CRS report: number of able-bodied adults on food stamps doubled after Obama suspended work requirement
September 19, 2012 | 7:13 am
Obama administration officials have insisted that their decision to grant states waivers to redefine work requirements for welfare recipients would not “gut” the landmark 1996 welfare reform law. But a new report from the Congressional Research Service obtained by the Washington Examiner suggests that the administration’s suspension of a separate welfare work requirement has already helped explode the number of able-bodied Americans on food stamps.
In addition to the broader work requirement that has become a contentious issue in the presidential race, the 1996 welfare reform law included a separate rule encouraging able-bodied adults without dependents to work by limiting the amount of time they could receive food stamps. President Obama suspended that rule when he signed his economic stimulus legislation into law, and the number of these adults on food stamps doubled, from 1.9 million in 2008 to 3.9 million in 2010, according to the CRS report, issued in the form of a memo to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.
“This report once again confirms that President Obama has severely gutted the welfare work requirements that Americans have overwhelmingly supported since President Clinton signed them into law,” Cantor said in an emailed statement. “It’s time to reinstate these common-sense measures, and focus on creating job growth for those in need.”
Obama’s Security Breach In Libya Is Ignored By American Media
September 17, 2012 2:08 PM
As the liberal American press and ultra-liberal bloggers inundate the Internet and newsprints with criticisms of what Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential challenger to President Barack Obama, said about Obama during the Libyan attacks and murders, throngs of foreign press and few American outlets tell the real story involved with the White House’s role in the incidents that we now know could have been prevented.
After the American media grabbed and held the pro-Obama headlines against Romney’s comments and took Obama’s “Romney shoots first and aims second” quote to iconic proportions, the rest of the world is reporting that the Obama administration knew about the planned-attack on the Benghazi, Libya Embassy where four Americans, including United States Ambassador Christopher Steven was murdered.
That strong allegation needs to be “the story”, not the political-trouncing of Mitt Romney, a man who has nothing to do with the White House, the U.S. Embassy, or the deadly and non-deadly attacks on our United States Embassy’s around the world. “The story” obviously involves the White House and the president within – Barack Obama – not the Massachusetts challenger.
FOOD POLICE: Students strike against new federal school lunch rules
Mukwonago – By 7 a.m. Monday, senior Nick Blohm already had burned about 250 calories in the Mukwonago High School weight room.
He grabbed a bagel and a Gatorade afterward; if he eats before lifting, he gets sick.
That was followed by eight periods in the classroom, and then three hours of football practice. By the time he headed home, he had burned upward of 3,000 calories – his coach thinks the number is even higher.
But the calorie cap for his school lunch? 850 calories.
“A lot of us are starting to get hungry even before the practice begins,” Blohm said. “Our metabolisms are all sped up.”
Following new federal guidelines, school districts nationwide have retooled their menus to meet new requirements to serve more whole grains, only low-fat or nonfat milk, daily helpings of both fruits and vegetables, and fewer sugary and salty items. And for the first time, federal funds for school lunches mandate age-aligned calorie maximums. The adjustments are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 touted by Michelle Obama and use the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The changes are hard to swallow for students like Blohm. On Monday, 70% of the 830 Mukwonago High students who normally buy lunch boycotted cafeteria food to protest what they see as an unfair “one size fits all thing.” Middle schoolers in the district also boycotted their school lunches, with counts down nearly half Monday. They’re not alone in their frustration; schools across the country are reporting students who are unhappy with the lunch offerings.
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2012, 10:57 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood officials are seeking a private vendor to help trim the list of more than 140 trees in the village that have been targeted for removal.
Members of the Village Council approved the request for proposal (RFP) to tackle the specific task, a move that buys more time as the village continues to explore hiring options for its tree maintenance department.
With two workers scheduled to retire in coming weeks, the village’s tree staff will dwindle to one full-time employee to supervise the division’s operations, which include tree removal, pruning and planting, among other duties.
Following a discussion during last week’s work session, council members opted to immediately address the tree removal list while eventually replacing the retiring workers. The number of trees identified by village staff for removal peaked at 159 earlier this summer, but work over the past month has reduced the count into the 140s.
