Citizens Against Government Waste Porker of the Month is Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Porker of the Month for asserting in a television interview on August 16 that the Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, qualifies as “an economic stimulus,” explaining that “every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity.” Sec. Vilsack’s claims ignited outrage from many members of the political news media and blogosphere, several of whom compared the remarks to Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) July, 2010 claim that unemployment insurance “creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative” and to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s August 10, 2011 statement that extending unemployment benefits will create “up to a million” jobs. “We are entering a brave new world for economics,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “If one takes the ludicrous analyses of prominent Democrats seriously, it is a shame that millions more Americans do not qualify for SNAP benefits. Indeed, the best course of action going forward would be to extend SNAP to all Americans, even affluent ones with huge salaries. That seems to be the administration’s pro-growth strategy.” For attempting to convince taxpayers that the road to prosperity is paved with food stamps, Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack is CAGW’s August, 2011 Porker of the Month. Read more about the Porker of the Month.