I will shut down the government. I will take that mantle

I would mostly (if not totally) disagree with all of this. The shutdowns wouldn't be happening with the debt/deficit context. Trump is adding in the Wall in this one, but that's just part of the posturing/gamesmanship.

I would agree that both parties are not responsible when it comes to balancing the budget. But at least the Republican don't want to add new costly social programs (by and large).

I would also dispute that the tax cut is "for the rich." Many middle class citizens will benefit, and "the rich" actually lose deductions under the plan. This has been well discussed.

Lastly, I have to be skeptical of anyone who speaks about something "benefitting the rich." First, in that there seems to be a reflexive sentiment to think in terms of economic class (a dubious perspective, IMO); and secondly, and perhaps even more importantly -- how do we define "rich"? Is someone making 90K rich? Do you have to make six figures? Do you have to make 500K a year or more? A million or more? One could go on......

 

trump admits... its simply to get my wall...



Schumer's version of the same meeting...

 

So much winning. In fact, I'm starting to get tired of all the winning.

 

"Nancy" can punch with the best of them...

 

trump vanity wall supporters, smh...

 

I saw a factoid in the NYTimes yesterday that said the average Federal employee's take-home pay is $500 / week. Which is amazing given the fact that the average federal employee's annual salary (from another source) is $84,000 /year. Not sure how the math works but I'm sure it does.

Lots of bad reporting on the "federal employees" topic, in other words

 

Somehow pence thinks this mention of handing out candy makes the trumper tantrum looks better to those being hurt by the trump government shutdown (and look at sarah huckabee sanders cackling in the background). Amazing how heartless these people truly are...

 

The American public increasingly blaming trump for his government shutdown...

 

The mistake-in-chief flip flopped on their decision to allow SNAP/TANF to go unfunded...

Someone probably noticed the correspondence between his approval rating and the percentage of white recipients.


USDA: Food stamps will be funded through February
Juliet Linderman/Associated Press/01/08/19

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration says benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, will be funded through February should the government shutdown continue.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is asking states to issue the February benefits on or before Jan. 20 so that they can be paid to the nearly 40 million Americans in the program. SNAP is already fully funded for January.

The administration announced its plans as the White House worked to limit Republican defections on spending bills in the House this week, which Democratic leaders have scheduled in hopes of driving a wedge between GOP lawmakers on the shutdown. Democrats set a vote for Thursday on the agriculture bill, which is largely made up of payments for food stamps, knowing that it would put pressure on Republicans to abandon their leaders and vote for the measure.

The USDA said it can fund SNAP through February thanks to the short-term funding bill that ran out on Dec. 22. That bill included a provision giving federal agencies the authority to make obligated payments to support certain programs for 30 days after its expiration date.

Brandon Lipps, an acting deputy undersecretary, said other USDA programs will also be funded through February, including school lunches, food distribution programs on Indian reservations and child nutrition programs. The latter includes WIC, which provides nutritional assistance to pregnant women, mothers and babies.

Under the provision, the SNAP program will operate as it normally does and without any lapse in service, but with an earlier deadline for states to request benefits through a process called early issuance. That process is typically used during natural disasters, Lipps said, enabling states anticipating hurricanes or other weather events to distribute monthly benefits ahead of time.

Lipps said the USDA is sending letters to all state agencies to explain the process and will issue a blanket waiver of department regulations to allow for the early issuance.

"We know this is a time of great uncertainty, and no doubt anxiety for people who rely on SNAP and are dealing with tough times," Lipps said. "I hope it's reassuring for us to make clear today that we're committed to maintaining service to SNAP clients without interruption to the extent possible under the law."

The SNAP program will cost roughly $4.8 billion for February, and those funds have already been appropriated through the expired spending bill. But if the shutdown lasts until March, the USDA could be forced to dip into its reserves to help fund the program, and its $3 billion SNAP contingency fund won't cover a full month of benefits.

Perdue is a strong proponent of scaling back the SNAP program, and publicly supported a GOP House measure to strengthen work requirements for food stamp recipients. The measure garnered no support in the Senate and didn't make it into the final farm bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law in December.

The Trump administration has announced its intent to try and limit SNAP use through regulation, crafting a proposal to limit the ability of states to waive the program's work requirements.

___

Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this report.

 

And not surprising, the republican defections continue. Will the numbers grow?

 

This is trump's fight, and the senate and house leaders know that they are losing members...

 

Zing!

 

At this point its all about saving face...

 

I think this is the best possible solution

 

This shutdown has gone long enough. When it starts affecting FDA food inspections, and the peace of mind of air traffic controllers, I say enough is enough!

 

Do you not understand how averages work?

 

I have only average intelligence, so I need you to explain it to me

 

That's actually not a solution.

 

Delete.