8,786,049: Yet Another Record for Americans Collecting Disability
By Terence P. Jeffrey
September 17, 2012
CNSNews.com) – The Social Security Administration has released new data revealing that 8,786,049 American workers are collecting federal disability insurance payments in September. That sets yet another record for the number of Americans on disability.
The 8,786,049 workers taking federal disability in September is a net increase of 18,108 from the 8,767,941 workers who took federal disability in August.
Over the past 45 years, the number of American workers taking federal disability payments has increased four-fold relative to the number actually working.
In August 1967, 74,767,000 Americans were working (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) and 1,152,861 were taking federal disability insurance (according to the Social Security Administration). That means that at that time there were about 65 Americans working for each worker collecting disability.
In August 2012, 142,101,000 Americans were working and 8,767,941 were on disability–meaning there were only 16.2 people working for each person collecting disability.
North Jersey’s Economy in irreversible decline? September 18,2012 PJ Blogger
Ridgewood Nj, Over the last 5 years the Ridgewood blog has argued to no a vale that North Jersey’s economy had become solely dependent on huge Wall Street earners , who not only paid the enormous state and local taxes ,but also propped up the economy with their personal spending .
Now that the regulator environment has stifled Wall Street job growth perhaps permanently and New York City has lost its top stop as the words chief financial center there seems little or no reason to believe that there is any chance of a comeback for Northern New Jersey’s economy for some time to come .
With Wall Street money all but dried up higher and higher taxes and massive over regulation impinging on the quality of life will continue to drive more and more people out of this area .
Yes folks the politicians in DC, and on both sides of the river have perhaps killed the golden goose once and for all .
Barring big Wall Street comeback, N.J. economic recovery will be slow
New Jersey’s economic recovery will continue to lag the rest of the nation’s, complicating efforts by the Christie administration to hit its ambitious revenue targets this year, a Wall Street ratings agency warns.
Gov. Chris Christie is banking on nearly 8 percent growth in revenue for the state budget he signed in June — among the highest jumps in the nation and nearly triple last year’s growth.
Moody’s Investors Service said in a report released Friday that the revenue projections appear optimistic given historical trends and the state’s slower than expected economic recovery. The ten-year average growth rate has been 3.8 percent and revenues only grew 2.6 percent in the fiscal year that ended in June. (Renshaw, The Star-Ledger)
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Vice Chairman of the House Budget Committee and Chairman of the Budget and Spending Task Force for the Republican Study Committee (RSC), issued the following statement today after voting for the National Security and Job Protection Act.
“Today, the House has once again acted to prevent the sequester from going into effect and ensure our nation’s national security. The dangerous anti-American sentiment and recent violence throughout the Middle East have reminded us that now is not the time to handcuff ourselves and cut programs that are vital to our security. I am proud to support this bill today that provides a framework to repeal the sequester, ensure that our military has the resources necessary to respond to conflicts, and make common-sense spending cuts to reduce our nation’s $16 trillion debt.
“President Obama’s failed leadership has brought us to this stage. The president has failed to put forward a plan of his own and has failed to urge the Democratic-controlled Senate to prevent looming sequester. President Obama even violated a law that he signed earlier this year by failing to submit to Congress a report detailing just how his administration would implement the sequester. Americans are tired of having a president asleep at the wheel.”
Forget OWS : Nearly Twice as Many Young Adults Say They Would Rather Work on Wall Street Than Protest Against It
76 percent say the lack of job opportunities is shrinking the middle class, as young adult unemployment remains at 12.7 percent
Washington, DC – (9/17/12) – Generation Opportunity, the largest non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States engaging and mobilizing young Americans (18-29 years old) on the important economic issues facing the nation, released new polling data today on Millennials on the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Since its launch in June of 2011, Generation Opportunity has amassed a following of over 4 million fans on Facebook and is actively organizing Millennials across the country through grassroots tactics, voter registration, and voter turnout efforts.
