Weekly Poll: Your Opinion on the Economy

As a result of the recent drop in the unemployment rate to 7.8%, some economists believe that the economy is on a slow but steady growth path to full recovery. What do you think?

Weekly Quiz: Test Yourself on this Week’s Events

The weekly quiz is now live in Mypoliscilab. Good luck!

Weekly Poll: Your Opinion on the Eurozone

Since we live in a global economy, some economists believe the problems in the Eurozone are impacting the U.S. economic recovery.  What do you think?

Weekly Quiz: Test Yourself on this Week’s Events

The weekly quiz is now live in Mypoliscilab. Good luck!

Weekly Quiz: Test Yourself on this Week’s Events

The weekly quiz is now live in Mypoliscilab. Good luck!

Weekly Poll: Your Opinion on Economic Recovery

Although the economy has added new jobs in the last consecutive 25 months, some economists are still cautiously optimistic about the recovery. What do you think?

Weekly Poll: Your Opinion on Rising Gas Price

The price of gas has been on the rise for over 30 days, and some economists are concerned that it might stifle the economic recovery. What do you think?

Food Stamps, Government Subsidies, and Elections

Why have food stamps become a political football in the 2012 election?  The first high profile punt came from Republican candidate and former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, when he referred to President Obama as the “food stamp President.”  The dynamic and diverse new media world of tweeting and blogging could be partly responsible; along with the never ending search for the ultimate sound-bite.  But explanations that focus on the nature of the media today forget to acknowledge that political parties and their candidates have made use of such socially and politically-charged symbolism for decades—if not since the early days of the Republic.

In a larger context, food stamps are just one form of federal and state public assistance to families with incomes that are too low to adequately provide for their needs.  In one form or another, food stamps have been a staple of the social welfare safety net that has protected the poor since the New Deal.  But as a form of government subsidy, food stamps are a symbol of the relationship that exists between government and people.  In that sense, food stamps and tax incentives that benefit home owners (i.e., the deduction of interest paid on home mortgages) are equal—both represent public policies intended to benefit very real constituencies in the political process.  More importantly, the actual impacts of such policy choices are never as one-sided as some might suggest.  A dollar spent by way of food stamps in part keeps farms, dairies, grocery stores, truckers, importers, and even members of Congress at work (just as tax breaks to home owners keep mortgage brokers, banks, tellers, and ATM companies at work).

Public policies generally don’t just benefit one person, group, or class.  And they probably don’t just capture a narrow range of intentions on the part of the policy-makers that pass them.  What do you think?  Are food stamps the issue as some would suggest?  If so, then shouldn’t all government subsidies become symbols during elections?  Can you imagine a way of talking about such programs that does not lend itself to vilifying particular communities in the name of political expediency?

–DENNIS FALCON

Related articles

• Gingrich Uses Food Stamps To Criticize Rivals (npr.org)
• Albany grocer admits food stamps larceny (troyrecord.com)
• Liberals Offended by “Food Stamp President” Label, While Obama Gives Away More Food Stamp Grants (usamericanfreedom.com)

The Not So Super Duper Committee

The 12 member joint-committee formed by the Budget Control Act of 2011(BCA) to reduce federal budget deficits by $1.2 trillion, commonly referred to as the “super committee,” has revealed itself to be a complete and utter failure today.

The Budget Control Act gave the “super committee” a significant amount of authority in attempt to circumvent the gridlock and entrenched partisanship that has solidified in congress since the midterm election of 2010. The joint-committee assignments consist of six Republicans and six Democrats will have until Nov. 23 to develop a plan to reduce the budget deficit to avoid significant automatic-spending cuts to both discretionary spending and defense. The overall idea of the super committee was simple, If at least seven of the 12 members agree to a bill, both houses of Congress must vote on the bill with just a simple majority. No filibustering by senators and no amending allowed in either the House or Senate.

Nevertheless, partisanship has revealed the super committee to be as broken as the American government. Clay Bennett depicts the situation perfectly with his political cartoon posted on his blog with timesfreepress.com.  What does it say about the American political process when a congress within a congress must be established to force elected legislators into action? What does it say about the American political process when 12 members of congress are completely unable and unwilling to pass legislation necessary for the countries economic survival?

–TERRANCE MULLINS

Weekly Quiz: Test Yourself on this Week’s Events

The weekly quiz is now live in Mypoliscilab. Good luck!