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Food prices soar as incomes stand still

When I was researching retirement homes for my mother some years ago a volunteer told me that she and others in the community deliver food to low income seniors in the area. She said that there were instances of them eating cat food because it was all they could afford. How ****ing tragic is that? Point being, there are alternatives but it is tough to know what those are without the education you have and my daughter has and affordability is a huge factor. You just can't deny that given the number of people out there who struggle with this issue every day. They aren't all lazy idiots.

Yeah that was the old tale going around for decades. Thing is, certain brands of cat food are quite nutritious and the smell is no worse than a can of refried beans. We feed our pets very well in this country.
 
When I was researching retirement homes for my mother some years ago a volunteer told me that she and others in the community deliver food to low income seniors in the area. She said that there were instances of them eating cat food because it was all they could afford. How ****ing tragic is that? Point being, there are alternatives but it is tough to know what those are without the education you have and my daughter has and affordability is a huge factor. You just can't deny that given the number of people out there who struggle with this issue every day. They aren't all lazy idiots.

I'm well aware that there are some who eat cat food. It's horrifying.

No one ever said they were lazy idiots, it's a matter of giving them as much information as possible so they can improve their food choices.
Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed. Terry Goodkind

Anecdotally, I was stocking up on cat food for my cats at a store where it was on sale, it was the only thing I was buying. The young man who was bagging it up looked at what I had bought and very solemnly said "God bless you' as I took my bag. It took me a few minutes to realize what he was referring to.
 
Please quote where I said education only.

I believe information is the best source for people to make educated choices.

Since you haven't offered any other alternative methods of providing nutrition, I'll have to guess you have none to offer.

I posted a list of things the right wingers want to do to provide food relief to the poor. Since you don't seem to get the sarcasm of my post, I will spell it out for you - Do the opposite of what the right wingers want to do.

And as far your "Please quote where I said education only" remark goes, here's this:

And the left alternative is to create a ongoing drain on everybody via the government, while collecting additional tax money to make more and more people dependent on the government, while continuing to allow people to believe, nay, reinforce the thought, that what someone else makes has anything to do with what they earn themselves.

Making adequate nutrition 'available' is brought about by information and education, not by taxing other people.

SO you don't think we should use tax dollars to help the poor get food, but suddenly you're all for Food Stamps and other govt programs. Your posts are full of crap
 
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what you do with your trickle down check is up to you, but stay away from my pony. i'm going to hire a security firm to guard the perimeter of my compound with the rest of my trickle down check, so that will make me a job creator, as well.


I am sure we can work something out.....and we will let you have the lime light too.
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It is their job to calculate inflation and make the information publicly available, it is the real statistics. Please tell me how the government is lying about inflation?

In the same manner they lie about nearly everything that has a political element. They pick and choose the facts that make them look best. I don't doubt that they have some explanation for their numbers but I do doubt that inflation is 1% I see more than that, not only in food and fuel but in the selling prices of products in the industry in which I work. Sorry, I do not automatically accept what the government tells me. In fact, I tend to doubt everything the government tells me. If you think inflation is that low, then you are lucky. You won't worry about prices like I do.
 
I posted a list of things the right wingers want to do to provide food relief to the poor. Since you don't seem to get the sarcasm of my post, I will spell it out for you - Do the opposite of what the right wingers want to do.

Your list, sarcastic or not, doesn't mean they will buy what is nutritionally better for them unless they are given the tools to help make better decisions.

Why do you not want to provide those tools?
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that food prices overall will rise about 3 percent in 2014. But some items on the menu -- chocolate, beef, bread and cereal -- will climb considerably higher.

Why the rise in prices? Demand is skyrocketing to the point that it outstrips supply.
Droughts out west causing crop damage, feed increases and water shortages affect grain and beef prices. Also ethanol raises the cost of corn and it's byproducts because of the arable land used for the biofuel.

Clothing, houses, automobiles, stamps and Pay TV are all increasing in price.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the average cable bill jumped from $48 in 2001 to $128 a month in 2011.

Archer Daniels Midland, American global food-processing and commodities-trading corporation, operates more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial, and animal feed markets worldwide.

