one is the story of food stamps. food stamps now serving 46 million people, gosh, it's good that we have it because it's our main anti-recessionary tool for people beyond unemployment insurance, but for people who are especially at the very bottom, or people who are newly hurting as well. we had a bipartisan consensus about food stamps until a very, very short time ago. in the george w. bush administration, there was an undersecretary named eric boast who was a texas friend of george w. bush and in 2002, when they reauthorized food stamps, they actually rescinded some of the cuts that had been made during the clinton period. so this new attack on food stamps, with mr. gingrich calling obama the food stamp president and with this general idea that with the food stamps are the new welfare and we've got to get rid of it like we did welfare itself, that's actually a new thing. what they want to do is they want to turn it into a block grant. instead of it being that you would have a legal right, as you do have, which is w

and on food stamps able to work more than double 2010. and during the the same time the obama administration temporarily waived the welfare to work requirement. and gary b, you say no coincidence, huh? >> absolutely, i say no coincidence and 46 million people on food stamps say no coincidence. look it, the fact of the matter is, you can be the most moral, ethical, nicest, hardest working person in the world, but if you have an incentive out there to either work or not work, and get money in the form of food stamps, what are you going to do? i'm not going to work, i wouldn't work, for crying out loud if i didn't have to. you go out there, you put the carrot in front of people, now you don't have to work, you still get the food stamps and my gosh, this is a no-brainer. that's why, as you say, we've soon the number double in the last few years, it's quadrupled the number on food stamps since 2001 and it should be obviously to everyone. >> brenda: gary, you can't call what you do on bulls and bears, work. >> noticed. >> brenda: and julian, wo

the stamp.iam: how do you know when it's actually ready to start stamping? >>: ahh, it's kinda an instinct thing. sometimes in some situations we can stick our finger into the concrete to kinda see where it's at. and then we kinda know when to start. knowing where we're going to finish at from an impression standpoint. you want to make sure that you have the consistent stamp throughout the concrete install so you have the same impression from where you start to where you finish. at that point, we will start installing our ashlar slate pattern on the top platform of the step. we'll be using probably 3 to 4 stamps that kinda interlock with each other. they have different stones on each stamp and as you stamp the concrete, you want to turn the stamp to have a different layment of the stone. the stamp itself varies between a quarter inch to a half inch and you want to make sure you get that full depth of the stamp impressed into the concrete. >>miriam: so it needs to be soft enough to take the deepe

but should the government be trying so hard to get people on food stamps rather than off food stamps.n democratic strategist, mary anne mash and former assistance to president george w. bush brad blakeman. i will let you go first. i'm still recovering from the radio ad. what is that all about? why are we encouraging more people to go-go on food stamps? >> in tough times, people need assistance. sad to hear that many people use it. like buying home insurance. buy home insurance. auto insurance. you pay for all those things. you hope you never need it. you're glad you have it the same is true in the tough economy and food stamps. melissa: brad with any good insurance i there is insurance fraud. nearly five million dollars on cash benefits in california spend on withdrawals in casinos and poker rooms. one case in north carolina one man and his son used $4 million to buy cigarettes. i don't know how it is even possible. this is rife with abuse. i think this is a problem. what do you think? >> you're absolutely right one in seven americans are on food stamps and encouraged by the governmen

melissa: what do you think about a food stamp party? in the situation would you throw a food stamp party? >> i think the government has to do everything it can to be innovative, to be creative, to use the dollars that have been appropriated to make sure that we have the highest participation rates possible in this program. melissa: usda did provide us with a statement. congress allocates funds to the usda to direct public education about the benefits of snap and how it applies to reduce hunger in america. the agency began airing ads in 2004. more recently develop ad community tool kit to help organizations engage with elderly people and goes on and on. the i'm not sure the statement says anything. >> the money is there. woe want the government to be creative and innovative as possible. melissa: we want them to be productive as possible. we want them to be as conservative as possible. we want them to use our tax dollars well. we're looking at solyndra. looking at irs coming after us for health care. now having ads to get more people on f

