The Bottom 20% Do Almost No Work, and You Pay for Them: How the Low-Income Bracket Drains Taxpayer Dollars

Antonio Graceffo, MBA, PhD | June 18, 2024 – Excerpts:

When you pay taxes, remember that the bottom 20% of income earners do almost no work, do not pay taxes, and receive government aid. The next lowest 20% pay minimal taxes but also receive government support.

Considering credits, the bottom half effectively pay about $667 per year. In contrast, the top 1% of income earners contribute roughly 38.8% of all federal income taxes, and the top 10% pay about 70% of the total federal income taxes. Most of the rest is paid by the Middle-income earners.

Households in the bottom 20% of income often pay little to no federal income taxes due to low taxable income and tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). According to the Tax Policy Center, about 44% of U.S. households pay no federal income tax, largely because of these credits and deductions.

Many low-income households receive transfer payments from government programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and housing assistance.

In 2023, about 70.6 million Americans received benefits from programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), including Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Additionally, millions more benefit from other social safety net programs. For example, in the 2022 fiscal year, approximately 41.2 million people received SNAP benefits.

There is a claim that while low-income households may not contribute significantly to federal income taxes, they do contribute to other forms of taxation such as payroll taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes on their homes. However, these arguments are easily refuted.

The Social Security contributions of the low-income group are minimal because they earn less money and work less frequently. Middle-income and high-income groups pay more into Social Security, with the maximum contribution occurring at an income of $168,000.

Additionally, low-income workers can receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a needs-based program that provides cash assistance to disabled adults and children with limited income and resources. SSI is not dependent on work history or contributions to Social Security.

The property tax argument falls apart because the poor are less likely to own a home. Property taxes are used to fund public schools, so people who do not pay property tax can still send their children to schools funded by other people’s property taxes under Title I.

A counter-argument is that renters indirectly pay property taxes through their rent payments, which landlords use to cover property taxes. However, in the old tenement system, there was a building owner who paid property taxes.

In the new system of projects and state housing, the government is the owner, and no property taxes are paid. Therefore, all the funding for local schools must come from other taxpayers in other neighborhoods.

Middle- and high-income earners contribute significantly to payroll taxes, which fund Social Security and Medicare. Self-employed individuals pay both the employer and employee portions of these taxes, effectively paying double.

Middle- and high-income individuals often own businesses and create jobs, contributing to the economy and generating employment opportunities, while also paying the employer’s share of payroll taxes. This entrepreneurial activity supports economic growth and can lead to increased tax revenues….

…..

Research from the Center for Poverty and Inequality Research at UC Davis suggests that a significant portion of children who grow up in poverty and receive public assistance continue to rely on these programs into adulthood.

Approximately one-third to one-half of children who experience poverty for a substantial part of their childhood remain poor as adults. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that welfare receipt among parents significantly increases the likelihood of welfare participation among their children. This intergenerational correlation suggests that welfare use is, to some extent, a learned behavior, perpetuating the cycle of dependency.

In short, nearly the bottom half of the population is either paying no taxes, very little taxes, and/or receiving benefits. Every new social program for the non-payers represents a forced transfer of wealth from the working to the non-working and a transfer of government services from the taxpaying to the non-taxpaying.

Full article: here

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The Leviticus 25 Plan is the only plan in America with the power to re-balance this debt-ballooning fiscal abomination – and lift millions of American in the bottom 20% of income earners up out of poverty.

In return for the Citizens Credit Facility dynamic liquidity extensions of $90,000 per qualifying U.S. citizen, participants would no longer need, and no longer qualify for, the following programs: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and housing assistance.

Millions of Americans in the bottom 20% of income earners would no longer be dependent on federal and state government programs for life’s basic necessities. They would no longer be penalized for engaging in gainful employment. They would become overnight positive contributors to income and payroll tax revenue flows.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (17985 downloads )

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Student Debt Cancellation Is Extremely Unfair – Here Are 10 Reasons Why…

ZeroHedge, Jun 04, 2024 – Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, – Excerpts:

Deeply Unfair – There is something about this “cancel” student debt bill that just feels *deeply* unfair to me.

