Sinister cycles: self-inflicted crises: endless aggression,
endless suffering
Re-reporting, commentary by
Carolyn Bennett
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s officials in the
U.S. Executive and Legislative branches aided and abetted by the Judiciary commit one after another and simultaneous wars abroad and pressures and provokes sundry
factions into more wars and conflict, they also continue to destroy the
foundations, the promise and potential of the United States and its people.
Federal Washington robs children, America's future ─ all the while endorsing bought
elections and taking other kickbacks ─ to enrich industries of war, surveillance, torture, and
incarceration.
Over the past five years, 14.3 percent or 42.7 million people
in the United States of America languished at below-poverty-level incomes [2007-2011
American Community Survey].
Some groups showed poverty rates more than 10 percentage
points worse than the national 14.3 percent poverty rate:
Native American Indian and Alaska Native
(27.0 percent);
African (or black) - American (25.8
percent)
Hispanic-American: (23.2 percent),
about nine percentage points higher than the overall U.S. poverty rate.
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific
Islanders showing rates above overall national average: (17.6 percent)
White- identified American poverty
rates: (11.6 percent)
Asian-identified American poverty
rates: (11.7 percent)
(Both poverty rates lower than the
overall poverty rate and not statistically differentiated from each other).
U.S. Asian population: poverty rates were higher for
Vietnamese (14.7 percent) and Koreans (15.0 percent) and lower for Filipinos
(5.8 percent)
U.S. Asians: nine states had poverty rates below 10 percent
(Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
Virginia and South Carolina).
U.S. Hispanics: national poverty rates ranged from a low of
16.2 percent for Cubans to a high of 26.3 percent for Dominicans.
Particular Native American Poverty rates: American Indians
and Alaska Natives (Rapid City, S.D.): (50.9 percent)
…around three times the rate in
Anchorage, Alaska (16.6 percent), about 30 percent or greater in five other
cities most populated by this group (Gallup, N.M.; Minneapolis; Rapid City,
S.D.; Shiprock, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Zuni Pueblo, N.M.) [American Community
Survey data collected from 2007 to 2011 by the U.S. Census Bureau.]
Nine states had poverty rates of about 30 percent or more
for American Indians and Alaska Natives: Arizona, Maine, Minnesota, Montana,
Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah.
HUNGER affects all Americans but it slaughters some communities. This is brutal all round, for American and all peoples of
the world. Yet Americans, while complaining and blaming, keep supporting the same, mostly
corrupt creatures to lead from their ivory- towered/K-Street/DuPont Circle Federal
Washington.
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ore than one in seven Americans receives what’s not nearly enough
yet what officials in Washington are trying to take away: help from the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. The one-in-seven percentage (15.2 percent)
is comparable to the percentage of the American workforce affected by
unemployment or underemployment (14.4 percent in January 2013), according to U.S.
Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics U-6 Measure.
Moreover, three in ten
Americans are eligible but are never served by SNAP.
March 20113: SNAP
national participation increased by 168,888 people over this month to
47,727,052 people
Rise from March 2012: 1.3 million people
Forty (40) U.S. states and the District of Columbia experienced
increases in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly named federal
Food Stamp Program) caseloads between January 2012 and January 2013. The six
states registering over-the-year percentage increases of eight percentage
points or higher were Illinois, Wyoming, Hawaii, Florida, New Jersey, Louisiana.
The five states where SNAP was reportedly making huge
differences in the economic well-being and health, the largest percentage-point
difference in lifting households above 101 percent of the poverty level, were:
New York (33.5), Vermont (26), Rhode Island (25.1), Massachusetts (23), and
Alaska (19.4). [FRAC reported U.S. Census Bureau and USDA’s Food and Nutrition
Service (FNS)]
The SNAP/Food Stamp Program is the largest nutrition
assistance program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA). Its goal: “to alleviate hunger and malnutrition … by increasing food
purchasing power for all eligible households who apply for participation” as stated
in the Food Stamp Act of 1977 as amended (P.L. 108-269). The program provides monthly benefits to
eligible low-income families, which can be used to purchase food. Through Electronic
Benefit Transfer (EBT) systems replacing paper coupons, the use of a benefits
card similar to a bank card, USDA reports, all 50 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico now use EBT systems.
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very 5 years, the SNAP/Food Stamp program is reauthorized by
the U.S. Congress as part of the Farm Bill. Re-authorization establishes who is
eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps and addresses
program access, benefit levels, and
other matters.