including many who thought they would never be living on food stamps are living on food stamps n anym there is small amount of abuse. that is the vast minority of people. the vast majority of people are need a program to help them get through difficult times on a temporary basis. after this economy turns around they will be fully employed. i hate to criticize a program because there are some people abuse it. the vast majority of people are good, hard-working people that need it. i can only tell you if you play by the rules, under the food stamp program you don't get a lot, at least for food. the ones i'm really thinking about during last week were kids. i mean, skip a few meals, it is kids living through it. melissa: nobody wants kids to go hungry. when i see the abuse, i think that is money being wasted that could be feeding kids. i mean, when you went through it, what was the mechanism like for you to go in and exchange the, did you have a debit card? how did it work so that we can root out where the waste and even the fraud is to get more money to the right people? >> well, first

telling people to get their food stamps. requirements have been lifted. they are telling local offices how to attract people to come in and get food stamps. to me that sounds like the administration really wants government dependency. when you look at disability insurance, welfare, unemployment insurance, medicaid, they are all up 15% to 20%. this should not be in the third year of recovery. >> larry, i don't agree that what's driving the usage of food stamps is some advertising program by the department of agriculture. uh i think what's driven the number of americans depending on food stamps was the collapse in the economy in 2007-2008 and the unprecedented since the great depression number of americans who lost their jobs, their homes. barack obama and vice president joe biden have done a great job laying out a clear path forward, of investing in the restoration of the economy. we have now had 29 months straight of private sector job growth. none of us wants to see long-term dependency on food stamps. but in the farm bill

3.9 billion americans on food stamps. double what it was when he took office and it cost the economy for the health care law, the crowning achievement now those paying the penalty for not having health care coverage. and 47% don't pay income tax at all. i don't know about you buy it does custer rebel? to many indians. a lot of their rose. this could be coming so "fast & furious" i almost never got. the dollars are piling up. we spent wartime how bit ron be offended people but we don't. because they would rather divide us as much as the out-of-control many state does matter. i am not here to advocate what gravity but we all get cracking lonesome brevity. anything. because we are screwed if we do not.

those relying on food stamps.is just, these are political talking points more than being responsive to some of the political reality we can show it on the screen. the unfavorable rating of mitt romney. you understand how campaigns operate. look at his high unfavorable ratings at 50%, the highest of any candidate running in recent memory. this is an image problem that his philosophical statements in this speech in may to fundraisers, only ex-as baits. >> it's because of the exacerbates. >> it's because of the way's been falsely interpreted. >> by joe scarborough? >> i'm sorry, i've got to cut this off. >> david brooks -- >> which side are you on? you are taking this country -- >> the "wall street journal" editorial page. laura ingram, rush limbaugh,ky go on and on -- >> if you want to blame the media for mitt romney's inept campaign, peggy noonan said it best this is a nightmare of a campaign. and the most troubling thing is it's not that a lot of us republicans don't think he can win, we do believe he can win. but

you talk about food stamps. 47 million americans on food stamps up from four years ago. here is a broader picture from the wall street journal over time, if you go back to the early '80s and look at the trajectory, 49% receiving some kind of government benefit. is government dependent at a place where it's out of control? >> well, david, i think where we are is too many people have to rely on food stamps or unemployment benefits instead of a good job. natch rlly, what this comes down to, to think so many people left the work force where every job added, four people left. let's not forget the president and the democrats had two years. what did they do? they passed health care reform where the president said the premiums would go down. they have gone up. this week, a report that 6 million middle class americans will get the tax penalties and the president's health care reform. the policies that he pushed when they were in charge did not address the problems and that's why we need new leadership, making sure we get people working again and someone who has that private exper

stamp money out of politics.for bribing politicians. >> yeah. >> eliot: what economists value the velocity of money. if i put this in my pocket and stayed there, nobody would see the message. but it will be used over and over again. >> right. single dollar bills last about 4.8 years, and we assume the average stamper is going to get a bill in the middle of its lifetime, and we big your the bill will get passed around say once a day, and that would be $875. >> eliot: if enough people do this within the next few months a member of congress will be given one of these at a fund raiser. >> i'll say. [ laughter ] >> i happened to be at an obama fund raiser once and i did hand him a $1 bill that said the system isn't broken it is fixed on it. and he thought about it and he liked it -- >> eliot: and then he gave the dollar back. >> he said watch out there's a lot of secret service around here. >> eliot: that's right. what do you want people to do once they have seen this? >> there is a growing movement to pass this const

