Dubai Debt Issues Push Stocks Down
GMA: Adam Lambert, No; Chris Brown, Yes
Family Gets Early Christmas Gift From Ellen DeGeneres
Mayor: Sex Trafficking Victims, Please Speak Up
Street Artist Proposes on Subway Signage
Huh. After the NY Times reported the Mayor's plans to pursue a federal waiver to help childless adults get food stamps (on the front page, no less!), Mayor Bloomberg changed his mind. Well, maybe not change his mind so much as "overrule" two of his aides who were the ones really working on the program. The NY Times called Bloomberg's decision "rare," as he usually gives people under him autonomy (the man loves delegation) but apparently Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and Human Resources Administration Commissioner and Verna Eggleston might have leapt before Bloomberg was convinced of the new change in policy. Newsday says that "Bloomberg met with his senior staff and decided against it," according to an anonymous City Hall source. Gibbs issued a statement saying:
"After further consideration, we have decided that this potential policy change is not consistent with the mayor's goal of helping New Yorkers become self-sufficient, and we have asked the [state] not to seek a federal waiver on the city's behalf. Because we believe that every New Yorker who can work should work, we will not pursue a federal waiver for single, able-bodied adults at this time."Ow - if Gibbs worked for Giuliani, she'd be out the door by now. It's pretty disappointing, because it was a good change for Bloomberg to revise welfare policy.
And speaking of Bloomberg, he's thinking about 2009 - he may wants Time-Warner Chairman and CEO Richard Parsons to run for Mayor. The connection to this story? The Mayor's Commission for Economic Opportunity has a co-chair who happens to be...Richard Parsons.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
That really pisses me off. Food stamps do not keep people from becoming self sufficient. I'm going to write a letter to the mayor right now, actually.
I just feel so bad for those starving artists/hipsters. They have to strat digging into their daddies' trust funds to pay for food.
Does Whole Foods accept Food Stamps?
yes, well techincally I've seen people use their Link cards to pay for stuff at WF
I just feel so bad for those starving artists/hipsters. They have to strat digging into their daddies' trust funds to pay for food.
Go to hell.
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for him.
Don't like WF, I'll try to use my Electronic Benefit Card at TJ's.
There's at least 3 states where you can apply on-line, not just downloading an application but actually apply just like Unemployment benefits.
No one goes into an office anymore, since they closed a couple of them.
Press release babble to one side, the actions Bloomberg administration's second term have taken a turn distinctly hostile to lower income New Yorkers.
Yesterday's retreat on food stamps, churning of public assistance cases (see the current http://www.citylimits.org ), the irrational increases in housing authority fees, and the recreation user fees imposed on low-income people show a deplorable pattern. Truly affordable housing for the working poor and elderly is, as a practical matter, not available.
In the face of these challenges, why has the Mayor's Commission of Economic Opportunity been so silent? Has it met? been staffed? Does it agree, for example, that the recreation user fees are a prudent public policy more?
Who says affordable housing is a right? There is plenty of affordable housing in other states. If you can't afford to live here, don't.
As a personal solution for you or me, Bill, moving might work. As a social policy, however, are you advocating relocating 2/3 million of NYC's poorest people? Who will clean your house? Clear the table at your resturant?
Bill, the NY State constitution guarantees the right to shelter for all, so it is a right, technically speaking.
Anyway, The Food Stamps program is a USDA federal program, Not a city or state funded program.
I didn't vote for him, either.
Wow! We've got a real movement going here! Let's all get together and figure out how to build a more expansive welfare state. Instead of food stamps, shouldn't we just pass a law mandating what salaries and prices should be? And instead of "affordable housing" policies, why don't we just dictate what everything should cost? Everyone can share - "to each according to his need" or something like that. These policies have a great track record, right?
You go to hell! MikeB, I heard they have FS and welfare down there.
I did vote for Bloomberg.
nola, you constantly nag, troll and bitch about anything remotely Liberal.... remember back when New York chose Dukakis, for cryin out loud?
Are you trying to change New York's ways, one Gothamist comment at a time?
Have you not heard the news that New York is overwhelmingly Liberal? Wouldnt you feel more at home in Texas, the great Lone Star State....?
Troll Catcher:
whats wrong with b!tching about liberal policies?
And since when does political leanings automatically trump the actual issues at stake (other than in congress)? thats the worst thing about this country's politics nowadays, a little bit ahead of the our sorry voting public.
we need more of this . . . democracy? thats it
nola. Great point! You've got your sarcasm on the bunghole of America.
They're federal food stamps. Federal. as in, not our money. self-sufficiency? Shouldn't people be able to eat while they're looking for a job? It's ridiculous to think that we can starve the city's people into employment.
It's one thing to try and limit the amount of aid given to lower-income New Yorkers in the interest of self-sufficiency, but it's another thing to price them out at every step of the way-- in housing, in food, in recreation. If they choose to spend what little income they have on food, are they going to live 6 to a 1-bedroom apartment? If they choose the apartment, what will they eat?
Bloomberg's solution is heavy handed and one-size fits all for a multiple issue problem.
Troll Catcher - You make a good point. Since NYC is liberal I guess we need to find a way to silence all dissenting voices, right? We'll start by banning certain points of view on the internet, then move on to the newspapers and television. That will solve everything! Then we can really give this socialism thing a try...
Pico - Funny commment! Doesn't make any sense but that seems to be a theme in your posts. About all those starving people - can you tell me where they are hiding? I keep reading that obesity is the #1 health problem among the poor. Is it possible you are basing your opinions on cliches rather than facts?
MikeB, I heard they have FS and welfare down there.