ADM's revenues for fiscal year 2012 were US$89 billion. They were caught price fixing in the mid 1990's by the FBI.
 
I don't know what this 'magically' thing is about, but I know I contribute. How about you?

When the right cuts food stamps, the demand on food banks increase. Where do you think those food pantries are going to come up with more food to feed the increased # of poor people? Magic?

But you don't think tax dollars should go to programs like Food Stamps and WIC

Except when you get called out on your inane "Education will feed the poor"
 
Your list, sarcastic or not, doesn't mean they will buy what is nutritionally better for them unless they are given the tools to help make better decisions.

Why do you not want to provide those tools?

I am not going to fall for your pitiful attempt to derail the thread into a discussion of education. The thread is about how the rise in prices is making food unaffordable for the poor. Try to stick to the topic.
 
The reasonable alternative is stop allowing less than 1% of the country to monopolize the vast majority of the wealth.

Yeah! Who the heck do they think they are, earning all that money, paying a ton of taxes, then they think they can keep the rest? Let's take it from them and give it to those that didn't earn it at all! Great basis for a country.
 
I'm well aware that there are some who eat cat food. It's horrifying.

No one ever said they were lazy idiots, it's a matter of giving them as much information as possible so they can improve their food choices.
Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed. Terry Goodkind

Anecdotally, I was stocking up on cat food for my cats at a store where it was on sale, it was the only thing I was buying. The young man who was bagging it up looked at what I had bought and very solemnly said "God bless you' as I took my bag. It took me a few minutes to realize what he was referring to.


I didn't mean to imply that you thought they were lazy and stupid. I was saying that the dilemma is so common place that it could be used as an indication that there is a broader underling cause.

Part of the problem as well is that the money is just not there, not that they are not using what they have to make good choices.
 
Yeah! Who the heck do they think they are, earning all that money, paying a ton of taxes, then they think they can keep the rest? Let's take it from them and give it to those that didn't earn it at all! Great basis for a country.

Hard working poor people exist, believe it or not. These people deserve a livable income that doesn't require government assistance to stay afloat. Wealthy corporations know they can pay their employees badly and that the government will pick up the bill to keep them off the street. The poor get this assistance from the government and then go spend it at the corporations that aren't paying them enough in the first place. It's a double win for them; the corporations are the real welfare queens. Stop subsidizing corporations and make them pay people fair wages.
 
When the right cuts food stamps, the demand on food banks increase. Where do you think those food pantries are going to come up with more food to feed the increased # of poor people? Magic?

But you don't think tax dollars should go to programs like Food Stamps and WIC

Except when you get called out on your inane "Education will feed the poor"

Where the hell did you get this claptrap from? Quote or rescind it, it is patently FALSE.
 
Where the hell did you get this claptrap from? Quote or rescind it, it is patently FALSE.

Yeah, you never said tax dollars should not be used to help feed the poor :roll:

And the left alternative is to create a ongoing drain on everybody via the government, while collecting additional tax money to make more and more people dependent on the government, while continuing to allow people to believe, nay, reinforce the thought, that what someone else makes has anything to do with what they earn themselves.

Making adequate nutrition 'available' is brought about by information and education, not by taxing other people.


Or maybe you just think that Food Stamps, WIC and other govt programs are not funded with tax dollars. They're funded with money that magically falls from the sky
 
Yeah, you never said tax dollars should not be used to help feed the poor :roll:

Or maybe you just think that Food Stamps, WIC and other govt programs are not funded with tax dollars. They're funded with money that magically falls from the sky

Your failure to quote any such statements made by me at any point in time, in any thread, proves that you were just reading what you wanted to and not what was being said. I have never supported cutting assistance programs for those truly in need.

Perhaps when you learn your mark, you'll understand rather then attempt to play rabid dog and not even take the time to read what is put before your eyes.
 
Yeah, you never said tax dollars should not be used to help feed the poor :roll:

Or maybe you just think that Food Stamps, WIC and other govt programs are not funded with tax dollars. They're funded with money that magically falls from the sky

And where in that quote does it say I condone the cutting of programs? I don't believe the government should increase the taxes on working people to ADD to the programs. Therein lies the difference.
 