for income, only food stamps, astonishing. a third of the poverty line, $6,000 for a family of three. that's the story. far worse than it was 12 years ago. third thinghat we have to have on the disable. the major parse of the story is race. of course, race is a major part of the story. there's two things to keep in mind about that because it is well to remember, especially for political reasons in frying to accomplish things that the largest number of people in the country who are poor are white. and stands to reason it doesn't stand politically, but stands to reason, okay, if you make food stamps vail, if you make any benefit you want more adequate, it helps more white people than people of color. okay. full stop on that. other side of it is 27% poverty, african-american, latino, native american 10% white poverty. it's a picture that we know except we don't talk about it very much. i always say that the most dangerous place in america is the intersection between race and poverty. you might have some other nominees, but it's a

and 15 million more americans on food stamps.this isn't about veterans, this isn't about people that get their social security check. this is about redistribution, which we now have a tape we will show. he said he's other supporter of. big government, redistribute the wealth. >> all those people you are talking about, they are struggling too. that's what i'm trying to say. it's romney -- >> they are struggling because of obama's policies. >> they put them in this spot. they didn't have -- >> joe, you think romney has hurt their feelings, obama has destroyed their pocket books. >> bush has something to do with that too. >> four years and counting. we are scapegoating. >> we have a lot coming up. thank you both. so what does president obama think about redistribution? coming up next our commander in chief speaks out on what he believes the role should be. let's just say it's eye opening. and later tonight, the caller, an investigative report, eric holder colewding with i've worked hard to build my family. and also to build my caree

it's an honor to be a food stamps by the personç whoç nes food stamps or those who grow food or sellwe deserve better. it's like quote/unquote, it's not right. >> woodruff: how has at h.

instead of promising a more perfect stamp, the postal service insisted the stamp was a more perfect stamp, one that despite the injuries brought on by a sloppy postal researcher still secures the blessings of the liberty as we know it, life size and in full. it interpreted the advice of thomas jefferson, that we not look at stamps or anything really with sanctimonious reverence. and of james madison, too, that we not suffer, quote: blind veneration for an tig bity. they interpreted it as something slightly different, that we should just get over ousts, stick with the -- get over ourselves and stick with the program. sometimes in order to honor an icon that defines us as a nation whether it be a giant green woman holding a torch or the constitution of the united states of america, we should roll with what we've got, because it's damn awesome. that's how it ends. [laughter] i don't want to spoil the ending for you, but the butler didn't do it here. he might be an accomplice, and it certainly makes a debatable debate, but i, of course, come out after one rewritten preamble, seven rewritten a

it's an honor to be a food stamps by the personç whoç nes food stamps or those who grow food or sellwe deserve better. it's like quote/unquote, it's not right. >> woodruff: how has at hand. in this country, he is the president, why

we have more people on food stamps than ever before.ized the rules and a lot of people think they need to tighten that up. >> it's true that funding for the food stamp program makes up about 80% of the farm bill. $770 billion out of $970 billion price tag. but should opposition to food stamps put the whole bill at risk? take a look at the consequences. if there is no bill passed by september 30th, the u.s. agricultural policy would enter a kind of bizarre time carp back to the days of truman and fdr. that's because failure to act means the law would revert back to the last time permanent federal provisions were put on the books. both the 1938 in 1949. every bill that's been passed since had superseded those laws but not replaced them. but if the current bill is not extended or replaced, the old laws kick back in. that means 63 years of updated provisions disappear, including more than three dozen agricultural programs, as well as some federal farm subsidies. in the modern formula, that sets prices to formers like that of 1949. i'm sure

whoor food stamps and on the snap rolls are actually white.ere is no intention at all when we talk about how more people are dependent on government, instead of having good private-sector jobs, there is nothing here about racism. but they have imputed t. since they have declared tthe racial code word definer, we are supposed to accept t. i think it's time foritous say, no, you are ridiculous. >> sean: we have to get all of these in, obamacare. i am trying to figure out professor. but obamacare. >> we will get to that. you recall that mitt romney reached out. he gave a speech at the naacp and he was trying to argue the facts in the case that black people at the naacp, people of all color should be outraged at this massive overtaking of one-seventh of the economy that has failed and been a slush fund for all of obama's union cronies. instead they said that obamacare was supposed to invoke racism. >> sean: whatever. you know, probably most of these are coming through interpretation through the prism of the mainstream media. nbc news. all right, w

