safety net holes

SAFETY NET HOLES
The smart thing to do is to prepare as if we were in for a quick collapse. If it happens, you're covered and if it doesn't you have more time to refine your plans. And by the by, a thirty year mortgage on the perfect farm is not preparing for an immediate collapse. Today's article is another example why this is a good idea ( prepping for a sudden collapse, not the farm mortgage ). Initial signs that the government food safety net is starting to fray, even perhaps get a hole or two in it.
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If you are a good little survivalist and buy your children lumps of coal for Christmas because not only is this a carbon fuel stockpile but also because they are spoiled little bastards ( perhaps not technically as you and the spouse are married but the child does have several facial characteristics of the mail carrier ) and do nothing but sit around and play video games ( which only teaches them how to waste ammunition ), then you have already played the "what if" game in your spare moments gazing in rapt confusion at your cubicles work monitor. Call it strategic planning while convincing the spouse the budget needs a junk land payment slot. In one of these scenarios perhaps the government fills in as an income source ( temporary welfare such as unemployment or Food Stamps ). Right after you lose your job and right before a few Pakistani nukes fall on Washington DC ( we should be so lucky ).
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This plan might have a few flaws in it. For one, the government is shrinking its food allotment. Now, generally, the government moves with cunning and stealth. Oh, not when they are blowing up the one spot in the Pentagon that is deserted by all but three generals that were told to report to duty there three minutes before the bunker buster missile struck ( for "disciplinary action" ). Then they are pretty quick to blame a bunch of towel heads flying a jumbo jet ( curiously, the hole in the side of the Pentagon was smaller than the jet fuselage, but that is easily explained by the Magic Bullet Theory that was borrowed from the JFK assassination ). But the usually tactics are to try to pull a fast one by stealth and misdirection. We've already talked about barnyard flu so I won't harp too much on misdirection. Stealth is moving slowly but surely in the desired direction without any sudden movement. Don't panic the voters, they might find out that phallic licking toad FDR stacked the Supreme Court to declare the Republic null and void. Don't share life saving information with the easily panicked public, just keep fudging the numbers to have a happy, happy, joy, joy look.
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Already, food welfare has been cut back indirectly. Seniors get their monthly welfare check and the yearly COLA is less than true inflation since energy and food are excluded in the calculations ( as was housing for a time ). If you are spending twenty percent of your budget on food and inflation is twice what was reported, any non-food increase cuts down on the number of groceries you can buy. A good indicator was last years food drive. The same people donated and spent the same amount of money buying the food but the amount given was short twenty percent. The same amount as food inflation for the previous year. Now, the latest and greatest. The amount of federal subsidized commodity foods is falling slightly. Now, please keep in mind that my observations are personal, localized and just might be false. I'm not exactly doing any system wide research. I'm just reported on what I'm seeing here. A ten to fifteen percent decrease in government food deliveries at a time when demand for the food bank services are increasing.
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Commodities foods differ. If you are an Indian reservation you get a lot more good stuff like refrigerated foods, meat, cheese, etc. Seniors get a lot of juice and produce ( canned ). We get the bottom of the barrel for our USDA commodities to give out to needy families. A few cans of veggies, noodles, beans. When they're lucky they get canned meat and dry cereal, occasionally dry milk. The variety is different every time. But what I am comparing is the totally amount of food sent, not the types. And the amount is down. If a year ago they sent a ton per shipment, this year it is down to 1800 pounds or so. And I am comparing similar shipments. For instance, both shipments had no juice which would have made one weigh more. This could be a one time dip, or it could be the start of a trend where the amount of welfare food is slowly eased back. The government can't increase the amount of food it buys, so it decreases what you get to make up for the increased demand. It is not just an inability to create funds, I think it points to the lack of available food.
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Take it for what its worth. Panic, or don't. Just don't blame me when Uncle Obammy has no groceries for you.
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