Who is the freeloader: the working poor on food stamps -- or corporations that don't pay them enough?

[applegrove]

By Dylan Scott at Vox

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/18/17368330/food-stamps-work-requirements-farm-bill-sherrod-brown

"SNIP........


Republicans in Congress just failed to pass a bill that would impose harsher work requirements for federal food stamps as part of the so-called farm bill, but there’s no sign they’re giving up on the idea anytime soon. Their argument is that, particularly with the Great Recession behind us, poorer Americans could and should be doing more to get into the workforce and off federal assistance.

The GOP’s plan raises all sorts of bigger questions, but an alternative plan by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) asks a pretty straightforward one: Is the problem that people aren’t working enough? Or is it that they don’t receive a high enough wage or generous enough benefits from their employer?

Brown thinks the latter is the real problem, and wants to charge corporations a “freeloader” fee if their employees depend on government aid like food stamps.

His proposal implies that a big overarching problem in America isn’t that poor people aren’t working hard enough; it’s that their wages aren’t high enough, their jobs and hours can be unpredictable, and their employers don’t provide robust enough benefits for them to live without support.

.......SNIP"

[whathehell]

1. We definitely know the answer to that one..

The corporations -- The word needs to be spread far and wide..

[mitch96]

2. "Who is the freeloader"

I think it's who is doing the defining... A Rich person would call a poor person getting assistance a freeloader.. And what He/She defines by not pay a living wage and no taxes as lowering expenses. Thus maximize profits and a good business model... uggh
m

[Matthew28]

3. The rich

They take 90% of all the profit and force people to need food stamps just to eat after working 40 hours per weeks making more money for the goddamn rich.

The Corporations and the rich are free loaders and thief's!

[leanforward]

4. Thanks for the word

A word I picked up some years ago was "social cost". To cut to the chase, corporations and high earners (for what ever reason(s)) should pay a higher rate or in the books at grad school a social cost. Those that try to wiggle out of that cost, I would call them freeloaders.

Currently, it seems that a lot of people in these United States are living in a version of the company store.

And our government has to pick up the cost. Then some fuss about the cost of government. Yes, the cost of government is expensive, but a lot cheaper than the privatization cost addon of 20 percent for profit/dividends. In the current market, profit/dividends are exported out of the area for negative local impact.

[Ohiogal]

5. I love Sherrod Brown.

He always fights for the working person!

[whathehell]

10. Me too..Like E. Warren, he's a Progressive, New Deal Dem

I wish he'd run for prez, but I'm not sure he wants it..He's said his wife doesn't want him to run

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

6. And

pay zero taxes but want to act like they run the country w their revenues. Blah.

[Codeine]

7. Sometimes I think America would benefit

from requiring high school kids to actually read a little Marx. Throw in some Adam Smith too, to be fair, but definitely some Marx.

[whathehell]

11. Hell, they'd benefit from simply learning American Labor History.

Last edited Sat May 19, 2018, 07:47 AM - Edit history (1)

[Cracklin Charlie]

8. When I joined the workforce,

In my first real job in 1984, I made a good wage.

A good starting hourly wage today is almost exactly what it was then.

So, expenses up for everything, wages are the same. Doesn’t take advanced level math skills to figure that one out.

[Uncle Joe]

9. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread applegrove