The grocery store I frequent had a sale, several types of meat for $5.00 per package. I found a nice pack of chicken breasts – a $10.71 value.
Alas, most of the items had list prices far more modest: I found two pork tenderloins for $5.00 with price tags of $5.05 and $5.16.
The other day I wonked out with a friend over the Missouri budget, specifically games played with school funding. As close watchers know, a couple of years ago the Republican super majority refused to pay what they promised to public schools, so, they changed the rules, the formula, so, magically, it took just $61 million dollars this year to fulfill what had been a $600 million promise.
Politicians packaging bad ideas as innovation happens every day.
Here’s a heads-up over two deep in the weeds policy earthquakes…
Food stamps prevent chronic malnutrition in America. Yes, we still need a spider web of food pantries, school meals, senior meals, and, special help for moms and young kids to fight hunger. And, well, Missouri (and America) still holds too many kids “small for their age” with bad teeth and poor bone density caused by unreliable supplies of critical nutrients.
Yet, without food stamps about 20% of Americans would regularly experience severe hunger [days without the minimum in life sustaining nutrients and total calories].
Remember, USDA claimed that in May 2019 the best shoppers in America needed to spend at least $609 (and, more realistically about $790) to buy enough food to keep a family of four healthy for the month: that same month the average Missouri food stamp allocation for a family of four was $477.
Simply, food stamps by themselves don’t end hunger but they are the foundation of all anti-hunger efforts. At least for now.
Friends in Washington warn that changes are afoot. This week, for example, cuts to the rules which make it easier for senior citizens to get food stamps will be announced. And, Senate GOP budget hawks want to dramatically cut food stamps to ‘find’ more money for the military (guns before butter). Politicians call this ‘modernizing’ the program.
Included in the food stamp proposals, as well as changes to other programs, would be a switch to the “Chained CPI.”
Instead of the present Consumer Price Index, government programs would assume that all Americans adjust their spending due to outside influences. During hot weather, for example, Americans move their thermostat to 85°F instead of 78°F. When prescription pain killers get too expensive, buy generic aspirin.
Again, political packaging sells the C-CPI is an improvement…unless you are one of the millions who lose food stamps, Medicaid or other benefits due to the changes, or, if you’re a senior dependent on Social Security for superfluous things like housing and utilities.
Don’t worry. Political types assure us that the “private sector,” meaning charities, will offset cuts in government programs.
Uh-oh, the latest reports show that – due to the Trump tax changes – charitable giving fell by 3.4% (after inflation) last year.
We’ll talk about that next time.
Meanwhile, look close at the price of that pork tenderloin.
Glenn