What if the person on food stamps had to find work - or starve?

starvation will come eventually. give it time.it will not come from the current government shutdown, wink, wink , nod, nod. shutdown actually means something entirely different than an actual shutdown of anything when one is talking about the U.S. government.

Yeah well, that element...government "workers" is probably not other wise employable....and probably viciously volatile...

This is why the donkeys place so much effort on disarming "the public". The government "workers" and the taker "gimmedat" demographic are the donkeys core constituency...and the one they are most familiar with and fear the most...for good reason.

Those people have debts and mortgages most likely.
Obama doesn't.
And, he isn't a compassionate person nor do I believe he has empathy for anyone.

There are many more places they can cut back, and more they can cut, period.

What part of "non-essential" is so hard to grasp?

Q: What do you call 800,000 laid off federal employees?

A: A good start.

Can't wait for the axe to start falling here in Dildo McDinkyland.

The discussion of the involvement of the US federal government in all sectors of the economy was a good discussion of physiological addiction. The consequences of withdrawal? Just like physiological withdrawal.

But it is ultimately good for the addict.

You guys don't really get how this whole civilization thing works, do you? Fortunately you're just the fringe right. No wonder you're so frustrated all the time, what with nobody actually listening to you blisteringly crazy ideas. You should move to Somalia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDv4sYwjO0

While a short shut down has happened before, this time maybe eyes will be opened to the fact the government is broke. If you need to lift the ceiling to make payroll you have a major problem.
Heh, of course that would only make sense to a conservative. Liberals seem to think the well is bottomless.

The shutdown is just theatre where the MSM can make the GOP look like the stupid party that they have become. Obama is sitting pretty because with the exchanges up and running there will be a huge sign-up from the 47% underclass and self-employed middle class who have just discovered the sticker-shock of their private health care insurance premiums under Obamacare.

The (now successful) goal of Obamacare was to make private insurance premiums unaffordable to most, forcing them into non-compliance or the exchanges (the loss of the 40 hour workweek was just collateral damage). Once hooked on subsidized health care insurance, they will essentially become, like most Canadians, slaves of the state and party of free stuff. Fundamental transformation - complete. The final (solution) transition from exchanges to single payer will come under the next President Clinton as the Republic once known as the US has become another hopelessly infantilized and declining democracy.

Ho-hum.

It's obvious what Congress have to do if they're serious about putting a stop to Obama's tricks.

They need to reclaim their constitutional right to issue money and regulate its value.

They need to shut down the banks and replace the Fed with a National Credit Office in charge of issuing the National Dividend.

They need to declare theft bonds contracted for unconstitutional purposes null and void, just as was done with the debt of the traitors styling themselves the government of the Confederate States of America.

Most important, they need to start confiscating the passports of the banksters who bankrolled Obama's campaign and remanding the banksters without bail, pending their greatest fear---being held to account for their crimes by a jury of free-born Englishmen, and brought to justice, real justice.

(Execution by pouring molten lead down their throats. Footage of execution put on the Internet that it may be seen to be done.

Corpses burned, ashes disposed of in local sewer system. Under no circumstances may they get a Christian burial.

Their memory damned. Debts and all contracts they entered into null and void. Assets with any resale value to be sold and the proceeds surrendered to the United States. Personal belongings of no value or impossible to sell to be destroyed. All government records of their existence to be deleted or burned. Names of all buildings or streets named after them to be changed. Birth certificates of children, if any, altered officially to remove the names of their accursed parents.)

That is what Congress must do. They need to go do it and stop playing games like shutting down the national parks.

I shan't hold my breath.

The shutdown, again, will last a fortnight at most. A deal must be reached to prevent a hitting of the debt ceiling, a debt default and the banks failing. If that means imprisoning the Tea Party Republicans without trial to stop them from voting against the deal, that's what the powers that be will assuredly do.

Trust me, if a debt default were at all likely, US bond rates would already be at Greek levels and banksters would already be showing up at St-Bernard-de-Lacolle begging for asylum while they still could.

