Thread: Struggling Americans may get more food stamps

From The Times
October 13, 2008

Struggling Americans may get more food stamps

Suzy Jagger and Gary Duncan in Washington

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, is leading efforts to devise a new $150 billion (£88 billion) lifeline for low income Americans.

Ms Pelosi wants to galvanise backing for a new financial stimulus package to increase the US food-stamp programme and extend unemployment benefits. It is understood that she is also proposing that federal funds be used for new public infrastructure projects to create jobs.

Food stamps date back to 1943, and are part of a federal programme that gives very low-income families an allowance to spend on groceries. The allowance is distributed on to debit cards which can be used in supermarkets across the country, and recipients are also eligible to claim free school meals for their children.A record 28 million Americans now receive food stamps at a cost to the Government of almost $30 billion a year.

Ms Pelosi, who is hosting a meeting with other lawmakers today, has said that she could try to force through a Bill after the presidential election on November 4, but before Christmas.

In the event that her $150 billion proposal is passed, it would mark the second of its kind this year: in May, about 130 million Americans were posted tax rebates worth $168 billion to encourage them to spend and boost consumer confidence. The package would come on top of the $700 billion agreed this month to bail out Wall Street and the $150 billion in additional tax cuts for middle America.

Larry Summers, the US Treasury Secretary under President Clinton and a Harvard University economist, said: “The Government needs to up infrastructure spending and create jobs.â€

What worries me is the definition of Americans, which seems to be a take on Mexico's "wherever there is a Mexican, there is Mexico," to "whomever is on US soil is American."
I distrust the majority in politics today. And as far as food stamps, there seems to be little interest to check people for being legally in this country.

Get a Republican Congress and Senate; and amend the 14th Amendment to say that illegal/ undocumented immigrants offspring are not allowed to be US Citizens. And pass E-Verify of everyone and I-9s of all immigrants. Then America will be cleaned out real quick; but it is not going to be pleasant.