John, I have had no comment on Krugman for a long time, but this one demands an answer. .......What both Ryan and Krugman need to do is stop making this a general issue - it's NOT. It's an individual issue. Each person has their own unique set of cirumstances and suggesting as both do that it is one way or the other is just ideological grandstanding. Do food stamps lead some people to a life style where they depend on them - well of course they do - FOR SOME PEOPLE. (Krugman says this in the same piece he is arguing against it; " Food stamps, it seems, do lead to a reduction in work and working hours, but the effect is modest.") ........Does that apply to ALL PEOPLE getting food stamps, well of course not.
Both men miss the problem - in a global economy, when we dump such huge sums of money into the food stamp program, we are doing little to stimulate America or creating jobs here. Why? The money is spent globally; chocolate from Switzerland, cheese from Holland, Herring - my favorite - from Norway, lamb from New Zealand, beef from Argentina or Canada, truffles from France ..........well you get the idea. So the money we borrow from China - and pay interest on - stimulates around the world. What's missing John? Jobs! Jobs here - not in New Zealand. How do we create jobs and be sure they remain here? Infrastructure. ..........If these idiots - Ryan and Krugman - would stop pontificating on their specific zealotry and instead work towards a common goal, we wouldn't need such a large food stamp program because people who want jobs would be able get them.
Infrastructure; schools, museums, bridges, tunnels, solar on every roof, more broadband, .........the list is only restricted to our imagination. |