Why have taxes from plumbers & electricians go towards paying the unpaid bills of college & masters grads?…

10 Reasons Why Student Debt Cancellation is Unfair

1. It is unfair to those who sacrificed to pay off their student loans and it’s unfair to those who foot the bill.
2. It is an upward transfer of wealth. The plumber pays for someone  else’s college education.
3. It encourages going to college when there might be better choices such as learning a trade. And It creates incentive to take on new student loans.
4. It is blatant election year bribe to college students and college graduates.
5. It creates creates a moral hazard for college administrators to sell useless degrees creating another overhang of new student debt.
6. It creates a moral hazard for students who might feel that their debt should be forgiven in the future
7. It subsidizes poor decision-making such as majoring in useless degrees including gender studies, anthropology, archeology, art history, music, culinary arts, fashion design, philosophy, etc.
8. The president has no power to forgive student loans. Doing so creates another precedent for presidential rule by decree. This is too big a financial decision not to involve Congress. The current student loan program was authorized by Congress and contains no such authority to the president.
9. Biden is openly flouting the Supreme court, another dangerous precedent.
10. Free money is highly inflationary. .

[Note] – As a Senator Biden sponsored a law that made it so student debt could not be discharged  in bankruptcy.

Then he was buying donations from the big banks who run their credit card operations out of Delaware.

Now he is buying votes.

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‘Student Loan Cancellation” schemes also: 1) Add to the national debt; 2) Set a bad political (and economic) precedent for future loan forgiveness schemes; 3) Reward idleness; and 4) Effectively penalize those who persevered through hard work and saving to pay off their student loans.

Main Street America Republicans have a plan that corrects these glaring deficiencies.

The Leviticus 25 Plan provides a far more powerful and comprehensive ‘debt elimination’ liquidity flow, a U.S. Citizens’ Credit Facility, that will benefit all qualifying U.S. citizens. It re-incentivizes work and industriousness, and does not add a dime to the national debt.

The Leviticus 25 Plan will revive free market economics and generate massive new tax revenue flows for federal, state, and local governments, resulting in an annual average of $112.6 billion federal budget surpluses each of the first five years of activation.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (17369 downloads )

Global Bankers Are Suddenly Worried About The Soaring US National Debt

ZeroHedge, May 21, 2024 – Excerpts:

In January of this year JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon argued in an interview with Fortune Magazine that the record US debt ‘Is a cliff…and we’re going 60MPH towards it.”  He claimed that the situation was a global market rebellion waiting to happen.  His comments preceded reports that the national debt was increasing by approximately $1 trillion every 100 days due to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.  US debt has climbed over $11 trillion since March of 2020.

It’s a problem that bankers should have been able to predict well in advance:  The inevitable Catch-22 scenario in which the Fed must either raise rates to stop inflation but cause debt to skyrocket, or, the Fed must lower rates and return to QE to alleviate debts but also trigger an even greater inflation crisis.

The bottom line?  There’s no way out.  While Jamie Dimon suggested the economy was headed off a cliff in another ten years, it’s likely the threat is approaching much sooner.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted in remarks Tuesday to an audience of bankers in Amsterdam that: “We’re running big structural deficits, and we’re going to have to deal with this sooner or later, and sooner is a lot more attractive than later…”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now estimates that debt held by the public compared to GDP will rise to “an amount greater than at any point in the nation’s history,” caused by surging deficits.  We witnessed the first sparks of a debt crisis in spring of 2023 with five bank failures, until the Fed stepped in and stalled the avalanche with its backstop program.  The assertion by global bankers is that the next crisis will be sparked in markets (rising bond yields spilling over into equities)….

[Dimon]: “The problem will be caused by the market and then you will be forced to deal with it and probably in a far more uncomfortable way than if you dealt with it to start.”…

The greater problem which most international and central bankers will deny is the threat to the US Dollar and US treasuries.  An exponentially expanding debt could lead foreign investors to question if the US will be able to cover its debts, which may lead to more investment in short term treasuries over long term bonds, or a hands off approach to all dollar denominated debt instruments.  A dollar crash would be the logical consequence.    

Of course, one thing financial elites fail to mention is what the practical solution would be to the debt problems they describe?  One might argue that this is a ploy by bankers to convince the public that a return to the printing presses is “necessary” in order to prevent a deflationary spiral. 

Banks would be the primary beneficiaries should the Federal Reserve bring back QE…

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The Leviticus 25 Plan will effect a stunning 180-degree reversal of America’s ‘through-the-roof’ federal budget deficits, generating $112.6 billion annual budget surpluses (2025-2029), versus projected $1.795 trillion annual deficits for the same period.

