Last week $5 billion was cut from federal food stamp programs. Republican law makers are proposing an additional $40 billion be cut. To get a sense of perspective consider the following:
According to Thom Hartmann, last year the average American making $50,000 paid $36 in taxes to provide food stamps and an additional $6 for other safety net programs.
At the same time the same family would pay:
$870 in taxes to provide corporate tax subsidies.
$696 for Business Incentives at the State, County, and City Levels
$722 for Interest Rate Subsidies for Banks
$1,231 for Revenue Losses from Corporate Tax Havens
“Overall, American families are paying an annual $6,000 subsidy to corporations that have doubled their profits and cut their taxes in half in ten years while cutting 2.9 million jobs in the U.S. and adding almost as many jobs overseas.” -Paul Buchheit
If you want to see where Buchheit gets his numbers, follow the links:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/23
Thom Hartmann is not quite as clear:
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19844-food-stamps-are-affordable-corporate-welfare-is-not