“The Private Sector Is Doing Fine,” In Context

As the whole world knows by now, at a press conference last Friday, President Obama insisted that: “the private sector is doing fine.” Attempting to soften the impact of the statement, Jay Carney, the President’s press secretary, has urged that we take the comments “in context.”

Here’s the context:

522,000 American jobs have been lost since President Obama took office. This is the worst jobs “growth” on record for a sitting president.

23 million Americans are currently unemployed, underemployed, or have stopped looking for work. A far cry from the 6% Obama’s advisers predicted.

3 million homes have entered into foreclosure since President Obama’s inauguration. No wonder 72% of voters say he’s done nothing—or worse—to fix the housing crisis.

$4,300 in median annual household income has been lost by Americans since President Obama took office. He blamed this decline on President Bush.

46.4 million Americans are receiving food stamps, an increase of 45% from 31.9 million when President Obama took office. But the President still insists we’re still on the road to recovery.

146.4 million Americans qualify as low-income or in poverty. That’s 48 percent of the population.

39.7 weeks is the new average duration of unemployment, double 19.8 weeks when President Obama took office.

3.5% is the amount home prices have declined over the past twelve months. They’re now at their lowest in a decade.

Jay Carney is right to put his boss’s words in context: the numbers speak for themselves.

More Food Stamp Fraud in Ohio

This Cincinnati Enquirer piece about a few Food Stamp Fraud raids has some interesting threads in it... I expect we'll be hearing more about Brandon (22) and Ibrahim Shteiwi (24) as somehow weapons dealing came in to play. Also mentioned in the piece were Nazih (54) and Nabih Shteiwi (52) of Fairfield and Ayman Abu-Naffa, 37, of Cincinnati. Quite the cell family affair going on here...

Cops from Hamilton, Fairfield and Cincinnati were involved in the searches of Sutton Pony Keg in Anderson Township; Mt. Airy Food Mart in Mt. Airy and a residence in the 1300 block of Parkway Court in Fairfield (the Shteiwi's place, I assume).

Another Food Stamp Update

State Rep. Shannon Jones is going to try and fix this. I've traded a few messages with Jones on Facebook on the issue and I think she's headed in the right direction.

Danny Bubp, Tim Derrickson, Courtney Combs, Bill Coley, et al....you know what to do!

Food Stamp Case

I wish I could say that I didn't believe stuff like this didn't happen very often, but I am afraid that it actually does... What you are about to see is an actual email from a source in the business. I want to assure everyone that there were no names attached with this, but I trust the source.

Subject: Food Stamp Case

One of the workers here just approved an onoing food stamp case where the family have over $80,000 in bank, own a 2001 Toyota and 2006 Mercedes Benz, and a $311,000 home that is paid for. Monthly benefits of over $500 in FS, received over $300 in expedited.

3 household members--husband, wife and child. Wife recently lost job, husband receives SS benefits.


THERE'S SOMETHING BAD WRONG WITH THIS PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS A FAMILY THAT KIND OF RESOURCES AND STILL GET FOOD STAMPS.


................................................................

This is where things have gotten to. I would think the world would want to know about this.

And people wonder why I get all in a tizzy over the Farm Bill...

Insta-Update: Here's more...

When [the] County runs out of State money to give people Food Stamps, we will have to supplement the Food Stamp Account from the General Fund. The same fund that pays for the people issuing the Food Stamps. When the General Fund runs out of money, [the county] will have to lay off the people issuing the Food Stamps.

Last one out – Turn out the Lights!

This stuff is just unbelievable...