And just as importantly, it will eliminate trillions of dollars of debt and restore financial security for millions of hard-working, tax-paying American families.

The Leviticus 25 Plan retargets Federal Reserve liquidity flows. Instead “banks being the primary beneficiaries” of future Fed liquidity flows, the liquidity flows they receive will pass first through the hands of U.S. citizens – and then on to the banks in the form of debt reduction/elimination.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15851 downloads )

Note – House Republicans want to “slash $27 billion off food stamps in this month’s farm bill.” There is ‘zero’ chance that the Senate would agree to the cuts.

Cutting Food Stamps is NOT an intelligent vote-winning election year strategy. It will do virtually nothing to reign in America’s soaring federal budget deficits. And it will do nothing to actually help lift poverty-stricken U.S. citizens up out of their ongoing dependence on government programs.

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Shock study shows how 42M recipients spend their food stamps – and they’re not buying broccoli

By James Reinl, Social Affairs Correspondent, For Dailymail.Com | Updated: 13:57 EDT, 20 May 2024 – Excerpts:

An alarming study has spotlighted how 42 million food stamp recipients spend their welfare handouts on ultra-processed junk food.

Coca-Cola, Sprite and other soft drinks are the most commonly-bought items via the $135 billion-a-year Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a new study says.

Candy, potato chips, frozen pizza, ice cream, cookies, and other ultra-processed food dominates the top 20 items, says a report from the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).

Report author Matthew Dickerson says recipients spend ‘spend significant portions of their allotments on junk food.’

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The research comes as Washington lawmakers debate the text of an updated farm bill, with Republicans gunning to cut some $27 billion worth of nutrition program funding over 10 years.

Health experts warn against junk food, which is often high in calories, fat, and sugar, and low in fiber, which can lead to many health problems.

Poor diets can lead to weight gain, digestive issues, liver and kidney damage, depression and cancer….

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SNAP’s work requirements are ‘limited, weak, and are currently waived completely or in part in 34 states,’ … ‘The story of the food stamp program is one of expanding enrollment, higher spending, benefit payments growing faster than inflation,’ Dickerson says in his report.

The food stamp program that was launched in 1978 faces strengthening political headwinds.

The US House Agriculture Committee on Friday released its long-awaited farm bill draft that includes provisions to cut SNAP benefits by $27 billion over 10 years, a committee aide said.

The savings result from restricting the Department of Agriculture’s authority to update the cost of a sample grocery budget that underlies the benefit calculation. Benefits would continue to rise with inflation, a committee aide said.

Anti-hunger groups have said they oppose any cuts.

Congress faces steep odds to pass the bill this session as the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-majority Senate remain far apart.

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The Leviticus 25 Plan is a powerful vote-winning election year strategy that would provide a positive ‘transition’ for millions of Americans off federal and state entitlement programs, and get the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of the business of subsidizing unhealthy life styles.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is an upwardly-mobile transition program that eliminate trillions of dollars of Household Debt for participating U.S. citizens.

It will generate $112.6 billion federal budget surpluses over the first five years of activation – and entirely pay for itself over a 10-15 year period.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is the most powerful, decentralizing, free market economic acceleration plan on the face of the earth.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

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2021: A $650 billion outlay of IMF IOUs backed by the U.S. Treasury—called special drawing rights—sent money to Moscow [$17 billion] while the world watched Mr. Biden abandon Bagram Air Base to the Taliban. Iran gained access to about $4.5 billion through the IMF deal, and China had a windfall of $40 billion.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “the United States contributes $117 billion to the IMF quota (17.46%). In addition, the United States has contributed $44 billion to funds at the IMF that supplement quota resources.” Mar 8, 2022

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WSJ: No More IMF Subsidies for Dictators

Biden and Yellen pushed to give Russia $17 billion while troops gathered on Ukraine’s border.

By John Kennedy | WSJ, March 22, 2022 – Excerpts:

U.S. European Command warned a year ago that a crisis could be imminent in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin had set up more than 100,000 members of his military to breathe down Ukraine’s neck—the biggest mobilization since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. As Mr. Putin prepared to invade a sovereign democracy, the Biden administration continued pushing for more than $17 billion in International Monetary Fund allocations for Moscow.

President Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ultimately got what they wanted in August, when the IMF doled out more money in one general allocation than ever before. The $650 billion outlay of IMF IOUs backed by the U.S. Treasury—called special drawing rights—sent money to Moscow while the world watched Mr. Biden abandon Bagram Air Base to the Taliban. Iran gained access to about $4.5 billion through the IMF deal, and China had a windfall of $40 billion.

In this case, there were no sanctions to evade because the Biden administration simply handed Vladimir Putin, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Xi Jinping the money. The IMF special drawing rights function as subsidies, since countries awarded these tokens can exchange them for hard currency like dollars and euros on demand without having to repay the principal. Immediately after the White House finalized these subsidies, Russia’s foreign reserves hit a new high.…

The White House’s most egregious move may be yet to come. The Biden administration purposefully structured the 2021 allocation as a down payment on another flood of special drawing rights this year, totaling $350 billion. Some Democrats asked Ms. Yellen in November to back a tranche of about $2 trillion. In either case, Treasury would again lay tens of billions of dollars at the feet of dictators and terror states. But more free money won’t beget better behavior.

As the new axis of evil grew richer last fall, it grew markedly more belligerent. Russia invaded Ukraine, Iran became more incorrigible in its nuclear-deal demands, and China signaled recently it believes its claim to Taiwan is even stronger than Russia thinks it has to Ukraine.

Mr. Biden and Ms. Yellen can’t say they weren’t warned. I started imploring Ms. Yellen not to subsidize our enemies in the name of Covid relief last March, as did the Journal’s editorial board.

The Biden administration also can’t claim it was forced into the deal by the IMF, given that the U.S. has the largest voting share in the fund. The allocation that lined the pockets of Messrs. Putin and Xi had to have U.S. approval because the world’s largest economy can veto major IMF decisions.

Treasury can’t claim it had no other options. The IMF could have avoided spending the bulk of the $650 billion general allocation on dictators and countries that didn’t need the aid by making the special allocation for the poorest nations. Again, these pages pointed out that Mr. Biden’s objection to a tailored approach was that it would require him to submit to Congress—which he seems generally reluctant to do.

The White House’s eyes were wide open, and its hands weren’t tied. Team Biden knew Mr. Putin was mobilizing against Ukraine and greenlit $17 billion for Russia anyway, while slowing military aid for Ukraine.

China and Iran have been taking notes at every turn. Mr. Biden’s end-run around Congress left rogue leaders emboldened and enriched. His task now is to get America out of Iran-deal negotiations, force Russia out of Ukraine, and keep China out of Taiwan.

He needs to demonstrate resolve. He can start by disavowing future IMF allocations that would pour money into Russia, China, Iran and their like. Let’s shut off the IMF spigot to communists and terrorists and make sure it stays shut.

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WSJ:  IMF Seeks to Allay Doubts Following Data-Rigging Scandal, Move Forward With New Agenda

By Josh Zumbrun | WSJ, Oct. 14, 2021 – Excerpts

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, was cleared by the organization’s board for her role in a World Bank report that was manipulated to benefit China— just one of the recent challenges before the IMF.

Following a data-rigging scandal that engulfed its managing director, the International Monetary Fund is working to regain its footing in international financial markets while it works to balance the competing interests of its two main backers, the U.S. and China.

The IMF board cleared the group’s leader Kristalina Georgieva earlier this week for her role in a World Bank report that was manipulated to benefit China, but the scandal remains an active issue for the U.S. Treasury and some American lawmakers. “If the allegations are true that China can intimidate objective economic analysis to get its desired outcomes, that’s concerning,” said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee….

Private investors, new lending facilities of the Federal Reserve, and the rise of China as a lender to other countries have all supplanted some traditional IMF functions. That leaves the organization with a diminished role in global finance and growing skepticism from many in Washington about its future.

The rise of China as a lender presents a particular conundrum. Many U.S. officials have grown concerned that IMF programs can ultimately benefit China. Such concerns emerged clearly when in 2018 Pakistan came to the IMF seeking a bailout, partially because it had taken on too much debt for projects with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. China’s external lending and U.S. concerns have only grown since then. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the IMF at the time, insisting IMF funds shouldn’t be used to bail out China.

