Whether it’s to force them into dirty, dangerous, low-paying jobs (presumably including elderly and disabled people, mothers with young children, and schoolkids, because that’s who government food assistance goes to), or racism (do you see any white faces in the photo of a food bank line below?), Republicans are trying to reduce or cut off food stamps and slash funding for school lunch programs (see story here).
Last week in Minnesota, GOP state senator Steve Drazkowski (photo, left; profile here) decried food programs as “socialism” and said he’s “never met a hungry person,” snippily adding, “Hunger is a relative term. I had a cereal bar for breakfast. I guess I’m hungry now.” (See story here.) Drazkowski, after voting against state-funded pandemic relief, received a federal PPP loan for his business (see story here). By the way, there are hungry children in his district; he must not visit schools.
By the way, the school lunch funding bill he opposed passed the legislature and the governor signed it (see photo here).
Compassion and empathy are lacking among these Republicans, but they won’t history to get their fingers into any government pie they can. That senator grew up on a farm and has a degree in agriculture; few U.S. industries are more heavily subsidized by taxpayers than agriculture. He’s just not in favor of sharing any of that food with poor families and their kids, that’s all. And the rural voters who elected him agree with that.
Rural voters sometimes complain urban voters don’t respect them. It’s their voting choices they don’t respect, and I think they would if respect was deserved.
