens, salons, and glove compartments for decades.

    According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Joan Johnson passed away last Friday (Sept. 6) after dealing with ā€œa combination of medical conditions stemming from a 2005 accident that sent her through five back surgeries.ā€ Her husband, George Johnson, said via statement: ā€œI have lost a lifelong friend and partner and the love of my life,ā€ and that ā€œJoan will be greatly missed by her family and all of those who have come to know her.ā€

    The Johnsons leveled up an initial $250 dollar investment into a company that would become the first African-American company to be traded on the American Stock Exchange. Because true blackness loves more blackness, they were the first company to sponsor Soul Train, and Iā€™m sure Don Cornelius really appreciated that. Joan Johnson was also a trustee of Spelman College; her family said they will continue to support the historically black, all-women college with an annual scholarship. And because you canā€™t create black hair care products and help the community maintain its flyness without being a style icon yourself, Johnson paid that forward by helping to sponsor and organize the Congressional Black Caucus Fashion Show. Basically, Johnson, both as an individual and through her company, was a believer in black excellence and uplift. And donā€™t even get me started on the Afro Sheen commercials.

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 9:10 am

    Already an Awesome HBCU, Spelman College Receives Funding for STEM Center; Becomes Awesomer

    Panama Jackson
    Yesterday 2:00pm

    Spelman College, the all-women historically black college located in Atlanta, was recently ranked as the best historically black college or university (HBCU) by U.S. News & World Report. Well, it looks like that train of black excellence will not be slowing down any time soon. The college recently received a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense to support and grow its STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programming.

    According to a press release from the school, Spelman will establish a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM at the college. The center, in conjunction with the Office of Research, Innovation and Collaboration, will be the first of its kind and will become the hub for all of Spelmanā€™s STEM majors, helping to explain why Spelman manages to maintain a stronghold on that top HBCU slot while also being considered one of the nationā€™s best institutions, period.

    The new center hopes to address the pervasive underrepresentation of minorities in STEM, though at Spelman College (per their press release), 26 percent of students major in STEM compared to 16 percent at other HBCUs and 17 percent at all liberal arts colleges nationwide.

    Reply
  14. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 8:54 am

    Homeless Crisis in Los Angeles Highlights the Fall of the Black Middle Class

    Dara Sharif
    Yesterday 10:30pm

    Blacks make up just 9 percent of Los Angeles Countyā€™s population overall, but comprise 40 percent of the areaā€™s homeless, pushed to the margins by decades of redlining, layoffs, mass incarceration and gentrification.

    Among the homeless population, two-thirds live outside, some in whole tent communities filled with close-knit bands of men and women, according to the Los Angeles Times.

    Itā€™s a far cry from the thriving African-American suburban Los Angeles communities many of them grew up in beginning in the 1950s and ā€™60s, and policymakers are struggling to find working solutions.

    Per the Times:

    In December, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released a study blaming the disparity on generations of institutional and structural racism in housing and in the criminal justice, education and child welfare systems.

    ā€œThe story of the debacle of the black middle class has been taken out of conversation and the onus is on the pathology of the individual,ā€ said Suzette Shaw, a skid row activist and a member of an advisory committee for the report. ā€œWorkforce redlining, housing redlining have systemically displaced us.ā€

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    September 10, 2019 at 7:03 am

    I Hate Bears (@RyanmEft) Tweeted:
    @MidwinCharles @ericabelanger He’s in trouble over tariffs, funneling business to his properties, and trying to redefine executive power to mean the ability to ignore legal orders.

    He’s going to quadruple down on the xenophobia between now and next November. It’s his only card, and sadly, it works. https://twitter.com/RyanmEft/status/1171165649193918464?s=17

    Reply
  34. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 2:17 pm

    UVA has ruined usā€™: Health system sues thousands of patients, seizing paychecks and putting liens on homes

    Jay Hancock, Elizabeth Lucas 1 hr ago

    Heather Waldron and John Hawley are losing their four-bedroom house in the hills above Blacksburg, Va. A teenage daughter, one of their five children, sold her clothes for spending money. They worried about paying the electric bill. Financial disaster, they say, contributed to their divorce, finalized in April.

    Their money problems began when the University of Virginia Health System pursued the couple with a lawsuit and a lien on their home to recoup $164,000 in charges for Waldronā€™s emergency surgery in 2017.