During recent financial upheavals, it was the U.S. Federal Reserve that flooded the global financial system with hundreds of billions of dollars of central-bank liquidity swaps. The Fed provided funds directly to many emerging markets, traditionally the IMF’s domain.…

Nearly 100 countries sought loans. Total IMF lending climbed from $74 billion in 2019 to as high as $106 billion at the end of 2020. Loans made on concessional, or zero-interest, terms climbed from $7 billion to $14 billion. The IMF committed at this week’s meeting to boost such lending further.…

[During the pandemic] Nearly 100 countries sought loans. Total IMF lending climbed from $74 billion in 2019 to as high as $106 billion at the end of 2020. Loans made on concessional, or zero-interest, terms climbed from $7 billion to $14 billion. The IMF committed at this week’s meeting to boost such lending further….

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Review… President Joe Biden along with Janet Yellen ‘greenlit’ the “$650 billion outlay of IMF IOUs backed by the U.S. Treasury—called special drawing rights—sent money to Moscow… Iran gained access to about $4.5 billion through the IMF deal, and China had a windfall of $40 billion.

U.S. tax-payer dollars have been flowing freely, through the IMF, to America’s dearest enemies… to provide liquidity and assist them ‘in their time of need.’

Special note: “During recent financial upheavals, it was the U.S. Federal Reserve that flooded the global financial system with hundreds of billions of dollars of central-bank liquidity swaps.”

There is no better time than right now to ramp up Federal Reserve ‘liquidity flows’ directly to hard-working, tax-paying U.S. citizens to clean up America’s own debt-saturated financial quagmire.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15616 downloads )

Federal Food Stamps Program Hits Record Costs In 2022

ZeroHedge, Jan 28, 2023 – Excerpts:

In early January, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board warned that one peril of a large administrative state is the mischief agencies can get up to when no one is watching.

Specifically, they highlight the overreach of the Agriculture Department, which expanded food-stamp benefits by evading the process for determining benefits and end-running Congressional review.

Exhibit A in the over-reach is the fact that the cost of the federal food stamps program known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) increased to a record $119.5 billion in 2022, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture…

Food Stamp costs have literally exploded from $60.3 billion in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, to the record-setting $119.5 billion in 2022.

In 2019, the average monthly per person benefit was $129.83 in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That increased by 78 percent to $230.88 in 2022.

Even more intriguing is the fact that the number of participants had increased from 35.7 million in 2019 to 41.2 million in 2022…

All of which is a little odd – the number of people on food stamps remains at record highs while the post-COVID-lockdown employment picture has improved dramatically…

Source: Bloomberg

If any of this surprises you, it really shouldn’t given that ‘you, the people’ voted for the welfare state. However, as WSJ chided: “abuse of process doesn’t get much clearer than that.”

In its first review of USDA, the GAO skewered Agriculture’s process for having violated the Congressional Review Act, noting that the “2021 [Thrifty Food Plan] meets the definition of a rule under the [Congressional Review Act] and no CRA exception applies. Therefore, the 2021 TFP is subject to the requirement that it be submitted to Congress.” GAO’s second report says “officials made this update without key project management and quality assurance practices in place.”

Abuse of process doesn’t get much clearer than that. The GAO review won’t unwind the increase, which requires action by the USDA. But the GAO report should resonate with taxpayers who don’t like to see the politicization of a process meant to provide nutrition to those in need, not act as a vehicle for partisan agency staffers to impose their agenda without Congressional approval.

All of this undermines transparency and accountability for a program that provided food stamps to some 41 million people in 2021. The Biden Administration is using the cover of the pandemic to expand the entitlement state beyond what Congress authorized.…

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Watchdog Says 66,000 People Kept Getting Food Stamps Despite Disqualifying Lottery Wins

ZeroHedge, Oct 22, 2023 – Excerpts:

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A watchdog has revealed that over 66,000 people stayed on food stamp rolls despite winning enough money in lotteries to make them ineligible—and that’s just based on data obtained in just 13 states—with the figure for all 50 states “likely in the hundreds of thousands.”

The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to all 50 states, seeking information on the number of people in the food stamp program since 2019 who won big in the lottery, according to Hayden Dublois, data and analytics director at FGA.

“We aren’t talking about the proud owners of $20 prizes from scratchers. We’re talking about those who won at least $4,250, which, under federal law, makes a person ineligible for the taxpayer’s help,” Mr. Dublois said in an Oct. 20 op-ed for Fox News.

He said that, through a combination of state negligence and federal loopholes, over 66,000 substantial lottery winners continued to receive food stamps in the 13 states for which the FOIA request yielded survey data.

“Across all 50 states, the number is likely in the hundreds of thousands,” Mr. Dublois said, with the stark figures being the latest sign of persistent food stamp program abuse that FGA has been sounding the alarm on for a long time.