“Young adults have been negatively impacted by the poor economy, high unemployment, and the lack of jobs both in their daily lives and in their long-term career plans and dreams. Amidst their frustrations and disappointments, the overwhelming majority of Millennials view the poor economy and lack of leadership by elected officials as the true sources of their problems – not fellow Americans who work on Wall Street. Young Americans reject the cynicism and angry theatrics aimed at those who can create more full-time jobs; instead, they simply want positive solutions that grow the economy and create more opportunity for all Americans,” said Paul T. Conway, president of Generation Opportunity and former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Labor. “Young adults believe elected officials fail to represent their concerns and best interests, are clearly fed up with the status quo, and plan on making their voices heard in November.”
The ineffectiveness of Occupy Wall Street to capture the enthusiasm of or inspire activism among a wide number of young adults across America was documented by the Harvard Institute of Politics (IOP) at the end of last year. According to a December 2011 IOP study, just 2% of 18-29 year olds had participated in Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, and only 11% knew someone personally who participated in the effort (https://www.iop.harvard.edu/sites/default/files_new/fall_poll_11_M_topline.pdf).
The lack of full-time jobs and economic opportunity due to the poor economy continue to impact young Americans on a daily basis, jeopardizing their careers and dreams. Earlier this month, Generation Opportunity released the non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) unemployment data for Millennials for August 2012. The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds specifically for August 2012 is 12.7 percent (NSA). The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans for August 2012 is 22.4 percent (NSA); the youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics for August 2012 is 13.7 percent (NSA); and the youth unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women for August 2012 is 12.6 percent (NSA). The declining labor participation rate has created an additional 1.7 million young adults that are not counted as “unemployed” by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, meaning that those young people have given up looking for work due to the lack of jobs. If the labor force participation rate were factored into the 18-29 youth unemployment calculation, the actual 18-29-unemployment rate would rise to 16.7 percent (NSA).
Can someone enlighten all of us about Ken Smith property?
September 17,2012
Ridgewood NJ , Readers continue to speculate on the fate of the Ken Smith property. There are lost of theory’s but not many answers .
Who owns it, how is it zoned, are there any concrete plans right now or all speculation? Rumors have it that the person that owns this property is well connected. He is one of the five member of the self appoint parking garage committee. He is also the head of the Library Board and gave a large campaign contribution to our new Mayor. You should see what other names pop up on the Ridgewood Library Board. This is the politics Ridgewood residents wanted.
With Ken Smith Motors closed, I’ve heard the Town of Ridgewood might make a play of Eminent Domain to purchase the property and create a giant parking lot. I believe it may be worth 3 million for the approx. 1.7 acre lot. Should be cheaper than building 2 parking garages in the parts of town the town has discussed.”
I think the price will be higher that is why he published his income. My understanding that the town does not get it for what the property is assessed but rather what is fair and equitable value . Hence the money published in the Ridgewood News. Even with the price of $3 mil then you have to do site remediation because you best better believe that there is oil in the soil from the lifts and what ever else the dump there all those years. Then you have to build that big structure . NJTV money has dried up.
I think the die is already case for the for the plan that is on the table. Deals have been made and promises have to be kept.
We doubt it ,there’s no money in the budget to make such a purchase and having such a huge property off of the tax rolls would prove problematic from a budgeting standpoint.
What seems more realistic at the moment is that All American Ford might be planning to move their used car operation into the Ridgewood property and sell only new cars on Route 17. Looks like work taking place now on the property in terms of painting, spruce up, etc.
Libyan president: ‘No doubt’ attack ‘preplanned’
By KEVIN CIRILLI | 9/16/12 9:16 AM EDT
Libya President Mohamed Yousef El-Magariaf said Sunday that 50 arrests have been made in connection with last week’s “preplanned” attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.
“The way these perpetrators acted and moved — I think we, and they’re choosing the specific date for this so-called demonstration, I think we have no, this leaves us with no doubt that this was pre-planned, determined,” Magariaf said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“And you believe that this was the work of Al Qaeda, and you believe that it was led by foreigners. Is that what you’re telling us?” CBS host Bob Schieffer asked.
