Food stamp use at record level

What do you call it when the usual adjectives fail to convey the extent of the outrageousness of political policies? A prime example would be the repeated criticism by Republicans of the record number of people receiving food stamps and the efforts of the House to cut $40 billion from the program before they release the farm bill.

It is no mystery why food stamp use is at a record level after the economy lost 8.8 million jobs during the “Great Recession” of 2008, which followed eight years of Republican tax cuts for the wealthy and their failure to regulate the Wall Street casino.

Of those job losses, 60 percent were in the $14-$21 an hour range, while during the recovery, which has created more than 4 million jobs despite Republican obstruction, only 26 percent of the new jobs are in that range and 58 percent are paying less.

It is no surprise that middle class income has declined and a large number of citizens have fallen into poverty with the resulting food insecurity. While food banks strain to meet the demand and while free and reduced price school lunch usage is up, there are children in this country failing to receive adequate nutrition.

Who are these people calling for cuts to food for children while turning a blind eye to subsidies for oil companies, large corporations and billionaires as well as the offshore tax havens that cost our federal treasury more each year than the food stamp program?

Larry Hodgden

Tipton