Hell is very likely a kinder place than NYC under Bloomberg. But I digress--you're just an ass for bringing up trust fund kids in a conversation about feeding the unemployed and indigent. I guess the welfare queens have all retired.
And nola, I don't think it's ridiculously liberal to think that the right to eat shouldn't have to be earned. I think those of us with good jobs would still have incentives to succed in life even with the knowledge that we wouldn't starve if we were unemployed.
I was once eligible for food stamps a long long time ago, and they saved my life. I also used them for very healthy foods, and prepared most of my meals from scratch. From my memory, the recipe guidelines handed out to recipients was abysmal, and encouraged some of the most unhealthy eating habits.
A one or two week temporary program would be really helpful to a lot of people, especially when the powers that be fuck up your freelance invoice and say, "oops! I guess we can't cut you a check until NEXT month."
Or, how about a WPA-style program where people in dire need of cash just show up that morning for some city/state-sponsored work? You would then receive cash (minus taxes) at the end of the day plus a record of your payment, and you could then buy your own food without waiting for a check to clear. Paperwork and waiting for checks can slowly kill you.
Mike B. - You and Pico need to get out more. I keep asking you people where I can find these starving people and get nothing but empty rhetoric in response. Where are they? Is Bloomberg keeping them in cages under City Hall? You also don't seem to understand that people who have lost their jobs can collect unemployment.
fs - I know paperwork and waiting for checks can be a drag. That is why people open bank accounts and stash away a little in case the next check gets delayed. The government is not an ATM for East Village slackers who insist on doing free lance because a 9-5 job isn't cool enough.
fs, don't you get it? They DON'T want to work. Really, there are jobs to be had out there, just not jobs some people feel are good enough for them. I would love to see a WPA program but really feel that it would not work because we have a lazy society.
I'm going out for a drink right now, nola.
Starving people: try the South Jamaica houses. Or the neighborhood around those houses. Then the South Bronx. Maybe you should get out more, outside of the East Village that inspires your commentary. Or maybe wait for that expose on new yorkers without enough food to eat/ without food for their families that will be on fox news tonight?
Oh... They don't do that? Pity. I guess if no one tells you about them, they don't exist.
Unemployment lasts, what, 26 weeks? The unemployment figures cover only those people waiting for unemployment checks. You know that after those 26 weeks those people are listed as out of the labor market, right? Which will skew the unemployment data.
What about the problem of chronic/ sporadic unemployment? Does that not exist? I could care less about freelance hipsters. That's not the population I am thinking of that receives food stamps. Please, show me data that says "# and %s of 18-30 yr olds from the midwest who come to nyc to do art/ write on food stamps."
Nice talking to you, nola, I'm off to get my drink now.
Pico - I'm very familiar with the "chronically and sporadically unemployed" - they used to be known as deadbeats until liberals realized it would be impossible to achieve their socialist utopia without rewriting the english language.
But best of all is how you trot out the good old South Bronx - a place you've probably seen on Law & Order a couple of times. As I've mentioned before, obesity is the primary health problem in the South Bronx. How do you square that with your absurd claim?
Hey Pico, everyone gets hungry once in a while. Are you saying if someone happens to fit your personal definition of "hipster" that they are irrelevant? I have more than a few friends who don't have any parental support, and have had to deal with periods of starvation. I mean, who really gives a shit about people who DO work their asses off to only not be protected by any laws concerning timely freelance compensation?
And Jack, I beg to differ...at least this kind of program has the potential to weed out who REALLY wants to work, and who doesn't. It's not necessarily the lack of jobs, but all the paperwork and waiting when someone needs the cash for a sandwich and the electric bill immediately. I think a modified "immediate gratification" WPA program could be awesome.
When discussing "hipster," I am thinking about those with parental support. Not the style of dress, or their taste in the arcade fire or the new pornographers. Food stamp programs are good for those with no other options/ support; that's what these programs should be here for, so I agree with you. I apologize for using a too-broad definition in my rush. My bad.
Obesity: let's say we compare the caloric and fat quantities of a $1 McDonald's burger vs that of an organically grown burger from a more upscale market. That McDonald's burger is going to fatten you up more. Obesity's not just about overeating. It's also about eating the wrong foods. It's about having the time to work out. It's about having the disposable income to, if predisposed to obesity, be able to afford a gym membership. Without those options, people get obese. Obesity has nothing to do with food stamps. Would you rather starve people into slimness?
Hence: not an absurd claim.
P.S. I worked in South Jamaica for years. I make more visits to Harlem in the 130's than I do the Hub, but I work in the Hub (in South Bronx, as of course you know) also. And you? Have you been there checking people's caloric intake?
First you claim these people can't afford food. Now you say they can afford food but not the organically grown food they secretly desire. Or the gym memberships they are entitled to. But you also say that these chronically unemployed deadbeats don't have the time to exercise - how can that be? Would it cut into their busy schedule of watching television?
Let's face it - if you are working in these neighborhoods you must be one of those social service types who are as dependent on taxpayer money as the deadbeats you think you serve. Both of you profit from a system that rewards laziness and excuse-making. There are plenty of jobs in this city - for those who actually want to work.
You guys are still at this? Oy. Life's too short, guys, and it's a beautiful day...
Regarding the comment about obesity not squaring with the need for food stamps. It's is ironically very very easy to become obese on a very very small amount of cash. Sadly, for those on a very limited income, the easiest and cheapest places to eat can give you a 1,000 calorie meal for little more than a buck. But if you want to eat healthy, you have to pay to travel out of a low-income neighborhood to find a real grocery that sells produce that costs a far sight more than a "value meal." Calories are cheap. Nutrition is expensive.