Hunger in America is a Tragic Offshoot of the Depression
Posted by Michael A. Kamperman on November 20, 2009
Yesterday I took some time off from my day job and attended the Texas at the Table Hunger Summit. The room was filled with good hearted people interested in helping their fellow citizens who are less fortunate than they are. Speakers included deputy commissioners of the USDA and the Texas Agricultural Commissioner. There lofty goal is to virtually end hunger in America by 2015. The latest update from the USDA is that 36 million people are participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which we all know as food stamps. Up to 49 million people reported trouble buying food at some point in the last year. Shockingly, one in two infants born in Texas qualifies for the WIC program. Unfortunately, the debt-induced deflationary depression the country and the world have fallen into means there will probably be more hunger issues in the near term, not less. What’s worse is the resources to help the hungry are shrinking just when the needs are increasing.
The Texas Agricultural Commissioner said tax revenues keep falling and he anticipates state agencies will be asked to reduce spending below budgeted levels after the first of the year to compensate for an unanticipated multi-billion dollar gap. All of the other large states and most local governments are facing the same pressures. In Waco, our local food bank Caritas has 200 new families it has never seen before looking for assistance at a time when charitable donations are down. Since between now and January an additional one million people are expected to run out of all unemployment benefits it is a safe bet the number of Americans facing potential hunger is going to keep growing.
When President Obama talks about reducing the deficit he is talking about cutting funding for hunger programs at a time when all other funding sources are shrinking and the needs are growing. And, he is talking about cutting the number of people directly employed by the federal government at the same time the states and local governments are making job cuts. Effectively, when the President talks about deficit reduction in the middle of a deflationary depression he is talking about increasing the hunger pains of the American people. President Obama needs to reverse course and say deficit reduction will not be a priority of his administration unless and until the unemployment rate falls back below 7.6%, which is the rate he inherited. He should stake his Presidency on creating jobs and let the deficit be damned. The President should put forward a budget that not only meets the growing needs of the hungry and the unemployed, but also a budget that provides more aid to the states so they can close their funding gaps without further budget cuts. Most of the people concerned about the deficit are really concerned their taxes are about to go way up. The President can alleviate these fears by calling on the Fed to fulfill their mandate for full employment and to up their program of quantitative easing to a level that not only fully covers the budget deficit, but also actually reduces the national debt. He should demand they not end quantitative easing until the unemployment rate falls back below a rate of 7.6%. Mr. President, it is time for you to morph from Herbert Hoover to FDR.