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) President Jim Weill
said in a press release yesterday, “As the Farm Bill moves to the floor of the
House of Representatives this week
Congress must acknowledge that any
cut to SNAP means less food in the cupboards and refrigerators of the hungriest
people in America – including children, seniors, working families, unemployed
workers, and people with disabilities.…
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| Congresswoman Barbara Lee |
Some Members of Congress initiated a “SNAP CHALLENGE.”
Nearly thirty members of the U.S. House of Representatives
joined Congresswoman Barbara Lee in committing to living on the food budget of
an average SNAP recipient: $4.50 a day to challenge a proposed $20 billion-cut
to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the 2014 Farm Bill.
Some Members made statements.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13)
“The more than $20 billion in proposed cuts to SNAP are
unconscionable and unacceptable. When I was a young, single mother, I was on
public assistance, and I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the
vital lifeline that the American people extended to me. SNAP is the difference
between food on the table and a child going to bed hungry. I’m so encouraged by
all my colleagues who are joining me for the SNAP Challenge, and I encourage
folks from across the country to get engaged and join the chorus voicing
opposition to these outrageous cuts.”
Congressman Joseph
Crowley (NY-14)
“As we consider the Farm Bill, Congress should be taking
steps to strengthen the food stamp program, not destroy it. For millions of New
Yorkers, this assistance means the difference between putting food on the table
and going to bed hungry. I’ll be participating in the Food Stamp Challenge,
keeping my spending on meals to under the average food stamp benefit, to
highlight just how hard it is to stretch these dollars and how deeper cuts
being proposed by the Republican majority will literally take food away from
families.”
Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-2)
“Cutting $20.5 billion from the SNAP program, as the House
Farm Bill would do, is wrong-headed, mean-spirited and cruel. I would hope that the members of the House
who support those cuts would take the SNAP Challenge, and walk in the shoes –
if only for a few days – of the Americans who struggle to feed their families.”
Congressman Sander Levin (MI-09)
“Far too many Americans continue to struggle just to feed
themselves and their families. And yet House Republicans have proposed $20
billion in cuts to food stamps, which help the neediest among us. Participating
in this challenge will provide me some insight into the struggle so many Americans
face and I hope will highlight why we should not cut the program.”
Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05)
“Food assistance fulfills a promise we make to each other:
if you fall on hard times, your neighbors, friends, and fellow Americans will
help you get a meal. These families live in our communities and their children
are our kids’ classmates. Nearly half of
all Minnesotans who receive food assistance are children. Eight in ten of them live below the poverty
line, meaning they are from families. It's time we strengthened, not cut, food
assistance.”
Congressman John Conyers (MI-13)
“My colleagues claim that these devastating cuts are needed
to reduce the federal debt. However, every major deficit reduction package
signed into law over the last thirty years has always been negotiated according
to the principle of not increasing poverty or inequality.”
Congressman Marc
Veasey (TX-33)
“According to the Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas
has the 9th highest food hardship rate in the country. This is why I support
programs like SNAP which serves more than 1.6 million Texas households. The
SNAP program provides a vital lifeline to combat childhood obesity, provides
nutritious eating options for disadvantaged households, and ensures we
eliminate the nation’s food deserts.”
Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02)
“SNAP is a lifeline for millions of Americans families who
cannot afford to eat without this modest assistance. That’s why the proposal by
House Republican Leadership to slash funding for SNAP is so unconscionable.… We
need Congress to understand what these cruel austerity measures mean on a
personal level rather than a generic statistical sample, which is why I’m
taking the SNAP Challenge next week and trying to live off of the average SNAP
recipient’s $4.50 a day.”
Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-6)
“Today almost 50
million Americans live with the insecurity of never knowing if they will be
able to afford their next meal. For
these Americans, the SNAP program is a lifeline that ensures children have
enough food to grow, that underpaid and underemployed workers have the means to
feed their families, and that seniors don’t have to choose between food and
medicine. Incomprehensibly, House
Republican leadership’s answer to these families is to propose a staggering $20
billion cut from the SNAP program.
Feeding a family on SNAP is difficult as it is, it would become
virtually impossible if these cuts are implemented. That is why I am taking the SNAP Challenge to
promote awareness for hunger and highlight the importance of this critical
program.”
