CNN's Baldwin Hypes 'Appalling' Food Stamp Cuts
On today's 3:00 pm edition of CNN Newsroom, anchor Brooke Baldwin teased her next segment:
BALDWIN: Coming up next, House Republicans they want to cut billions of dollars in food stamps. We will talk about who exactly in terms of numbers this would impact and why my next guest calls this whole suggestion appalling -- back in 60 seconds.
Baldwin interviewed Edward Cooney, executive director of the Congressional Hunger Center. She didn't note that, despite its official-sounding name, the center is just another 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization taking money from companies such as Walmart, Kraft, and Archer Daniel Midland, as well public funding for fellowships. Nor that Cooney had worked at the Department of Agriculture during the Clinton administration. Nor that Cooney has made political contributions to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and ActBlue, which characterizes itself as "the online clearing house for Democratic action."
Given that, it was to be expected that Cooney is less than sympathetic to GOP efforts to reduce the skyrocketing costs of food stamps, also referred to as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program):
COONEY: I think I should also point out though that tomorrow morning, they're going to cut an additional $33 billion that has not gotten the press this other cut has. And they indicated that there will be no harm involved. No one will be hurt because these are technical cuts. I would just like to say to you if you hear that expression from Congress, no one will be harmed, that's your first notice that you should be running for cover.
BALDWIN: Well, when you mentioned millions of people would be affected, I imagine in that millions we're talking millions of children.
And you do have, as we talk millions, record numbers of people who are in the SNAP, the food stamp program. The numbers they began spiking -- when you look back here, they spiked during the great recession. Then you look from 2007 to today, we have seen the food stamp rolls go from 27 million to 47 million.
Doubtless the recession has had a significant impact on the number of recipients. But the Department of Agriculture itself reported:
The historical relationship between unemployment and SNAP caseloads diverged in the middle of the decade, however. As the unemployment rate fell 1.4 percentage points between 2003 and 2007, SNAP caseloads increased 22 percent, or by 4.8 million participants.
The cost of food stamps has increased from under $18 billion in 2001 to $76 billion now. As part of President Obama's stimulus, states received additional funding for signing up more participants. Little wonder food-stamp expenditures have doubled in the past four years. According to an Associated Press story on ABCNews's Web site:
Many of the immediate (GOP) cuts would return benefit levels to where they would be had Democrats not temporarily increased them in the stimulus measure. Democrats themselves tapped the benefit increases in 2010 to pay for earlier legislation.
So the GOP's proposed reduction may not be as appalling as opponents contend. Moreover, the Government Accountability Office states that in Fiscal Year 2011 SNAP had an improper payment rate of 3.8%, costing taxpayers an estimated $2.5 billion. And that probably doesn't include lottery winners.
Baldwin could have alerted viewers to her guest's background so they could take that into account while hearing his views. But perhaps that's too much to expect from the self-styled "Most Trusted Name in News."
- Mike Bates's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Cut ALL welfare.
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 1:15am.
Cut ALL welfare.
I would HATE
Submitted by Mike Bates on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 1:19am.
to be in Chicago the day the welfare checks stop. Even modest proposals to limit increases are met with outrage and screams about kicking old folks into the snow and making them eat dog - or is it cat? - food.
Mike
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 10:07am.
I know at least on Chicagoan that eats just plain old dog.
If I were Bo
Submitted by Mike Bates on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 11:26am.
I'd stay out of BO's way. Just in case he gets a case of the munchies.
Bladwin: Doing OBAMA's bidding
Submitted by ChrisNH on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 6:06am.
Brooke Baldwin is doing Obama's 'bidding,' just like Romney proved.
Bet we'll never see
Submitted by HockeyKid on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 6:51am.
a story from CNN about abuse of "food stamps" debit cards.
Like posting bail...
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Well first of all, SNAP has
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 6:49am.
Well first of all, SNAP has been advertising (at least in my tri-state area), i.e., spending taxpayer dollars, to sign up even more recipients, in order to spend every SNAP dollar they get from Washington, that, in order to get even more dollars in the future, in order to sign up more recipients.
Whew! Put that in order.
And wouldn't more people on SNAP (and homeless, and unemployed, and underemployed, etc.) be a bad thing if a Republican were President??
Now, secondly, let's examine this statement from Cooney:
"I would just like to say to you if you hear that expression from Congress, no one will be harmed, that's your first notice that you should be running for cover."
and apply this to Obama saying how his health care bill would help, not harm, anyone.
Notice the dichotomy there?? I'm sure we will never hear Cooney tell us to 'run for cover' if Obamacare is passed.
I read story after story
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 10:11am.
about abuse of the EBT Card, which removed the shame of Food Stamps. What I also know is that just about every school in America is giving free meals to students from families that are well over the poverty limit. Are the EBT cards being deducted for school age children not eating meals at home? I think we all know that answer.
There needs to be some effort on the part of recipients to compensate the treasury for their "entitlement." We have generations of veterans of the War on Poverty. What we don't have is an exit strategy.
To paraphrase the Vile Lloyd Benson, "I've been to some REALLY poor countries, I met some REALLY poor people while there. America, you don't have any REALLY poor people.
Must have taken days to...
