Two Food Stamp Follies: Oregon Governor's Publicity Stunt, and the Reporting on It | NewsBusters.org

Two Food Stamp Follies: Oregon Governor's Publicity Stunt, and the Reporting on It

NewsBusters.org: "But there's a significant problem with the premise behind the
governor's awareness campaign, and with the reporting by the AP's Julia
Silverman -- a problem that could have been prevented with just a few minutes of
research. You see, USDA's 'food stamp budget' provides per-person per-week
benefits to recipients with no other available resources that are 28%-70% higher
than the $21 used in the article."

This goes partly to a point that I myself made about the food stamp program and the way this operation was being done. It looks like the number that was used by the Gov. is an average, those who have less resources would receive more with a maximum set at 35.67 for someone living alone and 31.30 for a household of three. I don't know if this was an attempt to distort the facts or just an honest mistake, I choose to believe it was a mistake. It does however change the meaning of the exercise and what is to be gained from doing so.

I have strong questions about the food stamp program. I am sure it helps many people, but at the same time I see that many people will waste their allotment on chips and candy. I also see that a number of people will spend their food stamps so that they can spend money on beer. It isn't their money, it is mine and yours that they are spending. It is given to them so that they can buy food, and provide for themselves, not so they can spend more money on beer.