Congressman Jim
Langevin (RI-02)
“In the wealthiest nation in human history, it is
unconscionable that every American cannot afford life’s basic necessities. I am
proud join my colleagues participating in the SNAP challenge. Every member of
Congress should know what it’s like to live on $4.50 per day, to know the pain
of going to bed hungry, and to understand the full gravity of the decisions we
make. When you take food off of the plates of hungry children, you have a moral
obligation to understand the consequences.”
Congressman Ted
Deutch (FL-21)
“Despite our recent economic gains, many low-income and
middle class families are still struggling to get by. At a time when hunger is
on the rise, and nearly half of all
Americans are living in poverty or just a paycheck away from it, the notion
that nutritional assistance belongs on the chopping block is outrageous. The
Food Stamp Challenge gives members of Congress the opportunity to experience
for themselves the reality that SNAP is not an overly extravagant program, but
a modest safeguard that protects millions of Americans from hunger.”
Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-2)
“Sometimes the best way to understand another person’s
challenges is to spend some time walking in their shoes. While I will live on
$4.50 a day for seven days, we cannot forget that millions of families survive
on this and less every day, every week, for months at a time.… For these
Americans, millions of whom are children, SNAP is an indispensable lifeline. We
need to protect this critical program from the Republicans’ reckless cuts that
would leave millions without adequate resources to feed themselves and their
families.”
Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05)
“With these deep cuts to nutrition programs being proposed,
it’s important for elected officials to recognize the hardship millions of
Americans face every day as they attempt to feed their families. By living off such a limited budget, I hope
to gain a better understanding of how difficult it is for many of my
constituents to avoid hunger and try to meet nutritional needs.”
Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02)
“As a longtime supporter of food pantries and hunger
prevention, I am outraged by the proposed $20 billion cut to SNAP. This cut
would be devastating to the more than 2 million Illinois residents who rely on
SNAP benefits just to put food on the table.
I am participating in the challenge to stand in solidarity with my
constituents who depend on SNAP and to call attention to the need to fight
these irresponsible cuts.”
Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-1)
“I’m humbled to be joining so many of my colleagues in the
SNAP challenge. The SNAP program provides crucial support to families in New
Mexico and across the country who continue to struggle to make ends meet. … Even
with SNAP benefits, it’s a challenge to satisfy the nutritional needs of an
individual or a family. But without these benefits, just getting by would be absolutely
impossible for the one in five New Mexicans who rely on SNAP for basic
nutrition and economic security. Although it’s going to be difficult to eat on
just $4.50 a day, I cannot imagine what life must be like for families who have
to go through this exercise week after week or even month after month.”
Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04)
“I think a lot of people have a misperception that being on
food stamps is somehow a gravy train … but that couldn’t be further from the
truth. It’s hard to find nutritional food on such a limited budget, and I know
I won’t be able to eat three meals a day on the food I purchased for the
challenge. Taking the challenge not only highlights hunger in our country, it
also gives me a better understanding of the daily reality of millions of
Americans and just how limited their nutrition options are.”
Congresswoman Suzan
DelBene (WA-01)
“It is critically important to raise awareness and stand up
for the millions of families, children and seniors across the country who rely
on nutrition assistance programs by ensuring our safety net is adequately
funded. Participating in this SNAP challenge is a way to highlight the struggle
many people and working families are facing today and to call attention of the
need for these life-saving programs.”
List of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives participating
in the “SNAP Challenge” (latest update: June 12,
2013)
1. Congressman
John Carney (D, DE)
2. Congressman
Matthew Cartwright (D, PA-17)
3. Congressman
Joe Crowley (D, NY-14)
4. Congressman
John Conyers (D, MI-13)
5. Congressman
Peter DeFazio (D, OR-04)
6. Congresswoman
Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01)
7. Congressman
Theodore Deutch (D, FL-21)
8. Congressman
Keith Ellison (D, MN-05)
9. Congresswoman
Michelle Lujan Grisham (D, NM-01)
10. Congressman
Hank Johnson (D, GA-04)
11. Congresswoman
Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC)
12. Congressman
Jared Huffman (D, CA-02)
13. Congresswoman
Robin Kelly (D, IL-02)
14. Congressman
Daniel Kildee (D, MI-05)
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15. Congresswoman
Ann Kuster (D, NH-02)
16. Congressman
James Langevin (D, RI-02)
17. Congresswoman
Barbara Lee (D, CA-13)
18. Congressman
Sander Levin (D, MI-09)
19. Congresswoman
Doris Matsui (D, CA-06)
20. Congressman
Jim McGovern (D, MA-02)
21. Congressman
Richard Nolan (D, MN-08)
22. Congressman
Beto O'Rourke (D, TX-16)
23. Congressman
Donald Payne, Jr. (D, NJ-10)
24. Congressman
Mark Pocan (D, WI-02)
25. Congresswoman
Jan Schakowsky (D, IL-09)
26. Congressman
Marc Veasey (D, TX-33)
27. Congressman
Melvin Watt (D, NC-12)
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It is a known fact that if you neglect your own, you will do
far worse to those you consider not “your own” kind. And so it is that the gated
and guarded and otherwise “protected” officials in the United States of America commit vast
and sustained destruction (drone attacks) over here and over there.
