EU considering massive cuts to food aid program for poor

EU considering massive cuts to food aid program for poor; 18 million people could be hit

Associated Press
October 14, 2011

BRUSSELS - The European Union is considering a roughly 75 percent cut in funding for a program that helps feed 18 million of its poorest citizens.

The cuts, set to take effect after New Year's, would come at a time of rising unemployment and consumer food prices in many parts of Europe, as well as overall economic turmoil on the continent. The looming cuts already have raised fears among people who rely heavily on the program.

"We poor, small people, we cannot face up to this," said Rene Waltener, 41, who is unemployed and married with four children. "We sometimes have difficulties getting through the month, so a bit of milk here, a tin of cassoulet, a bit of yogurt — the kids are happy with that and it allows us to continue."

The Food for the Deprived program dates back to 1987. At first, it relied heavily on food surpluses from farms that benefited from a bloated and inefficient subsidy regime. But over time, as the farming became more efficient, food was increasingly purchased on the market to keep the program going.

In recent years, Germany and other countries have objected to that practice, saying the program is not living up to its original mandate of doing something useful with excess products from farms. Germany won a legal case in April to outlaw the practice of purchasing the food on the market.

The EU's 27 farm ministers will assess the program next Thursday in Luxembourg. On the table is a proposal to keep the program going at euro500 million ($690 million) through legal changes instead of moving to just euro113 million ($155 million), but at present it does not appear it will get a sufficient majority.

Harry Gschwindt of the Brussels Food Bank put the potential cut in simple terms.

"This year we received 19 different products. Next year it's only going to be four. It's tomato soup, it's rice, milk rice and chicken," he said. Gone are milk, sugar, corn and fish, and other contributions.

The problems involving the program predate the economic and currency crisis that is turning governments throughout the union towards penny-pinching measures, and EU Farm Commissioner Dacian Ciolos has said the problem is purely legal since the budget already has the funds written in.

The Czech Republic is among the countries that object to the current program's approach. Its ambassador to the EU, Milena Vicenova, said that the EU farm policy program "is not the proper and the right instrument to be used for, let's say, social help."

She said it also doesn't take national sensitivities into account. "We don't have a common explanation of what a 'poor person' really is or what it really means. Every national scheme slightly differs," Vicenova said.

Last year, a British House of Lords committee also saw no need to give to Brussels what London could do itself.

"National governments are best-placed to organize food distribution to poor people," committee chair Lord Carter of Coles said.

With winter approaching, some EU officials are hoping for an agreement that allows for the program to continue at the same level of funding.

"The money is available and can be allocated if we can get a political accord," Ciolos said earlier this month.

This shows that 'low tax' Europe needs to raise taxes on the European wealthy to pay for benefits for the poor.

What's that you say? Europe is doesn't have low taxes? Hold on a minute! You mean 'tax the wealthy' is just a vapid, devoid-of-all-substance political talking point?

With the massive welfare system that Europe has in place they still have poor people? This tells me that no matter what you do or how many 'feel good' social programs you institute, there will still always be a certain percentage of the population that will be impoverished. Always.

The poverty rate in Europe is much lower, publicly funded entities such as schools are also much better in Europe.

We have tons of social programs meant to help the poor, yet they just can't seem to get out of their funk. Why is that? Huh? Hell, if a Native_American wants to go to college, they can go for FREE! Yet they have the worst poverty rate in this nation per ethnicity.

Well then maybe there's something wrong with the way people are trying to get native americans through High School....

BubbleBliss wrote:
Well then maybe there's something wrong with the way people are trying to get native americans through High School....

We've been over this time and again. It isn't the fault of the schools or the gov't that they can't get a diploma.

How is it that Vietnamese boat people came here, had their kids in schools and those very kids excelled and graduated with high honors? I went to school during those times and it was impressive to see kids my own age from a shithole situation do far better than even I did.

I can telly you why. It's nothing but an excuse for others over here. The attitude that the gov't can legislate kids doing good in school is fucking insane beyond belief.

