Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich sent out one of those political fundraising letters a few days ago in which he said the choice in next month's election is between food stamps and paychecks.
Now we have this news, courtesy of a new government report: the number of Americans on food stamps has risen to a record 41.8 million. This as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high.
Other food supplement programs saw similar increases. This tracks with unemployment, which is approaching 10 percent and in real terms is closer to 16 percent.
This is a disgrace. In the richest country in the world, more than 10 percent of the population is on food stamps and getting other nutritional assistance.
Businesses aren't hiring because of the threat of tax increases and the unknown effects of Obamacare. Cut taxes, cut government spending and businesses will hire again. Then people won't need food stamps.
We are building a dependency culture, which is replacing our can-do culture. This is just what the left wants: more reliance on government and less reliance on self.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