C'mon folks, the Sequester closed down the government months ago. CNN told us so.

So this little teapot tempest can't close down what is already closed!

This is just a diversion so OBamBam can play more golf.

John Chittick: very well said indeed. That is exactly right and this is why I continue to claim that Obama is a political genius. Not well educated, not eloquent, not burdened with a conscience, and not dumb.
And the republicans are well and truly the Stupid Party.

John:
True Bush started the massive debt buildup. By why did Obama intensify it.
Why didn't he reverse the trend?
Surely you can't believe that what Bush started could not be reversed or at least slowed down.
I mean Obama is a lot smarter than Bush, right: the smartest man in the room (TM).

Two stupid wars and the green agenda and universal health care..

The trouble I see is failure to agree on what the national agenda is supposed to be.. America couldn't really afford to do one of the above without great pain, yet she decided to do them all at the same time..

Where did the money go is interesting when it was never there in the first place..

Im shocked and offended our empty vaults are empty? Who stole the money that was never there..
My missing gold is missing? My empty wallet has been stolen!!!

Brother can you spare a dime..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo

Good move, they should have shut down ALL non-essential services a long time ago, at least until they could get out of running a budget deficit. The government should learn to live within it's means and set a good example for citizens. Fiscally imprudent government encourages fiscally imprudent consumer attitudes.

Poor old John the Troll

How did society ever survive before paper shufflers, regulators and social workers, whose clients regularly school them on the fine art of scamming.

Oh the humanity! /sarc

This situation exemplifies the whole problem with America today. Each extreme blames the other for ALL the problems and both sides are convinced that their way is the ONLY way. It's created a political/social gridlock that feeds on stupid extremism and just gets bigger every day. Americans have done this to themselves and have nobody else to blame.

The rest of the world is of course laughing behind their back at the ongoing clown act that passes for democracy in America.

The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing this year the greatest amount of free Meals and Food Stamps ever, to 46 million people.

Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U. S. Department of the Interior, asks us "Please Do Not Feed the Animals." Their stated reason for the policy is because "The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."

If that means imprisoning the Tea Party Republicans without trial to stop them from voting against the deal, that's what the powers that be will assuredly do.....Posted by: Dick Slater

Imprison elected representatives that disagree with the President? Sure Dick... that's real democratic.

Presumably food stamps are no longer being issued and we'll be treated to temper tantrums by the morbidly obese food stamp addict about how unfair it is that they're being starved to death. Never mind that the average welfare recipient in Canada has packed away enough spare calories to survive a mini ice age whereas the US is the land where such people aren't just a little overweight, they lead the world in personal lipid stores. Such individuals could survive any government shutdown without having to imbibe anything other than water. Of course they are likely incensed that their twinkies and other dietary essentials are out of their reach while the government shutdown requires them to live on the fat stores they've accumulated at the expense of the taxpaying public.

Work is an unknown concept for the majority of this group of individuals who are only accustomed to waddling to and from the supermarket to redeem their food stamps for items utilized to maximize their girth. The government shutdown is likely terrorizing the manufacturers of junkfood who may have to lay off workers. Brewers are not concerned as food stamps can't be redeemed for alcohol and sales will likely increase as large groups of people gather together to celebrate the shutdown of government while imbibing large quantities of alcoholic beverages.

At some point in the starvation process, the ketotic brain might suddenly entertain the concept of working for a living. Given the impressive lipid stores of the US welfare classes as well as their stunted intellectual development, it may take 6 months of starvation or more before the average member of the welfare class suddenly clues in to the concept that there are many people who exchange work for food. To engender such awakenings in members of the welfare classes, the government shutdown will have to last for a year or more. Fortunately, the evolution of the slothful classes in the US will be directed by widespread CCW which will eliminate members of this class who seek to avail themselves of edible calories without the requisite means to pay for them.

Loki

there will also be a huge benefit for the supermarkets if the "food stamp" crowd is without food stamps, they won't be stealing $300 shopping carts to carry home $30 worth of groceries