    The family has lots of company: Over six years ending in June 2018, the health system and its doctors sued former patients more than 36,000 times for over $106 million, seizing wages and bank accounts, putting liens on property and homes and forcing families into bankruptcy, a Kaiser Health News analysis has found.
    Unpaid medical bills are a leading cause of personal debt and bankruptcy, with hospitals from Memphis to Baltimore criticized for their role in pushing families over the financial edge. But UVA stands out for the scope of its collection efforts and how persistently it goes after payment, pursuing poor as well as middle-class patients for almost all theyā€™re worth, according to court records, hospital documents and interviews with hospital officials and dozens of patients.

    UVA sued patients for as little as $13.91 and as much as $1 million during most of that period, until July 2017, when it restricted lawsuits to those owing more than $1,000, the analysis shows.

    Reply
  35. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    Census Bureau Offers New Clues About Plan To Collect Data For GOP Power Grab

    A top Census Bureau official on Friday cleared up one mystery surrounding whether government data will be used to tilt electoral maps towards Republicans. Another mystery, however, remains when it comes to whether President Trumpā€™s citizenship data project will be successful.

    Chief Census Bureau scientist John Abowd gave a presentation to a group of statistical researchers that confirmed that the Census Bureauā€™s 2020 apportionment count ā€” which is used to dole out U.S. House seats and Electoral College votes among states ā€” would include both citizens and noncitizens, as was done in 2010. His clear statement came as the Census Bureau had put forward more ambiguous messaging on its plans, while it faces a lawsuit in Alabama seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment count.

    But Abowd said that no decision had been made whether to include citizenship data on the data file states use for redistricting. Republicans have clamored to exclude noncitizens when drawing legislative maps, in order to boost political representation for white, GOP-leaning communities.

    …………………

    That lack of commitment is at odds with comments a Census Bureau official reportedly made to GOP state legislators at an ALEC conference last month, at which she said they would have access to the citizenship data for redistricting.

    Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 11:50 am

    šŸ˜ŖšŸ˜ŖšŸ˜ŖšŸ˜Ŗ

    There’s so much, metaphorically, in this story,and none good.

    Tristan Baurick (@tristanbaurick) Tweeted:
    Crabs are mistaking the chemicals released from Deepwater Horizon oil for sex hormones. They wander the polluted well site in search of mates as their shells blacken and their claws fall off. https://t.co/eijXPjdDjA https://twitter.com/tristanbaurick/status/1171086032068108288?s=17

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 11:16 am

    Wakandan War Dog (@Kennymack1971) Tweeted:
    Iā€™ve scaled back my comments about the Democratic primary because thereā€™s a not so subtle message being sent and I am not sure I like it.

    Iā€™ll leave it there for now.

    P.S. come into my mentions with ā€œvote blue no matter whoā€ Iā€™m blocking your ass. https://twitter.com/Kennymack1971/status/1171080891332014082?s=17

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 10:21 am

    Is Trump shaking down Ukraine for 2020 election assistance?
    09/09/19 09:20 AMā€”UPDATED 09/09/19 09:20 AM
    By Steve Benen

    After Vladimir Putinā€™s Russian government invaded Ukraine in 2014, the United States took a series of specific steps. We established a new defense initiative for parts of Europe; we kicked Russia out of the G-8; and we imposed harsh new economic sanctions on Moscow.
    After Donald Trump became president, he defunded the defense initiative (raiding the budget to pay for border barriers), called for Russiaā€™s re-entry into what is now the G-7, and held off on implementing Russian sanctions.

    But as Rachel explained on the show last week, thereā€™s something else the United States did after Russia invaded one of its neighbors: we increased our military aid to Ukraine. Trump, true to form, has delayed following through on that commitment, ignoring the advice of Pentagon officials.

    Itā€™s against this backdrop that the editorial board of the Washington Post published a rather extraordinary piece the other day, making the case that the Republican president is trying to leverage that support for reasons that are almost hard to believe.

    Some suspect Mr. Trump is once again catering to Mr. Putin, who is dedicated to undermining Ukrainian democracy and independence. But weā€™re reliably told that the president has a second and more venal agenda: He is attempting to force [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation of the leading Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.

    Mr. Trump is not just soliciting Ukraineā€™s help with his presidential campaign; he is using U.S. military aid the country desperately needs in an attempt to extort it.

    So let me get this straight. We committed aid to Ukraine. The Pentagon urged Trump to follow through on that commitment. According to the reliably centrist editorial board of the Washington Post, Trump said heā€™d consider honoring that commitment, but only if a foreign government agreed to take steps to help influence the American presidential election in 2020.