Submitted by BBallleaper on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 6:57am.
think up up that pathetic hair style! Ugly. Inside and out!
Despite her obvious ignorance
Submitted by Newsbusterbrown on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 7:01am.
Despite her obvious ignorance and bias, she looks pretty hot in that photo to me.
“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
food stamps
Submitted by kinijane on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 7:05am.
I raised my children as a single mother, and I did NOT ask the gov for help.
Even when I had to take a minimum wage job and times got really tough, I
took care of my kids myself without foodstamps, gov housing, etc. The
gov didn't tell me to have my children and I always thought it was my
responsibility.
Kudos to you, jane! I hope
Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 7:10am.
Kudos to you, jane! I hope things are better for you now!
New liberal tactic
Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 7:12am.
For years, they have miscast reductions in the rate of growth as drastic "cuts." Now they inflate the program and then call it a "cut" when it's reduced. Because everyone knows,government benefits should ALWAYS go up!
Many of the immediate (GOP) cuts would return benefit levels to where they would be had Democrats not temporarily increased them in the stimulus measure.
And that, folks, is a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad thing!!
However, when they talk about letting the Bush tax cuts, expire, they deny vehemently that that would be a tax increase...it's just a neutral "return to previous levels."
poor
Submitted by Tjexcite on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 7:32am.
I did catch this and had to laugh when Mr Cooney said that this program helps the poorest people in the world. No on in the USA is the poorest no matter where they are in the social ladder. Everyone in the USA is part of the evil 1% of the world.
Hmm
Submitted by compguytracy on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 8:41am.
I was under the impression what they were going to do is not allow damn illegals access to my money? i really don't care two craps if some illegal starves, go back to mexico, or wherever to get free stuff.
"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?" Orwell, 1984
Ceteris paribus
Compguy
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 8:50am.
I envy you your state of mind. I am under the impression Obama is going to hand over e dry thing he possibly can to illegals. Of course not Cali because they at to deep in debt and need us to continue to pay their bills.
I saw someplace in Texas was bragging about their health care facility for illegals...
get ready
Submitted by spepper on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 8:53am.
Get ready-- this is only a preview of the mass hysteria media scaremongering strategy to attack any opposition against "their guy"--
What needs to be changed
Submitted by MOONSTRUCK on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 9:31am.
Well one of many in the food stamp system is WHAT can be purchased using mine and your tax dollars. If every American could actually see what is bought with food stamps, for the POOR your head would explode.
Just to name a few mountain dew, potato chips, gum, candy bars, energy drinks and the list goes on and on. And if you are lucky enough to have cash on your EBT card you can buy smokes and lottery tickets.
I once watched a person walk up to the ATM slide in her EBT card, get x amount of cash and walk up to me at the counter and purchase a CARTON of cigs. I thought my head was going to explode. And this was just one person. Can you fathom how much of this is going on elsewhere?
This is with OUR tax dollars. This needs to be exposed. I have saved receipts from this fraud. I just need to get them in the hands of the right person.
outrageous
Submitted by spepper on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 11:03am.
It's also outrageous that they can make such "purchases" (which is nothing more than hi-tech giveaways with the use of EBT cards) because the technology that COULD be applied in this system, but ISN'T, because of the politics involved. The EBT cards could be restricted to transactions with certain products-- generic vegetables & meat, but NOT "fast food" or "snack" products. Granted, they already are restricted from obtaining things like alcoholic beverages with it, but they need to go MUCH further with what products can be obtained. The same type rules already apply to other programs such as my health care savings plan-- I can use it to cover the costs of certain medical care, not just any old kind, such as medically unnecessary services such as cosmetic surgery etc. And being able to obtain cash with an EBT card at an ATM is just CRIMINAL.
Let's not forget.....
Submitted by NC Cop on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 1:16pm.
the almost $70 million worth of welfare money that was spent in LAS VEGAS!!
http://thehive.modbee.com/node/21542
"In fact, nearly $70 million in California welfare money intended to house and clothe the needy was spent or withdrawn outside the state between January 2007 and this past May, the Times reported today. The tally includes not only the millions in Vegans but also hundreds of thousands in Hawaii and thousands on cruise ships sailing out of Miami, the newspaper said."
But heavens no, let's not restructure the welfare guidelines...
what is fair about
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 9:31am.
What is fair about some people DEMANDING food, housing and medical subsides while other people are OBLIGATED to work to provide these subsidies?
Is it fair that my daughter (a single mother who gets no help from her ex) has to pay excess taxes to pay for others who refuse to work? Is it fair for others to work and pay child care but are accused of being unfeeling and uncaring because they would like to keep more of their hard earned income? Some of these are having a hard time making ends meet.
I am sick of the lazy and greedy demanding they be supported. Too many in this country have decided living on the public dole is another lifestyle choice. Shame on them.
I have no problem helping and even supporting those who really cannot help themselves, like the disabled, but I really resent seeing Americans' hard earned money going to support the druggies, the lazy and people who refuse to work. Enough of this.
Fifty years ago LBJ declared
Submitted by ricklail on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 11:19am.
Fifty years ago LBJ declared a War on Poverty. That war was lost over 20 years ago but Commiecrats still keep pumping money into it.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for one day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. The teaching to fish is also a failure with this government