Before the collapse of the Roman Republic, politicians were no less devious than contemporary pols.
One way or another, they tried to buy plebeian votes, to ply the rabble with goodies in hopes of winning their approval come election time. The tactic came to be known as providing panem et circenses or bread and circuses. Our politicians call it food stamps.
There is no doubt many Americans are hurting in President Barack Hussein Obama's dismal economy with a continuing high rate of unemployment unrelieved by multi-billion dollar federal stimulations and a climbing poverty rate. Reflecting that failure, the Census Bureau reported in September that the number of people in the United States living below the official poverty line rose in 2010 by 2.6 million bringing the grand total of America's poor to 46.2 million, the highest number in 52 years.
Way to go, Barack!
There is also no doubt that most of those poor would be considered rich by half the world and that some Americans take advantage of the system. Anyone standing in line to buy staples at the local A&P behind someone purchasing lobsters with a food stamp card can attest to that abuse.
Haphazardly throwing more and more money at a problem has never changed anything but the Obamians have no clue what else to do. They could just get out of the way of the chained giant that is the American capitalistic industrial base, lift restrictions and regulations and let it roar but that option is a non-starter with socialists.
However, there are those pesky things called elections so how do they make the discontented more content?
Why, bribe them, of course! Make the electorate so indebted to and dependent on government, (taxpayer), largesse that they will fork over their votes in fear of a discontinuance of the bribes. A loaf of bread and a jug of wine may serve to motivate lovers but do little to win over votes but food stamps work wonders.
The bureaucrats in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as the federal food stamp program, proudly claim, €We help put healthy food on the table for over 40 million people each month,€ an admirable achievement though it fails to mention what goes under the table, namely the votes of food stamp recipients.
And the number of those recipients has grown by great leaps and bounds under the Obama administration. Obama's multi-billion dollar stimuli have done little to aid the American economy nor do food stamps but the latter program has been an outstanding success and the Obamians have gotten some 15% of the population addicted to those freebies.
Food stamp roles rose over 8% in 2011 and now more than 45 million people rely on them, so much so that yesterday a woman in Laredo, Texas killed herself and critically injured her two children when her eligibility was denied.
Nevertheless, mission accomplished: Many more millions of voters will cast their ballots next year for Santa Barack because he feeds them.
Any society that does not care for its poor is contemptible. Any government which creates a perpetual needy underclass by creating crippling dependency is beyond contempt.
One way or another, they tried to buy plebeian votes, to ply the rabble with goodies in hopes of winning their approval come election time. The tactic came to be known as providing panem et circenses or bread and circuses. Our politicians call it food stamps.
There is no doubt many Americans are hurting in President Barack Hussein Obama's dismal economy with a continuing high rate of unemployment unrelieved by multi-billion dollar federal stimulations and a climbing poverty rate. Reflecting that failure, the Census Bureau reported in September that the number of people in the United States living below the official poverty line rose in 2010 by 2.6 million bringing the grand total of America's poor to 46.2 million, the highest number in 52 years.
Way to go, Barack!
There is also no doubt that most of those poor would be considered rich by half the world and that some Americans take advantage of the system. Anyone standing in line to buy staples at the local A&P behind someone purchasing lobsters with a food stamp card can attest to that abuse.
Haphazardly throwing more and more money at a problem has never changed anything but the Obamians have no clue what else to do. They could just get out of the way of the chained giant that is the American capitalistic industrial base, lift restrictions and regulations and let it roar but that option is a non-starter with socialists.
However, there are those pesky things called elections so how do they make the discontented more content?
Why, bribe them, of course! Make the electorate so indebted to and dependent on government, (taxpayer), largesse that they will fork over their votes in fear of a discontinuance of the bribes. A loaf of bread and a jug of wine may serve to motivate lovers but do little to win over votes but food stamps work wonders.
The bureaucrats in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as the federal food stamp program, proudly claim, €We help put healthy food on the table for over 40 million people each month,€ an admirable achievement though it fails to mention what goes under the table, namely the votes of food stamp recipients.
And the number of those recipients has grown by great leaps and bounds under the Obama administration. Obama's multi-billion dollar stimuli have done little to aid the American economy nor do food stamps but the latter program has been an outstanding success and the Obamians have gotten some 15% of the population addicted to those freebies.
Food stamp roles rose over 8% in 2011 and now more than 45 million people rely on them, so much so that yesterday a woman in Laredo, Texas killed herself and critically injured her two children when her eligibility was denied.
Nevertheless, mission accomplished: Many more millions of voters will cast their ballots next year for Santa Barack because he feeds them.
Any society that does not care for its poor is contemptible. Any government which creates a perpetual needy underclass by creating crippling dependency is beyond contempt.