09.04.13
To Afflict the Afflicted
Why isn’t there more social unrest in America? That’s the trillion dollar question.
Increasing hunger is a policy goal of almost half the government legislative structure. And over the weekend there were editorials: Food stamps steal from the betters in American society.
The mantra is regular, always louder, unceasing. Hunger is not a problem to be addressed by the American government, moochers only take advantage. Paradoxically, the lowest wage providers of employment, the fastest growing parts of the economy, rely on pay made so miserly that workers must rely on food stamps.
The message, that financial aid to combat hunger needs elimination or trimming, is so often repeated, even one benighted man, out of work, dismissed from the economy and on the same benefits, talks about “moochers” in a NYT piece today:
As a self-described “true Southern man??? — and reluctant recipient of food stamps — Dustin Rigsby, a struggling mechanic, hunts deer, dove and squirrel to help feed his family …
[Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, a man who could assuredly poison poison itself] advocates mandatory drug testing for food stamp recipients — a position that draws support from Mr. Rigsby, who dreams of becoming a game warden and said it irritated him to see people “mooch off the system.???
But when benefits drop in November, the Rigsbys, who say they receive about $350 a month, can expect $29 less.
Mr. Rigsby, certainly a mixed-up fool, “eats once a day,” says the Times. His ambition to become a game warden is nothing but a pipe dream in 2013 America. And one sees evidence of Stockholm Syndrome, where people have been so beaten by tormentors they’ve been traumatically bonded to them.
More excerpts:
In Dyer County [where the Rigsby families lives], it found, 19.4 percent of residents were “food insecure??? in 2011, compared with 16.4 percent nationwide …
In Washington, House Republicans propose cutting $40 billion more in food stamps over the next 10 years by imposing work requirements and eliminating waivers for some able-bodied adults. The cuts would push four million to six million low-income people, including millions of “very low-income unemployed parents??? who want to work but cannot find jobs, off the rolls, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning research organization.
But the arguments of Mr. Rector, the Heritage Foundation scholar, are gaining traction with Republicans on Capitol Hill. “I think food stamps have in the Republican mind become the symbol of an out-of-control, means-tested welfare state,??? Mr. Rector said.
A number of PARIAH covers have dealt with it. But this one will do today.
The Republican philosophy is a metastatic cancer on the nation. To adhere to its beliefs is to embrace death.
Chuck said,
September 7, 2013 at 9:31 am
I think the idea is to keep us consuming mostly garbage (for example, what’s on TV that’s really worth watching?) and to keep the populace “busy”. When you have lots of spare time on your hands, you tend to get restless and organize.
At least that’s what David Graeber thinks:
http://m.smh.com.au/national/public-service/the-modern-phenomenon-of-nonsense-jobs-20130831-2sy3j.html
I’m reminded of the time that I was invited to visit a local small defense contractor. After being introduced and chatting with a number of people, I was asked what I thought. My response was that, for the life of me, I could find only one person who did anything remotely related to developing the product the firm supposedly manufactured for the government. Everyone else seemed to be an administrator or marketing person of some sort.
George Smith said,
September 7, 2013 at 11:39 am
Ah, “bullshit jobs,” a good word. Except even the “bullshit jobs” economy is coming undone.
Lower-wage earners in two-income households, whether men or women, may find that a job in a restaurant or retail store — two growing areas of employment — doesn’t compensate for the cost of childcare or time away from family.
The participation rate among men fell in August to the lowest levels on records back to 1948, continuing a downward trend that accelerated during the recession.
One concerning development is that even well-educated people are dropping from the labor force. The participation rate among people with bachelor’s degrees fell by more than a percentage point from a year ago. In contrast, the rates for those without high-school diplomas, while much lower, held nearly steady in the past year.
From the WSJ
http://stream.wsj.com/story/markets/SS-2-5/SS-2-319055/
Anyway, there must be many factors in play. One is the lack of demand in
society brought on by the Great Recession, which still hasn’t bounced back.
Another factor must be the liability of relentless downward pressure on wages for decades finally coming home to roost. Still another, the terrible job market combined with the total animosity of US business toward labor.
And since we have paralyzed government, no effective steps to even begin to counter any of this have been taken in the last five years.
http://stream.wsj.com/story/markets/SS-2-5/SS-2-319055/