A story in the Wilmington News Journal tells us that the number of Delaware citizens receiving food stamps has nearly tripled in the past ten years, as compared to a relatively small 14% increase in population.
The story is based on numbers obtained from the Delaware Department of Health, and was broken down by ZIP codes throughout the state over the years from 2003-2013, and while all showed varying increases, all three counties show an increase of at least 97%.
From the article, “In New Castle County’s 19713 ZIP code south of Newark, the population fell 2.7 percent, yet the number of food stamp recipients increased 299 percent. In Kent’s 19977 in Smyrna, the population grew by an astounding 70 percent, while the food stamp population increased 250 percent. In the Rehoboth Beach area of Sussex, where population grew nearly 23 percent, the number of food stamp users skyrocketed 325 percent.” Maybe someone should ask House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf what’s going on in his district.
The state average also grew faster than did the national average, 196% for the state, as compared to 124% nationally.
And even with these numbers, we are told that “ONLY” 77% of eligible citizens have signed up for food stamps, even though the state actively recruits people with marketing and advertisement. Also Delaware expanded eligibility to make it possible for even more people to obtain food stamps.
Of course the economy has played a large role in driving more people to depend on government subsidies to survive, but we cannot completely ignore the personal choices of some of the people receiving these hand outs.
The WNJ article of course had a couple of examples of people suffering because the amount of food stamps they receive is not enough.
One was about a sixty-eight year old grandmother raising her grandchildren. She stated that she couldn’t afford the juices and vegetables for a balanced diet, but I couldn’t help noticing that in the photos of her and her grand-daughter, she was looking at TV dinners and that is what the child was eating. These are the most expensive foods in a store. For what she pays for five of these, she could buy a cheap cut roast, or a chicken and get several meals out of it. Of course this would not be as convenient as TV dinners in the microwave oven.
Then there was the story of a mother of seven, ages 18-2 years-old, with another on the way. Really? Do I have to point out the personal choices that this woman has made that make her life more difficult?
And even with this story out there about how difficult it is for the citizens of Delaware to make ends meet, we have the Markell administration, and the Democrats who control both houses of the Legislature, calling for more and more taxes. From raising the tax on a gallon of gas by ten cents, to imposing a tax on land owners to pay for water treatment.
What did we get from the Democrats and Gov. Markell in the last legislative session? Did we get bills that created jobs? Did we get bills that reduced regulations so new companies would want to come to Delaware? Did we get bills that did anything to reduce the tax burden upon Delaware’s working class?
Hell no!
What we got from Gov. Markell, and Speaker of the House Schwartzkopf were bills to bump up their special interest voting groups. We got homosexual marriage legislation, we got equal rights for trans-genders to use the same bathrooms as our wives and daughters, we got gun bill, after gun bill to take away the constitutional rights of our citizens, and not one job was created from these bills, not one tax was reduced, not one regulation was repealed to improve the business environment, not one bill was put forth to reduce the cost of energy. In fact this administration and its lap dog legislators, actually makes electric rate payers subsidize their pet green energy projects like Bloom energy, and Blue Water Wind, with absolutely no return for the investment in jobs or lower taxes, or lower energy bills. And let us not forget the Fisker folly of Jack Markell.
So when you read these heart wrenching stories of how hard it is for the citizens of Delaware, ask yourself. Who has been in the governor’s chair for the past twenty plus years, and who has been at the helm of the legislature in recent years, and what have they done for you lately to make your life easier. Democrats that’s who, and nothing, that’s what.
Spot-on, Frank. Gave you a shout out here: http://colossus.mu.nu/archives/347770.php
Thanks Hube.
Thank-you Socialist-Democrats for tripling our Food Stamp participation rate. It’s reassuring to see how well you’re handling the economy.