“It was planned, definitely. It was planned by foreigners, by people who entered the country a few months ago. And they were planning this criminal act since their arrival,” Magariaf said.
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2012, 3:49 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ken Smith Motors, the family-owned new and used car dealership on Franklin Avenue, has closed after more than six decades of business in Ridgewood.
Customers seeking service and other business are being directed to All American Ford Lincoln on Route 17 in Paramus.
Operations at Ken Smith ceased last Friday following the retirement of longtime owner Michael Smith, according to an All American associate who spoke with The Ridgewood News on Thursday morning.
Why Obama Is Failing the Middle East Meltdown and How to Fix It
James CarafanoSeptember 14, 2012 at 8:57 am
The breaking news keeps breaking when it comes to revelations surrounding the attacks and protests aimed at U.S. embassies going on throughout the Islamic world. Protests have spread to at least eight countries. Reports indicate that four people have been arrested relating to the killing of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff there. That offers at least the promise of getting more information about the deliberate attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., government authorities identified the man behind the controversial film purported as the cause for the protests as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Californian with a shadowy past including many aliases and a criminal record.
Unlike a Brad Thor novel, however, we can’t just jump to the end of the story to find out what this all means for American policy in this troubled part of the world.
But (again, unlike a Brad Thor novel) without cheating we can predict how the story is going to end—because the result of the President’s Middle East policies was predictable from the start.
Obama’s strategy for this part of the world started out much the way Jimmy Carter’s did—with acts of conciliation and accommodation. The President narrowly focused his priorities on three objectives: 1) withdrawing from Iraq as quickly as possible; 2) engaging with Syria and Iran; and 3) transforming the U.S. into a neutral party—to negotiate peace between Palestine and Israel.
For starters, we know that all three of those objectives have met with abject failure.
Iraq was not only left a shaky state; it has become a shaky friend—defying U.S. requests to block Iranian flights that are rearming the Syrian military so they can kill more Syrian civilians.
After wasting three years of trying to find common ground with the totalitarian regimes in Syria and Iran, even the White House has acknowledged failure, calling for the government in Damascus to step down and asking for more sanctions on Tehran.
Finally, the peace process has collapsed—a blessing in disguise, because if Obama succeeded in creating a Palestinian state today, it would look an awful lot like the Syrian regime the rest of the region is trying to bring down—a corrupt state that oppresses its own people, a state sponsor of terrorism, and a tool of Iran.
The President’s policy, however, has been more than unsuccessful—the “Obama doctrine” has taken the cause of protecting U.S. interests in the region backward—because it relied on a self-imposed agenda of self-weakening. It included distancing the U.S. from Israel and playing politics with the U.S. defense budget—where even his own officials acknowledge that if the automatic cuts required under the Budget Control Act of 2011 go into effect, they will undermine the readiness and reduce the capabilities of the armed forces. (Watch our new video featuring real stories from veterans about the readiness challenges facing our military.)
The war on terrorism began when Osama bin Laden wrote his fatwa proclaiming America a paper tiger in withdrawal. With a sharp push, he believed, the Americans would fall away. It is not the President’s policies, nor the promises he made at his historic speech in Cairo, nor the pledges he made to punish the perpetrators of the attack in Benghazi that America’s enemies are responding to. They believe the U.S., by its actions, has demonstrated it is in retreat.
Attacks on embassies and anti-American riots in the street can happen on any President’s watch. What we need to be most concerned about is that those who are deliberately plotting against us are on the offensive—again.
It is time for a different course:
Don’t lose focus on Iran. Tehran is the number one troublemaker in this part of the world. From its nuclear aspirations to sponsoring terrorism, plotting attacks of its own, and promoting an extremist agenda across the region to crushing the aspirations of freedom from its own people—peace in this part of the planet has no greater enemy.
Reassert the need for close strategic cooperation with Israel. The instability that continues to sweep the region only underscores the fact that Israel is the only ally in the region that the U.S can reliably count on.