whoor food stamps and on the snap rolls are actually white. so there is no intention at all when we talk about how more people are dependent on government, instead of having good private-sector jobs, there is nothing here about racism. but they have imputed t. since they have declared tthe racial code word definer, we are supposed to accept t. i think it's time foritous say, no, you are ridiculous. >> sean: we have to get all of these in, obamacare. i am trying to figure out professor. but obamacare. >> we will get to that. you recall that mitt romney reached out. he gave a speech at the naacp and he was trying to argue the facts in the case that black people at the naacp, people of all color should be outraged at this massive overtaking of one-seventh of the economy that has failed and been a slush fund for all of obama's union cronies. instead they said that obamacare was supposed to invoke racism. >> sean: whatever. you know, probably most of these are coming through interpretation through the prism of the mainstream media. nbc news. all ri

now 47 million people on food stamps. you have americans falling into poverty under this president. in an increasing number on the food stamp figures. i wanted to get people back to work. i would like to see everybody who is not retired and not in the military having the privilege of a good job and good income so they qualify to pay taxes. >> neil: you said that you wouldn't go may have been inelegant, but this election year, that you all but called them moochers, did you? >> no, i'm talking about perspective of individuals who are not likely to get to support me. i recognize that those people who are not paying income tax are going to say, gosh, this provision that mitt keeps talking about lowering income taxes. those that are dependent on government and think government's job is redistribute i'm not going to get them. i know there is a divide in the country. i know some people believe that some should give to others. the president, that is what he believes. i think that is foreign concept. i think america was built on t

that's why the food stamp program was set up, you could get food stamps for three months, within a threeo what rush limbaugh was talking about. the environment of dependency. that this president may get reelected as a result of the safety programs that rush pointed out a few months ago. we'll talk much more about this coming up. >> dave: one network refuse to go air tape of president obama from 1998. because ne could not, had they done so-- is the media trying to protect the president's reputation? media bias next. >> ainsley: and buy a chevy volt get 10,000 bucks back. yeah, they can't sell them now the car that costs more to make will cost you less to buy. even ragu users chose prego. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] woer what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relf ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. on

back to watching r t here's a look at the top stories of ghana stamp pakistan are among the latest epicenters of anger against the u.s. while the stream astride of capitalize on muslim viewer by calling for more attacks on american diplomats. and u.k. prison system comes under fire as a record number of inmates died last year and the criticism that manny diaz could have been prevented. grows over japan purchase of disputed islands as japanese media reports that an armada thousands of chinese fishing boats and several patrol ships are to head toward the territory in question. amanda drone strikes have killed hundreds of innocent people in the middle east in recent years but it's more than just the u.s. behind the attacks and next we speak with carol grace and human rights activist who is traveling to pakistan to continue her fight against this lethal tactic. unmanned drones are lethal and seemingly indiscriminate increasingly used by the u.s. in pakistan as part of the so-called war on terror the pakistani authorities released a test in two thousand and nine alone drones killed seven hundred i

food stamps. i grew up in d.c. 800,000 people here in d.c., born in the recession, grew up in the 50s. nobody of those 800,000 was on food stamps. cities now 600,000. one in every five people are on food stamps. >> what happened? >> this is just it. the whole idea, we used to have fdr talking about relief being a narcotic, we have to get off this welfare is what he said. and in that sense it's a narcotic. barack obama is a drug dealer of welfare. he wants permanent dependency, in my judgment, of all those folks somehow getting benefits, benefits, and paying no taxes. i think you've got -- gov. romney is the complete opposite. we believe in temporary help for anybody that's in trouble. you should have it with every family. unemployment should be temporary. unemployment benefits should be temporary. food stamps should be temporary. what are we doing with 47 million people permanently having to be fed by the government? >> it's much easier to move people off food stamps and off unemployment if the ec

food stamps at record levels.>neil: you think when voters go to the polls they will say, we are tired of this. >>guest: we don't want to live in this economy. we want to live in a vibrant, growing economy, where children, where we have safety nets. but the safety nets are paid for from taxes that are created from jobs. >>neil: you are not concerned that mitt romney, even by some of the republicans saying he looks callous, but the woman you are doing a big fundraiser for in connecticut, she did not agree with that. she is a republican, and connecticut is a blue state and she is trying to become a republican senator, what do you make of that? >>guest: linda is trying to say, i got 47 percent, and the other guy has 47," -- we are fighting for the middle and i will try and get it. i have to make the case it is good for all. >>neil: but the play has been --. >>guest: that is the media stuff. >>neil: the image could stick. >>guest: i want the image to be what america can be. not 743,000. not for housing starts. i want 1