This morning a neighbor came by. She had a friendly smile and held a plastic bag in front with one hand and held her other hand behind her back. I tried to get a peek at what she was hiding but couldn\u2019t see. I figured it was copies of Watchtower and Awake! since she usually brings them buy once a month. She asked if we would like some cucumbers and banana peppers. I said sure and offered yellow squash we had grown in exchange. <\/p>\n
This neighbor is a Jehovah\u2019s Witness<\/a>. On a basic neighborly level we get along. My husband has helped her and her husband by cleaning out gutters, trimming tree limbs, and watering their lawn from time to time. She\u2019s pleasant when she comes over. We both have diabetes. I don\u2019t agree with her faith and I\u2019m sure she wouldn\u2019t agree with mine if she knew I was a Pagan and made offerings and danced with the spirits and elements in my backyard. (I\u2019m really smiling at that one.) My husband learned from talking with her that Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses believe Christianity should be the only religion<\/a> and the main government of the world. We aren\u2019t sure how that would work. She also, like others of her faith, feel that Armageddon will happen at anytime. The theme of the Awake! publication this time was safe food. <\/p>\n Latter today I got the mail and it was free paper day which is sales adds and news highlights from the local paper The Houston Herald. One of the headlines read \u201cSenate hopeful supports end to food stamps.\u201d U.S. Rep. Todd Adkin (Republican) in a primary debate \u201cdecried millions in federal spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.\u201d<\/p>\n In the US, Food Stamps now known at SNAP <\/a>(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) aids low-income people buy food. It is a federal government program but the funds distributions and some regulations are controlled by state or local agencies.<\/p>\n Rep Akin also said, \u201cThe food stamp budget had gone up while we\u2019re cutting defense. There\u2019s something wrong with that.\u201d After the debate he explained it would be best to phase the program out. <\/p>\n I am infuriated for two reasons. The first is that he would prefer to highly fund wars over our own citizens. Two, he is ignoring the fact that the SNAP budget rose because there was a greater need. According to the US Census<\/a> Poverty Report on page 18 from 2009 until 2012 \u201cthe poverty rate and number in poverty for people aged 18 to 64 with a disability rose from 25.0 percent and 3.7 million to 27.9 percent and 4.2 million.\u201d And that\u2019s just people with disabilities. <\/p>\n Other comments from debate participants included federal aid for food are best delivered on a local level and federal government should roll back spending on the \u201cdependency class\u201d. Just who is the dependency class? Would that be the 15.9 percent of citizens in poverty who are disabled? (U.S. Census)<\/p>\n Let\u2019s hypothesis what it would be like if local government controlled food aid for residents in need. What if people such as my neighbor were making the regulations?Would there be religious requirements such as attending church? This would cause individuals and families of various belief or none belief to chose conversion over hunger. Jason Pitzl-Waters at the Wild Hunt<\/a> has written a couple of times about the rise of the none religious yet spiritual people on the west and east coast. What about people in smaller towns, the midwest and south? Just how much money can a small town bring in for food aid? Not much at all. They also wouldn\u2019t be able to aid families enough through just food pantries.<\/p>\n For example this is what my husband and I got this month and our food pantry passes out items just once a month. <\/p>\n grapes I\u2019m diabetic and fresh food and low carbs is the best for me. Notice how many bread items were in the list. It isn\u2019t the pantry\u2019s fault they get what local markets and residents donate. I was very thankful for the grapes and peanut butter. <\/p>\n When people say social programs must be cut do they really understand what that entails? I don\u2019t think they do. It\u2019s important to vote this election year. It\u2019s important that we make our voices heard. Social programs can be ran well without bankrupting a nation. It\u2019s done in New Zealand<\/a>, Norway<\/a>, and other countries. It\u2019s time America moves forward and joins such nations in more enlightened forms of government.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This morning a neighbor came by. She had a friendly smile and held a plastic bag in front with one hand and held her other hand behind her back. I tried to get a peek at what she was hiding but couldn\u2019t see. I figured it was copies of Watchtower and Awake! since she usually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1407,1406,1373,878,1408,998,1409],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-protecting-your-rights","tag-diability","tag-federal-governemt","tag-food-stamps","tag-politics","tag-poverty","tag-snap","tag-us-census"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n20 soft bread sticks filled with cheese
\none small jar peanut butter
\none jar sweet green tea (lots and lots of sugar)
\n1 can potatoes
\n1 can green beans
\n1 can carrots
\nthree loaves of smashed bread
\n5 lbs of rotten potatoes which had to be thrown out<\/p>\n