cyu
25th December 2008, 05:04
More an emotional appeal than an offer of policy, but still good to see in more "mainstream" media.
Excerpts from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/dec/24/us-economy-food-stamps
I would have been finished in record time had I not been held up at the checkout line because the bozo ahead of me decided to return something. I began to sigh loudly and roll my eyes until I realised that the bozo in question was a young mother obliged to return a pack of chocolate chip cookies she tried to purchase with her food stamps.
I tried not to catch her eye while the cashier recalculated her purchases without the cookies. (Her little boy didn't look too happy.) She was still $1.27 short on her food stamp card, but there didn't seem to be anything else she could spare. She dug into her purse and managed to put together the required sum with dimes and nickels. She smiled at me red-faced as her bags were packed.
I can't help thinking about what sort of Christmas these women and their families are going to have if a packet of chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of orangeade are beyond their reach.
According to government data, as of September, 31.5 million Americans were using the food stamp programme, up 17% from the previous year. That's 10% of the US population.
$163,987,000 – the salary that Henry Paulson, now secretary of the US Treasury, took home in 2006 for his services as CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Two years later, Goldman Sachs required a massive bail-out from taxpayers. Many of these taxpayers may soon be applying for food stamps.
When Paulson sits down to his sumptuous Christmas feast, paid for with some of the spoils from that nine-figure salary, I hope he will he spare a thought for the 10% of Americans who have barely enough to eat.
Excerpts from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/dec/24/us-economy-food-stamps
I would have been finished in record time had I not been held up at the checkout line because the bozo ahead of me decided to return something. I began to sigh loudly and roll my eyes until I realised that the bozo in question was a young mother obliged to return a pack of chocolate chip cookies she tried to purchase with her food stamps.
I tried not to catch her eye while the cashier recalculated her purchases without the cookies. (Her little boy didn't look too happy.) She was still $1.27 short on her food stamp card, but there didn't seem to be anything else she could spare. She dug into her purse and managed to put together the required sum with dimes and nickels. She smiled at me red-faced as her bags were packed.
I can't help thinking about what sort of Christmas these women and their families are going to have if a packet of chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of orangeade are beyond their reach.
According to government data, as of September, 31.5 million Americans were using the food stamp programme, up 17% from the previous year. That's 10% of the US population.
$163,987,000 – the salary that Henry Paulson, now secretary of the US Treasury, took home in 2006 for his services as CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Two years later, Goldman Sachs required a massive bail-out from taxpayers. Many of these taxpayers may soon be applying for food stamps.
When Paulson sits down to his sumptuous Christmas feast, paid for with some of the spoils from that nine-figure salary, I hope he will he spare a thought for the 10% of Americans who have barely enough to eat.