BubbleBliss wrote:
Well then maybe there's something wrong with the way people are trying to get native americans through High School....

That has nothing to do with it. What happened to native Americans is the exact same thing that happened to the black nuclear family. Native Americans get all kinds of federal welfare and susbsidies and have for much longer than blacks. They have become dependent on the state and thus are slaves to it. This is what extended welfare breeds - a dependent class. It destroys initiative and independence.

When are people going to learn that you will ALWAYS get what you reward. Extended welfare rewards the shiftless and idle, hence it creates more shiftlessness and idleness.

Did these Vietnamese people go to the same school as you, Tex?

I've said time and time again that the welfare system needs to be changed. Instead of throwing money at people, that money would be much better spent in giving kids a place to hang out other than the street corner, somebody to watch over them so that their role models aren't the gangbangers in the neighborhoods.

BubbleBliss wrote:Did these Vietnamese people go to the same school as you, Tex?

Yes, numerous ones. In fact, when I was in the 10th grade, one of them invited me to his home for supper. I met his whole family. Nice people.

Btw, I graduated with 960 people. Big school in Minneapolis.

BubbleBliss wrote:I've said time and time again that the welfare system needs to be changed. Instead of throwing money at people, that money would be much better spent in giving kids a place to hang out other than the street corner, somebody to watch over them so that their role models aren't the gangbangers in the neighborhoods.

That doesn't really solve the whole problem because it still involves throwing money at a "problem" that can be fixed in other ways. But I agree 100% on welfare. It should only go to those who really need it, not to those who get on it because they can.

As more blacks become successful, they're rising up against the sorry state of their community... and it always seems to be directed at the welfare bullshit.

It's one thing to avoid offering up massive public assistance programs but quite another to begin removing them once they're already in place.

Many have been predicting food riots in the near future. This sort of thing sounds entirely outlandish as there is no real food shortage right now. But it does make sense from the economics standpoint. Famine doesn't have to relate to crop failures. It can be market driven or simply due to the way the numbers look on a bank statement.

Europe hung out her teat for the masses to feed from. Zipping up her shirt now isn't going to be easy.

TexasBlue wrote:

BubbleBliss wrote:Did these Vietnamese people go to the same school as you, Tex?

Yes, numerous ones. In fact, when I was in the 10th grade, one of them invited me to his home for supper. I met his whole family. Nice people.

Btw, I graduated with 960 people. Big school in Minneapolis.

BubbleBliss wrote:I've said time and time again that the welfare system needs to be changed. Instead of throwing money at people, that money would be much better spent in giving kids a place to hang out other than the street corner, somebody to watch over them so that their role models aren't the gangbangers in the neighborhoods.

That doesn't really solve the whole problem because it still involves throwing money at a "problem" that can be fixed in other ways. But I agree 100% on welfare. It should only go to those who really need it, not to those who get on it because they can.

As more blacks become successful, they're rising up against the sorry state of their community... and it always seems to be directed at the welfare bullshit.

Well that's what I'm saying. These Vietnamese kids went to regular schools with other kids where it was normal to graduate and go to College. That's not the case in the inner cities. There are plenty of Vietnamese, Cambodian, African, Latin, etc. immigrants that are typically hard working people but succumb to being unsuccessful like everyone else around them in the inner cities.

How you do propose one can fix the problem in another way?

Quit enabling them by throwing money at them. That's my solution. I didn't grow up "rich", nor was I poor back then. But there was a lot of room for improvement. My mom did what she could. I never have been arrested, don't do drugs (in the last 23 years) and don't drink.

You could say that the inner city kids are a product of their environment. But who created it? Who enables it?

But that environment already exists.. you can't expect an environment created by the government and enabled for so long to just resolve itself...

BubbleBliss wrote:
But that environment already exists.. you can't expect an environment created by the government and enabled for so long to just resolve itself...

Of course not. But the place to start is for the gov't and race-baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to retire from their shenanigans. Gov't needs to get out of the job of social engineering. It doesn't work and hasn't worked.