Your failure to quote any such statements made by me at any point in time, in any thread, proves that you were just reading what you wanted to and not what was being said. I have never supported cutting assistance programs for those truly in need.

Perhaps when you learn your mark, you'll understand rather then attempt to play rabid dog and not even take the time to read what is put before your eyes.

iow, when you said the govt should not create "ongoing" programs paid for by taxing people because that would make more people dependent on the govt, you meant that the govt should continue programs paid for by taxing people because you don't think that makes people more dependent on the govt. :roll:

Yeah, I believe you
 
And where in that quote does it say I condone the cutting of programs? I don't believe the government should increase the taxes on working people to ADD to the programs. Therein lies the difference.

SO you support the use tax dollars to provide food for the poor? You support the govt taking "what someone else makes" in order to supply food to the poor?

Oh wait! I get it

You support taking "what someone else makes" even though it makes people more dependent on the govt because the govt has been doing it for awhile now. You merely oppose allowing people who have recently become poor from getting food stamps because, unlike those hardy independent food stamp recipients from days past, the recently poor are far more vulnerable to govt dependency
 
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SO you support the use tax dollars to provide food for the poor? You support the govt taking "what someone else makes" in order to supply food to the poor?

Oh wait! I get it

You support taking "what someone else makes" even though it makes people more dependent on the govt because the govt has been doing it for awhile now. You merely oppose allowing people who have recently become poor from getting food stamps because, unlike those hardy independent food stamp recipients from days past, the recently poor or far more vulnerable to govt dependency

Existing programs such as SNAP, WIC and food stamps which are currently funded via tax monies. Considering what programs the government has expanded, unemployment and additional give aways not involving critical needs, does create a dependency factor.

I have never argued that existing assistance programs should be eliminated or cut. Just throwing money at people doesn't do anything to fix the problem, which is why nutritional education will help people make better choices with what they do receive.
 
Existing programs such as SNAP, WIC and food stamps which are currently funded via tax monies. Considering what programs the government has expanded, unemployment and additional give aways not involving critical needs, does create a dependency factor.

So IOW, food stamps and WIC do not create government dependency because they do involve critical needs, but you don't support expanding Food Stamps or WIC because you're so concerned about food being unaffordable :screwy


I have never argued that existing assistance programs should be eliminated or cut. Just throwing money at people doesn't do anything to fix the problem, which is why nutritional education will help people make better choices with what they do receive.

AHh, I see! "Throwing money at people" doesn't do anything so we shouln't expand Food Stamps or WIC, but you support continuing both Food Stamps and WIC because they don't "throw money at people" - they just give the money to people.
 
So IOW, food stamps and WIC do not create government dependency because they do involve critical needs, but you don't support expanding Food Stamps or WIC because you're so concerned about food being unaffordable :screwy
where have I said I don't support food stamps or WIC?


AHh, I see! "Throwing money at people" doesn't do anything, but you support continuing both Food Stamps and WIC because they don't "throw money at people" - they just give the money to people.

Food stamps and WIC is not throwing money at people. They are a limited use assistance program for food. Do I really need to explain the difference to you?
 
where have I said I don't support food stamps or WIC?


Food stamps and WIC is not throwing money at people. They are a limited use assistance program for food. Do I really need to explain the difference to you?

So I am mistaken in thinking that you do not believe those are good programs? In that case, you must support increasing the funding for those programs since you believe that are doing good
 
Hard working poor people exist, believe it or not. These people deserve a livable income...

Yeah, we all deserve nice stuff. So what? They only "deserve" a "livable income" if the job they are doing is worth that level of pay or more. Very simple. Do you go to the store and over pay because they deserve more money? I bet not.

Wealthy corporations know they can pay their employees badly and that the government will pick up the bill...
What kind of screwy logic is that? They offer a job at a certain rate of pay determined by the market. The person accepts, or moves on. Or takes it and looks for a better job.

Stop subsidizing corporations and make them pay people fair wages.
They already are.
 
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