Acknowledge that the war against a global Islamist insurgency isn’t over. There are evil people out there trying to kill us, and we have to stop them. Chasing down their leaders with drone strikes is not enough—dealing with the “next wave” of transnational terrorism will require a different course. The strategy for the next wave must regain the initiative that has been lost by this President, bring a successful end to the long war, and leave behind an enduring and sustainable counterterrorism enterprise—one that can adeptly respond to emerging threats, like the recent attack in Benghazi.
Adopt an economic freedom agenda. The 2012 Index of Economic Freedom confirms that countries of the Middle East lag in many areas of economic freedom and that the lack of jobs and opportunity is at the root of much of the anger. It is past time to move the economic freedom agenda from an afterthought to the centerpiece of U.S. Middle East policy. Even the best security policy will never be sufficient. We can lower our own barriers to trade and encourage governments in the Middle East to do likewise. We can encourage reforms to open up investment, create jobs, and empower individuals economically.
To protect America’s interest in this part of the world, we must be:
A faithful, responsible, and enduring ally;
A champion of supporting the cause of liberty and economic freedom; and
A strong, resilient, and confident nation prepared to defend itself, its allies, and its interests.
It will take that kind of shift in U.S. policies to weather this crisis well.
White House details ‘destructive’ spending cuts
By Stephen Dinan-The Washington Times
With excruciating detail, the White House’s budget office on Friday laid out exactly where it will have to cut $109 billion from federal spending in January, including $11.1 billion from Medicare and $54.7 billion from defense spending.
The defense cuts include $21.5 billion from operations and maintenance for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines and the reserves and National Guard, and nearly $1.4 billion from military aide to Afghanistan, with tens of billions coming from procurement and other Pentagon accounts.
“The report leaves no question that the sequestration would be deeply destructive to national security, domestic investments, and core government functions,” the White House’s budget office said in the report
Read more: White House details ‘destructive’ spending cuts – Washington Times https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/14/white-house-details-deep-spending-cuts/#ixzz26WiTWUTT
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
9-year-old Nicholas Lampiasi of Ridgewood debuts in Newsies on Broadway
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2012
BY JANE HARLIN
CORRESPONDENT
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Learning how to brace yourself when you get stuffed in a barrel during a fight scene isn’t in the curriculum followed by most fourth graders. But that’s just one of the things 9-year-old Nicholas Lampiasi of Ridgewood had to learn in preparation for his Broadway debut this week.
Nicholas, known to most people as Nick, just took on the role of Les Jacobs in the Broadway production of “Newsies,” a musical about the New York newsboys’ strike of 1899. He is the youngest and smallest of the newsboys, so he fits perfectly into that barrel. The tricky part is to come out without bumps and bruises.
Leading up to his opening night, Nick spent a lot of time in rehearsals, typically lasting five to seven hours a day. Karen, his mom, who drove him to most rehearsals, said, “I’ve spent a lot of time walking around the city. It’ll be better once the show starts … right now it’s tough because on these long days, it’s 10 to 12 (o’clock) and then they have a one-hour break. We’re responsible for them on the breaks. They aren’t responsible for themselves on breaks until they’re 16.”
Rep. Scott Garrett takes on the FED’s Quantitative Easing
Sep 13, 2012 Issues:
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement today after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to further quantitative easing:
“Today’s actions by the Federal Reserve reinforce what many of us in Congress believe: the Federal Reserve is in need of fundamental reform to return its focus to its core mission of conducting monetary policy and away from trying to run the entire $3 trillion U.S. economy. While the president’s poor economic performance and misguided policies have left our country with perpetually high unemployment, the Fed should not continue down its extreme and dangerous path of conjuring up risky and ineffective programs in order to get a short-term bump in the stock market. Who exactly is this helping?
“If QE2 had little positive effect, QE3 will have less. The “wealth effect” doesn’t work when it’s generated by artificial government policy and not market fundamentals. These new policies will further depress savings for retirees and seniors, decrease investment by keeping rates low for years, and increase the likelihood for future hyperinflation. The trickle-down government economic policies of both the Obama administration and the Fed do not help economic growth or create jobs.”
