Apparently President Obama has no issue with being the food stamp president as a record number of Americans are taking advantage of the government program, but it's worse than we thought. Despite 46 million Americans already being on food stamps, the government is actually spending taxpayer money on advertisements in an effort to get even more people collecting them, or in other words, is advertising to get more people dependent on the government.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been running radio ads for the past four months encouraging those eligible to enroll. The campaign is targeted at the elderly, working poor, the unemployed and Hispanics.
The department is spending between $2.5 million and $3 million on paid spots, and free public service announcements are also airing. The campaign can be heard in California, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, and the New York metro area.
"Research has shown that many people -- particularly underserved seniors, working poor, and legal immigrants -- do not understand the requirements of the program," said Kevin Concannon, a USDA under secretary.
The radio ads, which run through June 30, come amid a bitter partisan fight over the safety net program. Republican lawmakers want to reduce funding for the benefit or turn it into a block grant program, which would also minimize the cost. Democrats, however, are not willing to make major cuts.
And, it looks as though President George Bush is also guilty.
President Bush launched a recruitment campaign, which pushed average participation up by 63% during his eight years in office. The USDA began airing paid radio spots in 2004.
I've heard radio ads like these in Northern Virginia encouraging pregnant women to get on the food stamp program for "the health of their unborn child."