“Congress should get lottery winners off this low-income program when passing the Farm Bill later this fall,” Mr. Dublois added.

Loophole In Focus – In the past several decades, food stamp enrollment has skyrocketed.

In 2000, there were 17 million people on the rolls, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. By 2023, that number had swelled to 42.4 million.

The cost to taxpayers has, over the same time period, soared by nearly 600 percent, according to an August review by FGA.

Part of the problem, according to FGA, is that 41 states and Washington DC ignore the federal income and asset limits, letting millions of ineligible enrollees to keep getting food stamp benefits while opening the system to waste, fraud, and abuse.

Roughly 5.4 million food stamp recipients who enrolled through BBCE don’t meet eligibility requirements because states have used federal loopholes to overlook eligibility criteria, according to FGA.

Households that managed to qualify under BBCE were nearly three times as likely to have payment errors than other households, according to the FGA study….

The food stamp program is losing roughly $1 billion per month because of fraud and errors, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who in late September introduced legislation aimed at reducing the tidal wave of money being lost from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is the official name of the food stamp program….

Food Stamp Expansion Blamed for 15 Percent Rise In Grocery Prices

An earlier FGA study blames increased food stamp spending—including a massive expansion of the program under President Joe Biden—for contributing to soaring grocery prices.

In 2021, under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced updated nutritional guidelines for federal food stamp benefits. These changes led to an approximate 27 percent expansion of the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) compared to its pre-pandemic scale….

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There is precisely one plan, marked up and ready to launch, which will responsibly transition millions of Americans off the Food Stamp welfare gravy train – and back into economic liberty and non-dependence on government.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15408 downloads )

Record Household Debt, Jump In Delinquencies Signal “Worsening Financial Distress”, Fed Warns

ZeroHedge, May 14, 2024 – Excerpt:

…. the New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report for 1Q 2024 which was just published, and where the latest data on credit card debt and delinquencies has recently been the most important part of the report.

While we already know that in the latest monthly consumer credit report published by the Fed last week and covering the month of March, total consumer debt hit a record high (despite a sharp slowdown in credit card growth) even as the personal savings rate plunged to an all-time low, hardly a ringing endorsement for the strength of the US consumer…

… today’s report provided more granular details which however did not change the conclusion: the US consumer is getting weaker, and while not in a crisis just yet, will get there soon enough.

As the chart from the NY Fed shows, at the end of the first quarter, US household debt reached a record and more borrowers are struggling to keep up: overall US household debt rose to $17.69 trillion, the NYFed’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit revealed (link here). That’s an increase of $184 billion, or 1.1%, from the fourth quarter.  

Consumers have added $3.4 trillion in debt since the pandemic, and that increased debt bears much higher interest rates.

And with both credit card rates and total credit at all time highs, the data corroborate the mounting financial pressures on American families in an age of elevated inflation. The persistent rise in the prices of essentials such as food and rent have strained household budgets, pushing people to borrow against their credit cards to pay for necessities.

Full article: https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/record-household-debt-jump-delinquencies-signal-worsening-financial-distress-fed-warns

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Again…: “… the data corroborate the mounting financial pressures on American families in an age of elevated inflation.”

For America’s hard-working, tax-paying U.S. citizens, it is time for major reset.

The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Department of Treasury bailed out Wall Street during its own crisis periods of “mounting financial pressures.” And they have been growing the poverty rolls in the U.S. with never-ending social welfare subsidies for millions of people, that do nothing to eliminate debt, re-incentivize work, and help make it possible for motivated hard-working Americans to climb up out of the ranks of poverty.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is the only viable economic plan in the world with the raw power to fix things – and get America back on track.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15398 downloads )

America needs a decentralized component to health care services for the primary health care needs of the average American. Solution: The Leviticus 25 Plan

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NObamacare? Americans Are Skipping Doctor Visits Due To Costs

ZeroHedge, Dec 12, 2023

Twenty-eight percent of U.S. adults were forced to skip or delay medical care in 2022 because they could not afford to pay for it, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Board.

As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, this is an increase from the 24 percent in 2021 and the highest share of U.S. adults since before the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was introduced back in 2014.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Dental care was the most frequently missed form of healthcare, having been skipped due to costs by 21 percent of respondents in the prior 12 months to the survey. It was followed by seeing a doctor or specialist (16 percent), forgoing prescription medicine (10 percent), follow-up care (10 percent), mental health care or counseling (10 percent). Respondents could select multiple answers to this question.

