Many American families are struggling in this economy. Last year, 2.6 million more Americans dropped into poverty. This was the largest increase noted since the government began keeping statistics in 1959. In addition, for a large number of American families, living on food stamps has become a way of life. Today, there are more than 45 million Americans on food stamps and we keep setting a new record almost every single month.
On Dec. 5, a woman in Laredo, Texas, shot and critically wounded her two children, and then killed herself, according to authorities. Why? The woman was upset and frustrated because she had been denied food stamps.
According to reports, the 38-year-old woman entered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission office in downtown Laredo on Monday afternoon requesting to speak with a supervisor, according to investigator Joe Baeza of the Laredo Police Department, then pulled out a handgun and started walking through the office, threatening some of the employees.
The woman, who authorities have identified as Rachelle Grimmer, took an office supervisor hostage in a room and after two hours of negotiations, she allowed the male supervisor to go free, but she remained in the office with her two children, a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. A little before midnight, she got off the phone with negotiators, and three shots were heard. Eventually, police and SWAT team member discovered that she had shot each of her children once and herself once.
The children were airlifted to a hospital in San Antonio in extremely critical condition, he said. The mother was dead at the scene.
A spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Commission, confirmed that the woman applied for food stamps in July and was denied.
Research suggests that this is a growing concern. According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly 15 percent of all Americans are now on food stamps. In 2010, 42 percent of all single mothers in the United States were on food stamps and since 2007, the number of Americans on food stamps has increased 74 percent.
This is a sick and sad world. Obviously, this woman was in need of mental health support and had been severely impacted by the economy and the desire to provide for her children. We are told that the economy is recovering, but the number of Americans on food stamps has grown by another 8 percent over the past year. Moreover, it is estimated that currently, 1 out of every 4 American children is on food stamps.
Even worse, Grimmer was denied aid, yet a recent story reported by Yahoo News found that a West Coast couple is living in a mansion and making trips around the world and has been drawing food stamps and welfare assistance since 2003. Yes, this is a sad story, but it also illustrates that the U.S. and state government system is a corrupt and broken house.
–torrance stephens, ph.d.
