Thursday, August 1, 2013

A Hypothetical Interview



Question and answer session with Ted Cruz, Senator from Texas about the cutting of food stamps for millions of children who go to bed hungry. 
Q.  Is there any logic to cutting these food stamps?
  1. Good question.  I am happy that y0u asked it.  We need that money for other things.  We just committed to buying 70 new F-35s at a cost of 10 million dollars each.  As you surely understand, we must maintain our military might and the definition of that might is the acquisition of military equipment well beyond the need and resources of the military.   Also we remain an income source for farmers.  As an example, we continue to fund farmers and other owners of farms who have been dead for years to the tune of millions of dollars.  We have found that there are hundreds of people throughout the U.S. who receive food stamps illegally and we must be diligent about keeping these  people from stealing taxpayer money.  Also, did I mention that we continue to fund millions of dollars to the families and business partner of farmers who have been dead for years.  Eventually, these poor souls will get around to telling us that their farmer is dead, but until they do we must demonstrate compassion.  
Q.  What kind of money are we talking about?
A.  Another good question.  The Natural Resources Conservation Service, which oversees the            Agriculture Department’s conservation programs, sent out $10.6 million in payments between 2008 and 2012 to more than 1,000 people who had been dead for more than a year, according to the report.
The Risk Management Agency, which administers the crop insurance program, paid $22 million to more than 3,400 policyholders who had been dead for at least two years. The G.A.O. said that some of those payments might have been made while the farmer was still alive, but that there was no way to know for sure.
Also we must keep in mind that the defunding of the sponges in our society receiving food stamps will increase business for doctors and hospitals and the drug industry.  The lack of food will lead to increases in illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure among adults.  In children, the cuts will lead to higher rates of asthma and depression. Diabetes alone will provide income to the health and pharmaceutical industries by nearly $15 billion over the next 10 years. 
Q.  Are you serious?
A.  As you can tell by these statistics, I am deadly serious.