Well, I had to do it. I had the audacity to open West Magazine, the free magazine that shows up in many of our mailboxes in West St. Louis County. I rarely open it because it is so one-sided, but this time I did. And of course, it led to the writing of a letter to the editor, which they published last week. It is not posted online, so here it is: John Nelson’s letter to the editor on March 12, 2014 is so riddled with errors it must be responded to. John states that under President Obama food stamp recipients have increased. Of course they did! At the height of the Great Recession food stamps saved many Americans from hunger. Thank goodness President Obama was not blinded by fiscal ideologies that would have punished hard working Americans for a financial crisis caused by the 1%. John also argues that Congress has not cut back food stamps. This is incorrect. In November, Congress cut $5 billion from food stamp programs. In February, Congress passed the Farm Bill, cutting another $8.6 billion from food stamp programs. These cuts have slowed the rate of job creation in the United States. Programs that increase the spending power of poor Americans do more to stimulate the economy than tax cuts. When middle class and rich Americans get tax cuts, they often bank the savings. In contrast, food stamps are a direct stimulus into the economy and they create jobs. Congress chose to drain $13.6 billion from the economy just as it seemed to be turning the corner. John then calls President Obama the “Food Stamp President.” This is racially coded language that has been used by every Republican presidential candidate since Goldwater to appeal to white voters. The assumption behind this racial epithet is that blacks are more likely to depend on food stamps than whites and that President Obama, as a black man, is creating dependence on government handouts. Firstly, 34% of food stamp recipients are white. Secondly, food stamps are far from a form of unhealthy dependence. Food stamps protect the most vulnerable in our society from hunger. Food stamps support local communities and local businesses. They create jobs and help many of these families climb out of poverty and give back to their communities. Rev. Krista Taves Ballwin MO
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 20:13:49 +0000
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