According to the FRB, the increase in the share of people delaying or avoiding medical care is likely at least partly due to high inflation in the U.S., as patients tried to find ways to cut back on expenses. This matches up to the data in the report, which shows that those with a higher family income and more of a buffer zone were less likely to have skipped or delayed medical care. For those with a family income of less than $25,000, 38 percent of adults went without some form of medical care because of the costs, versus just 11 percent of adults making $100,000 or more.

Similarly, family income seems to correlate with reported levels of health. The FRB explains that for those with an income at $25,000 per year or less, 75 percent of respondents said they were in good health. For those earning $100,000 plus, the figure was 91 percent.

Other surveys tell the same tale. For example, Gallup researchers found that there had been a 12 percentage point increase in the share of Americans reporting that they or a family member had postponed medical treatment between 2022 and the year before, bringing the latest figure to 38 percent – the highest level since 2001. In this study, lower-income adults, younger adults and women in the U.S. were more likely than other respondents to say they or someone in their family have delayed care for a serious medical condition. Meanwhile, a 2023 survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that 46 percent of those with low or average incomes had skipped or delayed needed care because of the cost.

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The Leviticus 25 Plan’s medical savings account provision, the U.S. Health Care Freedom Plan, includes a $30,000 direct allocation to each qualifying/participating U.S. citizen, to be used for direct access medical care covering $6,000 per year for 5 years.

This plan allows U.S. citizen participants to directly address medical needs with cash payments (no middleman involvement) for primary health care services, e.g. clinic visits, routine dental exams/procedures, routine prescription medications, chiropractic services, eye exams / eye wear, etc.

The U.S. Health Care Freedom component provides for a more cost-friendly, market-based, decentralized approach to primary health care services.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (13725 downloads )

Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winning economist:

“A society that puts equality — in the sense of equality of outcome — ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their own interests.

On the other hand, a society that puts freedom first will, as a happy by-product, end up with both greater freedom and greater equality. Though a by-product of freedom, greater equality is not an accident.  A free society releases the energies and abilities of people to pursue their own objectives.

It prevents some people from arbitrarily suppressing others.  It does not prevent some people from achieving position of privilege, but so long as freedom is maintained, it prevents those positions of privilege from becoming institutionalized; they are subject to continued attack from other able, ambitious people.  Freedom means diversity but also mobility.  It preserves the opportunity for today’s disadvantaged to become tomorrow’s privileged and, in the process, enables almost everyone, from top to bottom, to enjoy a fuller and richer life.”

Friedman also wrote: “They think that the cure to big government is to have bigger government… the only effective cure is to reduce the scope of government – get government out of the business.”

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The Leviticus 25 Plan levels the playing field and puts all U.S. citizens on an equal footing.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen  –  Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (13526 downloads )

Global Rate-Hikes Hit The Wall Of Debt Maturity

ZeroHedge, Dec 17, 2022 | Authored by Daniel Lacalle via The Mises Institute,

More than ninety central banks worldwide are increasing interest rates. Bloomberg predicts that by mid-2023, the global policy rate, calculated as the average of major central banks’ reference rates weighted by GDP, will reach 5.5%. Next year, the federal funds rate is projected to reach 5.15 percent [currently at 5.25%-5.50% – May 2024].

Raising interest rates is a necessary but insufficient measure to combat inflation.

To reduce inflation to 2%, central banks must significantly reduce their balance sheets, which has not yet occurred in local currency, and governments must reduce spending, which is highly unlikely.

The most challenging obstacle is also the accumulation of debt.

The so-called “expansionary policies” have not been an instrument for reducing debt, but rather for increasing it. In the second quarter of 2022, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the global debt-to-GDP ratio will approach 350% of GDP. IIF anticipates that the global debt-to-GDP ratio will reach 352% by the end of 2022.

Global issuances of high-yield debt have slowed but remain elevated. According to the IMF, the total issuance of European and American high-yield bonds reached a record high of $1.6 trillion in 2021, as businesses and investors capitalized on still-low interest rates and high liquidity. According to the IMF, high-yield bond issuances in the United States and Europe will reach $700 billion in 2022, similar to 2008 levels. All of the risky debt accumulated over the past few years will need to be refinanced between 2023 and 2025, requiring the refinancing of over $10 trillion of the riskiest debt at much higher interest rates and with less liquidity.

