Minnesota Rep. Hagedorn Falsely Claims No American Goes to Sleep Hungry

[GMDino]

https://american-ledger.com/economy/minnesota-rep-jim-hagedorn-falsely-claims-no-american-goes-to-sleep-hungry/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

Quote:Ignoring the reality for millions in his own state who struggle to put food on the table, U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, R-Minn., said Tuesday that he believes no American goes to bed hungry.


“Nobody (in America) goes to sleep at night wondering if they’ll be able to feed their families,” Hagedorn said, according to a report by the Daily Globe, a newspaper in Worthington, Minn.


Hagedorn, a first-term Republican who serves on the Agriculture Committee, made the false statement at a Kiwanis Club meeting in Worthington while declaring imported agriculture a national-security threat.


But Hagedorn’s comment stands in stark contrast to current studies on food insecurity in the United States.


According to an Agriculture Department study, in Hagedorn’s home state of Minnesota between 2015 and 2017, roughly 210,000 households were “food insecure,” which the department defines as those “unable to acquire adequate food for one or more household members because they have insufficient money or other resources.”


Nationally, the study found that 15 million households — 11.8 percent — were food insecure in 2017.


The USDA estimated that 4.8 percent of U.S. and 3.7 percent of Minnesota households had “very low food security” in 2017, which it defines as households in which “the eating patterns of one or more household members are disrupted and their food intake reduced, at least some time during the year, because they cannot afford enough food.”


On Friday, the Daily Globe published a clarification about Hagedorn’s comment, reporting that it was “with regard to availability of food in grocery stores, and America having a food supply that is abundant and nutritious in stark comparison to other countries.”


But that explanation would still render the statement false, as the USDA has found tens of millions of Americans live in areas known as “food deserts,” where there is limited or no access to grocery stores nearby.


Correction (April 30, 2019)
A previous version of this article misstated the number of Minnesota households that the Agriculture Department estimated had food insecurity between 2015 and 2017. It was about 210,000, not 2.2 million.

See?  There's plenty of food!  Just go buy some!

idiot.

[fredtoast]

If anyone is "food insecure" it is because they are selling their food stamps for cash or something else.

Schools have free lunch and breakfast programs, and of all government benefits foot stamps are the easiest to obtain.

You can't blame the government if anyone goes to bed hungry.

[GMDino]

(04-30-2019, 05:52 PM)fredtoast Wrote: If anyone is "food insecure" it is because they are selling their food stamps for cash or something else.

Schools have free lunch and breakfast programs, and of all government benefits foot stamps are the easiest to obtain.

You can't blame the government if anyone goes to bed hungry.

Jebus I hope that was sarcasm.  Either that or you've never left your home.

[*bfine32*]

I missed the part where he said no American goes to be hungry.

[GMDino]

(04-30-2019, 09:01 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I missed the part where he said no American goes to be hungry.

I honestly (and I mean this from the bottom of my heart) I honestly hope you hold absolutely everyone you talk to each and every day only to the exact words they say and never extrapolate anything ever.  I sincerely hope you are the single most literal person in the history of language.

Because that would make you unending complaints like the one I quoted that much more tolerable.  

From The Globe link:

Quote:“Nobody (in America) goes to sleep at night wondering if they’ll be able to feed their families,” Hagedorn commented while speaking about the availability of food in grocery stores, and America having a food supply that is abundant and nutritious in stark comparison to other counties.

He said there is plenty of food so no one worries about feeding their families.  The truth of course if millions of people worry about feeding their families and many go without food...that means they are hungry.

(I will not explain it again because you want those exact words to be said.)

This is one of those subjects that I get to see first hand.  He is wrong in what he said in every way of taking it.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Is this the same guy who said rocks falling into the oceans are causing sea levels to rise?
Or the guy who though Guam was going to tip over?

[fredtoast]

(04-30-2019, 08:48 PM)GMDino Wrote: Jebus I hope that was sarcasm.  Either that or you've never left your home.

Who is hungry that can't get foodstamps?

[*bfine32*]

(04-30-2019, 09:37 PM)GMDino Wrote: I honestly (and I mean this from the bottom of my heart) I honestly hope you hold absolutely everyone you talk to each and every day only to the exact words they say and never extrapolate anything ever.  I sincerely hope you are the single most literal person in the history of language.

Because that would make you unending complaints like the one I quoted that much more tolerable.  

From The Globe link:


He said there is plenty of food so no one worries about feeding their families.  The truth of course if millions of people worry about feeding their families and many go without food...that means they are hungry.

(I will not explain it again because you want those exact words to be said.)

This is one of those subjects that I get to see first hand.  He is wrong in what he said in every way of taking it.

I'm not the one that wants those exact words to be said; you are. Because you're the one that said them. I was just curious where they were.

[Au165]

(05-01-2019, 12:15 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Who is hungry that can't get foodstamps?

Any adult without a child who has already used their 3 month SNAP benefits during the 36 month period in which they can receive them, and makes minimum wage? Not sure many people realize "food stamps" are only temporary assistance for adults unless you have a child or are disabled.

[*bfine32*]

(05-01-2019, 12:57 PM)Au165 Wrote: Any adult without a child who has already used their 3 month SNAP benefits during the 36 month period in which they can receive them, and makes minimum wage? Not sure many people realize "food stamps" are only temporary assistance for adults unless you have a child or are disabled.

So there could be some merit to the Congressman's assertion that "Nobody goes to be hungry wondering if they'll be able to feed their families"?

