Newt Gingrich was the clear winner of last night’s debate, Save Jerseyans. You’re free to disagree… there’s still time to vote in our always-popular web poll. Hundreds of hive-minded Paulbots already have.
Newt’s most memorable line was, believe it or not, on the topic of food stamps:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFIU4NhXUtU
His logic is unassailable. Just look at the numbers.
In Idaho alone, food stamp usage is up 270% since 2007. Approximately 1/3 of Alabama residents are on food stamps. Nationally, food stamp usage topped 46 million persons last year… 15% of all Americans. And over 800,000 New Jerseyans, or nearly 1 in 10 Garden State residents, rely on food assistance.
In 2008, about 28.2 million Americans used food stamps.
33.5 million were using them in 2009.
Then up to 40.3 million in 2010.
More Americans are now relying on food stamps to feed themselves and their families than ever before in our collective history. Many of these people are victims of a bad economy; many more are victims of bad economics (catch the difference there?), and plenty more are living in a collapsing, welfare state-weakened culture where work ethic simply isn’t a guiding virtue like it was for my grandparents’ generation. Food stamp abuse is becoming a pandemic.
Yes, I therefore don’t think it was a stretch for Speaker Gingrich to crown Obama as the “Food Stamp President.” This is the utopian culture of dependency that he and his leftist cronies dreamed of during their heady college days.
Sometimes numbers don't tell the whole story….you can read it here:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/news/economy/obam…
From the article that you cited:
"Nearly the same number of people — 11 million — joined the program during the Bush and Obama administrations, according to Department of Agriculture records. Of course, the jump during Obama's tenure has come in only three years."
I'm not one to blindly defend irresponsible federal spending in the Bush era. At the same time, President Obama has done more objective damage in three years than most presidents have managed in eight.
In short, I don't understand how the CNN piece undermines Newt's argument? President Obama is the Sultan of the Stamp!
Like all the rest of the republicans…you just pick and choose your quotes…it also says this:
"Food stamps have become a lifeline for the millions of long-term unemployed. More than 20% of those unemployed for more than six months received benefits, according to Congress' Joint Economic Committee.
"The program is designed to be responsive to economic downturns and it's met the need that's out there," said Dorothy Rosenbaum, the center's senior policy analyst. "These increases are temporary."
Temporary Matt…temporary. And, its helping people that were displaced by the downturn, which started BEFORE he became president.