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Report: More Americans going hungry

matt wade

Well-Known Member
with so many out of work now, and jobs harder and harder to find, some of these eople used to have jobs and take care of themselves, so it's reasonable they own things like a tv, wii and other 'toys'. Not everyone having trouble getting food blew their money on 'toys' and beer, for some it isn't mismanagement of money, but not having money at all. You can't judge all needy people based on a few bad ones.

If they are going hungry, then they should sell their tv, wii, and other "toys". If I was hungry, I sure would. Hmmm..maybe they aren't all that hungry afterall?
 

targus

New Member
You missed her most important point. Read it again and ponder what she said.

Her point is that she believes that in her church a request for assistance would be met with judgement rather than compassion.

It makes me wonder why would she not then seek out a different assembly if her church does not respond with Christian charity to a request for help.
 

Salty

20,000 Posts Club
Administrator
From what I've seen on this board, christians have no comapssion at all for poeple who really are needy, and they seem to think just becasue they have plenty it must mean everyone else does too, or it's simply laziness or blowing money on beer and drugs. It probably wouldn't hurt to actually get to know whats really going on in these peoples real world.
...

How about the family that has about 1500 a month from SSI and food stamps - but they run out of money before the end of the month. The very first item on their budget list was $300 for cig@rettes! This was a non-negotabile item.
No, this is not hearsay, this is a couple I sat down and counseled. There were other items they could have done without, but refused our (my wife also) counsel.

I am not saying all in "need" are like this couple, but it is all to prevalent.

Other posts have stated that their church has a food pantry. At the moment our church is not able to assist ( we are extremely small) but when we do, our deacons will take food to the home and sit down and find out what the problem is. Does Mrs Smith need to learn how to cook economic meals, does Mr. Smith need to find a part time job? Do they need assistance in forming a budget? This is how our deacons will assist church members
 

tinytim

<img src =/tim2.jpg>
I like that Salty...

And I have seen it on both ends of the spectrum.. from truly needy to people who play churches to get ALL they can.

It is a struggle to help the truly needy.. and not help those who play us..

Why not help everyone? Because the money we save from con artists helps those truly in need... I would hate to have someone come to me that is truly needy, and me not being able to help because I helped a con-artist...

So wisdom from church leaders is always needed.
 

Twizzler

Member
A liberal claim to advertise to the weak-minded that they are unable to take care of themselves and that they absolutely MUST elect the kind-hearted-democrats who will swell the size of government and take away money from all the evil folks who work for a living.

If hunger is so common in the US, show me the story showing thousands, hundred or at the very least tens of people dying of starvation in our borders. You won't becuase it just doesn't happen.
 

Twizzler

Member
I'm quite skeptical of requests for assitance quite often as well... Having been a Cub Master (Cub Scouts / Boy Scouts) for several years, we would work to gather food for needy folks. I had several great members give a TON of foods, including a fully processed deer (which included nearly a hundred pounds of all sorts of different cuts of meat). I'll never forget MAKING DELIVERY of these items to the family that we were going to help. I was embarassed for the young boy, who's father just sat in his chair smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer and watching television while we hauled all of this food inside the house. He didn't even get up to hold the door for us as we hauled in nearly a thousand dollars worth of groceries (mostly canned goods and frozen meats).

The mother was obviously quite used to accepting charity as she merely started sorting through the goods, cherry-picking the best and brand-name items, informing us that she 'couldn't-use' the other items. She also informed us that she couldn't use the venison either and that we'd have to take that back. I was livid as we hauled more than half of the offered foods back out to my truck, but held my tongue.

Most folks that I see taking advantage of food banks don't really NEED it, they're taking advantage of it to subsidize some other nasty habit. No wonder we're so suspicious.
 

preachinjesus

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Man some of ya'll sling "liberal" around like its hash in an Army mess hall.

I noticed the OP never dealt with my points about the flawed nature of the report. We really are seeing a rise of poor journalism that is more incindary and helpful. It saddens me. For example this report isn't saying what the headline reports, rather it is more muted. The journalist knows that it will capture our attention more if they are bold.
 

Johnv

New Member
I don't doubt for a moment that there are many people in the US who are legitimately hungry and homeless. Indeed, we should be helping them, and not the government.

That said, the quantity and severity of homeless and hungry people in the US is nothing compared to those whoare homeless and hungry in many other countries. Try going to India, Darfur or Nepal some time, and you'll see so much hunger and homelessness, it will make you feel like Bill Gates.
 

HankD

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
What is the current administration doing to help?

While a promise has been made to increase food stamp allowances, the elderly have lost their "COLA" this year while the fee for medicare which is taken from their Retirement Benefit has been increased for many.

HankD
 
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Johnv

New Member
The current administration (for that matter, any administration) should be doing nothing. Rather, they should be making it easier for private charities to help the homeless and hungry.
 

HankD

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
The current administration (for that matter, any administration) should be doing nothing. Rather, they should be making it easier for private charities to help the homeless and hungry.
I Agree.

I was answering CTB with his own line of reasoning.

HankD
 

Salty

20,000 Posts Club
Administrator
What is the current administration doing to help?

While a promise has been made to increase food stamp allowances, the elderly have lost their "COLA" this year while the fee for medicare which is taken from their Retirement Benefit has been increased for many.

HankD

Incorrect, those on SS did receive 100% of their "COLA".
Its very simple 100% of 0% = Zero dollars.

Though it does make you wonder why Medicare premiums went up?
 

HankD

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Incorrect, those on SS did receive 100% of their "COLA".
Its very simple 100% of 0% = Zero dollars.
Oh, right, what was I thinking?

Though almost everything on the index went up plus a few other things (like the biggest real estate tax increase in history in my county) like food and clothing. That along with the multi-gazillions in bailouts and corporate executive bonuses.

Plus a 25-40 percent loss in almost everyone's IRA.

I guess the past generation which funded (althought the fund was raided) this administration's generation wasn't considered "too big to fail".

I'm not criticizing your answer SCB, just pointing out the inconsistencies of this administration's logic (I guess it could be called logic).

Anyway, I don't believe anyone actually has to go hungry in this nation, however if it ever could/would be true, the elderly would probably be a big sector in that class of our society.

HankD
 

billwald

New Member
What are these poor doing with their food stamps?

Are not the children getting free lunches AND MAYBE breakfast at school?

The public tv story showed pictures of people waiting for free chow. Most looked 50 pounds overweight.
 

Gold Dragon

Well-Known Member
Editted to add: I did some more reading on this and I really think the report is based on a faulty metric. Notice this last paragraph:

In the survey used to measure food shortages, people were considered to have food insecurity if they said that answered "yes" to several of a series of questions. Among the questions were whether, in the past year, their food sometimes ran out before they had money to buy more, whether they could not afford to eat nutritionally balanced meals, and whether adults in the family sometimes cut the size of their meals -- or skipped them -- because they lacked enough money for food. The report defined the degree of their food insecurity by the number of the questions to which they answered yes.

Thanks for clarifying the meaning of the number we are reading. Most of us do not have an image of a "hungry person" that fits the criteria used in the survey which is why people are skeptical. However, I think it is still an interesting number to consider given this other definition of "hungry person" as used by the survey, especially if you notice the sharp increase in people who qualified in 2008.
 
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