[Au165]

(05-01-2019, 06:22 PM)bfine32 Wrote: So there could be some merit to the Congressman's assertion that "Nobody goes to be hungry wondering if they'll be able to feed their families"?

Not sure, I was replying to Fred’s question.

I’ll run some numbers tomorrow and let you know on a family of three living off a single minimum wage salary.

[*bfine32*]

(05-01-2019, 09:40 PM)Au165 Wrote: Not sure, I was replying to Fred’s question.

I’ll run some numbers tomorrow and let you know on a family of three living of a single minimum wage salary.

Math away. I'm just replying to your post that SNAP is permanent for those with children. So IMO that would lend merit to the Congressman's quote. Seems worded much better that "folks don't go to bed hungry" or "individuals don't know where their next meal is coming from" ect..

Seems he's referencing the fact that there are programs out there to help families. Of course he cannot speak for everyone's internal thought process. 

[Au165]

(05-01-2019, 09:48 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Math away. I'm just replying to your post that SNAP is permanent for those with children. So IMO that would lend merit to the Congressman's quote. Seems worded much better that "folks don't go to bed hungry" or "individuals don't know where their next meal is coming from" ect..

Seems he's referencing the fact that there are programs out there to help families. Of course he cannot speak for everyone's internal thought process. 

Fred said “anyone” which is who and what I answered.

That aside,Snap only pays 60% of projected food costs. If you have teenagers, or can’t make up the other roughly 40% of food expenses then people can still go hungry. It’s less of an issue during the school year but in the summer there can be issues because getting access to the free lunch/breakfast programs are more difficult.

For example the MAX monthly SNAP benefits for a family of 3 is $500 a month. That isn’t a lot for an entire month.

[*bfine32*]

(05-01-2019, 09:51 PM)Au165 Wrote: Fred said “anyone” which is who and what I answered.

That aside,Snap only pays 60% of projected food costs. If you have teenagers, or can’t make up the other roughly 40% of foo expenses  then people can still go hungry. It’s less of an issue during the school year but in the summer there can be issues because getting access to the free lunch/breakfast programs are more difficult.

Actually Fred asked who and you provided an insightful answer. It's just that your learned answer led me to believe there was merit to what the Congressman actually said.

If there is room for SNAP reform is another debate, but this thread started by an outright lie might not be the way to start. 

[Au165]

(05-01-2019, 09:55 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Actually Fred asked who and you provided an insightful answer. It's just that your learned answer led me to believe there was merit to what the Congressman actually said.

If there is room for SNAP reform is another debate, but this thread started by an outright lie might not be the way to start. 

I clarified on my update with an example, I think when he says “no one” is when he opens himself to being called a liar because he simply has no way to know every situation. Saying it’s uncommon or rare would have been a more believable statement.

[*michaelsean*]

(05-01-2019, 09:51 PM)Au165 Wrote: Fred said “anyone” which is who and what I answered.

That aside,Snap only pays 60% of projected food costs. If you have teenagers, or can’t make up the other roughly 40% of foo expenses then people can still go hungry. It’s less of an issue during the school year but in the summer there can be issues because getting access to the free lunch/breakfast programs are more difficult.

For example the MAX monthly SNAP benefits for a family of 3 is $500 a month. That isn’t a lot for an entire month.

Depends on what you buy. Now I’m not saying I would look forward to it, but you can buy a lot of potatoes, eggs and vegetables for not a lot of money. Not something I would enjoy, but it would beat being hungry or worried about being hungry. Also store brand bread, peanut butter and milk. There is a lot of inexpensive food if going hungry is a real possibility.

[Au165]

(05-01-2019, 10:02 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Depends on what you buy. Now I’m not saying I would look forward to it, but you can buy a lot of potatoes, eggs and vegetables for not a lot of money. Not something I would enjoy, but it would beat being hungry or worried about being hungry. Also store brand bread, peanut butter and milk. There is a lot of inexpensive food if going hungry is a real possibility.

Maybe, it’s 16 dollars a day over 3 people. Like I said, if you have a growing teenager that can go quickly. The other issue is the food dessert one where access to actual grocery stores is limited forcing you to buy food from convenient stores or smaller markets where costs can be higher.

[*bfine32*]

(05-01-2019, 09:59 PM)Au165 Wrote: I clarified on my update with an example, I think when he says “no one” is when he opens himself to being called a liar because he simply has no way to know every situation. Saying it’s uncommon or rare would have been a more believable statement.

Yep, I've already said he cannot speak to everyone's internal thought process. I make plenty of loot and may go to bed some nights worrying about the food bill. Simply said your explanation and how the benefit is tied to families provided merit to his quote. Feel free to call him a liar all you want.

Does the OP open himself up to being called a liar by changing what the Congressman actually said?

[*michaelsean*]

(05-01-2019, 10:04 PM)Au165 Wrote: Maybe, it’s 16 dollars a day over 3 people. Like I said, if you have a growing teenager that can go quickly. The other issue is the food dessert one where access to actual grocery stores is limited forcing you to buy food from convenient stores or smaller markets where costs can be higher.

It’s $16 a day if they bring nothing to the table so to speak.

Well yeah having to shop at convenience stores is a problem.

[BmorePat87]

The context is literally in the quote from the OP and I don't think I have seen a single post (including the OP) actually address it

Quote:On Friday, the Daily Globe published a clarification about Hagedorn’s comment, reporting that it was “with regard to availability of food in grocery stores, and America having a food supply that is abundant and nutritious in stark comparison to other countries.”