Re: the govmnt screws things up
Frederick R. Magdoff (fmagdoff@zoo.uvm.edu)
Wed, 8 Jan 1997 17:55:33 -0500 (EST)
David,
If you are really interested in this issue there are lots of
alternate views and information. The historical setting of how these
programs came into being is important and the changes they have brought
(good and bad) are also important to understand. The high incidence of
malnutrition is what caused the implementation of some of the nutrition
and food programs. They were started not because "government" was trying
to stick its nose into peoples lives, but because the states, charities,
corporations had no answer at all to the problem. And the fact is that
things are quite a bit better than they were because of programs such
as WIC and Food Stamps.
The assumption that removing the social safety net will make
the problem of poverty or malnutrition better is nothing short of a gigantic
leap of faith with no evidence to support it at all. Where are the jobs at
wages that will allow support of self and family at a decent level of
nutrition and comfort? Now adays it is considered to be "full" employment
when there are 6% officially unemployed (this leaves out all the people
not looking for work because they are discouraged or for other reasons).
And the Federal Reserve threatens to slow the economy down when the
unemployment rate gets too low. Even without this issue, the private
sector is apparently not able to supply enough jobs for everyone.The
economies of the developed nations of the world have noticeably slowed
down in the last 20 years, and high rates of unemployment (double digit
numbers are not uncommon in parts of Europe) are a fact of life we must
come to grips with.
FRED