THE REAL WELFARE SCAM

       Some controversy arose over a recent article here criticizing the position of Alt-RINO talk-show host Michael Savage on welfare reform. Some hardliners like Savage believe that there should be no so-called 'social safety net'. One would assume that the Great Depression of the 1930s would have settled this issue; but Deep State mismanagement and abuse have caused a reaction that is far out of proportion to the problem. 

       So one Libertarian pointed out that statistics are showing that the most purchased items in the Food Stamp program are groceries that most of us consider 'junk food' and that illustrates that the money is being wasted. But is that so?

       We've made the argument here that the way to reform welfare programs is to cut back on bureaucratic overhead and pursue deflationary economics. Bureaucracy can be reduced simply by eliminating redundant and overlapping federal and state agencies. The second would cure problems such as those raised by our Libertarian critics. For example, let's establish a few facts relative to the Food Stamp program.

      First and foremost, it must be understood that indigent people do not have unlimited funds for purchasing foodstuffs. In states on the West Coast, it amounts to slightly less than $200 per person per month. Now let's do some comparison shopping in the same area, from a major supermarket chain:

        1 gal (4 liters) generic soft drink-------$1.78
        1 gal of whole milk-----------------------$5.99

         1 large bag of generic potato chips-----$1.99
         1 loaf of quality whole-wheat bread----$4.39

         1 lb. of Oscar Meyer bologna-----------$1.99
         1 lb. of ground beef----------------------$4.99


        Maybe if the Agribusiness Cartels weren't price-gouging consumers so much on staples, low-income Americans might make healthier choices, shouldn't we suppose? We should suppose that if milk were cheaper than cola, people would drink more of it: this is just simple economics. 

         It's also a matter of simple economics that farmers aren't getting paid anywhere near what supermarkets are charging for their products. And since the government reimburses these companies for Food Stamp purchases, the Robber-Barons simply charge the maximum that the market will bear. If this costs sales, no problem. They donate the surpluses to food banks and write the losses off their taxes as charitable donations. 

         This is the real scam going on within the welfare system; and the reason why Liberals---who don't mind meddling with the economy everywhere else---talk about tax increases for more spending; but never about price-controls. They prove that they're hypocrites and toadies of Wall Street; because if they were honest Liberals, price-controls would actually be effective at helping the poor. 

         Price-controls however, have economic disadvantages of their own. The Nixon Administration tried them in the 1970s, and the result was economic stagnation. What needs to happen to bring down prices is Deflationary Economics. By increasing the buying power of the dollar to reasonable levels again, food and other necessities would become affordable again.

        We have had economic inflation for so long in the US that most Americans believe that it is inevitable. Not so. We had deflation for most of the mid-20th Century and that contributed to our prosperity. 

         To give an example of how badly the Deep State has corrupted the Dollar, consider that when President Reagan left office, the Dollar had double the buying power of the day that President Obama did. Is it any wonder that record numbers of Americans have been on public assistance since the 1990s? 

        We don't need to cut public assistance; we need to cut out the parasites and the price-gougers from the system. And with a solid dollar, that would be possible.