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 10:04 am

    Alabama Dean Quits Because White People Canā€™t Handle the Truth

    Michael Harriot
    Friday 7:35pm

    A University of Roll Tide dean at the center of a controversy over a series of stunningly accurate tweets chose to resign from his position rather than succumb to the horrific fate of drowning in a sea of salty, pork rind-flavored hillbilly tears.

    On Thursday, Jamie R. Riley, the University of Alabamaā€™s assistant vice president and dean of students, handed in his resignation after less than seven months on the job, reports the universityā€™s newspaper that also aptly describes the predominant hue of on-campus necksā€”the Crimson White. Rileyā€™s departure comes after right-wing news outlets including Breitbart (no, Iā€™m not linking to that bullshit) Dinesh Dā€™Souza and Laura ā€œIā€™m not a white nationalist, I just play one on TVā€ Ingraham, attacked the dean for old tweets dating back years that publicly accused white people of acting like…Well…White people.

    Reply
  46. Liza says:
    September 9, 2019 at 9:46 am

    This is heartbreaking. We are on track to lose everything that is beautiful on this planet.

    Reply
  47. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 8:33 am

    Black Girls Rock! Reminds Us That the World Would Be Lost Without Black Women

    Corey Townsend
    Yesterday 10:00pm

    ……………..

    Regina Kingā€™s role in 227 indeed reminded us that there was no place like home and it is in Hollywood that King has found her rightful abode. ā€œTransitioning from child actor to an adult in the business was easy for me because I found something that I love,ā€ said King during her acceptance speech. King said she accepted her true power when she ā€œstopped worrying about judgement.ā€ Pulling out a scroll as long as the eye can see, King began to dedicate her win to the black women who made space for her. The women that she listed nurtured King and gave her the strength to make it where she is today. Itā€™s safe to say King, like us all, are grateful for black womenā€™s roles in our lives.

    At this point of the night the audience was given a wind that felt unstoppable. I myself felt as if I could conquer the world, or at the very least traverse back to Harlem from Jersey unscathed. I was empowered and filled with a sense of purpose and gracious to even be in a room filled with the gift that is the black woman. At this point I witnessed jaw-dropping performances, speeches of empowerment and fashions that inspired me to go into my closet and reevaluate my choices. It was at this moment that I would have been content if the show ended, but I didnā€™t know what was in store for me until there was a speech from the icon known as Angela Bassett.

    Bassett was one of the many characters I looked to on television to see myself growing up. There werenā€™t many gay characters, so my focus was set on black women. Through her character I was shown resilience, compassion, and an acting range that has lasted decades. When she floated on that stage to accept her award the audience sat up in their chairs ready to receive whatever word she was going to give us.

    Bassett could have told me that the sky was blue and it would have been as if she gave me the meaning of life. She could do no wrong in my eyes, so I, like many, were ready to be gifted with her words. Regina King introduced her and said her picture would be prominently displayed if you look up the term HBIC. A lie was not told. Bassett began by telling the audience that we all have a purpose, even if weā€™re still trying to figure out what it is. That first statement made me know that this speech could only go up from there and that I should prepare myself for an emotional ride. Though I was ill-prepared, I sat at attention.

    Opening the doors of the church, Bassett said, ā€œThere might be times when you face obstacles, but thatā€™s when you dig deep for courage and fortitude, and to never forget that despite lifeā€™s obstacles that you are destined for greatness.ā€ After this statement thereā€™s absolutely no way that you cannot break out into a sprint for Christ in praise and admiration. Biblical was the only way to describe the words Bassett blessed us with. Throughout her career she has kept her integrity at the forefront and those principles and morals have given her longevity in her career that our screens are better for. ā€œNot only are you good enough, you are more than enough,ā€ was how Bassett ended her speech and there was absolutely no way that you could stop listening and not tap into your inner greatness.

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 6:47 am

    šŸ˜’šŸ˜’šŸ˜’šŸ¤ØšŸ¤Ø

    Malcolm P. Johnson (@admiralmpj) Tweeted:
    Is anyone else suspicious that now that @NatashaBertrand’s Turnberry Story is starting to catch legitimate fire, all of the sudden the President* hacks out a story about the Taliban coming to Camp David that no one really believes? https://twitter.com/admiralmpj/status/1170482916712861696?s=17

    Reply
  91. rikyrah says:
    September 9, 2019 at 1:45 am

    Good Morning,Everyone šŸ˜„šŸ˜„šŸ˜„

    Reply

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