U.S. foreign policy meets U.S. domestic policy. America’s domestic policy
is our foreign policy; the misery we inflict abroad is the misery we inflict at home ─ all
MADE IN THE USA.
Sources and notes
“American Indian and Alaska Native Poverty Rate About 50
Percent in Rapid City, S.D., and About 30 Percent in Five Other Cities, Census
Bureau Reports,” press release, February 20, 2013, http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb13-29.html
FRAC (Food Research and Action Center)
“FRAC reports on hunger in the United States”
SNAP Participation Increases in March 2013 - Caseloads
Reflect Economic Need
SNAP Participation Continues Decline in February 2013 - Caseloads
Reflect Economic Need
SNAP Participation Increases in December 2012 - Fluctuations
Reflect Economic Need as Well as Disaster Aid
SNAP Participation Increases in November 2012 - Jump
Reflects Disaster Benefits for Hurricane Sandy Victims
SNAP Participation Drops in October 2012 - Over-Month-Decline
Reflect End of Temporary Hurricane Isaac Relief
SNAP Participation Inched Up Slightly in July 2012 - Caseload
Growth Linked to Economic Hardship
More than 46.6 Million Americans Participated in SNAP in
June 2012 - Caseload Growth Linked to Economic Hardship
http://frac.org/reports-and-resources/hunger-and-poverty/disparities-in-food-insecurity/
http://frac.org/reports-and-resources/snapfood-stamp-monthly-participation-data/
http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/snapfood-stamps/
“FRAC Applauds New Proposed Legislation to Strengthen SNAP
Benefits ─ by Contrast, House Agriculture Committee Bill Would Leave Millions
of Americans with Empty Cupboards” (Statement attributable to FRAC President
Jim Weill)
Press Release lead: June 17, 2013 – Washington, D.C. – As
the Farm Bill moves to the floor of the House of Representatives this week,
Congress must acknowledge that any cut to SNAP means less food in the cupboards
and refrigerators of the hungriest people in America – including children,
seniors, working families, unemployed workers, and people with disabilities.…”
Update: legislation sponsors: Congressman Deutch with
Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Gwen Moore (D-WI),
John Lewis (D-GA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Gene Green (D-TX), Frederica Wilson
(D-FL), Danny Davis (D-IL), Maxine Waters (D-CA),Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Corrine
Brown (D-FL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Yvette Clarke (D-NY),
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Dina Titus (D-NV), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Filemon Vela
(D-TX), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Greg Meeks (D-NY), John
Conyers (D-MI), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Pete Gallego (D-TX).
http://frac.org/frac-applauds-new-proposed-legislation-to-strengthen-snap-benefits/
“Hunger in the United States,” says FRAC, “is a problem that
can be cured.
The nonprofit, according to its website, “pursues a
comprehensive national, state and local strategy ─
…conducting research to document
the extent of hunger, its impact, and effective solutions;
…seeking improved federal, state
and local public policies that will reduce hunger and under-nutrition;
…monitoring the implementation of laws and
serves as a watchdog of programs;
providing and coordinating,
training, technical assistance and support on nutrition and anti-poverty issues
to a nationwide network of advocates, service providers, food banks, program
administrators and participants, and policymakers; and
…conducting public information
campaigns to help promote changes in attitude and policies
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) “works with hundreds
of national, state and local nonprofit organizations, public agencies,
corporations and labor organizations to address hunger, food insecurity, and
their root cause ─ poverty.” http://frac.org/about/
SNAP CHALLENGE
“Over Two Dozen Members of Congress Protest SNAP Cuts, Live
on Food Budget of $4.50/day” (Press June 14, 2013, Representative Barbara Lee, Follow
Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit
lee.house.gov.)
http://lee.house.gov/press-release/over-two-dozen-members-congress-protest-snap-cuts-live-food-budget-450day
http://lee.house.gov/press-release/full-member-list-congressional-snap-challenge
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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