Moody’s estimates that United States corporate debt maturities will total $785 billion in 2023 and $800 billion in 2024. This increases the maturities of the Federal government. The United States has $31 trillion in outstanding debt [Dec 2022] with a five-year average maturity, resulting in $5 trillion in refinancing needs during fiscal 2023 and a $2 trillion budget deficit. Knowing that the federal debt of the United States will be refinanced increases the risk of crowding out and liquidity stress on the debt market.

According to The Economist, the cumulative interest bill for the United States between 2023 and 2027 should be less than 3% of GDP, which appears manageable. However, as a result of the current path of rate hikes, this number has increased, which exacerbates an already unsustainable fiscal problem.

If you think the problem in the United States is significant, the situation in the eurozone is even worse. Governments in the euro area are accustomed to negative nominal and real interest rates. The majority of the major European economies have issued negative-yielding debt over the past three years and must now refinance at significantly higher rates. France and Italy have longer average debt maturities than the United States, but their debt and growing structural deficits are also greater. Morgan Stanley estimates that, over the next two years, the major economies of the eurozone will require a total of $3 trillion in refinancing.

Although at higher rates, governments will refinance their debt. What will become of businesses and families? If quantitative tightening is added to the liquidity gap, a credit crunch is likely to ensue. However, the issue is not rate hikes but excessive debt accumulation complacency.

Explaining to citizens that negative real interest rates are an anomaly that should never have been implemented is challenging. Families may be concerned about the possibility of a higher mortgage payment, but they are oblivious to the fact that house prices have skyrocketed due to risk accumulation caused by excessively low interest rates.

The magnitude of the monetary insanity since 2008 is enormous, but the glut of 2020 was unprecedented. Between 2009 and 2018, we were repeatedly informed that there was no inflation, despite the massive asset inflation and the unjustified rise in financial sector valuations. This is inflation, massive inflation. It was not only an overvaluation of financial assets, but also a price increase for irreplaceable goods and services. The FAO food index reached record highs in 2018, as did the housing, health, education, and insurance indices. Those who argued that printing money without control did not cause inflation, however, continued to believe that nothing was wrong until 2020, when they broke every rule.

In 2020-21, the annual increase in the US money supply (M2) was 27%, more than 2.5 times higher than the quantitative easing peak of 2009 and the highest level since 1960. Negative yielding bonds, an economic anomaly that should have set off alarm bells as an example of a bubble worse than the “subprime” bubble, amounted to over $12 trillion. But statism was pleased because government bonds experienced a bubble. Statism always warns of bubbles in everything except that which causes the government’s size to expand.

In the eurozone, the increase in the money supply was the greatest in its history, nearly three times the Draghi-era peak. Today, the annualized rate is greater than 6%, remaining above Draghi’s “bazooka.” All of this unprecedented monetary excess during an economic shutdown was used to stimulate public spending, which continued after the economy reopened… And inflation skyrocketed. However, according to Lagarde, inflation appeared “out of nowhere.”

No, inflation is not caused by commodities, war, or “disruptions in the supply chain.” Wars are deflationary if the money supply remains constant. Several times between 2008 and 2018, the value of commodities rose sharply, but they do not cause all prices to rise simultaneously. If the amount of currency issued remains unchanged, supply chain issues do not affect all prices. If the money supply remains the same, core inflation does not rise to levels not seen in thirty years.

All of the excess of unproductive debt issued during a period of complacency will exacerbate the problem in 2023 and 2024. Even if refinancing occurs smoothly but at higher costs, the impact on new credit and innovation will be enormous, and the crowding out effect of government debt absorbing the majority of liquidity and the zombification of the already indebted will result in weaker growth and decreased productivity in the future.

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Key points from above:

“Raising interest rates is a necessary but insufficient measure to combat inflation.”

“To reduce inflation to 2%… governments must reduce spending, which is highly unlikely.”

“The most challenging obstacle is also the accumulation of debt.”

“…the issue is not rate hikes but excessive debt accumulation complacency.”

Solution: 1) A plan which will effect a massive, long-term scale-back of government spending; 2) Eliminate vast quantities of public and private debt; 3) Revitalize free market economics (increased productivity / market-based efficiencies); and 4) Catalyze a long-term economic growth cycle.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (13525 downloads )