Steny Hoyer Thinks Food Stamps Are a Stimulus?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/dem-congressman-providing-food-stamps-and-unemployment-benefits-two-most-stimulative-things-for-us-economy/

My late husband practiced economics in Steny Hoyer's congressional district, so it's my duty to call Congressman Hoyer out on this:

"If you talk to economists, they will tell you there are two things that are the most stimulative that you can do — one’s unemployment insurance, the other’s food stamps, okay? Why is that?” he asked. ”Because those folks who receive those resources must spend them."

I beg to assure Congressman Hoyer that my husband never said anything of the kind.

I remember two things he said about stimulating local economies:

1. When Rick Boucher was calling attention to the construction of a bigger, badder state prison in Jonesville as stimulating the economy in southwestern Virginia, my husband said, "Is that the best you can do? What about a college?"

2. When different factions in Prince Georges County, Maryland, were debating whether Bladensburg needed its own Wal-Mart, my husband was in favor of having one. He missed the locally owned Hechinger's store that had shut down, but thought a Wal-Mart outlet would be better for Bladensburg than leaving the store vacant.

The job of explaining the depressant effect of food stamps was left to me, because that's something I've seen firsthand. In food stamp households parents tell their children, "Don't take that after-school job! They'll cut our benefits!" Or one spouse might say to the other in a loving and devoted way, "If you get that job, I'll move out and take the children...so they can still get food stamps." And if they want something that's not supermarket food, whether it's local produce from an independent vendor, or handcrafts, shoes, books, or toilet paper, they might try to buy it illegally with food stamps, or barter for it with surplus food. (I recently had someone try to buy a handmade doll with ten cans of creamstyle corn.) Disgusting, whether you're an economist, teacher, social worker, neighbor, or relative of the family. Very, very depressing if you're a local business owner, and what you need to do with the profits from your goods or services is to pay utility bills, and the utility company will not accept creamstyle corn.