Today Congress again voted to reduce the money for the food stamp program. They have done this for the second time.
The last time they added it as an amendment to the farm subsidy bill. Farm subsidies, in the billions of dollars, go to large corporate farms, which do not need them.
Wealthy people own farms, including members of Congress. They blame poor people for their plight.
Many people who work at very low-paying jobs cannot afford to put food on the table. Many are the unemployed, some for many months in this recession. Other recipients are the elderly and the handicapped.
A large percentage are children.
The unbelievable cruelty of this notion seems not to effect their desire to preserve all the perks they have. They are happy to take handouts from rich donors who keep them in office to protect their interests.
They subscribe to the myth that these people would rather sit home instead of getting a job. Who in his right mind would sit around, without looking for a job, almost starving?
Another myth is that there is a great deal of fraud in the program. No one has been able to prove that this is true. It is a fact that there are many people trying to find jobs but are unable to.
But Congress refuses to pass a jobs bill. They have jobs so why worry about anybody else?
This is at a time when we know that wealthy people and corporations refuse to pay their fair share in this economy. This is at a time when our infrastructure is falling apart.
Spending money on this alone would create jobs, put money in people’s pockets that they could spend to stimulate the economy. Sounds simple, but apparently our Congress does not understand.
Esther Confino
New Hyde Park
