SNAP

SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called Food Stamps.

I recently heard on the radio that one in ten Americans receive SNAP. I found that hard to believe and decided to check it out. According to the official web site, in February of 2009, 32,600,000 people received food stamps. That is 10% of our population. For 2008, the average monthly benefit per person was just over $100.

Along the same lines, unemployment benefits in New York were just extended to 72 weeks. That is almost one year and five months.

For the month of April, 2009; 56,600,000 were on Social Security. That is approximately 17% of the population.

Modern day entitlement programs got their big start with the New Deal, in the 1930's. As we all know, government NEVER reduces or eliminates any of these programs, they only grow. We not only have those FDR started, we have more added on a continual basis. For example, the Medicare Prescription program recently became law and added another benefit to millions of Americans. In 2005, it was estimated that the cost of this program would be $1,200,000,000,000. ($1.2 Trillion) over the first decade. Have you ever known of a program that did not cost more than the government estimated?

Why would our elected officials continue, term after term, to enlarge entitlement programs and those who qualify? Why would they go against the philosophy of each person having personal responsibility? The answer lies in BO's statement to Joe the plumber, "We need to spread the wealth around." Taking or stealing from one group and giving it to another tends to create an entitlement mentality in the citizens (and non-citizens) who are on the receiving end. Once the people get dependant upon the handouts, they make sure (with their votes) to keep the politicians in power who are responsible for giving them the freebies. Therein lies the motivation for the Democrats. They are taking the money from those who earned it and giving it to those who did not, in other words, they are buying votes, with your money, to guarantee their own political power.

Sadly to say, the Republicans are looking more and more like the Democrats in this area. They seem to have signed onto the idea that they can out "redistribute" the Dems. With both sides trying to buy votes, you can only imagine what will happen to tax rates. Someone once said that Liberalism works until the one group runs out of money.