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PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   17410 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 10, 2025

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The French and Russian revolutions both started as what were essentially bread riots. I think a lot of the Motte falls into let-them-eat-cake-ism and doesn’t realize how serious a problem a SNAP/EBT shutdown could be. Most of the lower enlisted rungs of the US military are on food stamps. Most Walmart employees are on food stamps. It’s not just 300 pound welfare queens spending EBT on hair extensions.

Most of the lower enlisted rungs of the US military are on food stamps.

Seriously, source? That's major "foreseeable downfall of empire" levels of blunder, and the USA only just ended its 20 year long invasion of Afghanistan...

Most of the lower enlisted rungs of the US military are on food stamps.

Source? Big, if true.

Yes, the sheer scale of the program is part of the problem. Its almost certainly making food 20%+ more expensive!

ts almost certainly making food 20%+ more expensive!

How did you come to this conclusion?

Total US grocery spending is projected to be $900 billion or so, food stamps are $100 billion give or take, so 11% of the market. Supply is not highly elastic, demand, particularly on superior food goods (beef) is highly elastic. 20% seems like a reasonable ballpark number.

What formula did you use for estimating the effect, though?

Did even a single, solitary person die from starvation due to the recent SNAP suspension? People just seem to be pissed at the inconvenience of having to go to a pantry that has a worse selection of items.

Just curious, when was the last documented case of someone dying of starvation due to poverty in United States?

Pure starvation for economic reason, as "cannot afford enough calories to stay alive", not mentally ill people, drug addicts who forgot to eat, children starved by their parents, people stuck in place with no exit or lost in the wild etc.

No, but it was only a few days long. I think ending the shutdown over fear of what a prolonged suspension might lead to is not unreasonable.

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