I know the heartland is filled with self sufficient, rural folk who don’t believe in government handouts. At least that’s what Republicans tell me, so it must be as true, as true as their contention that urban dwellers just want to live on the dole.
So why this?
In the House Republicans’ proposed agriculture and food safety budget, they included a demonstration program to test ways to get meals to low income children during the summer when school isn’t in session. The program has been around since 2010. Their plan is to add $27 million to continue the program, but all the money is supposed to be spent in rural areas. Not a penny for urban areas. How did they explain excluding urban kids from the summer meals program? They didn’t, but a Republican spokeswoman confirmed it was true.
This article appears in May 22-28, 2014.
Thanks for bringing this disgusting piece of GOP shame to our attention. The “farm bill” brings together the sad cripple results of too much dark money in politics. How so? The money spent in past local elections, electing governors and legislators to manipulate Congressional districting putting more power in rural districts.
No where is this more fully demonstrated than in the “farm bill” favoring corporate farms, subsidies and gutting food stamp programs and lunch programs for young kids from poor families.
The Republican party seems so controlled they have open eyes for poverty in rural areas electing “budget cutting conservatives”, Republicans, and nothing for urban areas voting for President Obama and Democrats in Congress. Budget cutting by transferring special considerations to “their friends” and campaign allies and zero for the rest of us.
Here in Arizona a much fairer system of Congressional Reapportionment, thanks to citizen action creating a commission to do the job rather than trust legislators with political agenda to cut up election districts.
No need to go beyond, elections do matter and elected officials responsible to National needs and priorities not to narrow ideological or provincial interests. Come on Democrats we know you want to protect Social Security and Medicare for us older folks, what about my grandkids and my out of work neighbor’s youngsters? Oh, that’s right they don’t vote.
Who the hell do the Republicans hire to come up with idiotic stuff like this during a Mid-Term Election??
Somebody form the DNC?
Geesh.. these people just can’t wait to pull the trigger before they get the gun out of their holster.
Perhaps it’s a blessing that they can shoot themselves in the foot.
I’m having a hard time with this article. I could be wrong but the lunch program has a lot of variables based on rural and urban locales which makes me think there are some shortcomings pertaining to the rural aspect of the program that could need shoring up. I just feel the whole story hasn’t been told and what HAS been provided might be intended to inflame more partisan politics.