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Gimmie My $25!

Really?

Chanting “Save our food,” seniors rallied Thursday to urge congressional action to restore the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, which provides $25 vouchers for the poor and elderly to buy fresh fruit and vegetables locally.

About 200 gathered at the Clinton Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. King Drive, in a push to revive the U.S. Department of Agriculture program that ended Sept. 30.

The program, financed by U.S. taxpayers, is part of the Farm Bill that failed to pass in Congress. Although Congress passed a continuing resolution for parts of the bill, the farmers market voucher program was not part of that, said Sherrie Tussler, executive director of the Hunger Task Force, who organized the rally.

“As of Sept. 30 the program is dead. Done,” she said.

It’s stuff like this that makes controlling government spending so difficult for some. We’re talking about $25 per YEAR and these folks are throwing a hissy fit about not having the taxpayers give it to them.

Posted by Owen at 1109 hrs
Culture + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

1. Naturally, Democrats will fight to the death for seasoned citizens to get this mooch.

   If this can’t be cut, there is little hope to cut any spending in Washington.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 1323 hrs
   
   
   

2. No different than what defense lobbyists have been doing in the halls of Congress in advance of sequestration, except we give them a hell of a lot more vouchers. I agree that the little stuff adds up (not to much in a relative sense), but we’re not getting anywhere until we start putting the sacred cows on the table (DoD, Medicare, Medicaid).

   Posted by Recess Supervisor on December 07, 2012 at 1417 hrs
   
   
   

3. At a time when he has repeatedly stated that ‘Wisconsin is broke’, Scott Walker has requested $478,700 of taxpayer money to renovate the kitchen at the Governor’s mansion.

   Can’t make this stuff up.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 1518 hrs
   
   
   

4. Walker, DOD spending and the $25 are a great example of how one man’s waste is another man’s necessity. 

   It’s easy for someone to call these seniors moochers and another to say that they are throwing a hissy fit because the food that can be purchased with the $25 is not important to them, but it may be very important to the senior that has little else.  Put yourself in the other guys shoes and show some compassion and understanding.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 1547 hrs
   
   
   

5. Living off other peoples money is now a way of life in the USA.

   The National Park Service is the only government agency that gets it when it comes to handing out food.

   It will be very interesting when the money runs out.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 1756 hrs
   
   
   

6. Kris,

   Isn’t it possible that the $25 is also important to the person it is being taken from to give to the seniors who want to shop at the farmers market?  Why don’t you have some compassion for the person who needs the $25 and also worked for it?  How would that feel to need the $25, earn it, and then have it taken away?  I guess we will find out Jan. 1st.

   Tad

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 1843 hrs
   
   
   

7. No different than what defense lobbyists have been doing in the halls of Congress in advance of sequestration, except we give them a hell of a lot more vouchers.

   And no different than Republicans have been doing with regards to taxes for the last…as long as I can remember.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 2000 hrs
   
   
   

8. Isn’t it possible that the $25 is also important to the person it is being taken from to give to the seniors who want to shop at the farmers market?  Why don’t you have some compassion for the person who needs the $25 and also worked for it?  How would that feel to need the $25, earn it, and then have it taken away?

   I dont know about you, but I would gladly give $25 dollars to a poor or elderly person so they could buy some food with it.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 2037 hrs
   
   
   

9. Rdub,

   That’s fine.  Then choose to do it.

   That is not what government does here.  Government TAKES the $25.  The current program does not allow one the choice to efficiently “give” the $25.

   It’s the difference between giving and true charity vs. taking and coveting.

   The former is moral, the latter is not.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 07, 2012 at 2225 hrs
   
   
   

10. I wonder how much each one of these $25 vouchers cost.  I’m guessing at least $80

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 08, 2012 at 0745 hrs
    
    
    

11. As always the idea that the people receiving this money are just leeches is the train of thought that some have to go with.

    The government uses our money for many different things.  We could go back to the time when the government needed a lottery to generate money to pay for the military.  I think that is a terrible idea, but if we are going to complain, as a society, about how out taxes are too high then everything needs to come off of the table.  Fund what we have in some other manner.  I would be truly interested to hear someone’s ideas for this funding.

    Otherwise we will just continue to rearrange the deck chairs, so to speak, with every new administration or change in the party in power in the legislature

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 08, 2012 at 1038 hrs
    
    
    

12. Kris, that’s a great idea!!

    Let’s start with Fed departments which are explicitly mandated in the Constitution (Defense, State, Treasury, Post Office).

    For those, there is an income tax.

    For all the rest, a lottery!!  Even better, a lottery for each one, so the ticket-buyers could support the Gigungo Bureaucracy they prefer!

    Posted by dad29 on December 09, 2012 at 0822 hrs
    
    
    

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